Apologies if this is old-hat - I'm a newbie to the board. I have a 99 RX300 and the leather is cracking along the natural creases in the hide. The car is 3 years old and the seats look like c r a p!!! I've seen this on other Lexus and Toyotal cars so I don't think it's just me. Has anyone else had experience dealing with delarships on this. My dealer - Johnson Lexus of Raleigh, NC - said this is normal. Well, maybe it's normal for a second-rate, third-world car, but I thought Lexus was supposed to be a little better than this?

Keith

 

I grant you that Lexus leather may be a little thinner than some, but I've Lexol'd the seats in my wife's 99 RX (purchased new 6/98) ~every 6 mos. and lo, no cracking.

How have the seats been cared for??

 

Yep, "Leatheriqued" ever 6 months!

 

Welcome To ClubLexus.

I bought my RX from Johnson Lexus and they've been good to me so far. I raised issues regarding rattles and they were very reponsive and went out of their way to make it right.

I believe they will do so for you, too...If Your RX is still under warranty, go back to Johnson and politely, but firmly, get in their collective faces.

Don't let them know that you have seen this on other Lexus and Toyota cars. Take the high road and demand that they take the high road, too. You have to come out and ask straightaway...Hey, in this world, you don't get what you don't ask for.

You need to know what it is they are going to do to make this right. Escalate, if necessary. Don't take any crap. You are a Lexus owner.

Now is the time to shovel back all the stuff they shoveled your way when you bought the car (Quality, owner satisfaction, reliability). They are completely disarmed when you take this path.

Sheesh, am I in a mood....

 

my '99 doesnt have any cracking but the seats are a little worn. little creases where i sit mostly. i am not disspleased but they could have lasted a little longer. in my family we also have a 2000 and a 2001 toyota Avalon and i have noticed that the leather in those has held up a little better. i do use leather cleaner and treatment on the RX every so often, in fact the RX gets more leather care than the toyotas. all in all i think the RX is wearing a little faster than the yotas but it is not bad enough to complain. thats my $0.02 worth hope it helps....

 

Actually the leather on the RX is very nice quality... I think it's more of the european/italian philosophy than anything - a nice, soft, supple leather, maybe a bit thin, but definatley stylish...
Having a nice leather interior is on par w/ owning a black car - you've got to perform some routine preventative maintenance to keep it looking/wearing nice... I like the natural creases and wrinkles that develop in leather - very nice character to that look... That said, tears and cracking aren't good, but those can be prevented by using leather cleaners and conditioners... I use Zymol cleaner, and then follow up with Zymol conditioner. Follow the directions, and you won't be disappointed.
Leather is kind of a living breathing organism - it has pores, and used to be some poor beasts flesh... Imagine what your skin would be like if you never washed it and didn't ocasionally apply some lotion/moisturizer during the brutally dry winter months... Add to it that your skin is overexposed to VERY frequent sunlight w/o sunblock... do you see where I'm going yet?
Now if you've taken care of it, I apologize and you probably have a legitimate warranty claim.

 

yeah our seats look like ****, whenever someone sits on them, an assprint appears and doesnt go away. the only seat with no creases or cracks is the rear drivers side. The driver seat is reallly bad, cracking on the side bolster, almost to the point where it looks like it will rip. next service im gonna tell them bout it, i tried lexol and it doesnt help get rid of the creases much.
-Paul

 

hey guys i have a little good news in this departmrnt. on the advice of my neighbor i took some Meguiars Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner and Conditioner (it was even cheap) and i applied a very heavy coat to my front seats and left it over night. when i got up this morning the first thing i did was run outside and wipe off the excess that was still there. guess what? all those little creases and stuff i was kind of complaining about are ALL GONE! the seats look brand new! i couldnt believe this stuff worked that well, hope you guys have as good a luck as me

 

The Meguiars cream really does work well. I've never thought to leave it on overnight though, I'll try it.

 

Lexol and the like are more for preventative maintenance more than anything - repair cracks they won't.... smooth out some of the finer lines and creases? Probably. Really the benefit of leather cleaners and conditioners is to maintain the leather, not to restore it to it's new state. Using Lexol now won't hurt as it will resoften the leather and preserve it for the future, but it isn't miracle juice either.

I'd say to have a valid warranty claim, you probably would have had to follow the leather care advice detailed in your owner's manual (*hint hint*).

 

Hmmm....... Which is basically nothing! Wipe down with a damp cloth occasionally.