Seat bottom leather and cushion replacement
- Thread starter Jacket
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r2m
Richard
You wouldn't want to go through Lexus. There's a thread that Jacket posted about a really good, like stock seat covers replacements.
re_guderian
SILVER Star
@Jacket - did you notice any change to the (lame) effectiveness of the seat ventilation with the new OEM foam and aftermarket leather cover?
re_guderian
SILVER Star
Over 800 bucks for the old 2010-2017 OEM leather cover for the bottom only, no foam. Hard pass...
re_guderian
SILVER Star
Mad props to @Jacket for the write up and the pictures. I tackled my torn driver's seat lower this past weekend, and did the seat back as well. I couldn't find any writeups either here or on CL about doing the seat backs, so I thought I'd add my learnings to this thread.
the highlights:
- As Jacket mentioned, hog rings suck, and my hands were sore at the end of the day.
- Buy new lower seat foam ahead of time. I found many YT videos of people "refreshing" their foam with a steamer. I thought I could save $190 bucks. You can't. Sliding out of a lifted truck destroys the foam on the outer bolster. No steam in the world is gonna replace missing material. The seat back foam was in good structural shape, so I reused that.
- Get a DECENT set of hog ring pliers, and a few sizes of hog rings. Sure, you can do it with the cheapest options, but I found a good kit, and got another set of pliers with a different angle, and they helped in various places. The job sucks enough, don't make it harder...
- Order a few clips from Toyota/Lexus ahead of time
- The seat back board upper clips, 2 per seat, you'll probably break them. 71769-60040
- The lower trim clips at the front outside edge of the seat bottom.
-
- I didn't get these ahead of time, and wasn't going to wait to make a separate trip, so I found some GM ones at AutoZone that were "close enough".
-
- I couldn't get fabric glue to hold to the foam of the seat heating pads, so i used a hot glue gun. Was a little worried that dried hot glue wouldn't be flexible enough, but be sparing, and glue to the seams, not the seating surface, and you'll be okay.
- On the US Auto Seat covers, the fabric that holds the wooden rod (in place of the OEM wire) is too long to accommodate the opening in the seat heater pads, both on the bottom and back. I didn't want to compromise the pad, so I snipped a bit of the fabric out on the middle rod, both seat bottom and back.
- Get a set of small (10"-12") bolt cutters to remove the OE hog rings, and all the ones you'll inevitably goof up on. I wasted more than I care to admit. I see videos of folks mentioning to use needle nose to remove them.
? No way, cut and go... - Take lots of picture of every angle of everything, ESPECIALLY if doing the project over several days.
- Get a table to put the seat and supplies on, so you're not stooping over (<- for old men only)
- There were only 2 times I needed an extra set of hands, and that was to compress the foam and stretch the leather to get the edge hooks seated on the metal frame, and that was on the bottom cushion.
- Ah... the airbag on the seat back... I'll put that in a separate post below...
re_guderian
SILVER Star
Not much to add to @Jacket's seat bottom write up, so I'll go on to the back. Everything he mentioned about transferring heating pad, starting in the middle, etc etc applies to the back as well. There are really only 2 additional topics to cover here, the head rest cutout, and the airbag pocket.
For the headrest cutouts, I tried to take out the plastic holders from the seat frame, but that was a no-go. They are tied into some collision mechanism (I think?) that raise them slightly via a cam and spring loaded assembly. Anyway, after I got the leather on the foam, I duct taped over them, got the foam over them on the seat frame. I then used my fingers and some painter's tape to trace a shape quite a bit smaller than the outline of the square, and used a razor to cut the leather. I cuts VERY easily. It also stretches a little bit around those plastic receptacles, and tucks in nicely underneath. The square hole I cut in the leather was only slightly larger than the circular opening. You can measure the OEM square cutout for reference. The duct tape was to keep the razor from scoring the plastic when cutting the leather in place.
For the headrest cutouts, I tried to take out the plastic holders from the seat frame, but that was a no-go. They are tied into some collision mechanism (I think?) that raise them slightly via a cam and spring loaded assembly. Anyway, after I got the leather on the foam, I duct taped over them, got the foam over them on the seat frame. I then used my fingers and some painter's tape to trace a shape quite a bit smaller than the outline of the square, and used a razor to cut the leather. I cuts VERY easily. It also stretches a little bit around those plastic receptacles, and tucks in nicely underneath. The square hole I cut in the leather was only slightly larger than the circular opening. You can measure the OEM square cutout for reference. The duct tape was to keep the razor from scoring the plastic when cutting the leather in place.
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re_guderian
SILVER Star
Here's what I learned about the air bag pocket.
US Auto Seatcover's web site comes with this cryptic notice: "*** ALL AIRBAG SYSTEM/POCKET MUST BE TRANSFER BY A CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL******** "
Never having seen inside the seat assembly I had no idea what that meant.
After tearing it apart, here's a comparison of the OEM seat cover v the US Auto one.
The white material with the black metal clips is the airbag pocket, and is sewn into certain seams. It ensures that the leather seat cover assembly stays firmly attached to the seat frame during air bag deployment, and hence that the airbag rips the correct seam and deploys in the correct direction and timing.
As you can see, the aftermarket has NONE of that. Honestly not even sure what the purpose of the material I'm holding is. Wrap around the seat frame and close with hog ring? Not sure if the edge being folded over and stitched in the seam was intentional or an accident?
US Auto Seatcover's web site comes with this cryptic notice: "*** ALL AIRBAG SYSTEM/POCKET MUST BE TRANSFER BY A CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL******** "
Never having seen inside the seat assembly I had no idea what that meant.
After tearing it apart, here's a comparison of the OEM seat cover v the US Auto one.
The white material with the black metal clips is the airbag pocket, and is sewn into certain seams. It ensures that the leather seat cover assembly stays firmly attached to the seat frame during air bag deployment, and hence that the airbag rips the correct seam and deploys in the correct direction and timing.
As you can see, the aftermarket has NONE of that. Honestly not even sure what the purpose of the material I'm holding is. Wrap around the seat frame and close with hog ring? Not sure if the edge being folded over and stitched in the seam was intentional or an accident?
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r2m
Richard
My drivers looked just like yours.Mad props to @Jacket for the write up and the pictures. I tackled my torn driver's seat lower this past weekend, and did the seat back as well. I couldn't find any writeups either here or on CL about doing the seat backs, so I thought I'd add my learnings to this thread.
the highlights:
Here's what I was starting with. 2011 with 198K miles.
- As Jacket mentioned, hog rings suck, and my hands were sore at the end of the day.
- Buy new lower seat foam ahead of time. I found many YT videos of people "refreshing" their foam with a steamer. I thought I could save $190 bucks. You can't. Sliding out of a lifted truck destroys the foam on the outer bolster. No steam in the world is gonna replace missing material. The seat back foam was in good structural shape, so I reused that.
- Get a DECENT set of hog ring pliers, and a few sizes of hog rings. Sure, you can do it with the cheapest options, but I found a good kit, and got another set of pliers with a different angle, and they helped in various places. The job sucks enough, don't make it harder...
- Order a few clips from Toyota/Lexus ahead of time
- The seat back board upper clips, 2 per seat, you'll probably break them. 71769-60040
- The lower trim clips at the front outside edge of the seat bottom.
- View attachment 3649354
- I didn't get these ahead of time, and wasn't going to wait to make a separate trip, so I found some GM ones at AutoZone that were "close enough".
- I couldn't get fabric glue to hold to the foam of the seat heating pads, so i used a hot glue gun. Was a little worried that dried hot glue wouldn't be flexible enough, but be sparing, and glue to the seams, not the seating surface, and you'll be okay.
- On the US Auto Seat covers, the fabric that holds the wooden rod (in place of the OEM wire) is too long to accommodate the opening in the seat heater pads, both on the bottom and back. I didn't want to compromise the pad, so I snipped a bit of the fabric out on the middle rod, both seat bottom and back.
- Get a set of small (10"-12") bolt cutters to remove the OE hog rings, and all the ones you'll inevitably goof up on. I wasted more than I care to admit. I see videos of folks mentioning to use needle nose to remove them.
- Take lots of picture of every angle of everything, ESPECIALLY if doing the project over several days.
- Get a table to put the seat and supplies on, so you're not stooping over (<- for old men only)
- There were only 2 times I needed an extra set of hands, and that was to compress the foam and stretch the leather to get the edge hooks seated on the metal frame, and that was on the bottom cushion.
- Ah... the airbag on the seat back... I'll put that in a separate post below...
View attachment 3649355
But I just sewed it up and it came out great! Although I will still be needing new covers sometime in the future.
All sewed up! Just had to use some matching thread and take my time.
re_guderian
SILVER Star
So how critical is that air bag cover? Opinions vary widely on the internet... My first thought was to just leave the old OEM leather on the back and not futz with it. But the back leather was starting to crack, and It would have looked weird with the new bottom. So you have three options.
So, the internet says any millisecond delay will surely kill you, the guy that works on these day in day out says it's BS... so you choose. I had him do it anyway, and got the pocket sewn in to my new leather. Peace of mind for another 200K miles, or to whomever gets the truck when I sell it. Plan for this in the timing of your job, because you'll have to take both the old and new covers in for a few days.
You will also have to likely trim some of the new leather edge clips, and they are not 100% in the same location for clipping to the frame. I had to trim half of one clip to clear the black metal clips on the air bag pocket.
New leather with air bag pocket sewn in.
- Buy OEM leather for both back and bottom to match, and have the airbag pocket included (>$2,000 for leather alone, tax and shipping incl)
- Slap on the aftermarket leather without the airbag pocket and take the (admittedly very, very, very small) risk that when you need it most, it deploys in some jacked up manner and crushes your ribs and kidneys.
- Take US Auto Seat Covers advice and try (!) and find an upholsterer that will transfer the air bag pocket for you.
- (not really something I considered, but you could use the aftermarket leather as it, and leave the airbag unplugged, and live with the yellow light and lack of protection.)
So, the internet says any millisecond delay will surely kill you, the guy that works on these day in day out says it's BS... so you choose. I had him do it anyway, and got the pocket sewn in to my new leather. Peace of mind for another 200K miles, or to whomever gets the truck when I sell it. Plan for this in the timing of your job, because you'll have to take both the old and new covers in for a few days.You will also have to likely trim some of the new leather edge clips, and they are not 100% in the same location for clipping to the frame. I had to trim half of one clip to clear the black metal clips on the air bag pocket.
New leather with air bag pocket sewn in.
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re_guderian
SILVER Star
All finished. Impressed enough with the color match and results, especially for the money.
If you go OEM, you're into it over $2,200 for leather and bottom cushion, labor all on you.
I spent $400 for leather, $200 for the cushion, and $200 for the air bag pocket transfer. I'm pretty sure the quote for the transfer was at least double what I could have gotten if I'd shopped the more budget friendly upholstery shops, but this guy does Lexus dealer repairs, too.
Final results:
If you go OEM, you're into it over $2,200 for leather and bottom cushion, labor all on you.
I spent $400 for leather, $200 for the cushion, and $200 for the air bag pocket transfer. I'm pretty sure the quote for the transfer was at least double what I could have gotten if I'd shopped the more budget friendly upholstery shops, but this guy does Lexus dealer repairs, too.
Final results:
re_guderian
SILVER Star
yeah, my foam was done, the back was cracking, and it was only a matter of time that it ripped somewhere else. Between a new seat experience, and fixing my rattling driver's rear fender liner, it feels and sounds (or doesn't sound, as the case may be) like a new ride (if you ignore the dirty interior and cracking passenger's seat leather - a project for the next few weeks.)
r2m
Richard
Really appreciate the posts since our GX's are starting to get long in tooth.
I remember when we first had our 100 series LC's and there wasn't any info on seat covers, until after about 10 years, then the questions, DIY's and where to go starting being posted.
Now I'm seeing the same thing here.
Again, thanks for posting!
re_guderian
SILVER Star
FWIW, While I had the seat out, I also tried implementing a fix for the anemic-at-best seat cooler air flow. I shamelessly copied this from a Reddit thread, only I used some outdoor carpet I had laying around, and hot glued velcro to the fan housing and the 3D printed vent deflector I had previously purchased on etsy. The bottom line is the seat cooling fan sucks, and needs to be replaced. I can diagram the passages in the seat, and toyed with the idea of putting some plastic hose in them to keep them from collapsing, but since they're only under your thighs, and not your butt, I don't think that passage restriction is the issue. It's just an airflow problem. Anyway, here the reddit thread:
I was tired and didn't snap of pic of the GX, and since it was a stupid simple idea, and had the carpet, velcro, and hot glue gun sitting out, I did it on my RX as well. Here's a picture of it in the '13 RX, which also has sucky seat coolers. It's just another way to shunt as much air as possible up into the fan.
I was tired and didn't snap of pic of the GX, and since it was a stupid simple idea, and had the carpet, velcro, and hot glue gun sitting out, I did it on my RX as well. Here's a picture of it in the '13 RX, which also has sucky seat coolers. It's just another way to shunt as much air as possible up into the fan.
re_guderian
SILVER Star
I have plenty more pictures of various steps, angles and pieces, if anyone wants them down the road.
re_guderian
SILVER Star
Right? I've seen the trickle-down on the 80 series, 100-series, and now the GX. I have to say, though, that at almost 200K miles, the Lexus is WAY "tighter" than either of my 100 series Land Cruisers, and I've beat the snot out of the Lexus for the last 50K miles. It's still serene and quiet on the road, does 100 mph easily on road trips to TX, and is super quiet. Or maybe I'm just getting old and deaf...Really appreciate the posts since our GX's are starting to get long in tooth.
I remember when we first had our 100 series LC's and there wasn't any info on seat covers, until after about 10 years, then the questions, DIY's and where to go starting being posted.
Now I'm seeing the same thing here.
Again, thanks for posting!
Jacket
Moderator
- Thread starter
- #36
Nice work @re_guderian ! Those look great. The airbag issue on the upper was certainly a concern of mine as well. I would have done the same thing you did given the choices.
My leather is still holding up well at this point - 2 years and 25k miles. I feel like the new seat foam may be the biggest improvement in this project - it is nice to have that "new car butt support" when bouncing around all day.
My leather is still holding up well at this point - 2 years and 25k miles. I feel like the new seat foam may be the biggest improvement in this project - it is nice to have that "new car butt support" when bouncing around all day.
r2m
Richard
SOOOO???
You showed all the work, but no comment on results.
Did it improve the air flow? Or is it still like blowing air through a coffee stirring straw?
re_guderian
SILVER Star
Took a ride in the passenger seat the other day, first time in years. Made me realize how bad the driver seat is.. gonna be ordering some parts soon and trying to replace the cushion and bottom seat cover.
re_guderian
SILVER Star
Meh, at best. Pretty sure the root cause of the problem is just a fan that doesn't move enough air. I can feel air if my clothing layer is thin enough, but it's not a compelling flow, by any stretch of the imagination. With the old leather and foam out for detailed inspection, pretty sure they are not the issue.
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