Do your leather seats look like crap?

[ciaz]

What model 4Runner do you have?Yours must not be factory leather or a dealer add on then because mine only has vinyl on the back. The lower back part and azz part are not perforated leather as you described either.I've got 20k miles on mine and they look like new.

I agree, the leather seems to have held up nicely. Harper we have roughly the same mileage, and I've used lexol to clean/condition it every so often since purchasing mine new.

One complaint about the leather itself is that the blue from my jeans seems to rub off on the left-most seat cushion, probably from me sliding in & out of the vehicle. It comes off with some goo-gone and some elbow grease. I'm sure it's the fault of whoever adds the dye to my jeans. I have the beige factory leather.

 

[mbrogz3000]

I was talking about the leather in my Mazda6, which is low quality crap. I'm not in any rush to buy a 4runner, but leather is one of the option I'm considering. If the 1 year term quality here is the same as that in my Mazda (from what I've been reading across this forum), then I'll opt for the Sport fabric or trail instead. I've yet to check the actual leather in an SR5 or Limited to assess the initial quality myself.

 

[scanny]

It looks to me like lleather in 4Runner is better quality than in my previous Ford Escape. But in Escape leather was still in pretty good condition after 3 years so I expect nothing worse from T4R : )

 

[westwind77]

Wow, who knew, all this excitement about leather! Take care of your leather and it will last a lifetime. My last SUV had leather, it was a dodge (no BMW or Benz) and it lasted 11 years without a single crack, rip, tear, wear mark, etc. Hopefully the new owner will keep it the same. Had a friend with an explorer, tan leather, cracked and horrible after 3 years, never did anything to his leather. Did I mention this was in FL and my leather was black? I think the leather in the 4R is great, and so has everyone who has gotten into my 4R. People these days have way too much 'information overload', just relax, take care of your things and enjoy them.

 

[prestone818]

^-- lol

i have not yet treated the leather yet, i do not think that will fix the bunching problem. but will try.

i had a maxima for 6 years prior to the 4r. towards the end there was cracking but never had any bunching problems...

 

[3rdToyota1st4R]

Wow, who knew, all this excitement about leather! Take care of your leather and it will last a lifetime. My last SUV had leather, it was a dodge (no BMW or Benz) and it lasted 11 years without a single crack, rip, tear, wear mark, etc. Hopefully the new owner will keep it the same. Had a friend with an explorer, tan leather, cracked and horrible after 3 years, never did anything to his leather. Did I mention this was in FL and my leather was black? I think the leather in the 4R is great, and so has everyone who has gotten into my 4R. People these days have way too much 'information overload', just relax, take care of your things and enjoy them.

This is the best repsonse/advice in this thread to date. I was a car detailer for about 14 months. I saw leather in all stages. Cracked, new, bunched, squashed, you name it. The one thing that separated the good from the bad was the care the owner provided. I believe Toyota is responsible for providing a quality product, and they have done that with the 5th Gen. But once you drive it home it's your responsibility to supplement their quality with scheduled maintenance. This includes your leather!

Im OCD. Even down to how I enter and exit the vehicle. I dont slide across the thigh cushions. If it were meant to be under you then it would be under you. Its meant to provide a stable left right cushion. I also dont just jump on in or slam myself into the seats. While these vehicles were meant to take you to places your feet dont want to, there is a reason why the TE doesnt not come with leather...

You just stated that you havent treated your leather. This immediately has me questioning how much you really care about your investment. What actions do you take on a regular basis to protect your leather? Its not a fire and forget type of system. Grab up some Zaino or Lexol (my long time favs) and pamper your baby.

Best of luck to ya.

 

[prestone818]

This is the best repsonse/advice in this thread to date. I was a car detailer for about 14 months. I saw leather in all stages. Cracked, new, bunched, squashed, you name it. The one thing that separated the good from the bad was the care the owner provided. I believe Toyota is responsible for providing a quality product, and they have done that with the 5th Gen. But once you drive it home it's your responsibility to supplement their quality with scheduled maintenance. This includes your leather!

Im OCD. Even down to how I enter and exit the vehicle. I dont slide across the thigh cushions. If it were meant to be under you then it would be under you. Its meant to provide a stable left right cushion. I also dont just jump on in or slam myself into the seats. While these vehicles were meant to take you to places your feet dont want to, there is a reason why the TE doesnt not come with leather...

You just stated that you havent treated your leather. This immediately has me questioning how much you really care about your investment. What actions do you take on a regular basis to protect your leather? Its not a fire and forget type of system. Grab up some Zaino or Lexol (my long time favs) and pamper your baby.

Best of luck to ya.

I always try to not slide off the seat. I usually use the middle of the seat as a support to getting out of the vehicle. I have never believed in conditioning brand new leather seats, I have never believed in waxing a brand new vehicle. It has served me just fine thru my previous 4 vehicles. Leather conditioners are made primarily for used/worn leather (from zaino website "safely cleans and restores the like new look of leather without damaging the clear coat protection or natural oils in leather") the leather is new it shouldnt require restoration after 3500 miles....Obviously since some restoration is required I will treat it. Just saying it shouldnt be necessary.

 

[LongBallLarry]

I have never treated any leather in my cars and have never had trouble with them, even after 8 years they still were soft without stretching. Maybe because they were "luxury" cars with a higher quality leather.

I sat in a new Accord recently and the leather felt thin and stiff. I'm not expecting the 4r to hold up like a lux car but it definitely seems better than Honda quality.

 

[3rdToyota1st4R]

Leather conditioners are not primarily for used/worn leather.

Conditioners are meant to be used before you see signs of aging, before the damage is done. Leather conditioners should be used atleast twice a year on every day vehicles (more often on heavily used vehicles) to ensure your leather is replinished with lost oils, uv protectants and leather cleaner should be used to remove any substances and (fingers oils, hand or body lotions) whose ph can be harmful. A regular dusting is also preferred to remove dust and other soils that can be abrasive.

Leather is just like your skin. It needs to be cleaned and kept moisturized. I prefer to look at leather like it is still alive. Its pores open and close and need to be de-soiled and kept supple.

Beginning to take care of your wrinkly skin at age 65 is a poor choice.

 

[3rdToyota1st4R]

And for all you cloth owners, dont think youve got it so easy!

I know weve gotten away from the original post concerning the quality of this particular vehicle's leather, but the biggest take away from this thread is the need for consistent upholstery maintenance. The abbrasive qualities of dust and dirt will scrape and erode away both cloth and leather. The loss of conditioning oils will reduce your leather's suppleness and erase the protective layer your leather vitally needs. A soft brush can be used bi weekly to remove dust and a thorough cleaning/conditioning can be done bi annually.

My wife has a 2003 Highlander Limited (we are not the original owners) with leather and it looks as good as it did when it was brand new. I fairly certain that the original owners conditioned the leather, but probably not as much as they should have. Leather is resilient and like LongBallLarry, I think it is possible to go quite a while without conditioning depending on the use of the vehicle. I believe the leather in the 4R is fairly good quality and minus some butt imprints from stretching, should last as long as the life of the vehicle.

 

[LongBallLarry]

Get off your high leather conditioning horse. I personally know a dozen cars with leather that have not been been treated ever and still look great after years in the SoCal sun. Twice a year treatment is a joke. Very few people ever condition the leather because for most people it is a waste of time, money and resources. The many cars I see every year by helping friends and fam buy cars proves this point. Maybe in extreme exposure having leather treated makes sense but I have not seen it locally.

Since you are a pro, I have a question for you: Why do leather conditioners tend to make leather shiny and slippery? I am asking because I am getting an outside detail on my Infiniti and it comes with a free interior detail that includes leather conditioner but I am hesitant to let them touch the leather because of previous experiences.

 

[3rdToyota1st4R]

Get off your high leather conditioning horse. I personally know a dozen cars with leather that have not been been treated ever and still look great after years in the SoCal sun. Twice a year treatment is a joke. Very few people ever condition the leather because for most people it is a waste of time, money and resources. The many cars I see every year by helping friends and fam buy cars proves this point. Maybe in extreme exposure having leather treated makes sense but I have not seen it locally.

Since you are a pro, I have a question for you: Why do leather conditioners tend to make leather shiny and slippery? I am asking because I am getting an outside detail on my Infiniti and it comes with a free interior detail that includes leather conditioner but I am hesitant to let them touch the leather because of previous experiences.

I am not on a high horse and even referenced your last post to add credence to your statement. Under normal conditions I said leather is resilient. People use vehicles is many fashions, some more harsh than others. I dont drive yours or their vehicles and cannot speak for the conditions of said upholstery. I only know from my experience as a detailer in Georgia. And as you stated, the vehicles you are use to probably use a higher grade leather. Its like the difference between fashion leather for a purse vice a motorcycle jacket with 1.6mm naked leather. The latter is built for rough use and rough conditions (rain, snow, dust, etc). You can absolutely feel the difference in thickness and quality from Honda to Toyota to Mercedes and above.

I am no pro, Im not a chemist, nor do I work in the detail industry. But to answer your question with what I do know: companies know we value aesthetics and appearance over the other qualities which should be transparent to the user. A shiny conditioner gives the appearance that the product is doing its job. Much like tire shine. Is that super glossy black tire shine really doing its job at maintaining the tire or just keeping it look glossy (of course this also depends on the actual reason why you buy tire shine). Does the vinyl protectant we use really protect or does it just make it shine to make us think that? A leather conditioner shouldnt leave the leather feeling slick or greasy. It will have a faint shine from being clean and moist and this will fade after a few hours (ideally the leather should not be used for three+ hours to let the leather soak in the oil). Its main use is to replinish the leather with lost ph balanced oils. Lexol is great for this reason as Lexol provides conditioning close to the conditioning that was given to the leather prior to its arrival on your seat.

My advice to you is to ask the detail shop what product they will use on your leather. Research it online and find out what it contains. As a detailer I would have a lot of people ask me about the Lexol we used. I even had information packets on Lexol ready to hand out to inquiring customers. Youre well within your rights to question them and they should be able to provide an informative answer.

 

[3rdToyota1st4R]

Also, LongBallLarry, I would stay away from conditioners with dyes. I think this is also a bandaid. You shouldnt need a dye to color your leather.

I am not sure of your past experiences with detailers, but maybe they just used too much conditioner. Gobs and gobs of it arent necessary. A light coat massaged in is all it takes. And I have seen leathers (mainly darker leathers) turn color from some conditioners. Hence the recommendation to use on a hidden portion of your leather first.

One thing I never got a chance to work on (my experience was back in 1999-2000) is that distressed brown leather some auto's use. I think they were used in some special edition Tundras and F150s and if Im not mistaken the new Cherokee will use it. Id have to really do my research before putting any product on that leather.

 

[Ryan F.]

my backseats have been used no more than twice by passengers

Dude,

I am not a leather expert, but I have a couple of thoughts--take 'em or leave 'em. Leather is a natural product. I would think that some wrinkles, etc. would be expected. I have seen the wrinkles in your pics on everything I have ever seen with leather (BMW, etc. etc.). However, I share the creases on the driver's seat. I am small and have to slide out. Good news...I conditioned wth Lexol, and it pretty much takes care of it. It's just about the leather being dry, and needing a little love.

 

[prestone818]

Dude,

I am not a leather expert, but I have a couple of thoughts--take 'em or leave 'em. Leather is a natural product. I would think that some wrinkles, etc. would be expected. I have seen the wrinkles in your pics on everything I have ever seen with leather (BMW, etc. etc.). However, I share the creases on the driver's seat. I am small and have to slide out. Good news...I conditioned wth Lexol, and it pretty much takes care of it. It's just about the leather being dry, and needing a little love.

broseph,

in 3500 miles/4 months...i think not.

 

[T4Fun]

:snacker:

 

[nothardly]

Vinyl with leather trim

The factory leather trim seats are mainly vinyl. They are tight and look quite good on my 2011 SR5. The best way to care for them is a ph neutral soap
when cleaning is needed, ie a weak mix of Ivory and water.
When test driving various vehicles all the dealers offered leather to be added locally and some leather was port installed in our region.
It was obvious in some of the models that the interior was not factory installed. Center consoles were gray with tan seats in some etc. some of them were not as well tailored much as your pictures show.
Even the parts of auto seats that are "leather" are bonded, corrected buff or blended and also do not need any thing to quote soften them, the surface is paint or poly film. For what it's worth real leather also does not need any more than a light dusting and the same suds only neutral soap for cleaning when essential.

 

[fxoffroad]

No ,but my crap looked like seats one time.

:lol:

I find that complaining about stuff doesn't fix things that erk you. Educating yourself and finding solutions does!

This is good advice. If your leather is so horrible, why aren't you taking it back to the dealer and complaining? I'd love to listen to your conversation w/ a service manager.

Or why not try some of the suggestions folks have taken the time to type? esp. per your comment below.

the intent of this thread was not to rant but to see if this was a common issue with resolve.

I always try to not slide off the seat. I usually use the middle of the seat as a support to getting out of the vehicle.

Little anal, eh? :jk: I get it, you dropped 30-40 large on a vehicle, you have expectations.

Dude... I am not a leather expert ... Leather is a natural product... It's just about ... needing a little love.

All you need IS love.

The factory leather trim seats are mainly vinyl.

Our leather seats are mainly vinyl???? WTF?