Looking for replacement leather options for my 96 LX450

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Got a surprise package from Lseat.com today. Shipped in a vacuum sealed bag inside another shipping bag. First glance, leather feels pretty high quality with a grain/texture almost identical to my wife's 328iX. The leather itself without the padding is 1.44mm thick. I have no idea how this compares to others on the market. The stitching on the seams appears to be very high quality and even all around.
Since I have new leather, new bottom cushions, and new seat heaters, I'm not sure this is something I want to take on myself. I found a local auto upholstery shop that I'm going to contact for installation.

Sweet. Dropping the truck off Monday morning.
 
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My truck was in and out in a few hours last Friday. New seat bottoms, upper and lower seat heaters, and new leather.

I had asked the shop not to connect the seat heaters as I don't allow anyone else to do any electrical work on my trucks. I plan on replacing the Lexus center console with one from a Land Cruiser so I gain the 4 knockouts for switches along with an extra cup holder. It will all look OEM by the time I'm done.

The installer mentioned that the Lseat leather was not the best quality, and the price point reflects that. The fit over the lower seats is perfect IMO. It is tight and smooth in all areas.
I had the same issue with the passenger seat cutout being the wrong size, but the shop was able to stich in a piece of leather from the door bolsters that I didn't use. They charged me an additional hour of labor to make this right and Lseat refunded that cost to me. It doesn't look perfect, but it is on the lower side of the passenger seat so I don't ever see it.
The tops of the seat are a bit loose fitting in the center. I was told by both the installer and Lseat that this will tighten up as soon as the weather warms and the sun hits it. It is certainly not unsightly and you hardly notice it, but it is there so I should mention it. We'll see if it tightens up over time.

Overall I am extremely happy with the lseat product. The leather has a really nice feel to it and I don't slide around in the seat as I did before. I think the new seat bottoms raised me up around an inch or so and will take some time to break in, but they are extremely comfortable and I would recommend to anyone who is recovering the seats to replace the lower cushions. That is certainly money well spent.
I logged several hundred miles over the holiday break and my old bony ass is happy. I will try to snap some pictures when I get a chance.
 
Rookie2 said:
Cool, thanks for the updates. What's a reasonable price one should expect for having the covers installed by someone?
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How long is a piece of string?
It depends on what you're having done and how much a shop charges for labor in your area. For my 2 front seats with cushions and seat heaters it was 4 hours labor.
 
jonheld said:
My truck was in and out in a few hours last Friday. New seat bottoms, upper and lower seat heaters, and new leather.

Overall I am extremely happy with the lseat product. The leather has a really nice feel to it and I don't slide around in the seat as I did before. I think the new seat bottoms raised me up around an inch or so and will take some time to break in, but they are extremely comfortable and I would recommend to anyone who is recovering the seats to replace the lower cushions. That is certainly money well spent.
I logged several hundred miles over the holiday break and my old bony ass is happy. I will try to snap some pictures when I get a chance.
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Waiting for the pictures. Sounds like a great option.
 
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jonheld said:
Got a surprise package from Lseat.com today. Shipped in a vacuum sealed bag inside another shipping bag. First glance, leather feels pretty high quality with a grain/texture almost identical to my wife's 328iX. The leather itself without the padding is 1.44mm thick. I have no idea how this compares to others on the market. The stitching on the seams appears to be very high quality and even all around.
Since I have new leather, new bottom cushions, and new seat heaters, I'm not sure this is something I want to take on myself. I found a local auto upholstery shop that I'm going to contact for installation.

Sweet. Dropping the truck off Monday morning.
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Hey Jon, where did you get the cushions & seat heaters?
 
FaronF said:
Hey Jon, where did you get the cushions & seat heaters?
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Hey Faron. Hope you and yours are doing well.
Got the cushions from lexuspartsnow.com and the seat heaters from autowarm.com.
I should be able to post some pictures today now that the snow has stopped.
 
I shot some pictures this afternoon. I tried to show the worst angles and trouble spots.

Driver1.webp
Driver3.webp
Pass1.webp
Pass2.webp
 
FirstToy said:
You could ask lseat to simply not cut the hole for the controls and do it yourself.
i've seen leather kits like that, and rough cut openings for switches without stitching.
It's all hidden behind the plastic trim plate anyway.

I don't think it's fair to say it's shoddy work. I didn't realize those plates were different shapes between the 94 and 96. That's an honest mistake.
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I think this is a much better idea. All you really want is the holes for the knobs and plate clips. Having that large hole without the insert like the factory has might allow the leather stretch and sgip in place. Leave the sides whole and use the old cover as a template for the holes.
 
looks great jonheld!
yes that leather will smooth out with some use and heat

you can't beat that for the price of overcovers
did you go bisque? that is sure a close match, at least in photos.
 
FirstToy said:
looks great jonheld!
yes that leather will smooth out with some use and heat

you can't beat that for the price of overcovers
did you go bisque? that is sure a close match, at least in photos.
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I think it looks pretty great and it feels awesome. It's a pleasure to drive.
The price point of this product is fair IMO. Certainly not the best quality, but this is not a show truck. It gets wheeled and dirty.
My wife and I spent about 10 minutes going back and forth with the color swatches and we went with LARK which is lighter than BISQUE. It's not a perfect match, but it is close enough for me. The only problem I foresee is that this color will show dirt. Perhaps a dark brown like the plastic trim on the doors would have been better, but I can live with it.
 
A couple of weeks ago I received my seat package from Metric. Leather looked amazing and finally had it installed. Noticed I did not receive the rear arm rests so I emailed Shane. You know the rest of the story. No return emails and it is like the shop does not even exist. Bottom line, the quality of covers is great, the customer service or follow through of the vendor sucks. Pics to follow.
 
Speaking of replacing leather... Anyone know of a good replacement for the transmission shifter handle? The covering on mine is pretty torn up.
 
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