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One thing I will say is in their effort to keep costs down and be a value seller they cut a few too many corners. The TLX seats and leather remind me of the 3G, leather is wrinkling and showing wear in 2K miles. My 4G looked like new at 19K miles. I remember them replacing the drivers leather on 2 of my 3G TLs.
I will try and snap a few tomorrow, nothing horrible yet, but clearly reminds me of the 3G leather wear. My 4G at 19K, my M37S at 45K and my A6 at 19K all looked almost new, my TLX at 2200 miles has some wrinkling. Clearly the 4G SH-AWD Milano leather was far better than the TLX.
I love to use leather cleaner on my cars every time i wash them (weekly) but with the ventilated seats I am scared to but really want to to help keep them looking good, any recommendations??
I love to use leather cleaner on my cars every time i wash them (weekly) but with the ventilated seats I am scared to but really want to to help keep them looking good, any recommendations??
While I have not treated the TLX seats, I have used LeatherCPR on most of my cars the last several years. The only car that was a slight issue was her 14 RDX, I had to go lightly as it would tend to show in the perforations. I would just rub a little harder to make sure it all got rubbed in and it then evaporates. But my A6, Infiniti, 4G TL, etc all were fine. My fear with the TLX is the seats feel like her RDX did form a cheaper leather poorer quality build/design. Her 16 RDX at 3300 miles is actually looking decent compared to the TLX. Again this is not horrible, but none of my last 3 cars has shown really any wear over many more miles. I think 2 things contribute to this, first is cheaper leather and second is the leather and cushioning is not as firm/tight so as you slide in and out of car the cushion gives more causing the leather which is already not tight to stretch and wrinkle.
The leather is a little softer, and the stitching pattern is more like the 3G (I have both side-by-side in my garage right now). The TLX leather actually feels nicer than my 3G TL leather (the 3G stuff feels more rubbery). The side bolsters were probably made from a different pleather in the 4G. The side bolster fake leather feels softer in the TLX vs my 3G and thus seems to wrinkle a little more. The 4G was maybe better but since I didn't own one I can't comment on that.
I would say it's nicer stuff than my 3G though, looking at and feeling them side by side. I literally have both doors of the cars open and touching both as I type this on my phone. TLX seating surfaces are nicer leather than the 3G TL.
Here is a pic, car has 2200 miles and this is the outer drivers seat edge. My Infiniti M37S which has much better quality leather was smooth at 45K miles when I turned it in, my A6 at 19K miles looked like new as did my 4G TL AWD at 19K miles. This is the way my 3G TLs would wear and it was not impressive. It is not horrible, but the seat bottom is starting to stretch and I suspect these wrinkles will eventually become creases.
For 2200 miles, that is terrible. Have you thought of brining it to the dealer? I know it is not damaged by any means but in the long run it will get worse.
Mine looks alot like that too. I suspect it can also be caused by sliding my butt into/over the bolster when the seat slides to the back position. I treat the leather and it doesnt have any worn or shiny spots, just the creases like that.
I don't think those side bolsters are actually leather. The fake leather material they used there doesn't seem to hold up as well as the real stuff on the seat. My 3G TL-S had it worse actually because it was kind of a harder plasticky feeling bolster. The TLX just doesn't have the greatest fake leather side bolsters. I find the actual leather on the seat is more than fine, although the stitching pattern in the seat bottom has less divides so you can get butt prints in it (that's why the really soft leathers in certain cars that are softer than this even use a quilted stitch pattern I'm guessing).
I will bring it to dealer for first oil change and hit them with my list. Also going to get the side vents swapped out for the black ones, that dame chrome reflection on overcast days is horrible. I though all the "surfaces" were leather, but knowing the cost cutting I would not be surprised. 2 of my 3G TLs did this as well and they replaced the seat, actually sent me to a car leather shop that also added a tad more padding to help keep the leather tighter and it was great. My 4G, Infiniti and A6 never did this and the Infiniti had 45K miles and much softer leather.
To me honda / acura and toyota / lexus for the most part had pretty cheap / crappy leather. I am not sure about lexus now a days but toyota's leather is still crap.
Mine too looks like that, I have almost 10,000 miles on mine.
Mine looks exactly like that at 12k - I thought it was fairly normal.
I concur with youngTL - I'm fairly certain the only portion of the seat that's leather is the center strip and even that's covered with enough plastic coating that you're not really touching any leather when you sit down. That's why you don't really need to clean/protect it with leather-care products. Wipe it down with a very mild detergent then use a good interior protectant like Aerospace 303 to keep the plastic from fading and cracking.
Everyone wants premium quality everywhere but this is the bargain priced Acura. They have to make some compromises to keep the cost down, and this is one of them. As the saying goes "you get what you pay for". I am content with my choice.
To me honda / acura and toyota / lexus for the most part had pretty cheap / crappy leather. I am not sure about lexus now a days but toyota's leather is still crap.
When I was looking a various Lexus models recently, almost all of the cars had Nuluxe, not real leather. Same thing with BMW - most of the 2 and 3 series cars I looked at had fake leather. The real leather in the Lexus cars was soft. The real leather in the BMW 2 and 3 series cars was very hard. My wife's Toyota has fake suede seats (ultrasuede), and it feels good and has held up very well.
When I was looking a various Lexus models recently, almost all of the cars had Nuluxe, not real leather.
I'm on my second NuLuxe Lexus, probably now a convert. After 3 years, the light beige seats looked like the day they left the dealership on the ES. I always had issues with the lines and waves leather developed after relatively short times on several cars, Mercedes, Lexus, others. Never abused but never looked as good as the NuLuxe after 3 years. The NuLuxe does not have the hot/sweaty summer feel that vinyl and some leatherettes used to have, and is probably most like the MBTex that I had as far back as 1983 which also retained its shape and look.
Everyone wants premium quality everywhere but this is the bargain priced Acura. They have to make some compromises to keep the cost down, and this is one of them. As the saying goes "you get what you pay for". I am content with my choice.
True, but the 4G AWD tech had far better quality leather.
Mine looks exactly like that at 12k - I thought it was fairly normal.
I concur with youngTL - I'm fairly certain the only portion of the seat that's leather is the center strip and even that's covered with enough plastic coating that you're not really touching any leather when you sit down. That's why you don't really need to clean/protect it with leather-care products. .
I think the top sides are leather. If you feel the sides vs. the top sides you can feel a substantial difference, the seat sides are clearly plastic. But I think anything you body touches is leather.
I think you're right actually Keith, now that I look at them again and feel them again. The 3G had pleather bolsters where your thighs touch them.
If you look at the base model TLXs, the side bolsters feel different. Last time I was at the dealership I remember feeling them and they felt like the leatherette in the centre on the base model, but the Tech and above feel different now that I think about it.
I'm on my second NuLuxe Lexus, probably now a convert. After 3 years, the light beige seats looked like the day they left the dealership on the ES. I always had issues with the lines and waves leather developed after relatively short times on several cars, Mercedes, Lexus, others. Never abused but never looked as good as the NuLuxe after 3 years.
Wish I had that stuff on my Lexus IS250. The real leather after about a year looked worse than KeithLs does on his Acura. And I took care of it with cleaner and conditioner. Really looked pretty bad when I sold it after about 5 years. Rest of the leather (not used much) looked pretty good.
...I am also a huge fan of the NuLuxe material in my IS....Mind you, my leather in my TL was never an issue either. At 115 lbs, hard to damage the leather maybe? (lol)
Here is my 2010 TL (115k miles) vs. my 2015 TLX (3,500 miles). The TLX has the black leather, mine looks to be fine. As long as the seat is comfortable, I don't worry as much how my leather looks. My 2010 TL seat fits me like a glove whereas the TLX feels flatter with less padding.
I think you're right actually Keith, now that I look at them again and feel them again. The 3G had pleather bolsters where your thighs touch them.
If you look at the base model TLXs, the side bolsters feel different. Last time I was at the dealership I remember feeling them and they felt like the leatherette in the centre on the base model, but the Tech and above feel different now that I think about it.
Yep the base gets leatherette and the tech and adv get real leather
Madhudasari, the same thing happened on my dad's ES350. The coating on the leather is peeling away and they warrantied the seat. It was only the passenger's seat in his case.
I'm not as picky about the leather as some people are, but mine are wrinkling, as well. I have about 28k on the odo. It doesn't bother me much. I haven't inspected them closely enough to see if they're peeling like madhudasari's, and quite frankly, I'm too scared to now. lol.
Ive been looking closer at the seats of my TLX and have to agree they are of low quality. One thing I really care about is that the seats in my car look nice and are not ripped. My TLX is already showing faint signs of ware at 5,000 miles and the spot where my wallet sits I can already tell its going to cause problems not to far down the road
I own a 1999 4Runner with leather and 270,000 miles and it is just beginning to crack and its going to bug me, but hey, thats a 17 year old Toyota truck, I just wish my Acura would be able to look in "like new" condition in 10 years from now since I keep my cars looking clean (my 4runner is super clean)
Ive been looking closer at the seats of my TLX and have to agree they are of low quality. One thing I really care about is that the seats in my car look nice and are not ripped. My TLX is already showing faint signs of ware at 5,000 miles and the spot where my wallet sits I can already tell its going to cause problems not to far down the road
I own a 1999 4Runner with leather and 270,000 miles and it is just beginning to crack and its going to bug me, but hey, thats a 17 year old Toyota truck, I just wish my Acura would be able to look in "like new" condition in 10 years from now since I keep my cars looking clean (my 4runner is super clean)
I am surprised your leather is still have decent in the 4runner with 270K miles - that is impressive to me, maybe post a picture.
My 1999 4Runner just shy of 270,000 miles. Leather quality is overall in great condition for the age and mileage. As you can see the side bolster has a bit of ware from getting in and out and the bottom seat portion where the thigh hits has just started cracking, but BARELY. No rips though! Paint still shines like brand new! I would love if my TLX's leather looked this good in 17 years!!
01-02-2016, 08:54 PM
