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Leather Wear?

3852 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  sh30469
Has anyone else been having trouble with the wear on their leather? Looks like it's aging prematurely? I'll post some pics when I get my car back (lent it to my parents so they could drive to NC) but all but 1 section are premature wear to me and I can't understand it. As of right now Kia is saying it looks like "normal wear and tear" but there are places where no one sits and places where that shouldn't even happen. I just asked my rep last night if it could be escalated to someone higher and it has been. I also posted this in another thread:

"Well, I am going through the process of trying to have my leather at least repaired by Kia right now. There are spots where it is cracked and others where it is warped looking. Some of the spots are in the back (where no one sits), in the center arm rest area in the rear (it's always up), and in spots no heavy use can be like in the tops of the seats. Dealer sent in some pics for regional manager and the verdict came back as "normal wear and tear". Even if I didn't use water based cleaners and protectants on my seats and didn't tint EVERY window in my car to help protect them, there's no reason they should be looking they way they do after less than 2.5 yrs of ownership. My Nissan Rogue's leather doesn't look like that NOW after 5.5 yrs even when I always cleaned those with oil based cleaners infrequently and my brother (who has owned it the last 2.5 yrs) doesn't clean them almost at all. It is black leather and not a "premium" leather like in our Cadenza either. I just got this call back yesterday confirming the "normal wear and tear" verdict yesterday. This is not a good omen for me keeping my car once lease is up. I love this thing but the premature wear on the leather is not OK and not repairing/replacing the mistake isn't looking good. This makes me pretty sad and a bit angry for the first time."

Anyone else have problems with the leather in their car wearing pretty quick? I keep mine in the shade as much as I can, clean it with water based cleaners and protectants, and don't let anything heavy in my seats (other than people). I don't ever get paint transfer from people's clothing onto my seats, somehow it looks like it's just dry and cracking. Getting angry at the situation.
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I have a Limited with the White Nappa Leather, purchased 3/2014 like you. 27k miles and no issues at all with the leather. No stretched areas, creases, or notable dirt/stains. I clean the leather about 2x a year using Taino's Leather Cleaner and Leather Conditioner. Other than that, I wipe it down with a damp towel after washing the car. The leather still looks like the day I bought it. I'm in Portland, Oregon so the heat isn't very extreme. No tinted windows either. Sucks to have the leather cracking already. :(
Yes it does, still waiting on the escalation team to get in touch with me too. I'm in IN so no EXTREME heat and plenty of humidity to help keep the seats hydrated. This really puts a big downer on me wanting to buy my lease out :/
Yes it does, still waiting on the escalation team to get in touch with me too. I'm in IN so no EXTREME heat and plenty of humidity to help keep the seats hydrated. This really puts a big downer on me wanting to buy my lease out :/
Let me know what they say, my driver seat is crazy worn and the car has less than 30k miles on it. It was owned by an older lady before me, so the amount of wear on just that one seat confuses me. I protect and clean my leather monthly.

I also found this weekend that my cooled seat on my driver side only works sometimes. Last night it was acting as a heater and not pumping any cold air at all. Felt like the seat heater was on full blast. I'll be reporting that shortly.
Will do, this really bugs the living daylights out of me. If it was just the 2 front seats maybe it would be 1 thing, but in the seats that are never used?
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