I just placed my final order for my 2008 MCS and I choose the AB/B and the interior Black Lounge Leather with the white pipping.... My concern after viewing a few photos; Will the leather on the bottom of the seat start to pucker after a little bit of wear and tear..?


1. is this normal?

2. is this preventative?

3. Does this happen to the Punch Leather Seats?

4. Thanks NAM FAM!!!!

 

bump

 

I'm not certain what you mean by "pucker" but if you are implying a little stretching or "butt" mark when you get up it does seem to go away after a couple hours. My car is rarely parked in the sun so not sure if that would make a difference.

My car is 1 year old this week and the lounge leather seats are holding up great. In fact the best leather I've had in a car. The leather I've had in a Ford, VW, and Acura didn't hold up as well.

 

Yes that's exactly what I meant!! Wat kind of treatment does everybody do on their leather to prevent stretching/puckering/cracking? Thanks!

 

mine has puckering and waving. And did ever since I bought it. It looks worse when you get up off the seat, and goes down a tad. but it never ever looks clean and smooth.

 

This is a perfect example of what i would like to avoid... What would you do in order to prevent something like this from happening?
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See my gallery (first photo) for a pic of my Tuscan leather seat. That's still the way it looks, nothing like the pic in your post. I use a store bought leather cleaner and companion conditioner every couple months. So far so good.

 

yea, mine doesn't even look like that. mine is kinda slightly wavy. Exactly like TheBigNewt's.

 

thanks is there anything i can do to avoid this? do the punch leather seats do this too? thanks!!!

Paul

 

That is your passenger seat - does you driver seat look the same, considering that it should see more wear?

 

No, it looks exactly the same. One year old seats.

 

U.K. Lounge Leather seats are pleated on the bottom cushion, so they are much less prone to distortion. The U.S seatbelt/airbag sensor is why MINI USA claims that our seats do not have the pleats.

 

This whole thread is exactly why I went with cloth

 

Same for Canada. Not sure why the US seats are reversed from the Canadian/UK ones. I'm fairly certain that the seatbelt/airbag sensor is also in the Canadian cars, so that may not be the right explanation for this difference.

I'm actually glad that the Canadian LL seat bottoms are pleated, for this very reason. Have any Canadian or UK owners experience the problem described in this thread?

The attached photos are from the mini.ca website.

 

I had my doubts about the puckering and eventual wearing out of the seats as well, but I'm less concerned after riding on them for a month. Even if they do end up puckering, which I don't think mine will right now, they are incredible.

 

+1

 

I mean why do they charge $2000 as an option and put shitty quality leather in the seats...?

 

Whoever said the leather was crummy quality? The reason it costs more is obvious. Leather is tougher/more durable than cloth or vinyl. Some say it looks better too. I think the Mini's combo seats look great especially with the contrasting colors.

 

The leather isn't shitty quality. The design, with the lack of pleats on the US version bottom, is the issue. Most seat's bottoms, in profile, have a convex shape that slopes towards the seams. The result is, that when someone sits on them, there is excess leather present because of the compression of the foam used to support the leather. In the MINI the leather isn't pushed upward, but laid flat across bottom of the seat, resulting in a flat appearing to slightly concave seating surface, that is pushed farther concave when someone sits on them, resulting in slight deformation over time.

Despite this, the seats are incredible. The leather is thick, yet supple. They are nearly my favorite part of the car. :-) I am very much glad I got them, despite the potential for seat pan deformation over time and their outrageous sticker.

 

The pleats on the Cdn and UK versions effectively act as the convex foam described above. I'd like to know why MINI chose to change the seats for the US version (other than the seatbelt/airbag sensor, which, as I mentioned before, isn't unique to the US cars). Anyone?

 

Is there a concern other than appearance? Is it thought that this pucker will eventually wear or tear? Mine are a year old and show no signs of either.

 

Not sure if your order has already been placed, or if you decided on the lounge leather or not, but I happened to see an R56 with punch leather yesterday. Year old and it was nice and firm, with no signs of puckering. The MINI site does not represent it very well, but I thought it looked really nice in person. FYI

 

Mine is a year old as well, but in Red. They are doing great. The butt marks are normal after you get up and will stay for some time, depending on the temperature inside the car, but should go away. I clean mine every couple of months with Lexol Leather Cleaner and Conditioner (brown and orange bottles) and also use Conolly leather cream. Cheers.