My 2006 MINI Cooper S has the black leatherette sport seats. It will be 2 years young in August. I had leatherette in my 2003 MINI for nearly 4 years without issue, but I'm noticing on the driver's seat, the seat part (not the seat-back), on the left side leg "bolster" that is sort of raised, there are about a dozen cracks in the leatherette.

The cracks only appear prominently if you sort of press down on the leatherette in that area--then they REALLY SHOW UP. But when you release, because the seats are so cushy, the cracks are not readily apparent because they "stick" together from the pressure of the material that's stuffed in the seat. I discovered the cracks when I put my hand down on the left edge of driver's seat in order to reach down to pick something up in the footwell. Otherwise I wouldn't have noticed a thing...it's barely noticeable until pressure is on the seat bolster, which stretches the leatherette revealing the cracks.

It's not bad now, but in a few years, who knows...

anyone else have this? I'm taking it in for the complimentary oil change next month and I will have them check it out hopefully it will be replaced (I doubt they repair leatherette) under warranty. Seats shouldn't crack in just under two years of normal use. I'm not a heavy guy either, 175 lbs., so it's not like the seats were under abnormal stress or whatever...

 

No one else has noticed cracking leatherette (black leatherette) on the left hand "leg bolster" of their driver seat?

As I mentioned, it's only slightly noticeable, you have to be looking for it, or like me, find it when bending down to pick something up... or I'm sure some of the more OCD mini owners would have noticed during routine car cleaning...

I just hope they accept it as a defect and replace the leatherette. I'd think they'd have to replace the entire seat, unless there's a way to just replace partial panels? There's no way this should be happening in less than 24 months time.

rock on,
-boognish

 

Got an 06 MCS with leatherette built in July. You inspired me to inspect the seats and AOK. I do clean and condition the seats frequently(not OCD just a skosh ****)-- but leatherette should be pretty much bulletproof . I too would have your SA take a look.

 

Funny, I just noticed this the other day. Looks like I have the same issue. Showing signs of slight cracking on the left leg side bolster. I agree that this should not be happening so soon. If they replace the seat, what happens when the passenger side seat does the same thing. Seems like it will be inevitable.

I've been considering having the seats redone anyway. I really like the 08 seats, but I don't think they will fit my '06. Anyone have any idea what it would costs to have all the seats recovered? Preferably real leather! Any recommended upholstery shops in or around NYC?

 

I just noticed cracks in the left side of my driver's seat. My MINI is an 05. The cracking is obviously not from wear or anything I have done. The entire rest of the seat looks brand new I am still under warranty (for 3-1/2 more months) so I plan to request a fix.

 

Can you guys take a picture of what you are talking about. If the cracks don't show up, then at least show the area, so we know what to look for.

 

Here's mine

 

Thanks. That helps. I gotta go check mine.

And that looks like a defect, not abuse. A dealer should cover that under warranty on a 2006. I suspect only a seat replacement is done, albeit an upholstery shop could repair that in an hour.

 

Have you ever used any cleaners or preservatives on the vinyl? Mine show no such symptoms at 50K miles.

 

Here's mine. Driver seat outside lower bolster. 2006 MCS, 17,000 miles, black and grey leatherette.

 

I have the same thing on my 2002.

 

Mine is much worse. Artoo is a 2003 built September 2002.

Much MUCH worse.

 

My '04 is doing it in the same place. I guess I should have chose cloth for the long run .

 

Wonder why they even call it leatherette? It's plain ol vinyl and not even tough vinyl. The stuff they use on school buses blows this away. I got cloth seats on my car because I don't want to have to deal with this. Interesting thing to note: my dad had an Audi A6 and it had real leather seats. They had the texture of leatherette. In the five years he owned it, it never developed any wrinkles. You could hardly tell if the backseat was used (and it was used frequently). When he traded it in for a new car, the leather still looked mosly new. Why can't car manufacturers use quality parts for once instead of cutting corners with plastic and fake leather? A co-worker had a Mitsubishi (can't remember the exact model) and got "lightly" rear-ended. He was shocked by how easily the bodywork was damaged and swears that his repair bill wouldn't have been as steep had they used sturdier parts.

 

My 03 was perfect not a mark.

 

Best leather ever are used on Jags, look at any jag and check out the seats

 

That's just a name BMW chose to use. Some manufacturers call it by other names.

While the base composition is vinyl, the "leatherette" name is supposed to connote that the look and feel of the material is close to leather. [MINI is being accurate since when I bought my used MINI I did not know if my interior was leather or vinyl. Took me a few days to figure it out.]

School buses use industrial grade upholstery/vinyl that would never be mistaken for leather. It has a more plastic feel to it, similar to what is on public transit seats.

When I checked my MINI last night for cracks I gave it the squeeze test to see if any cracks were developing. While I did not see any evidence of cracks whatsoever [ ] I think you are somewhat correct. I was surprised that the vinyl seemed a little thin, not a cheap thin, but certainly not as thick as I would like to see it.

IMHO the material, stitching and overall quality of the seats is very nice compared to what I have seen on budget cars, but yes, not close to the fit and finish of genuine leather. And for sure the vinyl is not as "hearty" as I would like.

As to leather being way better, my friend had a 1990 Audi that she recently sold. It had about 130,000 on it. The interior was deep blue leather. Look at the pics. For an 18-year-old interior, it has held up very well.

Part of that is attributable to the quality and durability of leather, but she also took care of the car.

From what I have seen, the MINI leather interior seems way better than my MINI's leatherette.

 

True - at one time, Mercedes called their vinyl upholstery "Taxi-Leder" (or "Taxi Leather"), at least in the German documentation. I think it was called "MB-Tex" in the English documentation. Tough stuff, too. I had a 1972 Mercedes that I sold in 2007, and the seats still looked great.

 

I too have this problem. Nice to know I am not alone. Please let me know how it goes with the warrenty thing. I only have 2k left on mine.

 

No warranty for me. I went with some seat covers. Too bad, I liked the look of the leatherette .

 

Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Rolls have long-standing agreements with the English tanners to get the absolute best available leather. BMW leather is significantly worse quality by comparison.

This has nothing to do with the quality of the vinyl used in MINIs, of course, but I'd hazard a guess that those that are showing this cracking may have been parked in direct sunlight a lot rather than garaged?

 

I have this on my 03 MC as well.

Since owning my car it has been garaged and babied. However I did purchase used

Do any of you know if this sort of dammage is repairable?

 

I guess the 50-75% humidity here is good for something.

 

Mine has spent most of it's time garaged at home and work. I also clean and condition the seats regularly. Not much to do about it. I know what not to get next time .

 

Mines an 03. same problem left bolster. I just put seat covers on it. Never buy that stuff again.