tterb2564

I love my ES350 in Truffle Mica - it is the darkest brown ever, I have the parchment interior. Both the front seats seem to have unusual wear, creasing almost to the point of cracking.

Has anyone else had this issue? Do you think it should be covered by the warranty? The Dealership said it was above their pay grade to decide if it was unusual wear, said I had to wait for the district manager to look at them. DM is supposed to be at dealership in January, warranty expires in May.

I would appreciate any advice

MDames2

iTrader: (1)

When I had my 2007 I too had unusual wear on the driver's seat. It wasn't excessive creases, but the dye had worn off in many places. I went to my dealer with it. They contacted Lexus Corporate who, as a goodwill gesture, agreed to replace the leather seat bottom for free. I just had to pay for the dealership's labor. It cost me about $300 for a new leather seat bottom. This retails for something like $1,500! I was happy with the deal. Leather seats do get creases and can become cracked if they're not cared for. A lot of it depends on how clean and free of dirt you keep the leather. All the sliding in and out of the seat will take its toll, especially if the seats aren't as fee of dirt as they can be. Hopefully, you'll get some help from Lexus as well.

SW17LS

I ha a 2010 in Truffle with Parchment. Loved the combo.

I had it for about 45k miles, had no unusual wear but I maintained the seats regularly. Can you post a picture of the wear?

Lexi66

Could you please tell us your ritual/product/brand for successfully maintaining your seat leather.

Thanks!

tterb2564

Attached are pictures of both the driver and the passenger seat, now the pictures look like the seats are dirty but truth is I just had the dealership detail the car, and I think the passenger seat has probably been sat in 50 times in the 2.5 years that I have had the car

SW17LS

That does look rough...my seats didn't look anything like that...especially the passenger seat...how strange...

I would take it back to the dealer and see what they say. The seats can be re-dyed and the result is astonishing...

Absolutely. I used (still use) Leather Master's products. These are the products you need:

If the leather is very dirty, you should start with this, this also works well on dye transfer, but they do have a specific dye transfer product:

http://www.autogeek.net/leather-mast...d-cleaner.html

For more normal cleaning, I would recommend their Strong Leather Cleaner, or Sonax's leather foam:

http://www.autogeek.net/strong-leather-cleaner.html

http://www.autogeek.net/sonax-leathe...FWQOOgodXzgA6w

The real magic of Leather Masters is their Leather Vital and their Leather Protection Cream:

http://www.autogeek.net/leather-vital-conditioner.html

http://www.autogeek.net/leather-protection-cream.html

Once you've cleaned with any of the above cleaners, use the Leather Vital to condition the leather, and think of the Protection Cream like a topcoat for the leather. Its really applied in thin layers and left on to soak in. It provides a stain guard which is really important with the parchment.

If you follow this regimen from new, the leather will always look great. I'd clean the seats once a month with the mild cleaner or the leather foam (I mainly use the leather foam) and follow up with the protection cream. Use the Vital maybe twice per year.

For the OP, its going to need to be dyed I'm afraid, but then this would be a good regimen to maintain that.

igzy

That seat looks mostly dirty to me. Like others suggested above, I would use a leather cleaner followed by a conditioner to restore it. I use leather coat stuff most of the time that I get at leather coats store Danier - store chain in Canada, but any other would have it too (Wilson's, etc)...

SW17LS

Be careful when using products designed for leather that is not automotive leather. The leather in the Lexus is coated, a lot of leather products for coats or saddles or things like that are for uncoated leather. These products can damage the polyurethane coating on the factory seats.

Use automotive products designed for coated leathers like I linked to above.

igzy

^ Very good point!

tterb2564

it can't be dirty seats, I just had the entire car detailed at the dealership, these are definitely creases in the leather, like I said the passenger seat has not really ever been sat in, maybe 50 times.

Thanks for the cleaning suggestions

igzy

Did you buy your car new or used? Your car is about 4 years old now so regardless if no one sat in it, the seat will collect dust and crap from air. I would pick up a seat cleaning product and try it on one of the creases and see if that does the trick...

SW17LS

I agree with you. The seat is obviously dirty (dealer detailers are terrible) but the creasing in the leather is terrible. This looks like a car with 150,000 miles to me...

Cleaning the seats well will help tremendously though.

imherenow

do a full Leatherique treatment