I have a 08 TL that has 52K miles on it. Just recently bought it like a month or so ago. Am now noticing how fast the leather seats wear on these cars. I've used Lexol cleaner/conditioner on the seats at least 3 times already so am not sure why this is happening.

On my front passenger seat there is a mark about 2 inches long that looks like the leather completely wore down. I just noticed this today... it has been super hot here the past week (95degs) but temperature alone shouldn't do that to seats.

I'm out of the warranty by 2K miles and I believe acura would consider this a wear and tear item so what is the best plan for me?

I would post a picture with it but I'm new here and am not allowed to yet

 

you are allowed.
host the pictures to a online photo sharing site, like photobucket.
then paste the links.

 

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/...og/leather.jpg

 

looks like it has been repaired.

 

Repaired as in it was repaired once and now it's finally worn down again? Because last night it didn't look like that at all and now this morning it does. As in yesterday the perforation holes were still there where it is now worn down like the other parts of the seat

what's the best plan for me?

 

get it reupholstered with perforated leather?

unless i'm wrong, perforated leather doesn't just wear down smooth (w/o holes) like in the picture.

Looks like it was repaired to me as well.

 

Also, it all depends on the owner. Since you just bought the car there is no way to tell how the original owner treated the interior. Usually someone that is over weight, if the car sits in the sun, if the seats never get cleaned/conditioned, and depending on how the person gets in and out of the car etc etc will pay its toll on any car seats not just the Acura's. If the seats are beyond repair you can always purchase new seat covers from Acura if you dont mind dropping a little cash.

To give you an example here are my seats currently with 65,730 miles. They look as if they have never been sat in. Again, it just all depends on how the owner treated them. So, it really isnt just Acura seats. Any car no matter how expensive seats will get ruined if they arent careful with them.

 

well I guess this also is more of a reason for me to get my windows tinted asap. I can't keep my car garaged so it has to sit outside in the sun 24/7.

 

so if you get leather seats repaired more than likely eventually it would turn out like that? Because before the perforation holes were still there and it looked fine, until now

 

Happened recently to a 4th gen TL

 

The OP picture is a very poor repair job. I would say since it has gotten worse in 2 weeks that they had JUST repaired it before you bought the car. That's my guess at least.

 

I don't see how the perforations could just "disappear". If you wore through the perforations, I'd expect you to have a big hole in the "worn through" area.

It looks like a previous repair to me as well.




FWIW - I'm at 53,000 mile and 4+ years and have no issues like that. A few normal creases developing, that's it.

 

what does everyone suggest as the best plan for me? is spending the $ to get it reupholstered my only option?

 

leave it alone.

its just a car.
plus, its a battle scar.
you can make up cool stories to impress chicks.

 

Yes I'd say so. It will probably be harder now for someone to correctly repair it now that it has been incorrectly repaired.

I've never looked at how much it costs to redo the seats entirely. Anyone know? Hell, does Acura sell just the leather? Or if you got it redone would it be with aftermarket materials?

 

yeah probably makes no sense to really mess with it right now. maybe in like 4 or 5 years if I plan on keeping the car for a while (which I do)

for now I'll just make sure I regularly maintain the seats with lexol

 

I have no idea how you have managed this, and I completely disagree. The TL is SOFT as in fragile. Not everything is on the owner. I have had many leather/vinyl seats that I conditioned rarely and treated way worse than the TL and they lasted much longer. Same can be said for the dash and paint of the TL.

 

JTS97Z28 and others, what do you use to clean and care for the leather? Looks great.

 

lol, I looked up part numbers recently to see what it would cost to get new seat covers....get ready.....ONE THOUSAND....a seat (for fronts, was afraid to look at the back). It was 500 for the bottom cushion and 500 for the top, plus that doesnt involved all the BS require to take the seat out and apart to replace it. I say Acura can go shove that up their ass no way in hell the leather quality is even 1/5 of that. I would bring it to a upholstery shop and have them use their own leather for a shitload less than that I would imagine...I have read like 1000-1500 for an entire interior redo with good quality leather.

r3devi7: I use lexol cleaner and conidtioner, and vinylex/303 aerospace on my dash. Many use Zaino products as well. You want something that is ph balanced to give the leather its longest life span. Check the Wash/Wax area, lots of good info there.

 

Katzkin want's $2k for an entire NSX revamp. They don't offer one for the TL on their site. There has to be some VIPs on here that have redone their seats.

The price tag that comes along with it isn't worth the trouble imho. You'd be better off to pick and pull the pieces out of a wrecked car.

That's a good point. Can you get those type of parts off of a carparts.com?

Sure can but it looks like they only offer the entire seats. But the shipping, ugh....

 

Eh, that's cheap. When S2000 owners get their seats stolen, the quotes from the dealer are $4000-5000 PER SEAT. Some people get their cars totaled out just from having the soft top cut and the seats stolen.

 

I found the seat covers on acuraoemparts.com

014 81531-SEP-A11ZA COVER, L. FR. SEAT CUSHION TRIM *NH167L* (LEA)
( GRAPHITE BLACK ) 001 2005 TL 808.97 606.73 Qty:
014 81531-SEP-A11ZB COVER, L. FR. SEAT CUSHION TRIM *NH528L* (LEA)
( MOON LAKE GRAY ) 001 2005 TL 667.05 500.29 Qty:
014 81531-SEP-A11ZC COVER, L. FR. SEAT CUSHION TRIM *YR167L* (LEA)
( LIGHT TAN ) 001 2005 TL 667.05 500.29 Qty:
014 81531-SEP-A11ZD COVER, L. FR. SEAT CUSHION TRIM *YR240L* (LEA)
( LIGHT CREAM IVORY ) 001 2005 TL 667.05 500.29 Qty:
002 04815-SEP-A00ZA COVER SET, L. TRIM *NH167L* (SIDE AIRBAG)(LEA)
( GRAPHITE BLACK ) 001 2005 TL 667.05 500.29 Qty:
002 04815-SEP-A00ZB COVER SET, L. TRIM *NH528L* (SIDE AIRBAG)(LEA)
( MOON LAKE GRAY ) 001 2005 TL 857.00 642.75 Qty:
002 04815-SEP-A00ZC COVER SET, L. TRIM *YR167L* (SIDE AIRBAG)(LEA)
( LIGHT TAN ) 001 2005 TL 689.15 516.86 Qty:
002 04815-SEP-A00ZD COVER SET, L. TRIM *YR240L* (SIDE AIRBAG)(LEA)
( LIGHT CREAM IVORY ) 001 2005 TL 667.05 500.29 Qty:

 

Optimum or 303 work wonders. We don't really have leather. The leather is just a cover I believe according to some old thread I remember reading.

 

303 will make the seats slippery as ice. I would not put 303 on the seats. I would recommend the Lexol.

Semi-related to this thread but totally off topic, I am replacing my carpets when I do my sound deadening project next month. Should be fun.

 

This topic has been discussed a lot here in 3G. I have had my seat bottom replaced 3 times under warranty for premature wear. I've never had a problem with the perforated part. Rather, the side bolsters was the main issue. The seating surfaces in the TL are soft and not durable.

 

^^ damn, wish I knew they replaced that under warranty when I still had a warranty....

 

http://www.leatherrepairkits.com/testimonials.htm

 

That's when you buy it back from the insurance and stick some sparcos in or something.

 

i have an 07 with almost 86k miles and my seats look really good for the amount of miles.

 

^^ seats should not really be compared to miles.....its more of a frequency/time issue. You have an 07, so your seats are only 4 years old.....I have an 05 w/ 45.5K and I bet my seats looks worse than yours, with almost half your miles.

The more times you are in and out of the vehicle is what will really wear down your seats. My drivers seat is worn a lot just on the edge where I am constantly entering/exiting the vehicle. Since I am over 6'2'' and my car is low it takes a lot of effort to get in and out of that little fucker.

plus many owners rarely have anyone in their back seats, which keep them looking immaculate. Sober driving during pledgeship for my fraternity/hauling around my friend throughout college really put my seats through some tough love.

 

I have a pillow in my passenger seat for my girlfriend so she can actually see out of the car (shes pretty damn short). Today when I went to clean my leather I removed the pillow to see that the parchment leather had absorbed the red from the pillow. Now the seat has a pink tint =/. Kind of pissed off.

 

Yes sir.

 

I'm gonna have to disagree big time. Acura leather seats suck. Period. End of discussion. I don't care how careful you are and how often you condition the leather its gonna look like shit way quicker than most car companies out there.

 

Sorry your wrong end of discussion, and I'm pretty sure it's safe to say I have owned more cars than you. I have owned 4 TL's all of them the seats held up excellent with minimal to no wear. So if your saying the seats will look like shit, exactly how many miles does it take for that to happen?? My seats have almost 66,000 Texas heat miles in that picture. And my other three looked just as good.

 

i'm sure there are a million things involved. How heavy you are, what you wear, if you keep shit in your back pockets, temperature, garaged or not, care of leather, etc.

 

woolite.

 

^IMHO, what you wear plays a HUGE roll in how long the seats will hold up.

Denim especially is very rough on leather.

 

Just had my driver's side seat cover replaced, under warranty....

 

this is why I wear NOTHING when i drive. Preserves the leather the best

 

All you have to do is read all the threads on here (not just TL forums either) and you'll see all the people that complain about the poor quality of the leather. And all this coming from Acura lovers too that go out of their way to try to keep their leather looking nice. I'll say it again, Acura leather SUCKS. I may not have owned 4 TL's but I have owned 2 Acuras in the span of 6 years and have seen enough leather complaining threads.