Hyundai Forums banner

Leather Seats Wearing after 2 months

12K views 53 replies 23 participants last post by  Stormyblade 
#1 ·
I have owned my 2012 Azera for about 2 months and I really enjoy most of it.

I have noticed that the driver seat (where I sit almost every day) has begun to crinkle and look white in the wrinkles pretty badly on the sides. :(

The passenger side seat has also started to crinkle but not as badly since it has less use.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is this a leather defect or just something that is normal with leather?
 
#8 ·
I have the camel interior 5 months old 4k on it.I was cleaning the interior and noticed a small tear in the rear passanger seat. Upon closer inspection it looks tike the finish surface of the leather in the area of the tear is about as thin as rice paper.I am going to take it to the dealership to hear what they have to say about it .I will update when I get their response.
 
#10 ·
4500 miles so for on my camel interior.

Just very minor wear and tear that you have to focus on to notice, nothing you wouldn't expect with leather.

Having said that, I hope you guys are taking proper care of the leather (regular cleaning and conditioning). Leather does require maintenance compared to cloth.
 
#11 ·
Having said that, I hope you guys are taking proper care of the leather (regular cleaning and conditioning). Leather does require maintenance compared to cloth.
I have nice leather seats in my '03 Saturn. I never conditioned them with special stuff, just washed once every few months with water ;) They have a few wrinkles from being old, but not thin or worn out. If the leather on Azera is thinning out like people report just after a few month, it's got to be some defect with it, IMO.
 
#12 ·
My 1999 Mitsubishi Diamante leather seats look pretty much like when I bought the car new, with just a few wrinkles on the driver side bolster. They are grey. I clean and condition them a few times per year with Lexol products.

I would want the seats in a new car to wear as well.
 
#14 ·
Look, some people are harder on leather interior than others. It's not to say that it is in your case. I will tell you that I have owned many premium cars with leather interior and the leather in the new Azera is as good as any of them.

Take your car into service and I'm sure they will do something about it once but, if it should happen again it will probably be on you.

Although I don't have much mileage on my car (a lot of short trips) the seats are mint, no problems once so ever.
 
#20 ·
So I went to the dealership again and told them it was unacceptable to only warranty the item once and claim it was normal wear and tear.

They agreed with me and said the one time warranty was not a Hyundai rule but rather Hyundai reimburses the dealership for one replacement with no questions asked. If it happens again, they have to get Hyundai's authorization to do a replacement (without eating the cost).

As far as this being wear and tear, they do not believe this is normal wear and tear, however it is the first time they have seen it (opposite of what they said the first time). Most wear and tear is identified by discoloration, scratching/scuffing, and tearing - not this type of creasing/wrinkling.

Anyway, they are going to replace the seat covers (and they are not true cow hide leather, but they are not as cheap as pleather, so I'm not sure what material they are but he said they are high quality), and if it happens again I will bring it back and have them take it to Hyundai.
 
#21 ·
So I went to the dealership again and told them it was unacceptable to only warranty the item once and claim it was normal wear and tear.

They agreed with me and said the one time warranty was not a Hyundai rule but rather Hyundai reimburses the dealership for one replacement with no questions asked. If it happens again, they have to get Hyundai's authorization to do a replacement (without eating the cost).

As far as this being wear and tear, they do not believe this is normal wear and tear, however it is the first time they have seen it (opposite of what they said the first time). Most wear and tear is identified by discoloration, scratching/scuffing, and tearing - not this type of creasing/wrinkling.

Anyway, they are going to replace the seat covers (and they are not true cow hide leather, but they are not as cheap as pleather, so I'm not sure what material they are but he said they are high quality), and if it happens again I will bring it back and have them take it to Hyundai.
I checked with Hyundai as well as looks on several sites on line and they are true leather seats and no where's near pleather. As for true cowhide, I'm not sure what that means. I don't know what manufacturers use but I will tell you that all the reference I read talked very highly about the leather seats as being of quality.
 
#28 ·
Almost all leather car seats are top-coated to give the leather more durability and a uniform color. This also allows the leather and vinyl components to perfectly match up color and texture. See the different types of leather described at Leather Identification - Leather World Tech Most likely the defect you are seeing is from the top-coat.

Also, keep in mind that in a car only the seating surfaces are leather. Typically, the back of the seatback and the sides of the seat bottom are vinyl, as well as the headrests. You can tell the difference between leather and vinyl by pressing your finger into the surface. Leather will show tiny creases leading radially out from the spot you press. Vinyl will not. This is important to identify because vinyl and leather require different treatments.

My research and experience has shown that the Lexol and Vinylex products do a great job on leather and vinyl respectively. My seats look very good at 14 years.
 
#29 ·
Almost all leather car seats are top-coated to give the leather more durability and a uniform color. This also allows the leather and vinyl components to perfectly match up color and texture. See the different types of leather described at Leather Identification - Leather World Tech Most likely the defect you are seeing is from the top-coat.

Also, keep in mind that in a car only the seating surfaces are leather. Typically, the back of the seatback and the sides of the seat bottom are vinyl, as well as the headrests. You can tell the difference between leather and vinyl by pressing your finger into the surface. Leather will show tiny creases leading radially out from the spot you press. Vinyl will not. This is important to identify because vinyl and leather require different treatments.

My research and experience has shown that the Lexol and Vinylex products do a great job on leather and vinyl respectively. My seats look very good at 14 years.

I don't believe it is true in all cases that part of the leather interior is vinyl ie: the bolsters, back of front seats and headrest. Most manufacturers like BMW or Lexus in fact tell you if parts of there seats are not leather and it is true about the coating on seats. I know for sure that Lexus puts a coating on there seats as well as many other manufacturers which preserves the seats.
 
#38 ·
It is important to not use oil-based and silicone based leather cleaners on automobile seats. That can cause a lot of problems. People routinely use Lexol, Meguiars, Zaino, Armorall and other products sold for leather when those products are not appropriate for car leather. I made the same mistake and used Lexol for years until I found out from this forum, and confirmed with Lexol, that their oil-based leather treatment is not intended for use on car seats, nor is anyone else's. You should use a mild soap product for cleaning and a protectant made specifically for leather. If you missed the big Leather Care thread, here is the bottom line: http://www.hyundai-forums.com/2729546-post28.html Of course, if you want the entire story, start from the beginning of that thread.
 
#42 ·
It depends on if your leather sofa is coated leather. Many are, but some are not. A safe bet would be Leather Masters Soft Cleaner to clean and Leather Masters Protection Cream for protection. I buy the 1 Liter bottles of both from Amazon. I estimate that the pair of 1 Liter bottles will clean and protect the seats about 14 times.
 
#50 ·
I noticed early wear on a number of preowned 13-15 Azera`s and Credenza`s when shopping which made me hesitant about the car and prefer dark interior which is hard to find also, leather seats have only 20% leather anyway,I prefer tex it is leather like and synthetic but wears better,also try a good restoring product .
 
#52 ·
I know this is an old thread but I also had excessive wear on my leather seat at around 10,000 miles. The driver's seat was replaced under warranty no problem. I've never had this issue in any other car and have owned dozens of vehicles with leather seats. I now have about 67,000 miles on my Azera and the seat shows only normal wear. The first one was certainly defective.
 
#54 ·
Since this thread got revived somehow, I went back to page 1 and re-read the entire thread. I have the exact same problem with my black seats that the picture on page 3 shows. I think I need to head to the dealership before my 5 year anniversary hits and ask them what they can do about the seats. I was using Lexol products until I read through the thread that Mr. V commented in regarding the use of various cleaners and conditioners.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top