Normal Wear and Tear?

That is a normal point of wear on many cars. You should see that area on the seats in my Honda Insights, which are such a b**tch to logroll oneself out of to begin with.

I think it is worth pushing up the chain with Toyota Customer Care. Clearly, that level of wear is unacceptable in a nearly new car.

 

My car is nearly 3 years old, with just over 30K miles, and my drivers seat looks nearly new, with some minor wear signs on the seat bottom, but nothing on that area--so I'd say that's not normal wear and tear.

I'd speak to the service director and if you don't get satisfaction, call Toyota customer care and tell them you'll email them a picture.

 

It's only normal if you are about 300 pounds and slide in and out of the driver's seat like 25 times a day. Other cars I had with leather did not look like that with more than 5 times the mileage. I would push it to get it replaced.

 

Yes, this!

My leather seats look brand new but I'm VERY conscious of how I sit down and get out. I had a Suburban with leather seats and I was quite careless and it looked similar to this.

 

Is leather sticky in summer?

 

No, not that I've ever noticed.

 

That doesn't look like wear and tear to me but it doesn't look like a fault either. That damage looks like something hard is being pulled across the seat scratching the leather. Are you sloppy with removing your seatbelt or do you drag a handbag across the seat or a briefcase or laptop bag? And if you don't, can you be sure other drivers of the car treat it with respect?

My car has over 65,000 miles of taxi use - I get in and out of my car about 30 times a day as UK cabbies will get out to open the door for their passenger, and my drivers seat whilst worn, isn't scratched like that.

 

With less than 10K miles on the car, the wear displayed is most certainly not normal. Unfortunately, more and more of this kind
of "wear' is showing up because the manufacturers are cutting costs
every way they can, ad in thiese cases are using lesser quality leather.

From your pix, it looks like white is showing through and this indicates a surface dyed leather ( and a rather poor one at that )
The highest quality leathers are aniline dyed, which means they are tumbled in a drum with the appropriate dye for hours so the leather is dyed all the way through. if you happen to scratch the surface, the color shows, not white.

There are many grades of leather and most that are being used are just surface dyed and in many cases the grain is artificially embossed
and finished with plasticizers.

To my knowledge, the only high quality analine dyed leather used by Toyota is in the Lexus. The others are lesser in quality as you move down their lines, which is understandable because of cost.

Nevertheless, what you are experiencing is totally unacceptable and you should most definitely approach the dealer for panel replacemnts.

My daughter has a 1 1/2 year old Sienna with "leather" seats and has experienced similar problems along with cracking, and she is fastidious about leather care. She took the van back to the dealer and they replaced the entire seat covering. You should also be aware that the only place "real" leather is used is where your body touches the seat. The rest of the seating trim is vinyl.

A trip to the dealer is for panel replacement ( or more ) is well within
your warranty rights as an owner.

 

ChaiLove,

My son is a federal officer who carries his whole existance around his waist, including a weapon, handcuffs, radios, phone, etc. That sort of stuff doesn't do vehicle upholstery much good.

Do you wear anything regulary that can do similar damage?

Perhaps they made your seats from a defective cow.

 

This is what is used in the Prius. Clearly not drum dyed.

 

I agree with GrumpyCabbie, it doesn't look like "normal wear and tear" but neither does it look to be a normal flaw or fault.

And that might be what makes getting replacement under warranty difficult. It's basically your word, that you have done nothing to cause premature wear to the seat.

In this case? I would continue to lobby and escalate to try to get replacement under warranty.

I think Toyota should give the benefit of the doubt......"once". IMO trust the customer, replace the seat.

If you are back in a year asking for another? Then deny...but one case? One individual happening? Just replace it. Benefit of the doubt in this case creates a better relationship with the customer. Even if you blacked out and took a cheese grater to the seat...I'd give you the benefit of the doubt, once.

I wonder if part of the difficulty might be in getting a replacement, as now Toyota has gone to Softex, instead of leather?

Getting the piece to match exactly, in tone, if it is just that back or single piece being replaced, might be problematic.

But in most warranty situations, unless 100% obvious that the damage was done by the owner or some outside act...If I was Toyota I'd error on the side of the customer.

Maybe I am nieve, but I think most people are honest in their presentation, and if not?

The way I look at it, if Toyota doesn't replace, they save the cost of a leather seat back, but probably lose a customer in future purchase. Which is the better choice for Toyota?

 

I would press my case with Toyota on this one -- the seats should hold up for the length of the warranty. Some small changes in the look of the leather in that area would be normal -- but the finish should not be coming off. The leather in the Toyotas is not very nice .. almost plastic.


Most leather is surface dyed and will scratch and abrade if you are not careful -- I never get in and out of my cars with the seat in the driving position.


Surprisingly - restorers spray on the finish.

 

We have used Kiwi Saddle Soap for years and the leathers have maintained their softness and appearance. Another is Armor Alls
Leather Care. There are other good leather cleaning and protective
products out there, but we have been most satisfied with those.

 

Don't forget... there is leather and there is LEATHER used in the manufacture of furniture. I noticed a TV advertisement for a regional chain of discount furniture stores recently. The price for a "leather" livingroom set looked too good to be true. The small print indicated that it was "bonded leather" and I had to do a bit of Googling to determine what that means Google

I wonder which type of leather is used by Toyota.

 

Not bonded leather in the Prius. The Prius has the first type in the article linked below:
Understanding the different types of leather. - Autopia Forums - Auto Detailing & Car Care Discussion Forum

 

Thanks for that extremely interesting Autopia Forums thread about three kinds of leather/treatments.

I read and reread the three pages of posts there and found nothing to confirm your statement "Not bonded leather in the Prius. The Prius has the first type in the article...".

Please explain how you were able to unequivocally determine what specific material is used by Toyota in Generation III Prius seats.

Do you have a letter or email from Toyota's corporate or engineering offices stating so? If so, please post a .pdf.

 

See http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ering-wheel-leather-rubber-falling-apart.html for an example of an obvious factory defect in the leather and I have the same defect but to a much lesser extent as it's rarely in the sun.

What's pictured in the OP can't possibly be normal wear and tear. It's either an user-inflicted damage or factory defect.

 

The first type of leather in that article is the type used in most (non-luxury) cars. The second and third types are very expensive and only used in high end cars, like Bentleys, Porsches, Ferraris, etc.

In a previous post here some time ago, somebody confirmed the first type was used in the Prius. And, no, I don't have any official Toyota document to offer. Also, it's my understanding that in the 2012 Prius, there isn't even a leather seating option available (I forget what they call the "pleather" they use).

Bonded leather technically isn't really leather--it's basically a product which includes (in pretty low proportions) bits of ground up leather from scraps discarded during other manufacturing processes.