Lexus cars and trucks

Keeping new leather seats from cracking

I plan on purchasing a new Lexus with leather seats. It has disturbed
me to see so many pre-owned vehicles with leather seats (3-4 years old)
with cracks in the leather
I keep my cars for atleast 10 years and want to do my best to preserve
the leather.
There are so many products out there such as Lexol, Leatherique,
Armor-all leather cleaner etc.
 Some are all-in-one products, some have seperate cleaner and
conditioner.
Please share your advice on keeping the leather seats in top condition.
Which products? How often to treat? etc.

Comments (10)




10 Responses to “Keeping new leather seats from cracking”

  1. admin says:

    On 5 Nov 2006 15:56:23 -0800, piclist…@yahoo.com graced this
    newsgroup with:

    >I plan on purchasing a new Lexus with leather seats. It has disturbed
    >me to see so many pre-owned vehicles with leather seats (3-4 years old)
    >with cracks in the leather
    >I keep my cars for atleast 10 years and want to do my best to preserve
    >the leather.
    >There are so many products out there such as Lexol, Leatherique,
    >Armor-all leather cleaner etc.
    > Some are all-in-one products, some have seperate cleaner and
    >conditioner.
    >Please share your advice on keeping the leather seats in top condition.
    >Which products? How often to treat? etc.

    autosport.com has an excellent leather cleaner and (separate)
    conditioner.  Also, you can’t go wrong with Lexol.

    There’s no excuse for cracked leather seats. That’s just because the
    owner is plain lazy.  It only takes a quick swipe with a decent
    cleaner and conditioner about every 3-4 months to keep the leather
    soft.

  2. admin says:

    Can’t the dealer do that during their routine check sessions every 5000
    miles? And you are right – Lexus leather does crack! There are some
    other brands which use thicker leather and it does not crack, but those
    are luxury cars.

  3. admin says:

    - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    On Sun, 05 Nov 2006 19:01:48 -0500, amsta…@home.com wrote:
    >On 5 Nov 2006 15:56:23 -0800, piclist…@yahoo.com graced this
    >newsgroup with:

    >>I plan on purchasing a new Lexus with leather seats. It has disturbed
    >>me to see so many pre-owned vehicles with leather seats (3-4 years old)
    >>with cracks in the leather
    >>I keep my cars for atleast 10 years and want to do my best to preserve
    >>the leather.
    >>There are so many products out there such as Lexol, Leatherique,
    >>Armor-all leather cleaner etc.
    >> Some are all-in-one products, some have seperate cleaner and
    >>conditioner.
    >>Please share your advice on keeping the leather seats in top condition.
    >>Which products? How often to treat? etc.

    >autosport.com has an excellent leather cleaner and (separate)
    >conditioner.  Also, you can’t go wrong with Lexol.

    >There’s no excuse for cracked leather seats. That’s just because the
    >owner is plain lazy.  It only takes a quick swipe with a decent
    >cleaner and conditioner about every 3-4 months to keep the leather
    >soft.

    I’ve used several varieties of all in one cleaner and conditioner and
    my leather in my 99GT still looks fine as far as any cracking.  It
    does show some abrasion in one small area, probably from cheap
    leather.

  4. admin says:

    amsta…@home.com wrote:

    > There’s no excuse for cracked leather seats.

    I agree.

    > That’s just because the
    > owner is plain lazy.  It only takes a quick swipe with a decent
    > cleaner and conditioner about every 3-4 months to keep the leather
    > soft.

    No, it takes the MANUFACTURER using decent upholstry-grade leather, not
    cheap bonded leather junk like thay all do today.

  5. admin says:

    piclist…@yahoo.com wrote:
    > Please share your advice on keeping the leather seats in top condition.
    > Which products? How often to treat? etc.

    ===============
    Leatherique
    Oil twice a year
    Prestine clean as needed for quicker light conditioning
    Leatherique is applied the reverse of most leather treatment products.
    The rejuvinating oil is allowed to soak in, lifting out impurities,
    followed by a light application of Prestine Clean, damp cloth and then
    buffing with dry cloth.
    Leaves no slick or glossy residue, deep cleans, conditions.
    Sun is hard on leather.
    I live in Southern California where the sun can get very hot, but I
    don’t like tinited windows, so when parking I use sun shades, front,
    side and rear.
    I too have seen neglected leather destroyed by prolonged sun exposure.
    Leather stays like new.

  6. admin says:

    On 6 Nov 2006 09:48:52 -0800, "Daniel" <nospampls2…@yahoo.com>
    graced this newsgroup with:

    - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    >piclist…@yahoo.com wrote:

    >> Please share your advice on keeping the leather seats in top condition.
    >> Which products? How often to treat? etc.
    >===============
    >Leatherique
    >Oil twice a year
    >Prestine clean as needed for quicker light conditioning
    >Leatherique is applied the reverse of most leather treatment products.
    >The rejuvinating oil is allowed to soak in, lifting out impurities,
    >followed by a light application of Prestine Clean, damp cloth and then
    >buffing with dry cloth.
    >Leaves no slick or glossy residue, deep cleans, conditions.
    >Sun is hard on leather.
    >I live in Southern California where the sun can get very hot, but I
    >don’t like tinited windows, so when parking I use sun shades, front,
    >side and rear.
    >I too have seen neglected leather destroyed by prolonged sun exposure.
    >Leather stays like new.

    sounds like a great product.  Any recommendations where to get it?

    tks

  7. admin says:

    On 5 Nov 2006 21:05:22 -0800, "mcbrue" <mcb…@aol.com> graced this
    newsgroup with:

    >Can’t the dealer do that during their routine check sessions every 5000
    >miles? And you are right – Lexus leather does crack! There are some
    >other brands which use thicker leather and it does not crack, but those
    >are luxury cars.

    The absolute worst condition of leather I’ve ever seen was in a C280.
    The leather was so badly cracked that it made crunching sounds when
    I pressed on it with my hand.

    And it doesn’t have anything to do with the thickness of the leather.
    All leather is, is basically, skin.  If you don’t keep it protected it
    WILL dry and crack on you…and it certainly doesn’t matter what hood
    emblem it happens to be resting behind.

    If you don’t want to take the effort to take care of the leather,
    don’t buy a car that has it.

    And you *don’t* have 5,000 "routine checks" in a Lexus.  Or, for that
    matter, any car.

  8. admin says:

    amsta…@home.com wrote:
    > On 6 Nov 2006 09:48:52 -0800, "Daniel" <nospampls2…@yahoo.com>
    > graced this newsgroup with:
    > >Leatherique

    > sounds like a great product.  Any recommendations where to get it?

    > tks

    ===========================
    LEATHERIQUE, 106 Englewood Road Aiken S.C. 29803,  (877)395-3366
    http://www.leatherique.com/

    BTW, last week Prestine Clean removed ink marks from a ball point pen
    poking out of the pocket of my teen age passenger. Took a lot of
    rubbing and several applications, but did remove it the next day,
    without harming the finish or color.
    Looks like some of the black dye from new clothes also rubbed off on
    the leather – removed that rather quickly.
    Leatherique is more costly than other products, but you probably only
    need to purchase once a year.
    Got their start rejuvinating cardboard hard leather in a classic
    Jaguar, details are on the web page.

  9. admin says:

    "Daniel" <nospampls2…@yahoo.com> wrote in message

    news:1162911733.624400.90880@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com…

    - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

    > amsta…@home.com wrote:
    > > On 6 Nov 2006 09:48:52 -0800, "Daniel" <nospampls2…@yahoo.com>
    > > graced this newsgroup with:

    > > >Leatherique

    > > sounds like a great product.  Any recommendations where to get it?

    > > tks
    > ===========================
    > LEATHERIQUE, 106 Englewood Road Aiken S.C. 29803,  (877)395-3366
    > http://www.leatherique.com/

    > BTW, last week Prestine Clean removed ink marks from a ball point pen
    > poking out of the pocket of my teen age passenger. Took a lot of
    > rubbing and several applications, but did remove it the next day,
    > without harming the finish or color.
    > Looks like some of the black dye from new clothes also rubbed off on
    > the leather – removed that rather quickly.
    > Leatherique is more costly than other products, but you probably only
    > need to purchase once a year.
    > Got their start rejuvinating cardboard hard leather in a classic
    > Jaguar, details are on the web page.

    I used those products on my 2003 ES300 with excellent results. The beige
    leather now looks like new.

  10. admin says:

    If you don’t want it to crack, don’t sit in it and don’t put it in the
    sun.

    Yes conditioning the leather routinely will help delay the wear and
    tear on the leather, but if you’re looking for factory leather after 5
    years of use, think again. If you don’t ever sit in it, yes. You can’t
    expect to keep it perfect for that long though, let alone 10 years. It
    is going to crack, just a truth you must accept. But definitely do the
    routine conditioning, this will keep the leather soft and supple and
    comfortable, as well as delay the onset of said cracks in the leather.


    NYLexSC
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