Quality Of Leather

[LVL61]

Hi,

Does anyone have concerns about the quality of the leather in the base ES350. I've had mine for a year and the appearance of the driver's seat did not hold up very well during that time. I cleaned it with a leather cleaner/conditioner but some stains persist. Also, the console armrest and the door panel above the door armrest are stained in a way I would never have expected. I never wear dirty clothes in the car; I work in an office and usually wear long-sleeved shirts and/or jackets (so human sweat is not a factor). For reference, I owned a Volvo C70 for four years. That car had light-grey leather interior and when the 4-year lease was up the interior looked like new. Another reference: a few weeks back the Lexus dealer lend me a loaner that was a 2-year old ES and one of the things I noticed was that the interior looked like crap. Is that what I can look forward to? Are things different if you get the premium leather interior?

In the end, advice on what works best to clean leather would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

LVL61

[mhawkin1]

So your concern is not the leather wearing out as much as the leather staining?

[LVL61]

So your concern is not the leather wearing out as much as the leather staining?

Yes, which is why I would appreciate advice on good leather cleaners.

LVL61

[mhawkin1]

I have the standard leather interior in my 350 and I use Lexol cleaner and conditioner. I have 15k miles on my car and have only done this twice and my interior looks exactly like the day I bought the car.

Just buy the cleaner and conditioners, follow the directions and you should be fine.

I have to admit, I have never had a stain on my seats though; you don’t know what caused the stain? I don't think you should ever look at a loaner and think that is what you should expect - the loaners are treated with the least amount of care possible.

[mdames]

Hi,

Does anyone have concerns about the quality of the leather in the base ES350. I've had mine for a year and the appearance of the driver's seat did not hold up very well during that time. I cleaned it with a leather cleaner/conditioner but some stains persist. Also, the console armrest and the door panel above the door armrest are stained in a way I would never have expected. I never wear dirty clothes in the car; I work in an office and usually wear long-sleeved shirts and/or jackets (so human sweat is not a factor). For reference, I owned a Volvo C70 for four years. That car had light-grey leather interior and when the 4-year lease was up the interior looked like new. Another reference: a few weeks back the Lexus dealer lend me a loaner that was a 2-year old ES and one of the things I noticed was that the interior looked like crap. Is that what I can look forward to? Are things different if you get the premium leather interior?

In the end, advice on what works best to clean leather would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

LVL61

I have a 2007 with the standard leather. It is the cashmere color. So it's very light in color. I also use Lexol cleaner and conditioner on my leather. I do the conditioner 4 times per year, and I use the cleaner once per month. I've owned my car for 2.5 years. The leather is perfect. There are no stains or abnormal wear at all. No matter the quality of the leather, if you don't have a regular cleaning and conditioning regimen it will deteriorate. Leather must be taken care of, unlike cloth seats.

[LVL61]

Hi,

First, thanks for the folks who recommended the Lexol cleaner/conditioner; I'll look for that product. Second, let me clarify that the leather of driver's seat wasn't in fact stained. A few folds where dirt had accumulated retained ever so faint lines where the dirt had been. I managed to get those out with _very_ careful use of a liquid oxy-type cleaner (I figured that kind of cleaner would work best on what was probably an organic stain). The armrest and door panel were another matter. The door panel for sure is not leather so I went at it with ever stronger and stronger cleaning products. I finally got what was a _really_ tough stain out with a household cleaner with a bleach additive. Ditto for the armrest over the centre console. I did this a few days ago and everything is back to looking like new. In the end, I'm left wondering how much of that kind of grime ever got in my car. The cabin air filter is amazing and I rarely drive with the windows down. I had the car in for service three weeks ago and I have to assume that the tech that worked on my car had a filthy uniform... And yes, from now on it's clean/condition the interior at least twice a year (I figure spring and fall).

Cheers,

Luc