pamnyc2008

To better protect my new ES 350 from wear and tear, I wanted to put in front seat covers (not seat replacement or custom upholstry). Has anyone tried this? Can I just purchase "bucket" seat covers from a local car parts shop? For the moment my main goal here is good protection, not aesthetics or luxury so I don't need sheepskin or anything fancy. Just something practical for the daily commute.

Also, if anyone knows a good place to purchase license plate covers, keychains and other cool accessories, please help. I found a few sites on the net that claim to help avoid camera tickets etc. Are these advisable?

Finally, I'm tired of the cops trying to nail me going 57 mph on a 55 mph limit just for the extra revenues (don't we pay enough taxes to cover them??) so any recommendations on a good radar detector would be appreciated.

pamnyc2008

To better protect my new ES 350 from wear and tear, I wanted to put in front seat covers (not seat replacement or custom upholstry). Has anyone tried this? Can I just purchase "bucket" seat covers from a local car parts shop? For the moment my main goal here is good protection, not aesthetics or luxury so I don't need sheepskin or anything fancy. Just something practical for the daily commute.

Also, if anyone knows a good place to purchase license plate covers, keychains and other cool accessories, please help. I found a few sites on the net that claim to help avoid camera tickets etc. Are these advisable?

Finally, I'm tired of the cops trying to nail me going 57 mph on a 55 mph limit just for the extra revenues (don't we pay enough taxes to cover them??) so any recommendations on a good radar detector would be appreciated.

pamnyc2008

If anyone knows a good place to purchase license plate covers, keychains and other cool accessories, please help. I found a few sites on the net that claim to help avoid camera tickets etc. Are these advisable?

Also, I'm tired of the cops trying to nail me going 57 mph on a 55 mph limit just for the extra revenues (don't we pay enough taxes to cover them??) so any recommendations on a good radar detector would be appreciated.

Finally, to better protect my new ES 350 from wear and tear, I wanted to put in front seat covers (not seat replacement or custom upholstry). Has anyone tried this? Can I just purchase "bucket" seat covers from a local car parts shop? For the moment my main goal here is good protection, not aesthetics or luxury so I don't need sheepskin or anything fancy. Just something practical for the daily commute.

PaPaHoFF

iTrader: (19)

Valentine1 radar detector is one of the better ones out there.

Katsumoto

As for radars valentine 1 is the better one out there but i personally have a passport

07LexusGuy

I would not advise the seat covers for several reasons:

(1) If you have leather seats, you'd ruin their good looks with a cloth cover

(2) If your leather seats are HEATED/VENTILATED, then a cover will render those features useless

(3) MOST IMPORTANT - you do have seat mounted side airbags as standard - putting seat covers over those seats could be dangerous. It even warns of this in the manual.

I keep my seats in good shape by using cleaning often with Lexol cleaner and conditioner - my other car is over two years old and the leather is rich and soft as the first day and w/o any signs of cracking or much aging.

LexBob2

I agree on the seat cover idea. Even with minimal care, the leather seats will wear well. As you said, the better the care, the better they'll wear.

pamnyc2008

Thanks for the input. I do agree with your assessment but my current usage style will definitely put more than just normal wear and tear. That is why I'm willing to sacrifice and/or lose some of those features (vented seats, good looks-i have tinted windows anyways etc. ) for the time being.

If it's any assurring, I had Honda Accord v6 EX-L before with leather seats and I used covers on those too, which were easier to find in the aftermarket, for more than 3 years without any problems. When I finally removed them, the seats underneath were still BRAND NEW. That 3 year headstart really made a difference for me.

Now if somebody here would say that using such covers would do the opposite such as damage the seat or destroy the vented/heated seat feature, that would be a different story. As far as the air bags go, I would be willing to buy ones that leaves that part of the seat "open" for deployment.

chat0882

The beltronics rx65 is what I use. It'll be going off crazy and I won't see a cop after what seems like 15 seconds of driving I finally see a cop, the range in rediculous on it.

tod071

Not sure about the ES, but you might want to check your owner's manual if your car has side airbags that deploy from the side of the front seats. If you do have them, seat covers will prevent them from deploying in an unfortunate event of side collision.

Jeff76

In my opinion, the best thing to do if you want to save the seats is use a towel on the "***" part of the seat. I used one for five years on my Jeep Grand Cherokee with the leater and suede seats and it worked great. As for the heated/cooled seats in the ES, don't worry you still feel the full power of this function. People might argue that it blocks the airflow, but think about this, the pants that you wear are pretty much doing the same thing... blocking the vents. I think you'll be happy with this option. The vehicles that I am in and out of for work are sometimes pretty dirty so by the time I get into the Lex, the back of my pants are sometimes filthy. The towel is a savior.

samathews

Pam,

There is a thread in car detailing on this site you should look at and there is very good advice on leather care at autopia.org. Yes, I know you asked about covers and not cleaning advice... But that does raise a personal question - what are you doing that is so hard on your seats?? Do your pets ride with you?

To all others, I too would like some advice on a radar - we seem stuck on the seat issue.

Regards

AccElan01

Keep your leather moisturized and conditioned and that will be protection enough. That's what I do for our '04 Cadillac and the seats look brand new. If you're not going to enjoy the seats, why bother--it's like covering your furniture with plastic.

The license plate covers do not interfere with police cameras. This was proven on "Mythbusters".

Police can tell when you have a radar detector - and they will definitely give you a ticket if you have one. I've gotten 1 speeding ticket in my 9 years of driving, and it was during the 3 months that I used a radar detector. Why don't you just try to drive safe and obey the law instead of trying to get around it?

I've found most Lexus dealerships have the best key chains and plate holders - try that. Good luck.

LXMN

Agree on the keychain and plate holder at the dealer. All the stuff sold at the auto stores is junk. Just looks shiny, but doen't stay that way.

I think that you do not want the wear and tear on the leather, that is why the seat cover idea? I would go along with the towel idea. Maybe a blank T-shirt for the back portion. Would not affect the side curtain air bags and would be a cinch to take out and clean.

2 for 1

We bought the Lexus brand license plate covers for our 2000 GS in 2000 when it was new. They look as good today as the day we bought them. They were well worth the money we paid for them. I was going to buy them for our 2007 ES UL but the dealer talked me out of it. Next time I go in, I will pick them up.