Purchased a 2006 LS 430 with 30,000 miles however the drivers seat appears to be hard, ie padding reduced. Has anyone tried to fix this and/or will Lexus take responsibilty?

 

I would get 1 inch thick Sheepskin seat covers for them. The sheepskin acts as a pad for the back and bottom and makes it cool in the summer to sit and warm in the winter to sit. As for the issue of the seat Im sure a Lexus dealer will check it out and see what the issue is! They will in my opinion look at it and with you under 50,000 miles the factory warranty is in effect still. Shouldnt be a issue for them to look at it for you!!! L.G.N.M

 

You can take my 04 and ill deal with your unconfortable 06

 

What color combo is your car - that makes a difference. Depending on the answer, we can exchange - my 02 Ultra for your peach crate driver seat 06.

Does your driver's seat feel hard after a period of time or just as you swap back and fourth testing the seats? Does the driver's seat sink lower - maybe a heavy person compressed the seat for a while making a notable difference in the seats.

IMO, the warranty issue will depend on your dealer - if they are a dedicated customer service store, they will do all they can to help - most importantly get in touch with their Lexus USA tech rep. The Lexus USA tech rep who recently helped me said he had the authority to take care of any problem, and if it's out of warranty he has the discretion to use policy dollars.

Is this your first LS430? What were your driving before? In all seriousness, the seats on my 2002 Ultra are very comfortable (driver & passenger equal), but my prior car and my wife's car had and have far more comfortable seats than the Lexus. However, the LS seats are comfortable.

Let us know what happens

 

We've seen this question asked before, and I've personally seen this issue myself. My 05 model does not have this issue though.

I have a theory on this. Examine the leather on the outside (drivers door entry side) of the bottom seat pad. Look closely at the ~2 inches of leather immediately above the plastic where the seat controls are mounted. This is on the outside of chair cushion and is non-perforated leather.

Is the leather "new" looking and barely creased? Or is the leather rather creased at the front, back, or along the entire length front to back?

 

Leather, cushions, fabric, etc. all stretch and compress differently based on how much use (abuse) and weight is exerted on them. If the previous owner was a petite 4'9" 80lb. grandma, then I'm sure the whole vehicle is probably like new. If it's some 6'6" NFL linebacker (retired) who has put on some pounds and is rolling in the thing all day long, then the leather is going to take some punishment.

The '04 CL with semi-analine leater interior was nothing but absolutely perfect on a 2000+ mile trip we took last year. Quiet, soft, and smooth was all I could think about while driving.

As for warranty, all based on if it's still under warranty and if the dealership feels there is something "wrong" with the seat. You may "feel" that the seats are bad, but if they sit inside and it's not dropping to the floor, then they might just say "it's not broken, we can't fix it..." Whatever it is, you'll never know until you bring it in and have them take a look.

 

dealership will think it buyer's remorse.... if it's truly damaged goods, Lexus will replace it, otherwise you might be out of luck.

 

I have a problem with an uncomfortable seat as well in my 08 IS250. I can feel the seat digging into my right butt cheek. Really... I'm not sure it it's the seat or just me. I'm going to try getting some kind of seat cushion and see it that helps.

 

go sit in a gen 1 Ls and then u will appreciate yours a lot more...i might as well be sitting on a brick

 

I thought it was just my car, but when I got an RX loaner car last year, I had the same problem with the seat digging into my right butt cheek. I can't figure it out. Anyone have any good suggestions for some kind of seat cushion I can try?

 

was ur wallet in ur pants? always take ur wallet out when going on trips, otherwise it rests on ur sciatic nerve...

 

I've sold my '03 and been looking around for my next LS. I went test-driving a few '04+ cars last Saturday and noticed for the first time that there is a LOT of difference in firmness of the soft leather seat vs. the harder leather. I'm not sure if the soft is the semi-analine (sp?) or what, but the harder seat is more like an Audi or MB or BMW, while the soft one is MUCH softer. And keep in mind that I'm talking not only about the leather, but the cushion under the leather. You can tell the difference by just looking at the seat. The soft one has the excess leather that looks loose and wavy on the seat bottom and back, while the other is drawn tight. And you can clearly feel the difference in softness between the two. I'm not sure what option you order to get the soft leather, but there was a very noticable difference between the two different leather/seat setups among the 6 cars that I looked at.

 

No wallet or anything in my pocket. I don't have any problems in any other car I may drive in, but then again I never sit in any of car that has leather bucket seats. Could this problem lie squarely with me or could the seat design itself be partially to blame?

 

It's not just you -- there is a hard spot that strikes some people exactly wrong and causes discomfort -- kinda upper-mid hamstring on the outside. It's been discussed here before (back maybe 12-18 months ago, IIRC). I'm not sure if it's worse in some cars than others, or what, but it's been noted before. So, you're not crazy (well, at least this doesn't prove that you are ).

 

Mine is like that too. Feels hard at the right buttock/thigh. Only the driver's seat. Mine got better from lowering the seat.