RX450h 2018 - Uncomfortable driver seat

[GrinFandango]

I’ve bought a 2018 RX 450h Premier as a family car 3 months ago. It had 19k on it. 
 

After driving it 1k miles, I’ve noted the drivers seat is rather uncomfortable at the left hip point. It’s not visible but feels like the seat tilts the driver into the left hand corner. I’m not a heavy individual and haven’t had issues like these before with any other car.

 

Has anyone noticed this? If you have, can you please share how you’ve coped with it? 
 

I love the car otherwise but the issue is so bad, we are seriously considering selling it.

 

On a separate note, it’s still got it’s original 5yr warranty. What’s the difference between the original manufacturer warranty and Lexus relax? I’ve also got the notorious squeaky noise in rear suspension, a misfiring engine and a squeaky ABS system that needs updating.
 

Lexus Hatfield will take it in to fix these issues, want to know if a known issue exists in the seats that I should highlight. 
 

thanks in advance for your help

 

 

[katabrontes]

I have a similar liar problem on my 2006 350.  I adjusted seat to drop the front edge a bit which helps and occasionally have slipped a small folded towel under one hip which also helps.  I think it's my hip that is the problem not the seat.

[08ISF]

My 2016 RX 450H is the most comfortable car I've ever owned and I've not seen any other complaints about the seats, so there must be something wrong with your seat and I would raise it with the dealer. I assume you bought the car from a Lexus dealer so anything wrong with it will be their problem not yours, and the seats are mega expensive. Ask to try another example of the car to see if it's the same.

Re: the warranty. Lexus came with a 3 year warranty, it was Toyota that got the 5 year , briefly, until Relax came in. If you bought from Lexus you should be 3 months in to a 1 year warranty which is about equivalent to the original new car warranty. Relax , however, is not the same as the new car warranty as it contains a number of exclusions such as shocks and rubber bushes. Your car is very low mileage so I would not expect wear related  issues to arise and  I am assured by Lexus that every warranty claim will be judged on its merit, so in the event of a rejection , don't just accept it, escalate to Lexus HQ if necessary, as sometimes the dealers can be lazy, because it's easier to get money off the customer than Lexus!

[Spock66]

12 hours ago, GrinFandango said:

After driving it 1k miles, I’ve noted the drivers seat is rather uncomfortable at the left hip point. It’s not visible but feels like the seat tilts the driver into the left hand corner. I’m not a heavy individual and haven’t had issues like these before with any other car.

You could try exercising the seat controls backwards and forwards a few times to their full extent, maybe something has got jammed in the mechanism.

[First_Lexus]

Sounds like an issue with the seat to me based on my experience with an RX for the past year. Assuming the car is under warranty raise it with the dealer.

The other faults should have been picked up at pre-sale as an ‘approved used’ too. Doesn’t sound good to me…

As an aside…don’t Lexus come with an exchange policy for approved used? Is that still valid?

[GrinFandango]

Appreciate all the helpful replies. Having read these, I do feel it might be a seat issue. I should raise it with Lexus when I go in to pick a loaner while they get the work done.

In response to some of the other queries, its a 2018; they used to come with 5 year warranty. When I researched it I believe its 2019/2020 onwards the policy shifted to 3 years + Lexus Relax to extend. All current work is being done under original manufacturer warranty, not Lexus Relax. 

Also, I bought the car off a private seller who only ever drove it to the golf course, its in mint condition. He kept it well and transferred me two more years of free service he'd bought with it as well. Great guy!

But I hope it works out, I just had my private plate put on it as well and its a gorgeous car in copper metallic, one of the rarer colours. 😬

I shall keep you guy updated, and hopefully they dont leave any more grease marks on the ivory leather like they did when I first took it in.

 

[F.A.]

Lexus has never offered  a 5 year warranty in this country. As mentioned above, that was Toyota. It sounds like the previous owner purchased the Lexus extended warranty, which was available prior to the introduction, and has transferred it over to you. Again, as mentioned above, the Extended Warranty is closer to first 3 year Manufacturers warranty and more comprehensive than the Relax version. 

[GrinFandango]

@F.A.

hmm, according to my research, your information is inaccurate. So I looked up my reference.
 

Lexus cars manufactured prior to 1, July 2021 are covered under a 5-yr manufacturer warranty. 

https://mag.lexus.co.uk/lexus-warranty-how-it-works/

So if your car was sold 31 Dec 2017, you are still covered until mid January 2022 (there’s a few weeks worth of leeway according to dealership)

My Lexus Relax had run out by a few days (due to other commitments), but car is still covered under warranty. I know this is true and honoured by dealerships because it’s having work done under the same warranty.

I can assure you the previous owner did not purchase any extended warranty, only a service plan. 
 

I hope this helps some of you guys wondering if you’re covered! 

[NemesisUK]

Incorrect, unfortunately. I've purchased 3 new cars from Lexus since 2016 and they definitely only came with 3yrs manufacturer warranty. Another example of Lexus lazy cut'npaste documentation...

[RXtoNX]

When you read the complete page in that link, the warranty info does contradict itself in different paragraphs/section headings.

For the past few years the Lexus warranty has always been, and still is, 3 years or 60,000 miles for all non wear and tear components with those components relating to the hybrid system being 5 years or 100,000 miles.

I suspect the particular paragraph/section which you have quoted from within the link has been cut & pasted by Lexus from the Toyota warranty terms. Toyota did provide a 5 year warranty on its cars until 2021

[Barry14UK]

Yes this subject has been discussed previously and I raised the contra logical situation of Toyota providing a 5 year warranty on their bread and butter range but only 3 years on their more up market Lexus models.

[John Walker]

Let us know what was the problem with the seat and if it was fixed on warranty. I love the seats in my 2016 RX450h Luxury. Premier has even more comfortable seats and the ones in the F Sport model are a bit more ergonomical, they might seem stiffer but I think they are the best on a long trip for those with back problems. 

[F.A.]

On 12/27/2022 at 1:10 AM, GrinFandango said:

@F.A.

hmm, according to my research, your information is inaccurate. So I looked up my reference.
 

Lexus cars manufactured prior to 1, July 2021 are covered under a 5-yr manufacturer warranty. 

https://mag.lexus.co.uk/lexus-warranty-how-it-works/

So if your car was sold 31 Dec 2017, you are still covered until mid January 2022 (there’s a few weeks worth of leeway according to dealership)

My Lexus Relax had run out by a few days (due to other commitments), but car is still covered under warranty. I know this is true and honoured by dealerships because it’s having work done under the same warranty.

I can assure you the previous owner did not purchase any extended warranty, only a service plan. 
 

I hope this helps some of you guys wondering if you’re covered! 

Yes as above, this is typical Lexus being lazy with their literature. A copy and paste from the Toyota warranty page. 

[northpolar]

GrimFandango

Hope you managed to get your mechanical problems sorted out with Lexus Hatfield.  I was surprised to read about them given I have had my March 2016 rx since it was 1 year old and I have experienced zero issues with mine.  Very unusual for me to keep a car this length of time!  I suffer from a lower back problem and I have to say that the front seats in my Premier model are the most comfortable of any car I've owned.  They don't look particularly special but they seem to be extremely solidly put together and have retained their shape/ support perfectly.  I was therefore very surprised to read of your problem with your drivers seat.  Curious to hear what the problem was - assuming Hatfield were able to identify the fault.

Peter

[John Walker]

I wonder if you watched this : 

 

[GrinFandango]

Thank you to everyone who has posted replies to help, I truly appreciate this forum. 

The car hasn’t been reviewed yet, booked for next week. I will definitely post an update soon.

 

@John Walker thank you. Most insightful to see the inside of a RX 2016 driver seat. But it’s the base that’s causing me issues. I adjust the seat every 10 mins of driving to cope. It’s awful.

[John Walker]

Any updates? 🙂 

[GrinFandango]

An update on the seats

As it happens, the seats are perfectly within the manufacturer’s tolerance limits. As the Master Techs puts it, these seats are nearly brand new and there’s nothing wrong with them compared to a new car.

They’ve checked the Electricals as well. No issues there.

I tried another RX from same Gen. Same seats. Similar comfort profile. To my surprise, I tried the previous Gen RX (2015), very comfortable drivers seat, loads of padding all across the seat. 
 

It’s now apparent Lexus put much less padding at the back of the seat in the RX 2016-2022 which may not suit certain individuals/body types. Similar to the back support @John Walker highlighted.

I have been advised against reupholstering, instead to invest in an over-the-seat solution for the life of my vehicle, which makes sense from a practical point of view.

Very disappointed but reassured my car is as uncomfortable as every other RX out there 😂 but my family love the car so I’m on amazon looking for solutions until I can convince them otherwise.

Hope this helps anyone else having to deal with this issue.

 

[Traveler]

My husband just bought an RX350H.  I noticed right away that the passenger seat seemed to tilt.  I just checked with a level, and the right side is about 1/3 inch higher than the left.  I'm hoping the dealer will be able to adjust.  I have low back issues.