I have a 3000 mile 2017 lexus LS460 vehicle and noticed the front seat sits higher about 3/4 inch to one inch higher than front passenger seat due to the extra extended cushion....the local dealership cannot offer any advice in me changing the driver seat to the same type in the front passenger seat that has no extender...I even offered to pay for it. Can someone tell me where i can find out the cost to replace this seat as for us tall drivers..it is really irritating..I know in California there is a pending lawsuit against Lexus on not stating the driver seat is higher than the passenger seat. The local dealer is NO help. I called Lexus and they seem clueless. Any suggestions???

 

Will2018, welcome to CL and congrats on your recent purchase of a 2017 LS. It's a wonderful car and you can look forward to many miles of driving pleasure. Please post a few pics inside and out.

I have a 2014 LS, which is identical to yours as far as the front seat adjustments, including the thigh extender, are concerned. I have never noticed that the driver seat was higher than the passenger seat. The extender folds out from the front edge of the seat, so I don't see why it would add 0.75 to 1 inch to the seat height. Are you absolutely sure of this? Can you post a picture that shows this height difference? BTW, I love the thigh extender. One of many reasons why I moved up from a 2012 LS.

You can adjust the driver seat to the lowest height setting and raise the passenger seat a bit if the difference in front seating positions is annoying you. But if you are annoyed by the reduction in headroom for the driver seat due to the thigh extender, that's a bigger problem. It's too bad you didn't catch it while test-driving the car.

I can't see any way you could put a 2nd front passenger seat (lacking the extender) instead of the driver seat or swap in a driver seat from the pre-2013 cars. You may not have the same attachment points, too many safety issues etc. I am sorry you are unhappy about losing some headroom as a very tall driver, but it makes no sense to dismantle a perfectly functioning driver seat in a practically new car. No dealer will even consider that.

 

I too have never noticed such a thing...

This is however IMHO a test drive before you buy issue. Not sure where theres any grounds for a lawsuit, what carmaker discloses the height of any of its seats?

 

Maybe we don't notice because we hardly ever more like never) sit in any other seat besides the drivers seat lol.

 

I've ridden as a passenger in mine several times if my wife has driven home from dinner, etc. Never noticed any height difference.

 

This piqued my curiosity so I had to go and measure for myself. When the LS was new (to us) I would spend time in the front-passenger seat to see what it feels like for friends/family and I felt it was a little harder to get out of when the cushion was at its lowest, but I thought it had more to do with the seat edge and not really a seat height issue. Surprisingly, actual tape measurements show the front-passenger seat is .75" higher than the driver's seat (with the thigh-extender fully retracted/closed); opposite of what OP is observing. I had both front seats at the lowest possible position and really do not understand the OP since my driver's seat is the lower of the two (9.75" vs 10.5") and easily compensated by raising the seat. Of course, I am measuring from the front edge of both front seats to the carpet and not really at the seat bottom because it is difficult to get an accurate reading there.

 

Is there some award for dumb lawsuits? I know the extra height might be un-welcome as in the OP's case, but a lawsuit over non-disclosure of a seat height difference? I can't wait to see how that one plays out.

Sounds like a money grab to me.

 

I am unable to understand OP's question. Nothing burger?

 

Mmmm, Fto1, I have an alternate theory for your seat height difference. You must be a BIG man!! The driver seat has really been pushed down from all the time you spend in it

Kidding aside, this is getting interesting. I will also check and report.

 

LOL, I am average in stature but the thought did cross my mind too about the density of foam being compressed. Except that the OP has a brand new 2017! The previous owner of our LS was definitely a bigger fellow, 6'2" and probably 240 lbs.

 

This is what "retail" is all about.

 

 

Yes - It is a bulge that raises the driver's seat about an inch.