Prius II with leather!!!

It may have been port installed. I think that I saw a few mentions of this a while back. It was not a factory install.

 

I must be an after market leather job.

 

If the leather is aftermarket (at port) was the quality still the same as factory? Did the leather look as good as a factory job? I switched from a cloth Prius II to leather when my dealer told me they had one coming.

 

Actually, $1399 sounds pretty competively priced. However, there may be an opportunity to negotiate that price down a bit.

If it was an aftermarket install of Katzkin leather, then it is worth considering. I've seen samples and it appeared to be a very good quality leather. And unlike factory installs, I believe the entire entire seat cover is leather, not just the seating surfaces.

 

By aftermarket I meant not a factory or port option. done by an after market company.

 

Okay. Can't wait to see it! Thanks

 

If it is either port installed or locally installed for the dealer from a factory approved leather kit, it is probably made by Bartlett. A number of us installed the "factory" Bartlett kit for the Gen II with seat installed air bags recently. The quality is absolutely factory.

If the dealer had a local company install a kit that is not a "factory" approved kit, it is most likely Katzkin (as dbacksfan indicated). Katzkin might be even better than factory. I believe they may use more leather (factory is part vinyl in areas where you don't sit) and might have 2-tone.

 

You are in the GST region. It is common for them to do port installed leather upgrades. Based on prior posts, they generally do a good job.

 

I don't think you need to worry about the leather quality being lower quality than the factory leather. Probably will be higher quality, nicer leather.

What you need to worry about is being maimed or killed from side airbags not deploying properly after the seats were tampered with and covered with third party leather installation.
You will have no one who will be responsible for anything that goes wrong with airbag deployment one you get aftermarket leather.

The finance manager or leather installer verbally assuring you that it has the same break-away stitching as the factory leather, is not a warranty or admission of responsibility for the airbags in an accident.
Of course Toyota will not back it either.

 

Went and looked at my car this evening. Love it!!! Will pick up tomorrow morning. The leather looked good; misty gray. Compared to the showroom model that had standard leather I could not tell a real difference. I've never had leather in a car so will see how it works out. Does anyone know if the leather is placed over the cloth or the cloth is removed? BlindGuy do you know if the Prius you saw had leather on the door (where the window controls are)? Mine did not. My sales person told me if they put the leather on (not the port) the doors would have had leather. Either way I like the contrast between the light and dark.

 

Generally the cloth is required to be removed. You can find the factory cloth covers pretty cheap on ebay.

The IV i test drove had leather trim on the door panels and center console armrest.

 

+1 on this!
I went through hell trying to find a way to modify my 2010 Prius before I ended up selling it.
Do not modify the seats it's a safety and liability issue. As you point out to the OP it's a safety issue and yo do not want a problem with the side airbag deploying correctly. You life isn't worth it.

 

The custom shops do not have the proper thread that will allow the explosive airbag to burst through the seat.
I would call up Toyota if I were you and find out exactly what will happen with modified seats. You will not like Toyota's answer!
Factory leather seats are made properly for the sensors in the seats as well as allowing the side airbags to deploy.
Seriously call Toyota before you buy it!

 

I can't imagine the custom shops not being able to handle this. (If the liability is real do they ask you to sign a waiver?).

As mentioned, this is a common option by the Region in some area so it has to have Toyota's acknowledgement and approval, if not the Toyota should have some responsible and liability if they know this is occuring and they do not at least make a statement about it. I realize that once the Region gets it, it is not Toyota's worry, but since this is such a widespread and common practice I see them being somewhat liable if it's not an acceptable alteration.

 

Just my 2 cents. I had aftermarket leather installed through the dealer
(it is not done in house, but contracted out). The cost for leather and
heated front seats was $1,600. In addition to the seats, the door panels
and arm rest were leather covered. Excellent job. Had our '06 RAV
done by same specialists and still happy with the work. By the way,
there are only two outfits doing aftermarket leather in Maine and they
are used by all car dealers here so they know what they are doing.

Leather kits used are excellent and obviously totally custom for the
specific model. I would think that since side airbags have been around
for several years, that the leather kits would be designed taking these
bags into account. They don't want a lawsuit nor would the installer or
the dealer. But, I will ask.

 

The bottom line is you can modify your car anyway you want. My point is what will happen after you do. I had a lot of conversations about this when I was looking into modifying my seat in the Prius. The place that dealer uses for all their cars does not have the special thread. I know because I asked him face to face. He also pointed out me that these problems can occur.
I'm not saying don't install aftermarket leather.
I am saying, find out more before you do. Check with Toyota AND the place that will install it to make certain they are using the correct thread.
I doubt Toyota's main office will approve of aftermarket mods to safety equipment, which is in the seat. They sure didn't when I called them.
There are sensors in the seat for the intelligent airbags and these can be affected by changing the seat.
Those side airbags can save your life. If they don't deploy you will have little legal recourse since you had them modified.
I can't see an uphoolstery shop signing off on a liability waiver. The place I went to wouldn't do it.

 

copied fron gen II section

Quote:
We are aware of your concerns regarding the new Occupant Classification Safety Systems that will be found on all popular vehicles by 2006. Katzkin has always taken a proactive stance on safety matters, especially airbag safety matters like OCS. We started performing airbag system testing through 3rd party test facilities in 1997 and have continually performed internal and external testing to ensure that our products meet and exceed the highest standards.

We have recently completed a broad range of tests specified by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 to determine if our leather interiors would affect the performance of the OCS systems. Those tests demonstrated that Katzkin Leather Interiors, when properly installed, DID NOT interfere with the performance of the Occupant Classification Safety Systems


This manual provides the results of our recent OCS testing, SRS tests and an overview of our warranty, quality and insurance coverage. Inside you’ll also find information that will help you better understand the most popular OCS systems. Most importantly, section 2.0 contains the results of tests performed by MGA Research Laboratories on vehicles with OCS Systems.

Because we understand your concerns, we are maintaining our industry leading $51 million per occurrence insurance policy (see section 4), 3 year/36,000 mile warranty and ISO 9001 manufacturing facility. You can feel confident selling Katzkin Leather Interiors to your customers. We have sold over 250,000 interiors without a single reported airbag system failure. This success can be attributed to our world-class manufacturing facility and the finest restyling facilities in the industry, like yourself.

If you have any additional questions or specific concerns, please contact your local restyling professional, they have full access to our technical department or regional managers who can answer most questions immediately.

Thank you for your continued business.
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Here are my 2010 Prius II port installed leather seats. I'm not thrilled with the fit. They look good, feel good and will probably out last the cloth if cared for by applying Lexol regularly and possibly 100% pure neatsfoot oil.

I am going to make a second post requisition opinions on the installation