Driver seat base issue

[Vlady]

Got myself one of these (Car Seat Cushion, Car Seat Pad with PU Leather Bamboo Charcoal Car Seat Protector for Child and Baby Cars Seats (1-Pack, Black), it's actually comfy and it is much warmer than a seats leather but I am not sure what I will be doing during summer as I like cooled seats so this cushion will have to go and I will stay with uncomfy seat! Real shame I have this issue, on a longer run it might start annoying me a lot! Grrr.

[olliesgrandad]

1 hour ago, geoffreyb said:

Hi all, thankyou all for the positive comments,I went round to the tyre fitters this morning, he checked tyres,they do need replacing, also checked wheels, they are not so good either,chipped and one of them has a piece broken off on the inside rim he also found that two others had dents on the rims, so i am going to replace wheels and tyres,on the plus side he will do his best to re-furb them f o c so I should be able to sell them on

I'm sure you notice a big improvement by putting a decent set of tyres on. I certainly did. 

[Shahpor]

Les, perhaps that comment was meant to go here? 

 

[DaveWebDesigner]

Re. the tyre skipping, when I turn out of my drive at low speed (nearly on lock) I can feel one of the tyres slip/skip (I assume the outer side) in my GS-250.

No Battery weight in the back. I did wonder if the tyres were getting past it, they are a good brand (Continental I think), but probably 50-75% worn and may have gone a bit hard, especially in this colder weather.

A quick Google reveals issues with Mercedes and Jaguar too.  Also an issue on the Lexus IS, from another forum:

"I had the same problem and when i mentioned it to the dealer at its last service he explained the same reason - the front wheels tilt when on full lock and it is the tyre struggling to grip at that angle. nothing to worry about and not dangerous, they all do that. "

[Vlady]

4 hours ago, DaveWebDesigner said:

Re. the tyre skipping, when I turn out of my drive at low speed (nearly on lock) I can feel one of the tyres slip/skip (I assume the outer side) in my GS-250.

No battery weight in the back. I did wonder if the tyres were getting past it, they are a good brand (Continental I think), but probably 50-75% worn and may have gone a bit hard, especially in this colder weather.

A quick Google reveals issues with Mercedes and Jaguar too.  Also an issue on the Lexus IS, from another forum:

"I had the same problem and when i mentioned it to the dealer at its last service he explained the same reason - the front wheels tilt when on full lock and it is the tyre struggling to grip at that angle. nothing to worry about and not dangerous, they all do that. "

Hi Dave, I have heard this about the Mercedes and someone here mentioned Jaguar as well. Well, I never experienced this before in any car to this extent, I think Lexus does it way to much but not much I can do about it apart from changing front tyres but they are not at that stage to be changed, so I will use less full lock.

I just wonder how GSF copes with this as it is supposed to be a sport sedan?

[mr2lad]

On 11/13/2018 at 8:37 AM, cruisermark said:

There is a chap on here who has a LS600h and his drivers seat heaters was intermittently switching off - Lexus replaced the seat base including the leather - however later on it turned out to be a relay 🤣 - so he ended up with a new base all done under warranty - I believe his is a 09 plate car.

Was i..... and cost of leather seat base with intrigated heater element would of been £1350 plus vat had it not of been covered by extended warranty i had...on the LS600hL. And most likely other LSs and other models the leather and heater element are intrigated together and aren’t separate hence the price,,,, and indeed ended up being a £10-20 relay that was at fault

[Vlady]

so @mr2lad extended warranty do cover seats issue, well I guess if yours was heating element or something didn't work it is different to mine as Lexus says tear and wear! Pisses me off! 

[Hangie]

Just an update on tyre skip.

Before trip to Poland I’ve put winter tyres on. Summer ones were skipping in lower temps on winter ones it didn’t happen even once and temperatures during night dropped to -8 so far.

So there you have the solution for skipping - buy winter tyres.

[Vlady]

18 hours ago, Hangie said:

Just an update on tyre skip.

Before trip to Poland I’ve put winter tyres on. Summer ones were skipping in lower temps on winter ones it didn’t happen even once and temperatures during night dropped to -8 so far.

So there you have the solution for skipping - buy winter tyres.

Yes, I need to do that Krzystof, tyres would be the 1st step to get rid of this "skipping" effect. Thanks for post.

Did you get a chance to drive a GS on snow? Did you have to use a setting "SNOW"? How was it?

[Hangie]

II’m skiing in polish mountains in -10C right now, so yes I was driving on snow.

still no extra noise from tyres.

snow function is quite useful but if you are gentle with the pedal you also will be fine. And how it is - pretty the same as all other RWD cars in normal traffic. Only plus is heavy rear of the car which help with traction.

[Vlady]

I have read a review on Alfa Romeo Julia and Jaguar XE 300, to my surprise they said that it is disappointing that Jaguar shuffle front tyre at low speeds, so Lexus not the one.

Somebody before mentioned that MB and Jaguars suffer from this.

[Vlady]

Does anybody knows where I can find a price for a new driver seat? Is it really expensive? 

May be I can brake it somehow so I can claim it on warranty, my driver seat will drive me nuts, its not dead uncomfortable but I know its not right and that bothers me!

[Farqui]

Have you spoken to any vehicle trimmers about boosting the seat base?

Sorry if you've answered this before.

[Vlady]

17 hours ago, Farqui said:

Have you spoken to any vehicle trimmers about boosting the seat base?

Sorry if you've answered this before.

Hi Lee, I have, I even taken to one in Glasgow, he had a looked and slightly boosted the seat base, re-adjusted stuff but to no avail tbh, at first I thought it was better but it was not.

So far I have spent about £220 trying to sort the seat out!

[Vlady]

HI all, while having an MOT yesterday at Lexus Glasgow I was asking more questions about drivers seat base, so they had to look into it and said that all they can think off is to change a foam base which would cost £429 incl.labour, not to bad of it will cure the problem, also I already spent £220 on this issue! If they told me from the beginning it will cost £429 I would do it straight away!

I also asked Lexus to program the Automatic door look - once the car reaches 15mph, I could not do it through car menu and the dealer could not do it through coding, very weird and disappointing!

On a good note the car passed an MOT!

[Shahpor]

Good news on the MOT Vlad.

So, did you decide to change the seat base or not?

[Vlady]

1 hour ago, Shahpor said:

Good news on the MOT Vlad.

So, did you decide to change the seat base or not?

Hi Shahpor, not yet. Before I found out that the foam ca  get change I popped in to a place that does exterior polish and has been quoted £400 for a 3 stage polish so I was planning to do that but now I know that the foam would cost me £430 I am thinking to do the seat plus I will need couple front tyres (Michelin Cross Climates this time) which are not cheap, 40k service is coming in a couple of months so plenty to think about. My wife was driving my Lexus for 3 weeks and said seat are very comfy and all the sagginess is in my head! lol! 🙂

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, Vlady said:

Hi Shahpor, not yet. Before I found out that the foam ca  get change I popped in to a place that does exterior polish and has been quoted £400 for a 3 stage polish so I was planning to do that but now I know that the foam would cost me £430 I am thinking to do the seat plus I will need couple front tyres (Michelin Cross Climates this time) which are not cheap, 40k service is coming in a couple of months so plenty to think about. My wife was driving my Lexus for 3 weeks and said seat are very comfy and all the sagginess is in my head! lol! 🙂

Do not forget Vlad that you should not mix cross climate with ordinary tyres, so you might have to buy 4 !

Good luck.

[Vlady]

2 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Do not forget Vlad that you should not mix cross climate with ordinary tyres, so you might have to buy 4 !

Good luck.

Hi John, I agree with you, the plan was to buy 2 off and in a few moths 2 more so I am prepared for a Scottish winter. 

I am sure you can mix Cross Climates with other tyres, well, some people mix winter with cheap summer tyres and not a single garage tell them no no, I am perfectly aware this is not a good practice and if I do it it it will only be for a short time and even then I doubt that as I want to do wheel alignment so 4 new tyres is perfect which is a shame as 2 rears I have only has done less than 8k miles and looks almost new! 

My coleugue drives Civic which was on 4 Cross Climates, when he had a puncture beyond repair, Honda put another tyre so he can just pass an MOT and never said it is not advisable! 

I know it is not safe, a few years back I wanted to buy Subaru Outback, after I turned for a test drive I found that it has 4 (four) different tyres, never seen that, so I told the sale rep that Manual says never mixed tyres no Subaru 4 wheel drive and I want them to be the same make, his reply was - as long as they are above legal limit they won't change any of them so I just left the garage! 

Anyway, my point is: I know it is bad for handling, braking, acceleration but why garages are still letting people do that!

[ColinBarber]

17 hours ago, Vlady said:

that Manual says never mixed tyres no Subaru 4 wheel drive

permanent 4 wheel drive systems want all 4 wheels to be the same so there isn't uneven load on the differentials - the wheels should also be periodically rotated to make sure they all wear evenly.

Not an issue on a modern Lexus. There really isn't an issue mixing tyres across axles, more important to have the same on each axle. Although vastly different grips levels would make the front and rear handling a bit unpredictable, such as mixing winter and summer tyres - Cross Climates are summer tyres.

[Vlady]

Removed seat cushion as it was giving me an electrical shock! Saving money for a new foam base! 🙂