Everyone,

I need some help in diagnosing a problem with my lapis blue leather seats. It seems that on the driver's door side bolster that some of the leather (or leatherette) is flaking off. I am not sure if this is the correct terminology. Under this flaked off area it appears to be white and the white appears to be at a lower layer than the dark grey leather. The car is about 3.5 months old with 10,000 miles. I do not carry any sharp objects in my pocket, not even a wallet. The dealer stated that it can be corrected by redying the area. My initial take is that the dying is only going to cover the problem, and what will happen to other areas on the seat in 3 more months.

My two concerns are, is this a deficiency with the leather on the seat, or can this be correct by dying the area. Also, has anyone else seen this happen and what was the resolution. I have read all the other posts regarding seats and lapis blue leather, but did not see any directly related to this issue, no did I see a picture similiar to this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.



Problems with posting the image. Here is the link.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...view_photo.php

 

wow that is not good

lexus sc430 have this same problem wtih their blue interior seats..and i noticed on club lexus most of the guys got the car replaced

rfibanez on here, has leather cracking problems on his mini as well

i would say dont dye it, have the dealer get you a new seat, if they disagree, contact mini usa. thats my opinion.

and here is ur pic

 

What I can tell you is thay my F150 had a similar issue and Ford gladly replaced the leather seat cover. I would be at the dealer asking for a new seat or cover.

 

dealer has no idea what they are talking about.

Get a replacement.

3 months old - this shouldn't happen, not so soon.

 

The Leather seats in the MINI are grossly overpriced and very poor quality IMO. Get the dealer to replace the seat cover under warranty, no questions ask. I have seen plenty of complaints with the Lapis Blue leather seats. Look nice, but cheaply made, to a YUGO standard.

This is the reason why I much prefer the awesome looking and extremely durable Leatherette seats.

 

>>The Leather seats in the MINI are grossly overpriced and very poor quality IMO. Get the dealer to replace the seat cover under warranty, no questions ask. I have seen plenty of complaints with the Lapis Blue leather seats. Look nice, but cheaply made, to a YUGO standard.
>>
>>This is the reason why I much prefer the awesome looking and extremely durable Leatherette seats.

he nailed it on the head!
my leather on my lex after 4.5 years is immac
i have seen 10 years lex with better leather than the mini

leatherette or cloth is way to go. i dont know why mini made the leatehr such poor quality

 

leatherette or cloth is way to go. i dont know why mini made the leatehr such poor quality
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Is the leather real leather, doesn't feel like leather, doesn't smell like leather :smile:

Anybody know what's up with the Works seats made by Sparco? Read they have the airbags like stock seats and also longer seat extension and more support in the shoulders....I wouldn't pop for the Works engine upgrade, but maybe the seats...anyone know the cost and availability....IMO the Sport Seats in the MINI are not up to BMW standards.

 

The MINI is a very cheaply produced car. all that plastic

get MINI to replace the leather
leather is supposed to endure and last.... Good Leather needs no care for at least a year. But if you take care of it, it will last forever.
Good Luck

 

By chance you you commonly wear jeans in your MINI? Strange as it may sound, I've found jeans, and to a lesser extent, dress pants with button rear pockets, eat leather seats, as one slides in and out of the car. Granted the pics look less like scuff marks that where something came off the leather (miniature punctures or abrasions) so take it to the dealer and see if there was a bad batch of cow skin used by MINI.

 

Yes I'm having problems with my leather too, its getting very wrinkled and is starting to crack and I clean and condition the leather all the time. The Mini leather is very cheap..makes me want to change seats.

I'm bringing it in to the dealer soon so they can fix it.

 

>>By chance you you commonly wear jeans in your MINI? Strange as it may sound, I've found jeans, and to a lesser extent, dress pants with button rear pockets, eat leather seats, as one slides in and out of the car. Granted the pics look less like scuff marks that where something came off the leather (miniature punctures or abrasions) so take it to the dealer and see if there was a bad batch of cow skin used by MINI.

Yes, check your pants and belt. Do you wear jeans with rivets at the pockets? Or are there any metal decorations in your belt? What about your jacket, if you wear one in the car?

I think the main problem, however, is that cheap leather was used in the seats. Cheap leather seats have very thinly split leather bonded to a fabric backing. I had a Mercury with seats like this. A few years out of warrenty, they split. Shortly after that, the fabric backing gave way, and I had holes in my seats. I suspect you only get good quality leather seats in top of the line automobiles.

 

Thanks for all your comments/suggestions. I know many of you said cheap leather, but man did they charge for it. I have a Chevy Venture Van with leather and 3 kids that bring things into the car and drag across the seat that many of us would cringe. And I have never had a problem with the leather at all. It is sad that My entire van that seats 7 people has leather that holds up much better than the Mini, and it still cost less than the Mini's leather (quite a bit less).

I will pursue this further with my dealer. My only concern is that I am replacing something bad, with something bad. Has anyone had the seats replaced and it actually was better the second or maybe third time through? What are the other alternatives? I know I could purchase an aftermarket seat. Do the aftermarket sport seats provide much better quality? Maybe the JCW seats will be better.

 

While it may be too late for most on the forum who ordered their MINI with leather, those in the Can't Wait Til November Club or later might consider after market leather. I am ordering the cloth seats and when the car comes in the dealer is taking the car to an leather shop to have custom leather installed. The manufacturer producing the leather seat surfaceds is Classic Soft Trim and has dealers/installers all over the country. Nation-wide price? $1195. Add perforation for $50.00 more. The seats have stock stiching pattern and can be ordered in a solid color or two tone like the MINI offers in Lapis, Cordoba etc, except in dozens of color choices.

I don't have any stake in this company, just want to share.

http://www.classicsofttrim.com

 

I am having some portions of my drivers seat showing some wrinkling and now I wish I had just gotten the leatherette as it is the better material considering how cheap the MINI leather is.

 

>> I know many of you said cheap leather, but man did they charge for it.


its like when chevy or ford charges you high price for a car. at the end you, sadly, get a low quality car

 

>>I am having some portions of my drivers seat showing some wrinkling and now I wish I had just gotten the leatherette as it is the better material considering how cheap the MINI leather is.
>>
>>

Same here, I wish I had the leatherette...maybe I'll get aftermarket seats in the future, some sparcos, momos or recaros

 

I have same problem with the drivers side. It is wrinkled and cracked. I've had my car for 1 1/2 years. I just keep conditioning the leather. If I remember correctly I saw the same thing on the BMW's. It is good leather but they do something in the dying process that ruins it.

I thought it was because I needed to loose weight.