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Brand new owner of a 2020 ES300h here! Long-time Toyota owner (like, 25 years) and Lexus fan, though. So far, I am loving the car except ...
We (my wife and I) took delivery of our ESh last weekend. So far, only 400 miles on the clock. Last night, for the first time, I sat in the back seat (passenger side) and saw something that I had not thus far noticed. It appears as though the passenger seat tilts inboard (see picture). It seems as though the seat, or at least the seat back, is mounted crooked. In addition, the gap between the inboard seat back bolster and the center console is much larger on the driver's side than on the passenger's (again, consistent with the passenger seat leaning toward the driver). This discrepancy remains no matter how the seats are adjusted. Everything on and around the seat looks normal. Nothing seems out of place or incorrectly installed.
I have owned many cars over the years, and I understand that there can be various quirks. This may be one where everything is within specs., but I wonder if any of you have noticed anything similar in your cars or if you can confirm that your passenger side front seats look straight when viewed from the back seat. If I am the only one, well, that sucks, and I'll have to take it up with my dealer.
I had to go sit in my car's rear seat just to compare. I don't normally see things from that angle...
Anyway, no - our passenger seat does not have the list to port like your photo seems to suggest. Also, the gap between the seat and the center console is not perfectly equal on each side, but it is so very nearly equal that you have to study it closely to see a difference. I had to put my hand down between them in order to feel that it fit slightly tighter on one side than the other.
Definitely very strange. Good luck with the dealer. Please check back and let us know how it turns out and welcome to Club Lexus.
Mine looks exactly the same as yours. The seats are slightly different, especially the curvature on the side bolsters. I would say this must be intentional except I am sure they don’t want passenger seat to rub against console which will cause premature wear. I would say seats come from different plants and/or from different last. Maybe one worker pulled the stitching tighter and/or used more foam. The console itself looks properly centered and the seat mounting rails look properly centered. Definitely differences in the seats.
Edit: you can adjust the gap between bolster and console with your seat adjustments, primarily height. If I lower the driver seat all the way, raise the passenger side all the way and make recline and lumbar the same, gap becomes almost equal. Looks like the difference is due exclusively to how the height adjustment worm gear is registered. I bet this can be fixed but probably not worth it unless your passenger wants seat in max low position and likes to adjust recline position every two minutes.
There is still an issue with the slightly different seat contour because you should be able to put passenger seat all the way down without rubbing against console.
The photos appear much more radical than they seem
in person. The passenger seat feels level when you are
in it, the power seat mechanism lifts both sides equally.
Thank you, everybody who posted. Dealer has had the car for two days. They don't think it is normal and have ordered a new seat track and seat back. Thing is, though, they can't find anything wrong, so I have the feeling that their plan is to replace parts until they fix it. After seeing final two posts, I wonder if it is just some quirk and not fixable. Better yet, I wonder if it is specific to U.S. built cars.
I have an ES from Japan. Both my seats are equally spaced from the center console with no tilt. The gap is about the same as your passenger seat. I suspect that somehow your driver seat is tilted towards the center console. This should not have happened in a takumi-built car. Quite surprised the QC released it.
Took another close look from back seat. As depicted in the photos, my front passenger seat also lists to the center. Since the seat rails mount directly to the floor pan, I do not understand where the problem is. Hard to believe the floor pan is malformed. You would think there would be shims or some leveling adjustment but I do not have a FSM. Hard to believe the entire seat frame is cockeyed. If it were only the back, you would see an uneven gap where the back meets the seat. I believe the easiest fix is simply add a couple shims under the two inboard rail mounting points.
BTW, does anyone know where the floor pans and seat frames/upholstery are made? I always assumed major components like these were made in the same location, whether or not the cars were assembled in Japan or Kentucky.
Quick update here since y'all have been so helpful to me. Dealer replaced the seat track, which did not fix the problem. Advisor also shared the following:
Of the new ES cars for sale on their lot, they found 6-8 (out of a dozen or so) other ES Hybrids that exhibit the same condition. All had either the Flaxen or Chateau. The black interiors appeared unaffected. Not scientific, I know, but interesting nonetheless.
On the lot, none of the V-6 cars had seats that leaned, only the Hybrid models.
For comparison, a seat from a V-6 car was swapped into mine, and lo and behold, it sat straight with no lean and no contact with the console.
Seat back will be replaced next. (I am highly skeptical that this is the cause as everything else between seat back and cushion align almost perfectly).
Dealer continues to say that the seat lean is not normal and is in contact with Lexus. This is frustrating, but I have to say that dealership has been great and committed to resolving the issue.
09-27-20, 07:48 AM
Weird 2020 Seat Question
