Bump.

I just found two cracks on my driver's seat (outer bolster). Was anyone able to get this resolved under warranty?

I'd really rather not have to purchase seat covers just because of this.

 

I discovered a stitching area in the upper seatback of the driver's seat that is beginning to look like it will come apart. I am at 53K miles, out of warranty, but did not notice it until earlier this week.

I will talk to the dealer about it in hopes of a goodwill seat cover replacement.

 

I had the same issue with my drivers seat. The dealer replaced the seat cover under warranty. IIRC It was at about 35,000 miles.

 

When I got my 2005 MCS I did notice that the leatherette is softer quality than the one I had in the 2004 MCS and 2002 MC before it.

BTW, I also have the cracks showing up on the left side bolster, lower cushion, driver's seat.

I will try to talk the dealer into replacing the seat cover as a goodwill gesture since I am out of warranty. Dang it for not having noticed this 1-2 months earlier while I still had warranty left.

 

Has anyone with leather seats. or leatherette seats switch to plain cloth? Not seat covers, but actual cloth that came with the mini?

 

I have the same cracking on the lower/out seat bolster like everyone is reporting here. I took the car in to the dealer and they are covering it under warranty....actually her words were "this is definitely a warranty repair". Just have to take it in and get it fixed now that the part is in.

Since my cracking appeared just this past month when it was cold, i'm inclined to think that the cold temps, making the vinyl brittle, caused the cracking. While I don't have a wide bum myself, that part of the seat does get alot of abuse from getting in and out of the car. That's no excuse for it failing so quickly, though.

If your seat is doing this, go to the dealer....they should cover it...if you have warranty left, that is.

 

I have this same issue with my '04. It has only 35K and has been always been garaged. The pictures on the first page look identical to mine.

I was told that there is no special care needed for leatherette, unlike real leather that should be cleaned and conditioned on a monthly basis.

Should I have been using a product regularly? I have heard of Lexol's Vinylex and 303 Aerospace, but had been advised not to use either on the seats, although they work great on other parts. Please advise. I have taken such good care of my MINI and this is so disappointing.

(just went to 303's site and mentions nothing about using it on leatherette seats, however Lexol's Vinylex sounds like the right product) I would love to know if anyone is using Vinylex and has any positive or negative reviews.

 

Mine are split in one spot. does anyone know if you can order the replacement skin for the seat?

 

Exactly why I ordered cloth. I had leather in my Honda and it did the same thing even though I took care of it. My brother who works on car interiors said that most leathers are only good for 4-5 years and well taken care of cloth interiors last much longer. I had a Jeep for 15 years and the cloth still looked almost new when I sold it.

 

I noticed the same problem, same location, same type of cracking in my 2006 PW/B MCS. We bought it used from Superior Volvo in KC and they don't cover that under their warranty so I'm stuck until I can afford to take it to Baron Mini to get repaired.

 

I have the same cracks - just noticed them a few weeks ago. Is 52107130127 the correct part number for a 2005 R53 (JAN05) driver's side panther black leatherette heated seat bottom? Is the replacement difficult? Do I need to order any other parts to make the replacement?

 

I have 52,000 miles and noticed same issue, have 6 small cracks in leatherette, left side bolster, same as everyone else.

 

Hi

welcome to the site .....

HINT ... note the date of the last post on a thread you plan to reply/comment

last post in this discussion you added to was 2012 ...... 07-27-2012, 11:20 PM

sometimes there IS new and useful information to add ...... but otherwise it is resurrection of a topic that's come and gone ... so if you have something NEW start a new discussion line.