S/O heated leather seats high maintenance?

I would go with this is a Lexus issue.

I drive a Chevy Tahoe, DH has a Volvo and our Dodge Durango prior to this all with leather seats. We have not had visible signs of wear on any of them. The Volvo and Tahoe both have 180K miles on them and the seats are in perfect condition. The Durango was wrecked around 150K miles but looked fine at that time. None of them have the type of leather with tiny holes.

I have a 2004 Lexus with 160K miles and heated seats. The seats look good (to me). No cracking or wrinkling. The only thing I notice is that in the area you're mentioning, the seat can develop a light blue hue -- from dark denim jeans that I guess haven't been washed enough times yet.

I've had no problems with my seats at all. I think the holes are for the cooling function rather than the heating (since you're looking at newer ones, I think that is mostly standard -- but not sure). Mine don't have holes in them, but I've driven several with them.

Leather is SO easy to maintain compared to cloth. I'll never go back!

Okay, I went out to my car to look because I couldn't picture what you're talking about. Well guess what... I think my leather does have the "cracking" you're talking about! Haha. I just never notice, because the leather is in fine condition but this is just normal wear lines. There's no risk of the leather peeling or cracking "through" to the padding, etc. A picture is below.

Honestly, it is in great condition and not actually cracked. I suppose if this is going to really visually bother you, leather seats might not be for you. I do think this is a leather issue and how leather wears, not a Lexus issue. The leather is really nice and has held up great in my opinion.

I LOVE my Lexus and would get another one in a heartbeat. We also have a 2010 Acura TL, that is great too. It's not home right now or I'd go look at the seats on it, but I'd bet the leather is similar. The only thing is that with a car, you're sitting down into the car, where with an SUV, you're sliding into the car. That could be causing some of the wear lines you're seeing.

This is my driver's seat on my 2004 RX330 with 160K miles. I'm not gentle with my car, don't condition the leather, etc. I'm a big person. I've left the image very large so you can see detail and hopefully see that it a "normal" wrinkle instead of actually a deep crack.

I have black leather heated seats on my 3 YO car. Other than wipe them down when I clean my car, I've done no other maintenance. They look great to me. I think it may help that my car is garaged when it's parked, and I don't live where there is hot sun beating down on them for months on end.

I was not looking for heated seats when I was shopping, but when buying used you get what you get sometimes. I have to say that I really like them...a lot!

We have a truck and a car with heated leather seats and neither is showing cracks ... the truck, a 2012 Ford F150 is the oldest and it still looks great   

Both have black leather so I wonder if that makes a difference?

There's quite a bit of variability with the leather - I think that's probably more the issue than having heated seats. Our Navigator's seats looked horrible in 3 years - I was debating replacing the seats, but we decided to just trade it in as the gas mileage on that beast was also horrible. Our current car's seats are about that old and look brand new. I don't like the look of perforated leather you don't need it for heating. My husband's car has that type of leather and I don't know that it's a maintenance nightmare, but he babies that car quite a bit and doesn't eat or drink in it which I'm sure helps.

I haven't noticed that on either the seats in our 2007 Toyota 4Runner or the 2013 Jetta. But only the Jetta has heated leather, the 4Runner is not heated. But the leather in both is still in really good condition.

I have a Range Rover with tan leather interior. Heated seats, no pin holes. My drivers seat has discoloured a bit from my dark denim. Its starting to bug me so I will probably have it fixed. I could not be without my heated seats!!

I have owned several vehicles with heated leather seats. None have had "pinholes" for the heat, so I can't comment on that. I've had grey, tan, and black seats. The tan showed a little more of the dirt after a few years than the darker colors do (I owned it for seven years) but was easy to clean. I prefer leather seats because they are easy to wipe clean.

I drive a 2015 Lexus w/heated & cooled seats. I've had it 16 months and have just over 10,000 miles. Mine look fine and the tiny pinholes are not a problem at all. FWIW, I do eat & drink in my car and no issues with the little holes.

The leather is a top quality, soft leather that does develop character with wear, much like a good leather chair or sofa.  As for the worn area near the driver's door, this seems to be common with SUVs.  My old Expedition had it, most likely because I am short and when I get out of the car, I tend to do more of a slide out, rather than step down.


I have this issue as well.  When I am having the car washed and detailed, I just point it out to them and they are able to clean it off. 

Long time leather seat, heated seat car(s) owner. I haven't noticed any difference in wear between heated and plain leather seats.

I would hope auto manufacturers would take this detail into consideration. Compared to issues like gas mileage and crash protection it's pretty basic.