LC 200 FRONT SEATS UPGRADE (4 Viewers)

[PatrickBateman]

After some hours, searching for front seats, I found (and bought...) these, being delivered somewhere near the end of this month.

I don't know how will they fit mechanically or electrically and if they will fit at all but I do like a challenge so bring it on!!!

View attachment 3462127

Please please please keep us updated! They look so comfortable!

 

[golfer2000]

After some hours, searching for front seats, I found (and bought...) these, being delivered somewhere near the end of this month.

I don't know how will they fit mechanically or electrically and if they will fit at all but I do like a challenge so bring it on!!!

View attachment 3462127

Any updates?

 

[RandyDaytona]

Yesterday I visited an off-road shop in NH which installs Scheel-Mann seats in overland rigs. While they didn’t have any left in stock, they did have a rig they were upfitting that already had them installed. They were nice enough to let me sit in them.

They ARE very stiff when new, as was already mentioned. I didn’t sit in them long enough to be able to say they were the be-all, end-all of comfort. But I would have gladly driven away with them instead of my stock seats.

The fit and finish was top notch.

Looking again at their pricing and the extra you need to pay for seat heaters, the brackets, etc., you’re looking at around $2500 per seat for the Vario, maybe $1800 for the other versions.

The biggest drawback they seem to have is the lack of ventilation. But my ventilation doesn’t work for crap, anyway. As in not at all. They are also not motorized.

But I’m still digging. I’ll hopefully get more info when I’m back from Maine. May have to go to Portland after all.

 

[pmrosendo]

Topic reborn!

The seats are awesome, they're from a BMW X6 (G05) but not without issues...

The first issue is one of the airbags is deployed, so I need to buy a new one but first I need to know if they are compatible with the TOYOTA airbag system, present in the original seats.

The second issue is the electronics on the BMW electric powered seats. The driver seat (left side in Portugal) has an electronic module that once powered works fine, all movements are OK, the heating also, etc. however, if you don't use any movement or function for more than 30sec. the electronic module just goes to sleep... The passenger seat (right side in Portugal) doesn't have this module, all motors are connected directly to the buttons and everything works fine, even if you adjust some setting an hour after powering up.

So I began to try to understand the differences between them and found out that there are 8 different button consoles for each seat...
After some digging, I found the correct one (from a UK vehicle) where the passenger seat is on the left side (without electronic module).
Next step the harness inside the seat, so I removed the leather an started looking for the correct cable harness, still without luck, as I've already ordered two different ones without success.

Anyway, here are some pictures of this so far:

Both frames, stripped out...

The left (driver) console for the electric movement

The right (passenger) console for the electric movement

The plug on the new button console, left side

The plug on the right seat harness (white), does not fit in the new button console on the left side (black), but does on the button console of the right side.

I have collected a lot of information, on this forum, regarding other stuff so I will have a very comprehensive part list and need to do list for this upgrade. I will share every part bought, every electric schematic and every bit necessary to perform this.

I run a Car-Audio shop in Portugal, this is my personal car so it's not the priority at this point, please be patient.

 

[pmrosendo]

Update on this subject:

I've taken the OEM front seats off, to figure out what mechanical modifications need to be performed in order to bolt the new seats using the existing hardware, including the plastic covers.
It was quite easy, since the BMW seats have just a little less width (on the tracks) than the TOYOTA's and more or less the same length (also on the tracks).

I've taken off the 4 feet that were soldered to the OEM seat, soldered some new brackets (the fixing points are not exactly the same) and bolted them to the floor, using the existing hardware.

Next step was bolting the new seats (frame) to the TOYOTA brackets and hope that they would be in the same place than the OEM's, specially in length, keeping the possibility to adjust them back and forward as in the original ones:

Notice the difference in angle (now adjustable) between the knees support of the BMW's and TOYOTA's seats, it's a major difference.

Having the mechanical structure figured out, now on to the electrical connections (my LC doesn't have OEM electrical adjustable seats) in order to keep all movement from the BMW seats and also to add seat warming, etc.

I also found out that my LC doesn't have side airbag in the passenger seat, so, since the BMW seat airbag is deployed, I will spare some money buying a new side airbag, keeping the deployed one for now.
I will try the driver's BMW seat side airbag (not deployed) on the TOYOTA seat harness, as if it was the original side airbag inside the TOYOTA driver's seat, if it works properly, I might try to figure out how to install and code a new passenger side airbag, security is important!

A last picture of the seat harness modification, since I couldn't find the correct harness part number (there are at least 12 different ones, for the left side...) in order to have the seat without memory, like the passenger side, and having everything working properly as it should.

 

[linuxgod]

If you're going to drop the $ on seats, seems like the Recaro Ergomed or Orthopad are the only 2 which don't give up the heated/cooled seats.

I have no idea if the seat programming would still work but personally that would be a dealbreaker for me as my wife and I swap the truck regularly and we use very different seating positions. They seem to have most everything else covered so... probably? Then again I'm probably not dropping $6-8k on a new seat of front seats anyway.

 

[Supra Turbo]

In mid-2000's I had a local upholstery shop take the factory leather covers off one of my Supra seats and add additional padding where requested and stretched the OEM leather back on. This completely transformed the feel and comfort of the seats. Perhaps similar could be done with LC200 seats?

 

[pmrosendo]

In mid-2000's I had a local upholstery shop take the factory leather covers off one of my Supra seats and add additional padding where requested and stretched the OEM leather back on. This completely transformed the feel and comfort of the seats. Perhaps similar could be done with LC200 seats?

The Supra seats are already a bucket type, so they are reasonably confortable, even without modifying anything.
My LC200 seats are as confortable as a kitchen chair, so I don't think that I could do some foam or even metallic structure to get where these seats are taking me.
Trust me, they are really different than the OEM ones in confort, backrest and lumbar support and they even have the possibility of grab you more or less, laterally, with the touch of a button.
I don't think (nor is the idea) I will have the massage feature these are capable of, since that would require some arduino setup in each seat...

 

[Supra Turbo]

The Supra seats are already a bucket type, so they are reasonably confortable, even without modifying anything.
My LC200 seats are as confortable as a kitchen chair, so I don't think that I could do some foam or even metallic structure to get where these seats are taking me.
Trust me, they are really different than the OEM ones in confort, backrest and lumbar support and they even have the possibility of grab you more or less, laterally, with the touch of a button.
I don't think (nor is the idea) I will have the massage feature these are capable of, since that would require some arduino setup in each seat...

I suspect most people would not want anywhere close to as aggressive bolstering in an SUV compared to a sportscar, for ease of getting in and out. And to me personally, side bolstening is not the issue in factory LC seats - but more so in thigh and back support.

Additionally, my suggestion was more for those who would want to keep factory seats, such as myself. While there are many great aftermarket seats, I would personally not want to go that route.

 

[TeCKis300]

Not as exciting but what about upgrading an LX seat into the LC? I guess a start would be whether the LX seat is actually anymore comfortable. Perhaps those with both models can weigh in?

The LX has 14-way adjustable driver seat vs 10-way LC. Passenger is 12-way vs 8-way.

 

[pmrosendo]

I suspect most people would not want anywhere close to as aggressive bolstering in an SUV compared to a sportscar, for ease of getting in and out. And to me personally, side bolstening is not the issue in factory LC seats - but more so in thigh and back support.

Additionally, my suggestion was more for those who would want to keep factory seats, such as myself. While there are many great aftermarket seats, I would personally not want to go that route.

You're right!

However, these OEM are really like kitchen chairs so this will be a major upgrade and they are from a 2021 BMW X6, so it's still an SUV, not that much of a sports car, I think.

 

[pmrosendo]

Not as exciting but what about upgrading an LX seat into the LC? I guess a start would be whether the LX seat is actually anymore comfortable. Perhaps those with both models can weigh in?

The LX has 14-way adjustable driver seat vs 10-way LC. Passenger is 12-way vs 8-way.

Unfortunatly, in Portugal, it's "mission impossible" to find some used LX seats, even the car itself was never sold here.
The BMW seats were a bargain, they came from a totalled car, still perfectly usable and without corrosion, tear and wear, etc.

Since I own a Car-Audio business, for me to adapt these seats is a walk in the park, it's not a big deal and I expect them to be as good as they were in the BMW they came from.

I found some images, online, of the same look in the LC 200, I like the way they turned out, they look a lot more comfortable, etc.

 

[swhme]

I would love to find a shop that knows how to do a seat swap with everything working— heat, cooling, and, ideally, massage. I’d probably be willing to pay $10k for that, if they did a top notch job.

 

[pmrosendo]

If you're going to drop the $ on seats, seems like the Recaro Ergomed or Orthopad are the only 2 which don't give up the heated/cooled seats.

I have no idea if the seat programming would still work but personally that would be a dealbreaker for me as my wife and I swap the truck regularly and we use very different seating positions. They seem to have most everything else covered so... probably? Then again I'm probably not dropping $6-8k on a new seat of front seats anyway.
View attachment 3512192

These are not legal in Portugal, no homologation for the LC200, so it's a no go.

The RECARO seats are very limited, compared to the BMW ones, in my opinion they are excellent to a racecar or a high-end restomod but not for the intended with these ones.

The BMW seats are also not legal in Portugal, since they were not homologated for the LC200 (obviously) but the way I'm doing it will be barely noticeable and there are not many LC200 over here so it's peaceful.

 

[RandyDaytona]

Not as exciting but what about upgrading an LX seat into the LC? I guess a start would be whether the LX seat is actually anymore comfortable. Perhaps those with both models can weigh in?

The LX has 14-way adjustable driver seat vs 10-way LC. Passenger is 12-way vs 8-way.

I’ve never sat in a LX, but given the fact that my wife’s 2018 4Runner seats are (to me) MUCH more comfortable than my ‘14 LC, I’d have to assume any LX would probably be better.

 

[TeCKis300]

I’ve never sat in a LX, but given the fact that my wife’s 2018 4Runner seats are (to me) MUCH more comfortable than my ‘14 LC, I’d have to assume any LX would probably be better.

I happen to be on a road trip right now and spent some time in the LX570 passenger seat while the wife takes a stint. It doesn't have the thigh extender that the drivers seat has and that makes a huge difference to me in comfort.

It's also been said the Sequoia has seats much more similar to the LX, with the thigh extenders. For US owners, that might be another great source for seats?

 

[pmrosendo]

I would love to find a shop that knows how to do a seat swap with everything working— heat, cooling, and, ideally, massage. I’d probably be willing to pay $10k for that, if they did a top notch job.

When I finish mine you can have a look and decide if it is worth the money.

If you want I can arrange for you to have a similar set on your car, it's not a big deal.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

Not as exciting but what about upgrading an LX seat into the LC? I guess a start would be whether the LX seat is actually anymore comfortable. Perhaps those with both models can weigh in?

The LX has 14-way adjustable driver seat vs 10-way LC. Passenger is 12-way vs 8-way.

For folks in the US, I think this is worthy of investigation.

I find the '16+ LX570 seat to be extremely comfortable and a major improvement over the 200 seat.

 

[swhme]

For folks in the US, I think this is worthy of investigation.

I find the '16+ LX570 seat to be extremely comfortable and a major improvement over the 200 seat.

Agreed, this would be great to know, especially if the airbags will still work

 

[pmrosendo]

Agreed, this would be great to know, especially if the airbags will still work

Probably will, they should be mostly plug 'n play, since LEXUS is a TOYOTA subsidiary, "invisible" parts should be the same.