Leather Woes

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Aug 18, 2007 | 08:42 PM
  #1  
4ank's Avatar
Thread Starter
Racer
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 418
Likes: 4
From: Philadelphia
Arrow Leather Woes

Has anyone else noticed that the leather on their car is very inconsistent? For example, my rear passenger seat leather is hard and grainy-like, while the rear driver side is perfect. Also, the one bolster on the passenger front seat is entirely different that the other bolster. The color is normal, but the feel/texture of the leather is dramatically different.

I will try to snap some pics tomorrow, but is this a common trend or is this isolated to my car? I am the second owner, but bought it in 2005 (it is an '03). It is really not noticeable unless you are looking for it (i.e. the owner of the car).
Reply
Old Aug 18, 2007 | 10:40 PM
  #2  
windwardjoe82's Avatar
8th Gear
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
leather in the tl sucks

yeah dude I have the same problem with my tl the leather is horriable i am so sick of it I told the dealer and they are willing to replace the side of my passenger seat so hopefull it doesnt start cracking after couple of weeks. I am so sick of the problems that this 07 tl is giving me.
Reply
Old Aug 19, 2007 | 12:45 AM
  #3  
VIPCLS's Avatar
P.
 
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 828
Likes: 7
From: N.C.
Naw, i continually condition my leather constantly!!
Reply
Old Aug 19, 2007 | 02:54 AM
  #4  
2K1CLtypeS's Avatar
Instructor
 
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 201
Likes: 0
From: Hawaii
Mine seems ok. I condition it on a regular basis too....
Reply
Old Aug 19, 2007 | 03:16 AM
  #5  
BigLizard's Avatar
Moderator Alumnus
 
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 8,125
Likes: 11
From: Pacific Northwest, blah.
Food for thought, if you have your window down all the time, dirt from the road is kicked up and literally thrown into the back of the car. I have it all the time, and with parchment leather it's gross.

Wipe your hand on the leather to see if dirt shows up on your hand.

Take a wet wipe and you'll see the dirt.
Reply
Old Aug 19, 2007 | 08:28 PM
  #6  
4ank's Avatar
Thread Starter
Racer
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 418
Likes: 4
From: Philadelphia
Yeah, I don't think it is a matter of clean vs. dirty or conditioning though. It is just inconsistent leather, some smooth, some textured or harder. Pics would help, so I will shoot some and take a wet wipe to it!
Reply
Old Aug 20, 2007 | 09:48 AM
  #7  
fuzzy02CLS's Avatar
Senior Moderator
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,847
Likes: 223
From: South FL
Maybe the previous owner has some of the leather replaced? The replacements are not the same as the factory stuff. The texture & color is a little different.
Reply
Old Aug 20, 2007 | 10:37 AM
  #8  
EL19's Avatar
Suzuka Master
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
iTrader: (4)
 
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 5,340
Likes: 194
From: DC
or maybe they left the window down and the leather got rained on or sun bleached?...i condition the hell out of my leather with lexol...it looks & feels pretty healthy
Reply
Old Aug 20, 2007 | 10:48 AM
  #9  
RaviNJCLs's Avatar
Team Owner
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
iTrader: (4)
 
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 37,136
Likes: 624
From: Landisville, PA
I hated the seats in the CL. But my biggest problem was wear related. I never got around to having them replaced, but it always bothered me that they looked like crap. The seats in my Infiniti are 10x better. They a lot softer and show almost no age at all.

And by the way, what I found that cleans them best are baby-wipes. Those things are amazing. They clean off stains really well. And the little guy in the avatar loves to "Mom my ride." They leave no film or drys out the leather. And then you can condition them. Works like a charm.
Reply
Old Aug 20, 2007 | 01:34 PM
  #10  
cltypeSLOW's Avatar
Don't Mess With Texas
 
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 4,600
Likes: 2
From: austin tx
meguirs leather conditioner wipes do the job for me.
Reply
Old Aug 20, 2007 | 01:41 PM
  #11  
RaviNJCLs's Avatar
Team Owner
20 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
iTrader: (4)
 
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 37,136
Likes: 624
From: Landisville, PA
Originally Posted by cltypeSLOW
meguirs leather conditioner wipes do the job for me.
That's what I use to condition mine too. I usually have to clean them though. Juice and Formula stains really well.
Reply
Old Aug 21, 2007 | 12:36 PM
  #12  
pai_gow's Avatar
Who did this in
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 586
Likes: 0
From: Sydney, Australia
Mothers Cleaner and Conditioner FTW
Reply
Old Aug 21, 2007 | 01:47 PM
  #13  
Leafy Bug's Avatar
Advanced
 
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 84
Likes: 0
From: chattanooga, tn
my back seats are perfect cause only two people have sat in them. haha and they weighed about 90 lbs. havent noticed anything else about the leather.
Reply
Old Aug 21, 2007 | 02:08 PM
  #14  
CL6's Avatar
CL6
My only car is a Bus
 
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,254
Likes: 1
From: Republik of Kalifornia
I had my driver's seat cushion replaced under warranty a while ago because of a seam coming loose. I noticed the new leather is softer, doesn't have a coating like the older stuff and was more like the leather in the new TLs.
Reply
Old Aug 22, 2007 | 08:17 PM
  #15  
Misdby1's Avatar
Instructor
 
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 196
Likes: 2
From: McKinney, Tx
My driver side bottom had a rip at the left front corner that got continually worse until I super-glued it back together last weekend. We'll see how long it holds.

I did notice that the leather on the seat is very thin and looks more like perforated vinyl. my driver's seat is pretty worn out, the rest of them look pretty good though.
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
rp_guy
Member Cars for Sale
9
Jul 16, 2017 07:33 AM
detailersdomain
Wash & Wax
3
Oct 9, 2015 10:13 PM
RadiantCycles
ZDX
1
Sep 26, 2015 09:18 PM




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:47 PM.