Tjz

Howdy,


I brought my SC in to have the dealer look at the leather. The ecru is stained/worn and looks like crap. My car is an '02 with 10,000 miles bought last July. This problem developed pretty soon after I bought the car.

They said it was from wet outerwear staining the leather, normal wear and tear. Whatever....I don't think so..... Anyways, they said they would re-dye the leather one time as a courtesy.

I also inquired into trading in my Silver/Ecru '02 for a Silver/Black '03. The ecru leather looks sweet when it is clean/new, but really looks bad now. It looks like it would cost me $7500 to do the swap. Hmmm, a little rich for my blood, but $7500 to drive 10 months and 10k miles really does not seem too bad, all things considered.

I also need to get my CLear-Bra redone or fixed. The front edges have some bubbles and is peeling back in a couple of places. I should here from the installer soon.

TjZ

dseag2

Sorry to hear about the problems with the Ecru leather. I know it isn't everyone's taste, but I have the Saddle leather and have absolutely NO signs of wear after 7 months/12,000 miles... not even a wrinkle. If you do end up trading and like the look... I'd go for Saddle. And my exterior color is Silver. It's a hot combo, and I'd highly recommend it.

iamcdn

Sorry to hear about your ecru problem. However, Lexus should do something for you. I purchased a
used "Lexus Gold Certified" 2002 blue/ecru last December. The driver's seat was stained with a navy or blue stain transfer. The original owner had purchased the extended warranty which covers everything to 180,000 km. or 7 yrs. My dealer checked with the Canadian Lexus rep. and received permission to replace the seat cover with brand new ecru leather. It looks amazing and I believe it's holding up in
quality and stain-free condition after 3 months. The dealer said this warranty work was approximately
$3000 Cdn. or around $2M US. And I also believe that any legitimate supplier would not provide an
inferior replacement item for Lexus. So why don't you try to persuade your dealer to ask for a new
seat cover. It's worth a try!

js45

Interesting thing I have noticed in these posts. Ecru leather, run flats, radio antenna, etc. It seems all of these problems seem to have cropped up on the 02 SC. I have had an 03 for 2 months now and have had no problems at all. Guess it just once again shows that buying a car in its first year is risky.

Gojirra99

Same here. I got my 03 SC430 last October and still have the runflats, and I have looked for the rattles that people have complained about (and allegedly the runflats have a lot to do with it) when my stereo is off, but didn't notice any, at least for now. Mine comes with the Bridgestone Potenza runflats which are supposed to be better, but I still don't like them for its harsher ride and is looking to replace them with the Michelin's in the near future.
As for the ecru leather, yes it is high maintainence but I have been careful with them, and have used leather cleaner and conditioner on them. So far they are flawless. I don't think they are more susceptible to stain than any other leather, just that stains are more noticeable. I have been able to remove any dirts or marks on them without problem.

RodF

I've had my Ecru interior since 4/2001. Cleaned and treated it with Zaino products once every 6 weeks or so, and have had no problems with any staining or otherwise.

Tjz

For whatever it is worth...

I treated and cleaned my leather from the first week I owned the car with cleaner and conditioner that I purchased fromn the dealership.

You can even see the coils and rail lines showing through the leather in the high wear areas(armrest).

I am not crazy, upset about this, but it is slightly disturbing. We will see how the die job turns out.

Maybe...just maybe...I will trade into an '03. My wife likes the saddle interior also.

Oh well, we'll see.....

TjZ

ceboyd

I have the black interior.... and it looks good as new (bought Oct 1 2001)..... but If I were to trade in for a 2003, I'd get the saddle this time

Gojirra99

I think one factor that may have contribute to premature wear and the showing of coils and rail lines of the leather for some of you may be the fact you have driven it top down too much, and exposed the leather to direct sunlight for too long by leaving it parked top down under the sun.
While I do enjoy driving top down when the weather is nice and warm but not too sunny (almost always early morning and late afternoon), I always close the top whenever the car is parked.
I am probably the minority here, but I also happen to like the looks of the SC430 more with the top up, when it has one of the coolest looking side profile of any car I've ever seen.

dseag2

SexySC, I agree with you. I like the look better with the top up as well. And I always close it when the car is parked. Florida sun will kill that interior pretty quickly! You could be right... that could have something to do with premature wear.

ceboyd

it is way too easy to close the top on this convertible so I ALWAYS close the top when I park...

The only exception is the 30 seconds it takes me to run into the post office to check my PO BOX

beachdrive

I agree with always closing the top when the car is sitting. My ecru interior looks like new after almost a year. My un-scientific survey indicates that I am in the minority on this in Virginia Beach. Almost every convertible I see in a parking lot has the top down (open).