lkirchner

Well I just got back form my seventh visit to the dealer over my seat issue. It all started last September when the passesnger started to show strange lines on the flat portion of the seat bottom. Here is what has happened in my search for the golden grail (seat cushion):

Replaced the seat cover on the passenger side; looked worse than it was before.

Replaced it again; this time it looked like they took out padding in the process and the sides and back were all "lumpy"

Took seat out and put in padding; looked better but gouged the plastic where the power seat controls are located and dented the aluminum trim on the illuminated LEXUS sill plate. Now that it looked better it did not match the driver's seat. There were more gathers on the flat surface than the original upholstery, to the point where the sales manager, who was there when I was inspecting the car, said"Those seats don't even look the same"

Replaced the driver's seat cover; Now they both matched but still a little lumpy. At this point I said that I can live with it (how nice of me to feel that way for a$65,000 car) In addition they failed to plug in the seat belt off device that caused the little man to constantly flash on the dash, failed to reset the memory feature on the seats and yes scratched the sill plate fairly deep on the driver's side.

100 miles later the bottom seat bolster where your a** sits is all caved in and has the appearance of a prune. I took the car back and it was almost the good old "they all do that" and they said look at the passenger seat it looks good. To which I responded that is because nobody has sat in it yet. I requested that they replace the entire seat, frame and all with one from the factory that was properly upholstered. I was then politely informed that they had done all that they could do and would have to take it to the attention of the Regional service manager who would be at the dealership sometime in March. I then politely told them to not waste their time since as soon as I left I was going to the local Mercedes dealer to trade this on a new SL. Not an idle threat since I did stop and will probaly pick up a 2005 SL500 within the next week.

Another issue that I have with the car is that it was exposed to the rain for 3 days here in Sacramento and developed acid rain spots on the hood, roof and trunk. The car has 3 coats of NXT sealant wax on it (applied at 24 hour intervals) and at least 6 coats of a good carnuba wax. A paint job on a $65,000 car should not be as fragile as this one appears to be.

This is on a car that has 1,825 miles on it that you can't sit in and can't expose it to the rain. Other than that I love the car . I am so turned off by this experience that as soon as the new S Class MB"s come out the LS 430 will also be sitting on the local Merceds used car lot.

Gojirra99

Sorry to hear about the issue you experience with your car, it's surely disappointing but probably a rare occurance with this car.

I sincerely hope you'll enjoy the SL much more, but soon enough, there's a chance you may find out the kind of problems you can have with a car that can cost $100K or more.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

sorry to hear the problem on the seat, if i were you i would have filed a complain to the lexus corp, you deserve two completely new seats period, no more no less. for the rain, if it's acid rain and then sunny, you are asking for trouble. most cars will easily develop the rain spot. just a little polishing and buffing and it's new again

oh and congrats on the potential sl500, though i think you might have more problems with that car soon down the road

lkirchner

I know what I am getting into. Even though I have had a number of MB's I have not been treated as poorly as I have with this dealership and they are supposedly a winner of the Lexus Premier Dealership award.. They have very nice "Service advisors who have learned righty tighty, lefty loosey" and they all have Lexus certifications, whatever that is. I have found the MB tech's to have much better in the knowledge of the autos (as well as being more snobbish) and once they get it sorted out the cars are somewhat bullet proof.

I do not mean this to be a bash of Lexus but only my own personal experience.

On the other hand my 2004 CLK (purchased 3 months earlier) has been "exposed" to the elements as much, if not more, than the SC and has no acid rain spots on it. It has been my experience that the Japanese paints are not as durable as the German paints. This is from considerable experience with all types of paint. I hate to admit how many cars I have owned over the years, so I speak from experience. My wife thinks I am car obsessed but it keeps me off of the streets.

In summary, I am sorry that I tried the Lexus experience but as they say"You never know until you tried it" and I am still trying to find "them". When I do I'll probably wring their neck.


I failed to mention that the car was never exposed to the sun after the rain. The clear coat has been etched to the point where polishing/buffing will only flatten out the edges; any more and you will be to the base coat.. I have restored cars, cared for them personally and have shown a number of 100 point cars. I have never seen paint as fragile as this. It does not belong on a car of this quality. "The Ultimate Pursuit of Perfection"????

rominl

iTrader: (4)

dunno man, i guess you just had some bad experience. and don't worry, you are entitled to your opinions, and imho you have put it together very nicely, constructively, i am sure people will understand you

just that imho lexus is still far superiod than other manufacturers -- in certain aspects

bt430

Lou,
I've got the same issues with the paint and the seat as well as a few more. Having had the car a bit longer I'm now "used" to the issues and have solved many myself, but that does not ease the pain of throwing down 65 grand and having to mod the hell out of the car. I complained bitterly to Lexus about the paint. I even brought my M5 in to show them the difference in the paint quality. Their only answer was to get their "detail" guy to scratch up the paint a bit more. The paint does seem to be very fragile. The seat issues are ongoing and the answer I’ve been receiving is “the leather is very soft, we’ll be happy to put on a new cover but it probably will look the same in a few months”. So not having the time to chase these folks around I’ve taken the “fix it myself” approach.
Here’s what I’ve done…
I wasn’t thrilled about the way the car handled so I put in a Tein CS coilover system and Daizen sway bars.
Incredible difference.
I thought the sound of the car was a bit weak so I put on a Blitz realize exhaust and an Ingen intake.
Just enough rumble to make me happy.
If I compare my M5 seat to the Lexus seat (I know, I know apples and oranges) the Lexus seat really doesn’t have much support or the feeling of holding you in the car. I realize it was not built for that it was built for comfort, but I don’t find it too comfortable so I’m looking at replacing it with a Recaro. Being that I plan to keep the car and don’t really care about it’s trade value in the future I’ll just get it repainted when I can’t stand how it looks anymore. Again a bitter pill to swallow after spending a sizable sum but then I really love the other aspects of the car and feel I’m creating something uniquely my own.