Warner B

Adding to this thread from my previous entries...The seat cushions seem puffy but they actually compress a lot, hence do not give adequate support. It's causing me more and more back pain esp around the lower back and buttock. The ventilated seats are ineffective and are a scam.

Dear Jay_Lexus, I have an RX300 (non-F Sport) and the sides are just as stiff. It digs into my thighs too. That and all the other characteristics of the seat design make for the worst Lexus seat I've ever had. Coming from an 2011 RX450h which had the most comfortable seats of any vehicle, my current RX is a real pain, literally. It's an awful situation because the car is otherwise what I expected it to be: low-key, refined and practical

Thanks, Dennis for adding that. The sides of the seat base/squab definitely dig into my thighs too. Also, I find that the seat support worsens when ventilation is activated because of the suction that occurs within the seat. How dumb is this design! I have no solutions either.

I think this topic deserves special notice because the issue is bad enough for me, and maybe others, to leave Lexus altogether. After months of investigation, I got more info and perhaps a low-down on the matter. Firstly, I love or used to, Lexus mainly because of its reliability, luxury and subtle image. I had a 2007 IS250, 2012 RX450h and now Nov 2021 RX300. THIS IS THE WORST LEXUS I have had. To me, the seats, esp the drivers, are very uncomfortable. To give it a bit more background: I'm 5'8", 245lb. Short and broad. My RX450h had the BEST SEATS in the world. My RX300 is the other end of the spectrum and after months of looking into this, I summarise it here. Issue #1: As a result of the Ventilated Seat design, the cushions underneath are much thinner than older Lexus. I had my seat cushions replaced (at my own cost) thinking this would solve my issue with discomfort. The sales guy reluctantly showed me the old cushions and they are flat, thin and not supportive. Issue #2: The leather used is soft but actually quite rough and IMO, low quality, compared to yesteryears. It adds to the seat discomfort. Issue #3: This issue took me a while to determine. My seats have the option of cool with aircon or hot with a heater. Being in tropical Singapore in SouthEast Asia, I don't use the heater option. I have tried varying settings of the A/C seats. While the seats themselves become very cold to touch while not seated on them, the cold feeling does NOT come through. This is because when I sat on the seat, all the cold air is blocked from coming out and diverted to areas where my body does not block the vents, ie diverted to areas that do NOT need cooling. How dumb is that! Wait, it gets even dumber. Some parts of the seat are warm because the aircon blower motors WITHIN the seats are working! Issue #4: So I switched off the cool ventilation of the seats and the seats actually warm up because the motor keeps running slightly despite being switched off! Issue #5: This is so ridiculous that I don't know what Lexus was thinking. There is mild SUCTION in certain areas of the seat through the ventilation holes. Its because the motors suck air in, cools that air that has been sucked in and mixes it with the cold air from the main car A/C and blows it out (to areas that I do not need, as described above). This literally SUCKS. I hope that I have shed some light with my "findings". My back aches so bad after just 15 minutes that I'm thinking of abandoning Lexus totally. We don't have far to drive in tiny Singapore but man, this is really getting on my nerves. It's the worst design flaw that Lexus has committed. Worst of all, being a Japanese company, they don't bother with feedback input and are unlikely to change with future models because the 2023 NX have similar seat designs! If I knew all this, I would not have gotten the RX. It was silly to assume that with a test drive, I would have noticed how unsupportive and warm these seats get despite the purported cooling ventilation. Be warned, those who have yet to buy this RX. To each his own but to me, this is the worst seat ever in any car I have sat on.

True. The issue of contention needs to be "demonstrated" for the dealership to be compelled to act. I'm an MD who serves the community so my car's reliability (and to a certain extent comfort) is crucial for my work. In Singapore, and I guess for most people who only have 1 vehicle to themselves, aftersales service is everything and Lexus here seems to be the best. Many things are based on trust and hopefully your dealership will honor your trust in them by helping resolve your discomfort even if they don't perceive anything wrong. One way to do this is to change the leather+sponge padding (it's possible to do this while retaining the seat frame-the most costly part of the seat) and the dealership do it as courtesy rather than because it's a 'defect' or they bear some or most of the costs, again as courtesy.

To me that is an anomaly and hence a manufacturer's defect because it not design fault and it doesn’t occur in other RXs in the US or in Singapore! If you had reported it to your advisor early and being in the US, I would expect Lexus US to change the entire seat or at least the leather+padding for you. Even if you didn’t, the seat is expected to last for year and not have a “crack” eggy lump for you to put up with! Consumer laws in US are the best worldwide and if you can, demand an official response from Lexus US and Japan. Are there probono lawyers to act for you? No one likes this route but I would if you can. Where as in Singapore, no such consumer rights and to be honest, mine isn’t a defect, it’s just bad design and the test drive of 15mins didn’t reveal the darn thing before I got the car. Oh well, Bimmer next ?

Hi all. I'm from Singapore, far from the US but near to this issue. I've a 2021 RX300 non F-Sport and this is the worst seat ever. Main problems I think are lack of cushion, gel layer, holes for vent resulting in a seat that warms up too much,bubbles up a bit and does not support. Stiches are like barbed wire too. Even my $5 plastic chairs at home are better. I've never had back ache like this before. I've had an IS and 2011 RX before, and I think this is my last Lexus, just because of a bad seat