Replacing fake wood on XLE - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

ssolomo · 05-11-2011, 09:27 AM

Hi,

The time has come to replace my wife's '01 Camry (which I've used these forums for, very helpfully, in the past) and we're going to drive a Sienna today. I've already been perusing the forums and driven both the Sienna and Oddy - we pretty much decided we want 8 passenger capability for those pinches when we need to carry and extra person - I think the Sienna is a better value and overall a better vehicle, but it's going to be her car so she needs to drive both and decide what she likes. WE both really want memory seats, but that means Limited (7 passenger) in Sienna and would mean Touring (way more than we want to spend) in Oddy.

One thing that I absolutely despise on the XLE (and my wife does too even from the brochure pictures) is the fake wood trim. We'll probably do an XLE over an SE as she wants factory nav system (I replaced her head unit in the Camry w/ a Pioneer so that wouldn't be a big deal) and the bluetooth key / push button start, just like my mom's '10 RX350.

Has anyone attempted to either refinish the fake wood trim in the XLE / Limited or replace it with the SE trim?

Thanks!

Steven

Biggoldfish · 05-11-2011, 02:15 PM

To me the trim is pretty easy to remove. Just use a thin flathead and patience. Run he flathead around the edges until the trim pops off.

MatrixPC · 05-11-2011, 07:12 PM

I'm thinking of carbon fiber wrap those fake wood, but my wife didn't give me permission to do it yet

Biggoldfish · 05-12-2011, 09:10 AM

@Matrix: "Confucius says: Its better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission."

grandpapa · 05-12-2011, 11:06 AM

The factory NAV? Do more search on this forum, you really don't want the Toyota NAV. Unless you want push start then you have to have the NAV

ssolomo · 05-16-2011, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandpapa

The factory NAV? Do more search on this forum, you really don't want the Toyota NAV. Unless you want push start then you have to have the NAV

Yeah, I know, and neither of us like the interface much either (nor do I like what is essentially the same system in my mom's 2010 RX350 - except the mouse-pointer device, which is exceptionally cool). But one of the selling points of the Sienna over the Odyssey is the bluetooth key, which requires nav package on XLE (or base limited, but we want 8 seats - plus, I don't think anyone can even order a limited w/out any packages).

skinny2 · 05-16-2011, 08:04 AM

Doesn't the XLE only have a very limited amount of wood trim? I know the Ltd (like we have) has the full dash/door/ wood package but I didn't see this on the XLE's. I'm not a huge fan of wood...but I also thought the XLE dash looked even more chintzy with the flat black.

Color combo also seems to make a big difference. The Bisque with the woodgrain looks decent IMHO (although if you just don't like wood-ish trim it may not matter). The gray with wood looked horrible in my book.

Either way if I understand your post...you want the memory seats which requires the Ltd Sienna. I think you will find the Odyssey to be cheaper than a Ltd Sienna particularly after you add the NAV and most likely get forced into buying the DVD and Premium Pkg as well. The Ody NAV is also much better, there's no woodgrain to deal with, and it has 8-passenger seating. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I personally think the Ody is a better vehicle all around but my wife was hung-up on the Blizzard Pearl and Bisque (and actually loves the wood trim....). Only downside to Ody is the exterior looks...(but we're talking minivans here) and you don't get the Smartkey on the Ody. So far on the minivan (with remote sliding doors and power hatch) the smartkey isn't so great in my book.

ssolomo · 05-23-2011, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skinny2

Either way if I understand your post...you want the memory seats which requires the Ltd Sienna. I think you will find the Odyssey to be cheaper than a Ltd Sienna particularly after you add the NAV and most likely get forced into buying the DVD and Premium Pkg as well. The Ody NAV is also much better, there's no woodgrain to deal with, and it has 8-passenger seating. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I personally think the Ody is a better vehicle all around but my wife was hung-up on the Blizzard Pearl and Bisque (and actually loves the wood trim....). Only downside to Ody is the exterior looks...(but we're talking minivans here) and you don't get the Smartkey on the Ody. So far on the minivan (with remote sliding doors and power hatch) the smartkey isn't so great in my book.

Correct about the seats - hence, the Ltd was off our list.

We ended up with and Ody. Bought last week. Got the price down; played some dealers off each other and am pretty happy with the deal I got. The Sienna has some real selling points - but the fact it drives more like a Highlander than a Camry, while the Ody drives more like an Accord than a Pilot, is what pushed us there. Oh, and we both hated Toyota's nav system - even if I put a bypass on it. The Honda system is vastly superior in ease of use, features, and response time (HDD based vs DVD based).

The Ody is less ugly in darker colors - but it's inside what counts, and the Ody wins there too in our book. The giant remote control key is a serious flaw that Honda seems to be committed to still - I love bluetooth key. But that feature doesn't sell cars (at least to most people)....