Seat Wear & Tear ?

[152bobby]

I was cleaning and hoovering my daughter's car yesterday and noticed a couple of small cracks on the leather on the driver's seat nearest the door.

Is there anything that I can do to prevent it from getting worse?

It's not a heavily used car, so I'm guessing it is just age related (it's a 2014 MK2 Aygo).

[Bper]

Hi Bobby, age can dry out leather, causing cracks. Use a leather conditioner every 1-3 months to replenish oils and keep the leather supple.Avoid harsh products and use a leather cleaner designed for car interiors. Hope this helps.

[152bobby]

Cheers Bob, I always do that on my own cars, but didn't bother with my daughter's car.  I'll start doing that from now on 👍

[bathtub tom]

4 hours ago, 152bobby said:

I was cleaning and hoovering my daughter's car

Sorry, I don't understand that. If they're old enough to drive, then they're big enough to clean their own cars!

[152bobby]

iod13 minutes ago, bathtub tom said:

Sorry, I don't understand that. If they're old enough to drive, then they're big enough to clean their own cars!

Totally agree.  But it's my own personal preference to (when I get the opportunity )periodically check, brakes, tyre pressure, tread, oil , format the Dashcam and card blah blah blah.

What can I say...I'm a Dad with a lovely daughter ❤️😄

[TonyHSD]

Eee yes but I will always like to wash my daughters cars or anything else their have, I like cleaning and it’s my daughter’s. 👌

For the cracks nothing can stop this from happening. It’s a synthetic ( plastics) no real leather and with the years and from the sun these will get cracked. There are kits for repair on Amazon and eBay and YouTube tutorials how to if you have time and like to put some effort. My drivers seat has a small cracks on one of the bolsters ,but I just left it like that, it’s hardly visible plus when it’s gone totally wrecked the car will most likely be off the road and long forgotten, or I will try to fix it then. 👍

[Bper]

Hi Bobby, If its not real its likely faux leather you can still use a synthetic leather conditioner.The recommendation online for these different synthetic leathers still recommend you use it. I found this so it may be helpful.

PU Polyurethane Leather,use a synthetic leather conditioner designed for PU leather. This type of conditioner helps keep the material soft and prevents it from drying out and cracking.PVC Polyvinyl Chloride Leather,Use a conditioner specifically for PVC leather. PVC is more durable and less porous than PU, so the conditioner will help maintain its flexibility and appearance. Leatherette,this is a general term for synthetic leathers, and you should use a faux leather conditioner suitable for the specific type of synthetic material your car seats are made from. Clean the seats with a mild soap or a cleaner specifically designed for synthetic leather. This removes dirt and oils that can interfere with the conditioning process.Apply Conditioner, use a small amount of the synthetic leather conditioner on a soft cloth.Buff Gently, Apply the conditioner to the seats in a circular motion, gently buffing it into the material.Avoid Oversaturation,do not use too much conditioner. Excess moisture can damage the synthetic material.Regular Maintenance Condition the seats regularly to maintain their appearance and durability.By using the right type of conditioner and following these steps, you can help prevent your synthetic leather car seats from cracking and extend their lifespan.Hope this helps.

[anchorman]

It was a problem on RAV4, there was a TSB saying it would be done on warranty.   Those side panels were vinyl even if the seat base was leather.  You could get an upholsterer on it but I wouldn’t bother personally.  

[152bobby]

47 minutes ago, anchorman said:

It was a problem on RAV4, there was a TSB saying it would be done on warranty.   Those side panels were vinyl even if the seat base was leather.  You could get an upholsterer on it but I wouldn’t bother personally.  

Yes, I probably won't go as far as getting it repaired.  However for it's age, her car is in EXTREMELY good condition and we both try to keep it that way.

I just wanted some feedback from some forum members.  Cheers.

[MardyMarvin]

 Wish that you could get a choice of just cloth seats, I dont get why car companies think that having fake leather makes the car feel more expensive it does not as its not real leather so it does not wear as well and cant really be looked after the same as leather.

[APS]

On 5/26/2024 at 10:24 AM, 152bobby said:

It's not a heavily used car, so I'm guessing it is just age related (it's a 2014 MK2 Aygo).

Our 2014 Aygo looks the same, actually it's a lot worse. As others have said, it's plastic and they do crack. I'm not aware that there's anything you can do to prevent it.  

[Hadrian1]

Trousers with zippers on the back pockets don't help.

[TonyHSD]

The sun is major factor here. If possible to park under shade or cover windows with sun blinds, shades will preserve the seats and interior. 
Clean with wet wipes or pure water. Dettol antibacterial spray which is 95% water also fine to use. 

[bathtub tom]

9 hours ago, MardyMarvin said:

 I dont get why car companies think that having fake leather makes the car feel more expensive

Because they call it something like 'faux leather', which the conned, sorry customer just hears leather and falls for it hook, line and sinker.

[Roy124]

  The link below describes the different grades of leather https://www.billytannery.co.uk/blogs/knowledge/types-of-leather#:~:text=Listed from best quality to,grain leather and bonded leather.

Bottom end cars will use bonded leather which includes PU and leather bonded on to fabric.

 

[Parts-King]

13 hours ago, bathtub tom said:

Because they call it something like 'faux leather', which the conned, sorry customer just hears leather and falls for it hook, line and sinker.

Pleather.............Plastic Leather 

[152bobby]

Must admit, my YC has full fake leather and I immediately noticed that on a hot day, the bottom of my back gets a bit sweaty, If it was REAL leather, this is less likely to happen because REAL leather breathes !!

[Cyker]

The blurb for mine says Vegan Leather!  

 

[Paul john]

42 minutes ago, Cyker said:

The blurb for mine says Vegan Leather!  

 

Lol.

isn't that classed as single use plastic?

[Cyker]

3 hours ago, 152bobby said:

Must admit, my YC has full fake leather and I immediately noticed that on a hot day, the bottom of my back gets a bit sweaty, If it was REAL leather, this is less likely to happen because REAL leather breathes !!

Maybe if it's perforated, but even real leather will stick to your skin.

I must admit I've always preferred cloth or alcantara-type coverings for that reason, and also because black leather seats are like sitting on lava if the car's been in strong sunlight, or ice in winter!

The most comfy seats I've ever experienced to this day were in a colleague's VW Passat - To this day I still don't know what they were made of as I've never seen anything similar in another car since; I originally thought it was some sort of alcantara but that's usually more like suede and shorter fibres, whereas this was like sitting on seats made of soft plushy childrens toys  

Unbelievably comfortable and the most temperature neutral-seats I've ever sat in - Didn't burn your bum in summer or freeze it in winter. Utter nightmare to clean spills and wayward sweets from I imagine though!

 

[APS]

8 minutes ago, Cyker said:

I must admit I've always preferred cloth or alcantara-type coverings for that reason, and also because black leather seats are like sitting on lava if the car's been in strong sunlight, or ice in winter!

This! 

It's a fact that leather does not carry the same status in Japan as it does in the west. There more exclusive fabrics like velour and wool are much more sought after. Look at the Century, it comes with wool fabric seats. 

Leather is also pretty useless in sports cars as you slide around like butter in a frying pan. The alcantara seats in the GR86 are very grippy.

[Cyker]

Ahaha that reminds me of one time when a friend had recently cleaned and put some sort of reconditioning compound on the leather seats in his Astra, and proceeded to almost crashed it when he went onto a roundabout a bit too fast with all of us in it, because the leather was like an ice rink and we all just slid to the left side of the car  

He was lucky he could hold into the steering wheel at least, but I was squished by my other two friends in the back as they flailed for something to hold on to, missing the grab handle, so both of them squashed me into the door while swearing a lot   

 

I do wonder if the popularity of leather is because western children are messier - My brother was laser-focused on leather seats, when he was looking for a car, and passed up several bargains because of it. When I asked why, he was like - until you have kids, you just won't understand.

I guess it's much easier to clean e.g. fruit pops, half-eaten werthers originals, squashed mars bars and spilt mcflurrys off a leather seat than cloth or alcantara  

[Corolly Poly]

2 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Ahaha that reminds me of one time when a friend had recently cleaned and put some sort of reconditioning compound on the leather seats in his Astra, and proceeded to almost crashed it when he went onto a roundabout a bit too fast with all of us in it, because the leather was like an ice rink and we all just slid to the left side of the car  

He was lucky he could hold into the steering wheel at least, but I was squished by my other two friends in the back as they flailed for something to hold on to, missing the grab handle, so both of them squashed me into the door while swearing a lot   

 

My mate used to think it was amusing to polish the pillion seat on his bike and accelerate off like a lunatic with me on the back🤣

[Cyker]

Yikes that could end quite badly unless you got good at doing a reverse-3 Amigos  

That's the sort of thing where you should superglue a dildo to the back of his helmet when he's not looking and tell him you just needed another handle to hold on to because of his shenanigans 

[bathtub tom]

6 hours ago, Corolly Poly said:

My mate used to think it was amusing to polish the pillion seat on his bike and accelerate off like a lunatic with me on the back🤣

I did something similar. A person I knew saw me stopped at traffic lights and hopped on the pillion, saying something like 'drop us off at ......' I accelerated , leaving them 'nutmegged' on the road.