HiepNotik

I recently got some leather cleaner and conditioner, but not sure which is real leather? I know the seats are leather for sure but what about the center arm rest? are the sides of the door real leather too? Steering wheel?

Thanks.

SNiiP3R

iTrader: (3)

Seats, steering wheel and shift **** are leather. The arm rest and door panels are most likely not.

rjm

Your leather cleaner should work on the non-leather surfaces as well. Mine does.

jtrue28

Only the actual seating areas of the seats. The sides are not. The dash is also the "Nuluxe". They tried to convince me that Nuluxe is better than leather when I was debating between a base model GX and the Premium/Luxury editions.

Synthetic is NEVER better than real. Try giving your wives a manufactured diamond if you disagree.

sick21

I don't know but the smell of this car is probably my biggest complaint.

Afrosheen

The GS F Sport has leather on top of the dash where the stitching is. They're not stitching the nuluxe vinyl there. The doors are vinyl though. Seat backs probably are too, but seating surfaces are leather. Steering wheel and shifter are also leather trimmed.

Do yourself a favor though, if you clean the leather on top of the dash, make sure it's a flat or matte finish. Use soap and water and a light conditioner that doesn't shine. Otherwise on sunny days you'll be staring at the top of your dash superimposed on the windshield, obscuring your visibility.

ItzFilyO

On the seats, only the center part (the perforated one) is leather? and the sides are nuluxe vinyl?

Afrosheen

Good question.

I know there have been lawsuits in the past with leather packages in cars from various manufacturers, where the seat wasn't full leather and the price was high. So they've couched this in legal language for newer models. If you see "leather seating surfaces" then basically any part you would come into contact with, on the seat, while seated in the car, is leather. That doesn't include the backside (facing the rear passengers) and probably not the headrest either. It SHOULD be all forward facing surfaces including the side bolsters though.

I'm not sure how "full leather" is phrased these days though, since one, it shouldn't matter what's on the back of the seat much, and two, leather is expensive for high volume production and alot of it gets scrapped during manufacturing. Being a natural material, it has natural flaws and can have weaknesses leading to early fatigue and surface failure. Most manufacturers these days aren't selling full blown leather seats. Bentleys and their ilk probably give you 15 options of the type of leather seating you want but it comes at an enormous price of course. Even high end marques are moving towards Alcantara and Nu-Luxe materials for durability and cost savings.

ItzFilyO

I read somewhere that real leather creases more than vinyl? The side on my seat where u scrape with ur pants when getting in and out shows some creases marks, so maybe it's real leather.

Afrosheen

Yeah, where I pivot my butt when getting in is crinkled too. Just that one corner. I know the perforated surfaces are definitely leather.

HiepNotik

Yep, my seats are creasing exactly where you guys are mentioning. So the dashboard right on top of my steering wheel is real leather? I've been using cockpit premium on top of that dash so it has a light coat, and leaves a matte finish.

jtrue28

The dash is Nuluxe. You can tell by the feel of it. The stitching is decoration, it's not actually holding anything together.

Afrosheen

For me, the jury is still out on the stitched dash material. I was told it wasn't nuluxe, and found this quote from some press release material for the ES (assuming the GS would be identical if not better materials):

From another article, also referencing the 2013 ES:

It's not a big deal to me and the only reason I even care is to know what kind of treatment it needs. I'd use a mild soap on a wet microfiber if it was anything but leather. If I can find anything from Lexus stating definitively that it's Nuluxe, that's the way to go.

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

I find that hard to believe cause it sure doesn't feel like leather on the dash. Also I would think the heat would destroy the leather dash.

jtrue28

Guess there's only one true way to find out...

Someone take a knife to your dash and let us know