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i rather take a few rips in the seats vs that audi and the constant breakdowns of a "european" car. You want sticky dash? go check out all the ferrari/maserati stuff from the early to late 2000's. All the buttons and dashboards were sticky. if thats not european, i dont know what is.
My dad's 400h is from 2008 and the seats look almost new. its all due to owner maintenance or lack thereof.
i rather take a few rips in the seats vs that audi and the constant breakdowns of a "european" car. You want sticky dash? go check out all the ferrari/maserati stuff from the early to late 2000's. All the buttons and dashboards were sticky. if thats not european, i dont know what is.
My dad's 400h is from 2008 and the seats look almost new. its all due to owner maintenance or lack thereof.
You probably live in a coldish climate. This car is not made well for hot climate. AC blower is also pretty weak for their top range model.
Give it another 4 years and I bet those seats and the rest of it will start falling apart
It could be the climate. Its very mild here and rarely goes above 30C even in the summer time.
I just conditioned his seats in may this year. here's what they look like. The car has 200,000 kms on it. Owned since new. I doubt 4 years later, it'll look like yours since its already been 14 years
I think the seat bottom and back are real leather but sides and edges may be synthetic.
This is true. Only the pieces that touch your back and butt are leather. Everything else is imitation (pleather).
Originally Posted by Alexmpr
I spoke to leather specialists and they say leather never cracks like that. It sure looks more like vinyl. Typical bait and switch from Lexus.
While leather can crack like that when it is highly treated to get certain colors on it, in this case the cracking/peeling sections are not real leather.
It could be the climate. Its very mild here and rarely goes above 30C even in the summer time.
I just conditioned his seats in may this year. here's what they look like. The car has 200,000 kms on it. Owned since new. I doubt 4 years later, it'll look like yours since its already been 14 years
The seats in our '07 look the same, w/ now 158K as color combo as well
If I upgrade to a newer model I will not buy a car with ventilated seats option, much less durability than our cars.
That "leather" with all the little vent holes does not look like real leather the way it cracks and splits over time.
Saw a few that were original and the cracks go straight thru the "leather."
Also saw some that were cleaned up at a dealer and upon close inspection it was very obvious the splits & cracks were puttied and patched before color respray dying the seats, looked terrible.
That's the only 2 choices with ventilated seats, ugly or patched, everyone be warned.
PS- I think the older BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes have the best top grain leather and much better than our cars, however can't say how the newer cars hold up.
If I upgrade to a newer model I will not buy a car with ventilated seats option, much less durability than our cars.
That "leather" with all the little vent holes does not look like real leather the way it cracks and splits over time.
Saw a few that were original and the cracks go straight thru the "leather."
Also saw some that were cleaned up at a dealer and upon close inspection it was very obvious the splits & cracks were puttied and patched before color respray dying the seats, looked terrible.
That's the only 2 choices with ventilated seats, ugly or patched, everyone be warned.
PS- I think the older BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes have the best top grain leather and much better than our cars, however can't say how the newer cars hold up.
The seats in our '07 look the same, w/ now 158K as color combo as well
This weird midnight blue leather feels different from the grey. Grey seats are soft leather where this midnight stuff feels hard. Maybe that's the difference. Because grey is softer it doesn't Crack and peel. Or it may have been chemically treated to get that color as you said
yea i think peep here are right on the fact that lexus cheaped out on the second gen rx and used some type of vinyl with a coating on the top as mine as i mentioned is splitting apart on the left front corner of my drivers seat. I might down the road have both front seats recovered in REAL leather as this stuff sure doesnt seem like leather which kinda sucks.
i might disagree with those who are saying not real leather
i believe the side bolsters tend to wrinkle and crack like real leather...and the way they easily absorb and can be improved by leather dye would suggest the bottom seat surface is 100% leather. not necessarily the best highest quality but leather all the same.
yea i think peep here are right on the fact that lexus cheaped out on the second gen rx and used some type of vinyl with a coating on the top as mine as i mentioned is splitting apart on the left front corner of my drivers seat. I might down the road have both front seats recovered in REAL leather as this stuff sure doesnt seem like leather which kinda sucks.
Hi matts, the seat parts that touch the body when sitting are real leather, even the bolsters too.
But- I think on the bolsters they use a thin layer of leather over canvas or something and doesn't look at thick as the seat bottom.
Originally Posted by edlexus1
i believe the side bolsters tend to wrinkle and crack like real leather...and the way they easily absorb and can be improved by leather dye would suggest the bottom seat surface is 100% leather. not necessarily the best highest quality but leather all the same.
Hi edlexus1, I agree it is leather.
When people see these older cars at the dealers all cleaned up and seats looking like new is because they have been resprayed with dye.
All the wrinkles where there is a color difference is gone and seats look like new again but can;t do this if wasn't leather since vinyl seems to crack and split instead of wrinkles.
I refreshed mine a couple years ago, needs touched up tho.
This weird midnight blue leather feels different from the grey. Grey seats are soft leather where this midnight stuff feels hard. Maybe that's the difference. Because grey is softer it doesn't Crack and peel. Or it may have been chemically treated to get that color as you said
Seat wear is all about maintenance my friend.
If I didn't freshen up and respray and top coat mine with satin finish I probably be replacing my seat leathers by now.
The Satin top coat helps protect it and is sprayed on.
Also, there are things tht greatly accelerate wear.
One thing is just time and mileage of someone's backside in the seat, everything wears out.
Blue jeans and wallets and driving with stuff in someone back pocket seem to rub into the leather over time.
A heavy driver also puts extra stress on the seats.
The leather on our seats are thin and flexible, not always good for longevity but if we are talking a 200k mile car it may be time for some refreshing.
07-04-22, 11:21 AM
