LS400 Front Seats

The seat covers should be interchangeable. Some seat covers use hog rings and some use zippers. The ones that use hog rings are very time-consuming to change. Other than the positioning of the controls, the left and right should be the same.

Assuming you want to do this because of a difference in wear and appearance in the leather, you may wish to consider having the covers refinished. There are outfits that clean the covers and then spray a coating on the seat covers that fills in the cracks, making the leather look new. These outfits visit dealerships that sell used cars, and the results are remarkable. I've seen them turn a cracked, faded seat cover into one that looks brand new. The cost in the Chicago area is probably in the neighborhood of $200.

Thanks Ray - I forget to mention that this is for a 1990 and all of your assumptions are pretty much right on the mark. The problem with refinishing is, that as GOOD as they improve the appearance, they tend to stiffen up the leather... a lot. Although mine are cracked and worn, mainly along the entrance edges, there are no tears. My dilemma is that the car has 210K and NEW (front) leather covers would be ~$700-$800 installed. As far as resale 'value', any improvement HAS to be for purely my own satisfaction - THERE IS NO RESALE UPSIDE. Any tips on removing the hard plastic trim (disassembling the seat enough) to see what is my actual situation?? Would I need to remove the entire seat?? Thanks again

I've never taken a close look at removing the hard plastic parts of the seats, but I believe that they are held in place with pop-in plastic clips. Given the age of the vehicle, you will probably have to replace a few of the clips. If you recline the seat back all the way, you may be able to see a zipper where the seat back meets the seat cushion.

good luck!

time-consuming