Rubber boot liner, RX400h

[Farnham Dave]

I've had my RX400h for a couple of months now, and one of the first things I did was to roll the rubber boot liner up so I could get to the compartments in the boot by storing the mat.

Yesterday, I needed the mat, so I unrolled it. It didn't until very well... The material seems fairly hard, so it wouldn't flatten out properly.

My first question is about the material. It's rubber, I think.. but could be plastic. It's the original that came with the car. Was it supposed to be flexible when it was new, and it's stiffened with the aging process, or was it always like that?

I'm thinking of replacing it with a rubber one made by a company online. Won't be branded, but a heck of a lot cheaper than Lexus. 

So, second question... Is there a way to rejuvenate the existing mat (if age is responsible) rather than replacing it with an unbranded one? I've already replaced the interior carpet mats with non Lexus ones, so I'm not that obsessed.

[PCM]

They all tend to be quite 'unbendy' in my experience.

[Farnham Dave]

37 minutes ago, PCM said:

They all tend to be quite 'unbendy' in my experience.

That's a bit of a pain... In a conventional estate or saloon, where the floor is just a floor (except for spare tyre), that's not so much of an issue.

Even if bendy, I can see how the raised edge would still be a problem.

I think I might have some more thinking to do.

[ColinBarber]

Put it on the ground, try holding flat with bricks or some other weight and pouring hot/boiling water onto it and letting it cool. Should hold its shape better after that. Otherwise it will take a week or more to flatten out and hold there.

This is more flexible than the OEM but still doesn't like being rolled up:

https://www.bootsliners.co.uk/lexus-rx-boot-liner-2000-2008.html

 

How often are you using the lower compartment? I rarely used mine, and even then kept the liner in place and just raised it up to put a few things underneath.

[Farnham Dave]

1 hour ago, ColinBarber said:

Put it on the ground, try holding flat with bricks or some other weight and pouring hot/boiling water onto it and letting it cool. Should hold its shape better after that. Otherwise it will take a week or more to flatten out and hold there.

This is more flexible than the OEM but still doesn't like being rolled up:

https://www.bootsliners.co.uk/lexus-rx-boot-liner-2000-2008.html

 

How often are you using the lower compartment? I rarely used mine, and even then kept the liner in place and just raised it up to put a few things underneath.

It's been in the boot for a few days with some stuff on it, and seems to have flattened out. It really didn't look like it would!