How do I fix this leather?
 

The left driverside bolster on my car is wearing down really fast even though I keep it clean and treat it often with leather conditioner. I bought my car new 4 months ago, and already there is a small 1 cm sized section of the leather bolster where the leather is starting to wear through to the backing material. The local leather repair shop is quoting me $200 to fix this tiny 1cm section "because of the proximity to the red contrast stiching, and we'll need to mask the whole thing". As thats pretty much the cost of an entirely new seat cover, I noped out of that. What is the best way to fix this myself?

Pictures linked.

https://imgur.com/m3xmdbU
https://imgur.com/0FjSFbA

I had leather put in my '13 FRS and my seats 6 years later look in better condition than what I see in your photo. Factory leather on cheap japanese sports cars is a rip off, they give you such thin cheap material. For future advice, don't get the leather unless it didn't come from the factory. Only get leather performed at the dealership or have a quality shop do the leather seats.

I honestly would bring it up with the dealership as a material defect, you bought leather with the idea that it would last longer and be more durable than cloth. That sort of wear in 4 months is pretty hardcore. I'm going to have to guess your a heavy set fellow. The creasing around that bolster doesn't look right either, it should not be creasing to that extent.

You should only have to apply leather conditioner so often, every 6 months at most, and that is normally after the first year of ownership. It should be rock solid for at least a year with no real care needed.



Post back with an update.

Would this be a warranty item then? I really dont see how it could get this bad after only 4000 miles. Im not that heavy either lol, about 160lb.

This looks like wear from a butt pocket sliding against it when you're sitting down into the seat. Pay extreme attention with how you enter/exit the vehicle, as this is where most wear originates.

Not saying that you are doing something wrong, I'm just speculating.

I would consider this a manufactures defect. Ok yeah I'm 150lbs and at 160 after 4 months it should not look that bad unless you wear sand paper clothing. Mine doesn't look nearly as creased but it does look a little less frayed than yours but mine is 6 years + old and is a daily.

This was my seat when new, as you can see absolutely zero creases on the bolster. You can see a picture of mine when it was new at the bottom of my ft86 profile page. https://www.ft86club.com/forums/dto_...hicle_id=2947#

I have the same exact thing but on the outer edge. I brought mine to Toyota and they said it's not covered.
When I get around to it, I'm just going to go on Amazon and get the best reviewed repair kit and fix it.
Looking at videos online of people doing it, it looks pretty easy to do, definitely not $200 worth of effort for sure.

Here's a video of somebody doing it, looks easy enough: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcntjXiCiig[/ame]

Yeah any leather that comes from the factory should be considered thinner and less durable leather. Also dealer normally charges you full price for leather, which for the same price you can have an independent shop do it, give you way more options in terms of personalization and will likely be higher quality leather. Plus they will honor their work.


So When I bought my FRS Scion doesn't offer leather options but the dealer I got it at was working with Katskin leather who did my interior. Then 3 years later the leather on the rear back seat was pulling away slightly from the plastic near the top (where the sun beats on it). I told Katskin, they said No problem. Drove to my work removed my rear seat completely and took it. Brought it back to my work the next day totally redone. They did this totally free of charge as it shouldn't do that when you pay $1,500 for leather.


If I where OP I would let the dealership know Im un satisfied with this leather quality. It almost seems as if the leather was not treated fully as it should not be that beaten up that fast. Something is up and say this is a defect.

Bubba says to hit it with a gray magic marker - then forget about it.

humfrz for Bubba

I had the exact same issue but mine was a lot bigger than the one in the pics above. Turns out, it was the metal back pocket rivets or front pocket rivets rubbing and getting caught on the seat. I cleaned the seat and noticed no marks and then literally sat in it and heard some type of contact. Looked at the bolster and BAM, it was there. I narrowed it down to a rivet that was slightly turned with the sharp edge up. I resolved this by fixing those jeans and changing my enter/ exit seat approach. I use my right foot and left hand to prop myself up and then drop myself in the seat rather than just sliding in, hitting the bottom left bolster and top left bolster. No more issues.

I put seat covers on mine after I noticed some wear after just 2 months. A big expense at first but I plan to keep my BRZ for at least 7 years. People have been saying that they are very difficult to install. It took me about 20 minutes to do the entire car front and back.

Put the seat as far back as possible when entering and exiting the car.

Doesn't that just wear the runners and ratchet mechanism?? Why do cars wear out???

bean counters. it's never a material defect, or exceeding the expectations of any material, it's always the useless penny pinching bean counters.

Entropy
Everything wears out.

You put seat covers on the back seat of a BRZ?

:iono:


humfrz

Fan-tas-tic question humfrz. BRZeeees are the race car version of the Boulevard cruiser that is the FRS/GT86..

I did, was very easy.

Also, I could not find quality seat covers that allowed you to only buy the front seats.

Well, OK. Do you carry a lot of passengers in your back seat, or did you cover them so they would match the front?

:)


humfrz

I never have passengers. I covered then because the rear covers came with the front. There was no option to just buy the front.

Back to topic, it is the rivets in your jeans.

The car is low, the side bolsters on the seats are high. My car is five years old now and doesn't look like that at all. Try holding on to the A pillar with your left hand and holding your body weight off of the seat until you are in the car, then lower yourself into the seat. Takes all the sliding load off the bolster upholstery.

What kind of seat covers? I have SARD's seat covers it took at least about an hour per seat when I installed them.

I also have SARD's. Maybe they improved them. I had read about how difficult they were to install and was dreading this project. Every thing went smoothly after I figured out that I could raise the driver seat up from the floor, after that it was easy and then I knew what to do on the passenger seat. On the back seat it was a tight fit with a lot of finger pushing.

If we overbuilt everything without regard to cost these cars would cost 60k

i would have still bought one. i chased a driving style. not a price point.

Luckily these cars get parted out all the time and seats aren't crazy expensive.

How long that will last though is anyone's guess

While that’s awesome, I’d wager the vast majority of us are driving this car specifically because of the value of the performance. It’s a sportscar that the average person can pick up CPO for the price of a new civic. Few people can buy (much less truly afford) a 60k sportscar. I know I can’t. If you want an uncompromised 60k car buy a z4/Supra or a cpo cayman.

'affordability' is relative. at the time i bought the car, i lived with my parents and had minimal expenses. which allowed me to afford something that my present lifestyle wouldn't allow--it was one of the reasons i bought the car when i did. it's still one of the better decisions i've ever made.

How is your A pillar coping?

You mean the paint? It is clear bra'd, it looks new.

If you're suggesting I'm such a fatty that I've bent it, no not yet :)

That's a great technique for entering your car, but what do you recommend for exiting?

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKuRuou-Qk[/ame]

I'm 6'2", so I brace my left arm on the lower door sill, get my left leg out and then just kind of do a barrel roll. Again, minimal contact on the seat bracing. I have however worn a hole in the rubber weather seal on the bottom rear of the door from my exit technique.

I use the same exit technique. I'll have to be careful of the weather strip...no damage to it yet.

Everybody is doing it all wrong. I had that minor issue with that same area of the driver seat. Was going to just repair, maybe seat cover or if I felt real fancy get aftermarket seats.
I just had a custom sunroof and ejector seat installed. Shoot out the top and land, then walk away with no damage to the seats. Getting in is less jarring going though the trunk
with the rear seats down and climbing over the center console.

Is it real leather? If so how thick is it? My 2013 the steering wheel was peeling after 3 years due to track driving, constantly moving right hand from wheel to gear shift. The dealer will always cop out claiming wear and tear. If your car is 4 months old I would take it to the dealer, if they deny contact corporate. Corporate tries to please people who purchase new as that is where they make their money. Good luck.