I have a 04 Tl that i bought used with about 10k miles. The leather seats arent that bad but i can see that they are starting to get a little bad. The wrinkles get hard and i can see them starting to get worse and worse. It also looks like the leather can rip a little and instead of it being black its like grey.
Has anyone had any experience with getting new leather from the dealer? Do they know about this problem and will give new better leather if i bring my car in?

Thanks in advance for any information,
Dave

 

The part of the seats that is real leather (as I understand it, the center part of the seat bottom and back) may benefit from application of a leather dressing and, for the fading, a leather dye. Real leather has to be treated with a dressing regularly to stay supple, particularly if the car is parked in the sun a lot. If the wear is on the non-leather parts of the seats, look for a vinyl treatment.

I'm not sure what you mean by "It also looks like the leather can rip a little." I wouldn't count on getting new upholstery or seats from the dealer for ordinary wear, or lack of care. Perhaps a different outcome if the assembly or materials are clearly defective, like the stitching coming apart all over the seats.

 

i have cleaned the seats at least once a month...so they have been taken care of. When you get into the drivers seat...on the edge of the seat there are a couple half inch marks where the leather has worn off. Please advise on how to fix

 

Can someone clarify exactly which parts of the seats are real leather vs. vinyl? It was my understanding that the entire surface of the front seats was leather except for the back which is clearly plastic. What about the back seats?

Henna, as far as your situation goes, I'd be worried that the leather was showing any significant wear after only 10K miles.

 

I think only the covering that is perforated is actually leather. The smooth covering is synthetic.

 

As much as I love my TL I am not impressed with the quality of the seats. I just had the rear 'skins'...the entire rear seat bottoms.........replaced. I had two 140 pounders ride in the back during a 1300 mile trip. By the end of the trip the rear seats where all stretched out. Dealer didn't even argue with me. Now that they have been replaced I doubt I'll ever have opportunity to see if the replacement skins are any better as I don't plan on having passengers in the rear for long trips in the forseeable future. The front seats have also 'stretched' somewhat. Have been checking out similar quality cars.......new and old and most don't show this kind of stretching.

 

Thanks for the response!
Do you think if i take my car to my dealer he will replace this? Its not the middle leather part, its the leather on the sides. I heard from someone on this forum that its the part thats not real leather.

Has anyone called or asked a dealer about this and if they will replace it for us if more than normal wear is shown.

 

I have a Abyss Blue Pearl with Quartz interior and the dealer replaced my seats once because of cracks and they are doing it again next week this will be twice in the 6month olds life.

 

Maybe once I lose some weight I can complain about my seats to the dealer .

 

When you mention cracks, are they actual cracks in the leather finish causing the fiber to show through, or just wrinkles in the smooth finish of the leather. Could you explain further or post pictures? I've got Ebony leather, and there are wrinkles in the driver side bolster on the seat botton, but they just look like regular wrinkles you get in any leather including shoe leather, not actual cracks that breach the finish of the leather.

 

I'd bet money he is talkin creases. These are normal parts of the leather experience - ever seen an old bomber;s jacket from WWII?

The leather in my Subaru is so hard it is like plastic. I like the leather in the TL.

Also, it should be cleaned at least once every 3 months, then conditioned. Perspiration and the salts from same wreak havoc on leather.

I use the cleaner wipes and conidtioner from Townsend Leather - they deal with $40k and up aviation seating, and know what aniline leather needs.