Hi all,

I am the proud new owner of my first Lexus, having been in Toyotas for almost 20 years now. I love this car, it drives extremely smooth, has no squeaks or rattles, very comfortable seats ... Almost perfect! I say almost, because I do notice some slight imperfection on the steering wheel.

Specifically, the top arc of the steering wheel where the leather meets the wood is rather bumpy and noticeably not smooth, both from sight and feel. You can see from the pictures I took, there is definitely some bumpiness, likely from some imperfection underneath what the leather is being wrapped around. The bottom left and bottom right corners of the steering wheel do not have this same bumpiness, so I am thinking it is may not be normal. Is this something I should be concerned about? Is it worth having the service department of the local Lexus dealer take a look at?
With flash at night

Daytime

 

Frankly, I haven't noticed, so it must be OK on mine. But, I will look tomorrow. As for calling the service folk, by all means do. You paid for that warranty in the price of the car, use it...

 

Tough transition I imagine with the wood to leather. I have the FSport so no wood but some have complained the wrap and stitching is not perfect in that trim.

 

 

I checked mine. There is some minor puckering in the corners, but the rest of it is very smooth. Can't hurt to ask your dealer. Talk to the service folk. If yours is like the sales people around here, you will likely know more than they do. Ask to look at another car and see how that one looks. It's important that you are totally satisfied. For all of Lexus' faults, they are seriously committed to customer service. Bon chance!

 

Leather being a natural product it varies from car to car and hide to hide. Looks normal to me.

 

OP here - well, the local dealer service dept took a look and immediately said it wasn't right. Literally the next day, they had a new wheel in stock and had it put on, plus a free car wash! I also had mentioned that when going over 80mph I hear what sounds like a loose strut (though I know it isn't) and they immediately found a TSB that spoke to the very issue...a loose panel under the car that is impacted by wind pressure and needs to be tightened down. Great service...very pleased. Even a loaner for the day!

My only irk is that the steering wheel was put on just about 2° - 3° left of center. Is it easy enough for them to straighten, or could this be a lot of "trial and error" and I should just live with it since it is only a minor thing?

 

Very easy for them to straighten, they should do that for sure.