MDames2

iTrader: (1)

I am certain the bolsters are vinyl, not leather. Very few cars - even luxury cars - have seats that are completely leather. That's why the advertising on most leather interiors says something like "leather appointed seats" or "leather seating surfaces". Usually, the only part of the seats that are leather is where you actually sit. That does not include the bolsters. My wife has a SC430. Her entire seats are leather. And you can easily tell. There is no difference between any areas of the seats. I'm guessing the LS probably has full leather as well. But most do not. The main reason these get the most visible wear is due to where they are. They get all the major sliding contact in the seat.

ecr72

So bolsters are not seating surfaces? They are for me. Seriously though, that's interesting. My dearly departed Jetta Diesel had leather bolsters. After 220K miles I wore through the painted surface on the bolster and it was certainly raw leather underneath and that was certainly not a luxury vehicle. I'm quite shocked to hear the bolsters are vinyl in the RX. Do you know if the semi-aniline leather in the Luxury Package (2010) would make a difference because that's what we have.

MDames2

iTrader: (1)

Since my RX doesn't have the semi-aniline leather, I don't know if the entire seats are leather or not. I would guess they are not. But, perhaps, someone on this forum with those seats can speak to this. By the way, I'm pretty thin. So, at least for me, the side bolsters are not seating surfaces! I fit right between the two bolsters. :-)

peh

I have a 2012 with on 7,800 miles on it - has tan interior and the leather is starting to looked "lined/creased" on the drivers seat.

peh

I'm going to try clean and treat my seats with Leatherique when the weather warms up. I've had good results with this product before on other cars and it doesn't make the leather look shiny afterwards.

alanbussey

my '99 rx seats (tan) were showing considable wear at 140k moreso on the drivers side. My 2010 grey seats at 30k show no wear at all.

TRAHtor

Hi! I'm just really curious whether Lexus dealer replaced or repaired your leather? Have they finally fixed? What you had in return to their statement that it was natural wear and tear?

I contacted a few times San Antonio dealership with my RS 350 2010 leather cracks and so fat it goes very difficult.

MEP7557

The entire top surface of the seats are leather, especially the bolster, hence the cracking. The side of the bolster is however vinyl, as are all the sides of the seats.

raviola4

I had an 07 CPO ES350. After a few months i decided to treat the seats to some leather cleaner/conditioner. Off came whatever they used on seats to hide cracks etc. But they actually agreed to replace the seat leather covering with brand new. Worked out great but sure wasn't happy with the disquise treatment they used.
Just trade this car in on a 2010 RX450H. only 11,700 miles. $39k .... actually this one looks like barely sat in. Must have been a light weight.
No cracking cover up this time...

dougshar

Has anyone had the leather in their RX 350 turn yellow? If so, do you know what caused it? Our dealership has had to dye the front seats twice because of this. We have grey leather.

raviola4

I have a 2010 RX450H gray seats as well. Noticed of late yellowish staining or whatever on seat bottom area and left side of seat back. WTF ? Haven't tried cleaner yet but.have been extremely careful with this vehicle since buying as CPO in Jan. 2013. Not happy with this at all. Best and safest cleaners???? Is this normal for Lexus seats?

kitlz

raviola4, Lexus sells their own leather cleaner and conditioner. You can try that first. I've heard a Woolite and water mix is also safe to use. There is a big thread in the Automotive Care and Detailing forum about Lexus leather. That should give you a few more ideas about what to use. Good luck getting the stains out.

attrike

I took my 2011 into the dealer with major cracks on the driver's seat left bolster. It has 17K miles and is 26 months old. I got the same BS about normal wear and tear. I have used high quality leather conditioning on the seats since I bought the car. I have had two prior Lexus cars with no similar problem. I have a 2006 Jag with three times the mileage and no sign of this kind of damage. This problem is a design defect that Lexus needs to own up to. I wrote the Lexus host web site and they have assigned me a case officer. I will let you know the outcome.

samholl

I'm so happy I found this site. We've been trying to get our Lexis dealer to repair our seats when we had 25K. Its almost a year later and they still won't repair them. The cracks are about to separate. The dealer told us PermaPlate was responsible. We bought the PermaPlate coverage when we bought the car.

PermaPlate denied responsibility: "The warranty requires that claims be filed directly with Siskin Enterprises within 30 days from the date of discovery of damage." Of course, the dealer didn't point that out to us. We've always gone straight to the dealer for problems.

We're now going to meet with the service manager and describe others' similar issues. I'll let you know what the outcome will be.

Jmjr

Had my 2013 since end of November. Parchment seats turning dark from jeans. Turned in a 2010 same color interior. Did not have this problem. Noticed now divits in the bottom of the seat. Dearlership admitted in service, the leather tech, salesman, sales manager that the leather was a lesser quality in the past. Dealer was going to take care of the problem now will not return messages or calls. Seriously ridiculous to pay this amount of $ for a car that has such an unacceptable quality of seats. This is a Lexus problem in manufacturing. Dealer is not helping at all.