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Cheap leather seats

J

JETMECH

Full Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Messages
28
Location
West Chester, OH
:8: My Avalanche is less than three months old so you can imagine how upset I was today when I went to vacuum it out and noticed the leather seat on the drivers seat already had wear marks on the outer edge. Then I noticed a very large area (about 4-5 inches long on the seat back that the color had worn off all the way down to the leather. We have a 96 Olds Bravada with leather and you can't even tell the seats are worn at all. I guess they are really getting cheap and low quality with the 03's Has any one else experienced this? Needless to say I will be going back to the dealer this week and getting the seat replaced. :8: :8:
 
the backs of the seats are vinyl.....only the seating area is leather and tis leather is coated with a protective layer of vinyl.........

To have color go would be from a chemical or severe rubbing with something....

HTH
 
JETMECH - I don't blame you for being upset. I would be visiting the dealers also if I had the same problems you have. I'm sure you will not have any problems getting your seat replaced.
 
I bought mine about two weeks ago from the ones available on the lot. The out edge of the driver side was already worn. The dealership told me to it was like b/c of people getting in and out. I'm begining to wonder if I can go ot GM to have replaced, as it sounds like this should not be happening. Someone msg. me on how to approach the dealer about this.
 
define worn?

Got any pics......

Wrinkles are gonna happen......though
 
Worn: Deep wrinkles, strong indication of use, and some what faded compared to remaining leather on the seat.

It's only the outer edge. The rest of the interior is brand new.

I will be purchasing a digi cam this weekend, so I will post some pics up shortly.



 
Island_Avalanche said:
Worn: Deep wrinkles, strong indication of use, and some what faded compared to remaining leather on the seat.

It's only the outer edge. The rest of the interior is brand new.

I will be purchasing a digi cam this weekend, so I will post some pics up shortly.
Click to expand...

I do beleive the outside parts are vinyl.....and I would not worry too much about wrinkles as they are gonna happen no matter what you do......I have yet to see any new cars with leather seats that do not wrinkle after a while......
 
I disagree with that statement. My wife has a 96 Olds Bravada with 93,000 miles on it and it has no sign of wear, or cracking or wrinkles. My avalanche has a whole two months of wear on it and the seats are worn on the outer edges and on the outboard seat back. I was trying to post the pictures I took but they are too large to attach and I don't know enough about how to make them smaller. If someone can point in the right direction I will post the pictures. Taking it to dealer in the morning and going to request they replace the seat. If that don't work it is off to the zone office. It is not reasonable for the seats to wear out that fast.
 
I used to handle dealer service work as an uphosterer. I was CONSTANTLY changing leather inserts on full size GM trucks as well as vinyl on blazers (defect near the recline handle).

On the outer edge of the seat, where there is a double french seam, the top of the leather rubs off. It is a very common problem that usually shows up between 20-40k miles. It is very dependant on the weight of the person and the way a person enters and exits the vehicle.

If you ever find yourself getting UP into your truck and your rear is sliding or scuffing on the leather, you will have this problem exspecially if you wear jeans (jeans KILL leather seats). You are better off stepping on the running board or sill plate and enter downward towards the seat verses the normal entry method of sliding UP into the seat.

The dealer should absolutely cover this under the original warranty (GMPP or other extended warranties do not cover fabrics and leather).

In probably the only moment in my life, I will admit that I wish I had Ford leather over the GM crap. My friends '03 F250 has leather worthy of a Benz, It is supple, soft and does not show wrinkles AT ALL.

Anyone with interior questions feel free to IM me.

Ed
 
Has anyone found a quality replacement leather interior? I've got an 03 with leather and I'm disappointed as well. I don't have wear problems (yet) but I would like to upgrade the interior.
 
dtc - I had Katzkin leather installed onto my 2002:

Katzkin Thread

So far I am very satisified. It has held up to my 230 pounds and a 34 pound 2 year old daughter.

Plus it gave me the option to get leather on the bench seat.
 
Took the Avanlanche to the dealer this morning and they are going to replace the worn seat. He said it would take a week or two for the replacement to come in. Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep this from happening again. Don't want to put seat covers on but I may have too.
 
My drivers side is quite wrinkled and is 8 months old. I figure that in a few years I may just have the leather replaced with Katskinz or something. I may had butt warmers then too (i have sport leather--leather/cloth combo w/o warmers).

Craig
 
too bad your interior is tan. i would offer you a trade on seat covers. mine are graphite however. i know about the down fall of leather, but i like the nicer look of it too.
 
The leather in my 97 Camaro was crap. Had to finally have the drivers side replaced under warranty.

The leather in my 99 F250 held up slightly longer but showed wrinkles and wear especially where I entered and exited the vehicle.

These past experiences were a deciding factor in my purchase of my AV without leather!
 
Wow. Glad to know I am not the only one. I am going to ask my dealer to look into the leather problem as well. I mean, I paid $52K for the truck (CDN Price) and there is no way I am going to stand for cheap leather seats. Once the leather is replaced I will put a seat cover on both driver and passenger seats.

 
I just took it to the service department and showed them the seats and said that this should not be happening in less than 3 months use and that I want it replaced. He looked at it and agreed and said he would get the replacement on order. I really doubt they will replace the whole seat. I think they will order just the leather covering and have it installed. I put a couple of marks on the seats in hidden areas though so they don't just try and repair the leather that is on it. We'll see what happens in a few weeks.
 
As opposed to going to Katskinz, I would recommend finding a local Upholsterer who works on custom street rods and such. You can have a custom set of seat covers made up to either look stock (but feel and perform a hundred times better) or get something personalized. The price should be around $4-500 a seat.

Ed
 
Does anyone have pictures of their worn seats?

I think mine are worn more than they should be for 3,000 miles, but would like to compare to someone elses before I head to the service dept. :6:

 
I already disagreed in other similar posts about ALL leather wearing after time, and I'm gonna disagree again, here. GM (truck...I'm not talking Cadillac here) leather/vinyl/whatever it is simply is low quality. I've got a $22K '99 VW Passat w/ 75K miles on it...yes it's *slightly* worn, but the leather in it BLOWS AWAY that of GM's junk in their trucks. Unacceptable for $35-$40K if you ask me.

No offense, guys w/leather, JMO (again).

Rich
 
RichUF said:
I already disagreed in other similar posts about ALL leather wearing after time, and I'm gonna disagree again, here. GM (truck...I'm not talking Cadillac here) leather/vinyl/whatever it is simply is low quality. I've got a $22K '99 VW Passat w/ 75K miles on it...yes it's *slightly* worn, but the leather in it BLOWS AWAY that of GM's junk in their trucks. Unacceptable for $35-$40K if you ask me.

No offense, guys w/leather, JMO (again).

Rich
Click to expand...

I agree with that disagreement :cautious:,

Every GM w/ leather I have seen or owned has shown signs of premature wear. My wife's '98 Acura has leather that still looks great. Compared to mine which is 10months old and already showing signs of wear. It's been posted elswhere, but just to mention again...be sure to use a leather conditioner as opposed to Armor-All - helps delay the wrinkles and keeps it soft :cool:
 
Before I got my avalanche I use to buy only the four letter word trucks "ford". I had a 98 lariat 4x4 with leather seats and right on the drivers edge where you would slide into & out of your truck basically was worn out when I got rid of it in 2001. I would suggest for anyone with leather seats that you get nice seat covers. I got sport cloth on my Avalanche and love it, easy to clean.
 
Im a motorcycle fanatic. I tried contacting Vanson Leathers about getting some perforated stock and incorporating it into the center sections of my seats. That way I could use the heaters and Install a cooling fan.
Love the concept, just waiting for them to get back to me.
 
rgramjet said:
Im a motorcycle fanatic. I tried contacting Vanson Leathers about getting some perforated stock and incorporating it into the center sections of my seats.
Click to expand...

Hmm... I wonder how many of their ProPerf Jackets you would have to disassemble in order to get enough material?
 
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