Macklin

Yes and yes! You have to be very careful with it over the holes...with small dabs smeared out evenly over the cotton towel or applicator. Then I use a small soft brisle brush to poke out what does get caught up in the holes.

miniz

This is called dealer good-will and not warranty coverage. The Lexus warranty does not apply to owner neglect, abuse or plain stupidity. Now, a dealer who wants your repeat business might, at their option, pay to re-dye a seat. Chances of it are slim, unless you bought the car from them and service the car there.....aka good business relationship.

LexBob2

It does sound like it might be 50/50 as to whether or not the dealer would fix it under warranty. It might be considered wear and tear. It wouldn't hurt to take it in and see what they say.

kewl

I tried the Woolite idea without success. I have not yet been able to find the Meguiar's cleaner plus locally, so I will go on-line for that. I haven't tried the Westleys or Rubbing Alcohol either and I think I shall save those two for last.

If I'm still working on this next time the car is at the dealer I will talk with them about their detailers taking a shot at cleaning the seat. My guess is they have seen this before.

In the mean time, no belts will be in contact with the seat!

Again, thanks for all the positive feedback, I appreciate it.

bdar

Have you guys heard about magna shield that the dealer is trying to offer when you buy your car? They claimed they will replace the leather for free if they can't clean it.

Humaira

This is called dealer good-will and not warranty coverage. The Lexus warranty does not apply to owner neglect, abuse or plain stupidity. Now, a dealer who wants your repeat business might, at their option, pay to re-dye a seat. Chances of it are slim, unless you bought the car from them and service the car there.....aka good business relationship.
miniz is offline Report Post Reply With Quote

I was told by the dealer that any defect will be covered under the wheel-to-wheel four-year warranty. My two cents for whatever it is worth.

YotaCarFan

I'd be leery of using rubbing alcohol on any interior trim. That stuff is powerful -- it will turn black plastic pieces white on contact, for example. I'd hate to think of what it could do to leather.

Try getting a cheapo orbital polisher (e.g., $30 Ryobi from Home Depot), and applying a quality leather cleaner via the polisher's terry pad. That'll do the equivalent of much exhausting scrubbing in a matter of minutes.

miniz

This is NOT a defect. If this was a defect, then yes it would be covered. This is neglect. As I said before, this is exactly the same as any other maintenance item on the car. If you didn't change the oil for 37k miles and then got a sludge, do you expect the Lexus to pick up the cost for a replacement engine because you neglected to change the oil? I think not. Oh, and I have never heard of a wheel-to-wheel warranty. Did you just make that up?

Humaira

Miniz,

Do I have reason to make up things? Not at all!. I was trying to help my fellow ES 350 owners with what I was told by my dealer. If you don't like that, I am so sorry. As I said before, our RX's seat were dyed twice. Also, I had a scratch on my Nav screen, the dealer changed my screen with a brand new one--a very expensive item. For anyone who cares my veracity, I will be happy to personally email him or her a copy of my receipt.

jgcec

I have a new 2010 es, red with beige interior, that I bought about 3 weeks ago.

I am in outside sales and use a pen in my car every day.

I accidentally put a 1 inch pen mark on the leather wrapped steering wheel.

How should I clean that? Can the dealer do it?

kewl

Well here is the latest on my seat's leather issues.

I took the car to a leather professional - a family owned business that has been in the same location for over 35 years - they know what they are doing. They confirmed the cause...the belt, and tried to clean it using their best cleaner. It did not work.

The next step, in their opinion, is to re-dye the seat, as has already been suggested in this forum.

Miniz, I'm sure you will be disappointed to hear that the business owner complimented me on the excellent care I have been providing the leather. The owner did state that it is not uncommon for this to happen, especially on the lighter colored leather, at least until the owner of the vehicle figures out what is happening.

My next step is to get the seat dyed...perhaps in a few weeks time.

YotaCarFan

So the question I have is this: Are there protectants that can be applied to leather seats by the consumer (analogous to scotchguard for fabric seats) that prevent dye transfer from leather belts and jeans? Or, is it necessary for people who regularly wear a black leather belt when driving to re-dye the seats every 6 months to keep them looking new <said tongue in cheek>?

miniz

If you clean AND condition (not just one or the other, you must do both) your leather seats on a regular basis (every 3-4 months), you will not allow your clothes to re-dye the leather. You will be removing the dye build-up and re-sealing the leather. The other option is to not wear clothes that contain heavy amounts of dye.