italian_spak

im having cracking issue on my driver seat after 19000miles and i always conditiong my leather mcguiars best conditionner. Will acura change my seat, does this include itself in the warranty? is it me or the leather is kinda cheap?? My dad had a benz for 10 years and the leather is still like new and feel much more durable than ours

can anyone answer me on this

anyone have comments about the leather plz feel free to post a msg in this thread

thanks

gogotl

it's considered wear and tear. if you complain enough, your dealer might give you a new one as a good will. premature wear is not uncommon with honda leather seats, not sure about acura leather seats.

whatjones911

Yes the leather is really cheap period. My dad also has a benz which is a 97 and the leather looks new when you condition it and is VERY durable.

Ramairgt1

i had that issue at 10k miles, they were in the process of replacing it but they totalled my car instead

HooperX

I just noticed that my '06 is already showing cracks on the driver side, and it only has 1600 miles. Has anyone else had their leather age so quickly? I'm hoping this is not expected. One more thing for the list of problems to ask about at my first oil change... *sigh*

1BlkTL

I agree I think the leather is I hate to say cheap but mine only has 4,000 miles on it and it looked like my 02 TL already.

audi_to_TL

iTrader: (2)

Had both the drivers and passenger bottoms replaced. They looked like crap the day I picked up my car.

After replacement they aren;t as tight but the look of the leather is way better.

italian_spak

but thinking about it even if i get them replaced it will still be acura leather(cheap) replacing the old one, so it;ll still crack and wear out quickly, i think we all got screwed paying big bucks for cheap leather, i mean what else can we do ppl?

ChicaTL

Me too, it sucks I know. Maybe getting an aftermarket leather kit would be better? Hmm

italian_spak

chica that would be a good idea but the fact is that the car is new and normal leather should not become like this at least not so soon comprende

ChicaTL

SI, Italian_spak, si comprendo, gracias.

Thing is, I bought my car used at exactly 10 months old and on the drivers side, where my shoulder is, there is a small tear like the size of half a penny.
It was there probably when I bought the car, but I don't think the leather was flapping out, to where it was noticeable. I already had the dealership retouch my whole car and wax and buff out any noticeable scratches, etc....

I will take care of this problem myself, but wondering how much auto upholstery places will want to charge. Its a minimal problem, but still.

italian_spak

ya ive noticed that the side section of the seats where the leather isnt perforated is the most fragile part of our leather, im thinking about getting a custom leather job done half camel half black, i think it will look pretty cool since my car is black on the outside

what do you think

hey chica donde vives?

SSM6MTNAVI

Mine is an 04 and the driver's seat leather has some creases and butt prints. I spoke to my dealer and they say for the time I've had my car they'll consider it normal wear and tear. Does anyone on here have the service manual with instructions on how to remove the front seats coz I was thinking I could switch the front seat bottoms around and have the passenger side seat bottom on the driver's side so they could wear equally coz my passenger side seat looks like new. Any help is appreciated! Still love my 6MT Navi as much as the day I drove it off the lot!

brifro

I bought my new 2006 TL with tan leather on April 1, 2006, and the driver's side seat is already looking crappy. I'm a lightweight too at 150 lbs. I just sold my '94 Camry V6 XLE, which had tan leather, and it wore well for ten years. I've also noticed the TL leather absorbs stains VERY easily, and I'm always removing dark marks with leather cleaner. Perhaps if somebody starts a class action lawsuit for substandard leather quality, some lawyer could get us all a coupon worth $25 off the purchase of our next new Acura.

vtprince

yes, acura tl leather is cheap, mine is an 06 with 6000k and i start to noticed there's wrinkles on the driver's side...good thing i don't take passenger very often. I don't think there's anything you can do to keep it from aging accept to replace it...that sucks...

VtecMW

I was actually going to create a thread asking about the leather issue on my '04 until I found this thread. I looked at my leather today, ironically while leaving my car at the dealer for an airbag issue. The leather looks awful. I'm very concerned that it's not going to hold up over the 4 more years that I plan to keep the car.

I'm very disappointed to hear that this issue exists on later TL models.

ACURAKILLER

Try the leather strengthener/protector, I use this and havent had an issues so far.

GUAGS99

Is this an Acura product? If not what is the exact product??

MusicMan220

I am about to purchase an Acura TL, and would like to know if certain leather colors wear worse than others. Would it be advantageous to get black leather instead of tan? Or is the quality the same no matter what color of leather is it?

Jesstzn

I'm getting the seat bottom on the drivers side replaced at 1800 miles sight unsean by the dealer. The left seat bolster has weak marks and its full of little specks like the leather wasn't dyed properly.

This is very dissapointing. I just came from an 03 VW passat with Tan leather and its 500% better quality than this. After 4 years it showed no wear and I seldom had to clean it . This leather I have had to clean 3 times in 2 months. It takes on everything.

MusicMan220

I wrote to someone who restores cars professionally and told him about the leather situation with the TL, and asked for advice. This is what he wrote back. Hope it helps:

"The thing I have always done to leather products, seats, doors, dash, anything. Is wipe it with vaseline. Yes that is right, the stuff that goes on babies butts. Now I got enough and rub it all over it. Then I let it soak for 8 hours. You might want to do this while you sleep, like do this before you quit for the day. Then before you drive it of course take all the stuff on top off. WIPE IT GOOD. or you will get vaseline on your clothes! But this protects it AWESOME. They make products that are expensive and what not. But this is the BEST way, it breaks in nice, and keeps the leather moist. I don't think there is cheap leather, maybe just thin, or the glue they use is cheap. But I HIGHLY recommend the vaseline treatment. As of always, this is my opinion, everyone else will have different ones. But I do not tell you anything that I have not tried! Take care Gary!"

italian_spak

someone that works in leather products told me to clean the seats with milk, apparently its very good, i just hope it doesnt get sticky hicky afterwards.

Jesstzn

Give it a try and let us know how you made out by the end of summer.

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

sux...nuff said.

alexkcha

I just spoke with the service guy that I usually go to. I asked him what I can do about the leather when it starts to look really bad. He said, as long as it's still under warranty and it's not caused by a key/knife/or some kind of object, the dealership will replace it.

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

A Yachacha!~~! Just what you needed to hear too!! (so long as you have warrantee). Just got a seat issue fixed myself!

JetJock

I've got a '04 TL, and started to get butt prints and wrinkles a few months after buying the car. I got the dealer to swap the leather with the '05 style bottoms, but it required replacing the cushions and heater. They paid for the leather, bottom and back, and labor, but I had to pay for the cushions and heater elements. It was money well spent, the new seat leather is a better quality, and the extra seam has prevented the butt print issue.

Aznpersuasion

Yeah i have cracks and creases all on my driver and passenger side, but it's strange how i had my lil brother sit in the backseat and the next thing i notice it started to have butt prints on it? what do you think i should do? if i take it to the Dealership there probally just mess the car up more..
~Jason

Tonywp75

I have butt prints too after going to dorney park, it was really getting annoying to see it. I use some leather condition on it and it seem to get a little better.

I have an 05 Tl and it still have butt prints.

Republican TL

Cheap leather seats are the price you pay for Bluetooth Technology.

Tonywp75

I meant only in the back seats...why didnt they put in the extra stiching like the front seats. If they did that...u wont be able to see the butt prints in the back seats.

canadiandude

Took my 05 TL with 9000 miles to my dealer. The service manager looked at the seats and said there is no problem with the way the seats look. He said if BMW seats hold up better, I should buy one. the man is obviously an assohole.

He also said that I shouldn't believe all these other complaints being posted on the internet and that the dealerships only service the cars, they don't build them. If I have issues, I should call Acura (who of course tells me to take the car to the dealership).

No wonder someone started a website "acurasucks.com"

sjo

iTrader: (2)

^ Wow, what a fag service manager! Do you happen to be in Toronto?

ililillilillilil

most likely the wear will happen during the warranty & the tear will come up afterwards. i was @ Automat to see about a custom interior. to replace all seat covers is from $1,200 - 1,600 for crazy work. I actually wish the TL didn't come with leather so i could have something way better.

canadiandude

Yeah, but this particular dealership is in Aurora.

thumpher13

Well guys and gals, I have read all post and believe me I have been through hell and back with ACURA. My car was brand new 2 miles on it when purchased..a week later I notice a paint drip on passenger door and instead of doing sand color on door they decided to buff it out and in doing so they burnt the paint..whole different story but finally got that taken care of......

Now here comes the story on the seats. When car was purchased the seats were in perfect shape, but after the body work Acura decided to give it their complimentary detail and that is where the story begins. Detailers were lazy and decided to steam clean carpets which is the norm, but then they decided to steam clean the seats. As soon as I picked up my car I let them know that detail ruined my back seat and passenger seat. Well, they told me that it would be replaced, well guess what they were never replaced, they just tried to clean them over and over and ruined ALL the seats. So, I brought it to the service managers attention and he said, nah they look fine, but he would send them back again,. I said, NO WAY let me talk to service manager, so I did. He agreed to re-do seats but he told me all would be replaced, well guess what they tried to get away with piece work and it didn't pass with me. Once again my new car is left with them for new seats and a week later I am back with the same old bullshit! Now this story seems long because it is long they had my car on and off for a total of 23 days out of the 40 some odd days I owned the car. Finally I went over everbody's head and went to a customer service rep and told them the bullshit that their dealership and service were trying to pull on me. Well end of story is that they (managaement) finally agreed to REPLACE ALL MY SEATS straight from factory...seats are all brand new they even left the tags on the seats to show me that they came from the factory. I tend to agree that the leather is not the best that Acura uses. My parents owned a Cadillac STS for years and leather never looked as bad as some of the TL's I looked at in regards to telling Acura that their leather sucks bad! If you buy a TSX you will get better letter even though it's a thicker leather, but at least you won't go through leather problems like the TL. I really can't wait to see what my leather does in a few months knowing that the leather sucks! So to all keep fighting like I did and maybe you will win the war! P.S. My leather is the Parchment and I noticed all Parchment looked pretty wrinkled.

MusicMan220

Thumper, what dealer was this?

thumpher13

MusicMan220, this was a dealership in Downey, Calif. believe it or not it was hell getting what I wanted out of them. What is even more sad is that after all this appeasing me, and finally getting my car back, I let them know that the swirls from their detail was not acceptable and I wanted them to at least try and correct that too. Guess what? As soon as my car was given to me and I told him at that time about the swirls he told me that he would get it done, well no phone call has been returned to me and this is not acceptable to me. This weekend I will be on the computer writing ACURA a letter in regards to the way they handled my situation and HOW THEY are the ones that did this to my car and I want compensation, although everyone tells me to fight for the Lemon Law and ask for a new car, not that easy here in California. I just want my NEW car to be new. Other than that I absolutely love my car. Later tonight I will post a pic of my car and seats..ohh and swirls too..lol

MusicMan220

Thanks for the info, Thumpher. If you get an address at Acura to write to, could you post it? I want to write them, too, about a different matter.

thumpher13

MusicMan220, as for the address I will be sending my letter to the address below:

BY MAIL
Acura Client Services
1919 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90501-2746

Hope this is the right address, nut this is what I found on Acura website.