Oh this is a good one. I haven't seen it anywhere. I have Black and gold leather seats in my 2004 MC. The dang seats are cracking/chipping. Little small pieces of the leather are actually coming off of the seat. I ran down to my local auto-store and bought some Blue Magic leather cleaner and cream. I hope that slows the process down. I know I'll have to put this stuff on every couple of weeks, but after 4 years I just can't believe the seats started chipping like that. (Don;t say it's the heat as I live in Northern VA) Anyone else experience this issue? What did you do?

Nuggett and I thank you,

 

This reminds me to get out there and apply more Griot's leather gorp.

I would get a good leather rejuvenator like the stuff from Groit's and start slathering it on and allowing it to soak in and hope it isn't too late.

YD

 

also try some creme shoe polish to cover the "chips" if you go to a shoe repair place they'll have every color imaginable. just wipe it on and buff off.

i used to work for a leather factory and it's a little trick i learned. it can conceal a scratch, etc in leather pretty well. i had a gouge in one of my tan and black seats in my 03 and it is pretty much gone.

also the griot's leather stuff is good for keeping the leather maintained. but, you need to do it every couple weeks and keep the leather maintained otherwise the leather will eventually crack etc..

 

Get some Leatherique, Detailers Paradise carries it. It will help keep the leather soft and from getting damaged further.

 

Not for nuthin', but the best leather conditioner I've ever used (and I've tried a LOT of them), is Lexol. Spray it on an applicator pad, and gently rub it in. Wait an hour or so, and repeat. Keep doing this until the leather won't absorb any more. Now take an absorbent cotton cloth, and gently rub the excess off. You may have to do the last step a few times to keep the Lexol from staining your clothes.

 

Thanks for all the tips guys. My 2003 MCS is experiencing this on the driver's seat.

 

out of curiosity for the guys with cracking seats- have you been maintaining the leather or not?

 

The seats on my '02 are in perfect condition, thanks to a bi-weekly application of Lexol.
Could you possibly post a photo of your seats, maybe it would help us to help you...

 

yeah my seats are perfect too except for a small user inflicted gouge. more of a scratch really but, i use griots every 2-3 weeks. and the weather here in the valley gets HOT!

then again, if you're not maintaining the leather and you love in a cold, wet climate that could cause big issues too. cold and wet can be worse than hot and dry.

 

I Wonder where they are getting the leather for car seats these days. My Jaguar has the same issues and it began when it was just 3 years old........

The outer bottm edge of the driver's seat in my 03' Cooper~S is begining to look like a "road map" as well. Lexol cleaner and conditioner is an excellent choice for leather seats, and I highly reccomend it. But it only works best if regularly applied to car seats when you first take delivery. There was a leather dye kit I saw on Ebay last year, and that product had some great reviews.

If you have a few hundred bucks per seat, there are some custom shops in my area that can install new leather. Various Auto Dealers use them for buyers whom dislike factory cloth seats and they may know of a shop in your area. The one out here does nice work, they put in new leather in place of cloth seats in a Toyota RAV4 Sport, and it came out just as good if not better than OEM. There should be some in your area as well.

Good luck

 

Use the Meltonian colored polish before you use Lexol. Then Lexol as described above.

The point is that the Lexol helps the colored wax migrate deeper into the grain of the leather, to do a more permanent job of re-staining the exposed sub-surface.

 

Conditioning leather is pointless if it is dirty; and not just surface dirt, but dirt down in the pores. Clogged pores (sounds like an acne commercial) will prevent any conditioner from reaching the needed location. Plus dirt in the pores of the leather will cause the leather to be stiff and promote cracking.
So as OG recommends - use the two-part Leatherique system. The rejuvenating oil will penetrate the pores and lift the dirt out. The process ain't easy and it takes time. I use the oil each summer and leave it on for 6 hours with the windows rolled up in direct sun (that's the easy part). Then remove the really gross junk that the oil brings up (that's the hard part) and apply the conditioner. After that you need to condition with your choice of products and clean. Cleaning is more important then conditioning (Heather would be so proud).

 

I use the BMW leather cleaner and conditioner about every few weeks. My seats are soft, supple, and crack free. However, there are a few defects caused by the rivets in blue jeans, and the color is flaking off on the driver's seat where my old seat belt tensioner used to scuff by all the time.

 

I also live in Northern VA and yes my leather has cracked on the drivers side side bolster (near the lumbar region) for the second time. The first time it occured the car had only 10K miles on it and I complained to the dealership service advisor numerous times. After the 4th visit, they finally agreed to replace the seat cover. But the replacement has also started to flake and crack. The car is garaged both at home and at work so it sees minimal sun exposure and the leather is treated twice a year with Leatherique. Either that isn't often enough, or the leather is just crap. My bet is on the latter. I've just resigned myself to the belief that it comes down to the luck of the draw.

 

No such problems on my 2002 with gray leather. A bit of wear starting to appear on the edge of the driver side bolster from climbing in and out. Goes away with a bit of grey dye and a coat of Lexol.

 

Do you wear a belt? It sounds like you're sliding down against the bolster and your belt is wearing out the leather prematurely.