llllBULLSEYE

iTrader: (1)

owned 2 Tl 04 one with 95k another with 165k when sold and no problem with the leather. Now on this type S the leather is just cracking at 94k and I see other Type S with the same problem.
last month the passenger side and now the driver side started
The bad thing is I decided to sell the car, but with this
problem it takes away a lot from the interior.

nist7

General opinion is Honda has crap leather.

My 06 TL's prior owner had front seat leather replaced totally...contributed to it by poor maintenance as well.

Tint/shade/covered parking to minimize UV exposure as well as regular cleaning with moisturizing/tending to the leather helps in keeping the leather.

Less weight probably can help as well :p

cokorote

iTrader: (1)

Jesus, that look bad. My 05 doesn't look like that. But I agree with nist7 about the minimize UV exposure as possible and keep the regular maintenance.

thoiboi

Generallly they're bad, but it can also be attributed to poor maintenance of the leather..

6MTSSR

I own three vehicles with leather..I clean and condition them 2x a month! My mustang looks great...my 1999 C43 AMG looks brand new! My Type S...HORSESHIT! ITS THE LEATHER QUALITY WHICH ACURA SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES.Its paper thin! My Type S just turned 130k and honestly my car can pass for 30k in n out...until u look at the front seats..and don't get me started on the bullshit armrest material either..totally unacceptable.

nvmaddog

The quality of the leather is sub par and even with regular maintenance it cracks very easily.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

I agree.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Yea, it isn't the best. I was lucky and had my front seat's leather replaced under warranty.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

I've had my driver's bottom portion replaced twice under warranty. It certainly is one of the weak points for the 3G as the leather does not age well at all.

I was under the impression that the 07/08 seats were upgraded compared to the 04-06.

TacoBello

Hmmm it might really be the UV aspect... Mine are ten years old and have some wear, but no where near that bad. I only condition them 2-3 times a year. Man, these Acuras don't stand up to hot weather... Cracked dashes, cracked seats, cracked armrests...

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

First off, half of what you think is leather is actually vinyl.

Acura learned from other American manufacturers and realized it is better to cut corners and cost by using cheaper materials. 99% of buyers can't spot the difference. The only thing they notice is lower sticker price from cheaper materials being used. They could care less if it cracks when the car is on its 2nd or 3rd owner.

The leather in my 14 Focus ST is rather crappy also.

My 13 year old Acura leather seats have no cracks still, but still use some vinyl and thin leather.

The leather quality 15-20 years ago in Acura vehicles was so much better than now.

Leather quality and other material quality seems to get worse every generation.

Most honda's are going to Macpherson strut front suspensions and torsion beam rear over the double wishbone and multi-link rear setups to save cost. Can't blame them since buyers don't even know the difference. Double wishbone is what made honda fwd cars so superior to other eonomy fwd cars without double wishbone and stock lsd.

truonghthe

combination between poor maint by owner and shitty material choice by Honda. BTW this is my seat current at 97k miles.

6MTSSR

I have the same Taupe interior and your seats look great.Maybe previous owner of my vehicle didn't give a hoot....

b15

The seats on my 06 have held up well, no cracks but usual wear and tear creases. I think being garage kept us also a factor. Mine sits outside now so hopefully the leather and dash holds up

AutoCustomLeather

iTrader: (1)

Hello,

This is Jerry from Auto Custom Leathers, trust me we replace a lot of these. I was told by my supplier that the vendor that Acura was using for these covers was perforating the leather when it was still green(wet). In doing so, as it dried the natural process of shrinking led to the cracks or tears in the perforation. Peeps who religiously conditioned fared better. The sun is a killer, the cooler you can keep the leather, the slower the shrinking process.

Thanks!

truonghthe

so does my previous onwer did not give a dam about maint but luckily I got the car at 60k miles and caught it in time.

MarcDavidoff

I believe the perforations definitely contribute to the cracking. And keeping the leather conditioned is also essential. Honda/Acura had never had leather seats that seem to hold up well. Maybe too thin...maybe too soft as well. The legend seats were really tough to keep from wearing prematurely

llllBULLSEYE

iTrader: (1)

Thanks that makes sense.


truonghthe your leather seats look like new. Are you the original owner?

truonghthe

^^^nope I got the car back in Feb 2012 with 59k miles on the clock.

08NJCpe

Who here has replaced their seat bottoms or had them professionally repaired? My driver's seat is now ripped and is only getting worse! Looking for advice really, and since this is a recent thread I figured why not ask here. Thanks

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

I used Fabrion.net to get a guy to come repair the creases on my front seat leather. Came out beautifully. Of course, that was three years ago, but still.

leo221

didn't know type-s seats are that ugly.

Scottwax

Biggest reason people have issues with leather is because they don't keep it clean. Whenever there is dirt on the seats and you put your full weight on it and move around a bit while driving, it's like rubbing sandpaper all over the seats. Every time you wash your car (which should ideally be weekly) you should also wipe down your seats, dash and console.

dj5

Just had my all 2008 TLS black/quartz seat covers replaced with new ones from AutoCustomLeathers. My passenger seat cracked and split in several places. I'm the original owner and clean and condition my seats regularly. Had a passenger probably less than 3 dozen times since owning the car, with mileage now at 110k.

Same perforation pattern as OEM and overall quality seems better than OEM. The black section is vinyl and quartz is leather, same as OEM. Seats are much softer than OEM. The exterior of the TL is almost like new and now the interior is new. I plan on keeping it for a few more years as my daily commuter so worth the expense to keep it looking good.

I kept the old covers in case anyone is interested. Rear Seat covers are a 9 out of 10. Front passenger back 9 out of 10. Front passenger seat 0 out of 10 (splits). Driver seat and back 6 out of 10, shows wear but no rips or holes.

lenz973

Dj5.. any pix to see how your new setup turned out? Thinking of replacing my front seats in my accord coupe.

dj5

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

My 2006 has just over 150,000 miles on the clock and all of the seats still look pretty darn good. That said, I am assuming the cracking of the leather is a "when not if" scenario and one of the slush-fund items I'm planning on will be a full new two-tone (ala the Type-S) set of skins for my seats. Given the generally excellent condition of the rest of my car I easily see keeping it until well beyond the 300,000 mile mark (about 7 more years at my current annual mileage) so I can easily justify $1,500 for a full new interior.

wilspainar

That looks great, these are leather replacements?

6MTSSR

The leather if that's what you really want to call it is cheapo and paper thin.Its the constant climate changes from hot and cold/sunlight that kills the leather.I tried all kinds of leather preserver/conditioner etc and I still had to redo both seat bottoms and the crappy armrest cushion/cover also. The newer Acuras have synthetic leather and is thicke...jury is still out.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

Interesting, the leather in my 2006 has spent its entire life in New England, and as far as I know has never been treated. It is still in very good condition.

dj5

Quartz part is leather and black is vinyl which is the same as OEM. They can do all leather if someone is wanting to pay the price.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

here is my OEM leather front seat...being the original owner i've always been meticulous about conditioning them! i use leatherique annually and it's magical! living in san diego's mild weather doesn't hurt either (125k miles and i now only drive about 3 miles a day)

truonghthe

lololol 98% of time that TL belong to the garage anyway... nice to be 1st owner.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

actually my car was parked outside for the first 7 years! and is parked outside at work every day except weekends! i have full tint and a high end windshield protector though

Marsalis Simms

Wow so these are what my seats are supposed to look like lol yeah mine aren't torn or anything but definitely faded to gray. I'll have to see if I can get mine redone.