gebo

What part of the interior is leather and what part is vinyl? Headrest, door panels, armrest, top of dash...? I spoke to two Lexus dealers and one said all of the interior was leather and the other said just the part of the seats your body touched when you sat in them? Does anybody know?

retrodrive

I know that later models have more leather. The armrests are covered.

roguenode

My 90 LS400 invoice shows Leather Trim Package as a
$1,400 option. Since the leather seats and steering wheel were standard something else must have been part of that option.

LexRX

gebo, which Lexus do you have? The leather coverage really depends on which lexus model you have. Of course the dealer will tell you "it's all covered in leather" but I don't take much stock in what a dealer tells me

There is a different feel to leather vs. the vinyl. If you inspect close enought you should be able to see/feel the difference. I know in our '99 LS, the seats seem to be, from memory (without looking at it now) completely covered in leather on the top, side, etc - except for the soft backing of the front seats. Also, of course, the steering wheel, shifter, armrest. All that SHOULD be covered in a Lexus. As for my RX - the leather coveres the whole seat except for a part of the side where the armrest is (it isn't a 60k+ vehicle like the LS). There it is blended with a matching vinyl. I can tell the difference - many can't.

If you look at something like the Acura TL (PLEASE, no TL wars - I really like the TL) They leather is only on the seating surface - if you look you can see it stitched onto the top of the seat with significantly more vinyl than our lexus vehicles. Hey, they had to save money somewhere to get so many options onto the car and make it reasonably priced.

A little bit of info you may not need, but: SUV's such as the Expedition have full-vinyl third row seats. Cost cutting yes, but also reasonable. Who sits back there? Kids - vinyl is easy to maintain. Also, the mustang, sadly, has a full vinyl rear seat At least it did in the previous body style.

Well, that's the long of it Hope that helps some.

-Nick

gebo

LexRX,
I have a '98 LS400 and a '00 GS300. I want to use Lexol's leather conditioner and Lexol's Vinylx and would like to put the right stuff in the right places. Thanks, Gary
p.s. What 'bout the door panels?

LexRX

I know the door panels on the LS are leather, and am 90% sure they are on the GS3 as well. Most leather cleaners/conditioners work just as well on vinyl as well as leather surfaces. I use Zaino's "Leather In A Bottle" and it works on either surface - smell good too Glad to see you are taking the time to take care of your care properly

blitz

[QUOTE]Originally posted by LexRX
[B]gebo, which Lexus do you have? The leather coverage really depends on which lexus model you have. Of course the dealer will tell you "it's all covered in leather" but I don't take much stock in what a dealer tells me

wow, you must work at a lexus dealer....

i had a chance to drive new 2001 es300 last night and the leather was really different than ls400(not softer?). somehow i felt it was so small in es300(maybe i am used to be in ls400? hey, but i still drive my 85' civic). and it was more like a car (most camry liked) than ls400 i mean, my ls400 is like a sofa...

i still love 2000+ es300. i am looking to buy a pearl white es300 within 2 years. must save some money.

LexRX

I actually wanted to do that - be a Lexus salesman while going to college. Went to the dealer in Macon, Ga to find out about getting a job and apparently you have to be 21 to be a salesman there Oh well, it's okay though. I have more work to do for my classes than I thought I would