aklein2

The driver's seat in my brand new LS 460 Sport, bought last Saturday, hurts my behind pretty badly after being in it for a while. (This is not a function of any of the settings on the suspension or anything unusual about my anatomy.) It has a hard, wooden feel that runs down the middle of the seat, fore to aft, that goes right between the cheeks of my buttocks and bangs up against my tail bone. I did not notice this right away before buying the car -- I guess because the seats in any new car are going to feel different from what one sat in before, my old one being behind the wheel of an LS 430 2003, and one has to be in it for a while for reality to sink in, like while doing a 50 minute commute into DC. I cannot believe that Lexus had this in mind when they built this otherwise excellent machine.

Anyone else have this problem? Is my car seat defective? What do I do about it? I plan to visit Lexus Service about it this afternoon, but I am anxious to hear from others about this.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i don't think it's defective. i won't say common but i have read a few about this, and i also felt the same (compared to my old gs400). the seats just feel like it doesn't have as much cushion as before.

talk to dealership. i think they have a tsib to fix this by adding more cushion. you can search the forum for more related topics as well

welcome to clublexus

aklein2

Thanks for the quick reply and suggested fix. To say nothing of the welcome. I had forgotten about this community until this, my very first Lexus problem (the comfort or lack of it offerred by the new seats). I won't forget it again.

redlight30

I had a similar issue with my 10' and they just replaced the seat and the problem was gone.

I should have never picked the car up at night after the fix as I do wish they told me they were going to replace my cashmere seat with a black one!

aklein2

One hopes that they fixed that, too. Replaced the seat? Sounds pretty tough to do.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

actually replacing seat isn't that hard, just a few bolts and some harnesses at the bottom. of course that's if you can convince them to do it. just be persistent and demonstrate to them about the problem

stanatl

I also have a '10 Sport that I've had since last December but my seats are fine. I did, however have an LS430 with a driver's seat that was very uncomfortable. The dealership tried putting more foam in but it didn't help. They ultimately replaced the seat and that solved the problem. Replacing the seat (on the LS 430 anyway) was not a really big deal for them. Anyway, keep on them and if they are a reputable, service oriented dealership they will ultimately replace the seat.

Good luck and welcome!

aklein2

My dealer immediately said that they would replace the seat, which they said, as noted above, is a pretty simple operation involving only four bolts. That is underway now (after giving me a loaner).

I hope to high heaven that the new seat will resolve this. I worrry a bit about the fact that I have the heated/cooled seat option on this car and that there may not be anything one can do to rid the seat entirely of unwanted intrusion of the heated/cooled air pipe that bisects the seat. We'll see. I will post again to tell you all how it works out or what, if anything, further is being tried.

All the comments (and welcomes) here have been terrific -- and I appreciate and thank you for them.

encore888

Welcome...on this board some members have had extra padding added to LS 460 seats by dealer.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

just one thing to keep in mind. check your option list and see if your car has the semi-aniline leather (i am not familiar with the 2010 sport). if so, make sure the seat they replace is of the same grade of leather. you can tell very easily, semi-aniline is a lot softer. and it's quite a bit more expensive

aklein2

The seat replacement was identical. It is better, I think, though it is hard to tell so soon after my rear end was damaged, as it was, by the old one set to "sport" suspension on a bumpy road.

I have delayed responding because I wanted to give it a fair try. That I have done. My conclusion: Lexus has made a terrible error with this seat, at least when, as is the case here, they insist on giving us cool air/hot air pipe that seems to be driven through the middle of the seat fore to aft. (Can anyone confirm that this is actuallly so as a matter of seat anatomy?) Did no one who was responsible for seat design and add-ons try to sit in this new seat when driving a car with this suspension over a single rough road? Had they done so, I would not be writing this thread. Bottom line: the seat is tolerable now, though still unpleasant, but only on the "comfort" setting. It is not so at "standard" and impossible at "sport." This for 75 grand? You have to be kidding.

I have bought an air cushion that I hope will make the whole thing worthwhile, but will feel silly driving with it. Indeed, having bought this with a seat that functionally puts a pipe up one's you-know-what every time one sits in it was a mistake. (Turns out that one's behind has a long memory.) A big one. No amount of other technical savy and whiz-bang, and this car shows plenty, is worth that.

I will try asking for additional padding, as suggested, but I have my doubts that adding some will truly solve the problem. It is a flaw inherent in the design of the seat, at least with the cooling/heating feature. How can a company sell a car with such a defect and hope to keep its reputation?

Frankly, quite aside from this particular unfortunate aspect of the seat, it is not a very good seat to begin with -- it is too broad underneath the driver and the back has limited lumbar support, now a single, though upward or downward moving expand/contract lump rather than the two, one lower and one higher, that were featured in the LS 430 2003. Finally, the higher sides to the seat do not do very much for the driver when turning at speed with the "sport" suspension on because that by itself is so good at keeping the car flat: the centrifical forces generated are well controlled quite without the oddly higher sides to the seat.

stanatl

Sorry to hear that the seat replacement didn't fully resolve the issue. As I mentioned in an earler post, the seat in my Sport LS seems fine to me.

I do agree that the seats do not provide much support when going through the twisties in Sport suspension mode. The side bolsters do not provide much lateral support and neither do the bolsters in the seat cushion. My now departed 550i set the standard for sport seats with adjustable side bolsters, an articlulating back rest and a seat cushion that was very supportive. I almost bought a Mercedes E550 that had seats that adjusted automatically based on the lean of the car.

Lexus certainly needs to improve the seat in the Sport model going forward. Their competition is way ahead of them!

Hope things get better for you!

aklein2

I am glad to hear that at least one fellow owner of the LS 460 Sport has a driver's seat that is acceptable. It gives me hope that something can be done about this in my case. After another punishing ride home last night, I have notified the dealer that I will be there again today seeking addtional padding or whatever to fix this. After all, I did not buy this car to drive it exclusively in the "comfort" mode or on an air pillow -- and even then not be able to emerge from it after a trip without my rear letting me know that it would rather not have to do that again! I will report further after this next visit to Service. It is hard to accept, as suggested above, that this is not a defect in the car.

stanatl

Just a thought - when I had the seat problem with my LS430, my dealership arranged it so I would go to the shop where they were going to put in additional padding. The removed the seat from the car and set it up so I could sit in it and check it out each time after they added/adjusted the padding. This way they wouldn't simply send it out, get it back and have you say that it wan't any better, just to have them send it out again.

Good luck. It is really tough to sit in a car you should really be enjoying and be so uncomfortable.

aklein2

Stnatl: An excelent suggestion! My Service people, who are as disturbed as I am by the discomfort the seat causes, are consulting with national Lexus techs with broad responsibilities for things that are not right with the car. I know they have reupholstering under consideration. You make me think that, done right, this could be the answer. Nothing would make me happier!

And yes, it is tough. Thanks for the symp and help.