Well, what can I say. I had my 08 Sedan for about 10 months and yesterday I noticed the following:
Pic 1:
Now I'm not fat, I'm 6"0 and I weigh 200 (I work out that explains the heavy weight)...so can someone explain the following, and whether or not I should take it in to the dealership for warranty?
Is this normal? 3 years from now my seat is gonna look like trash...if warranty does not cover this then what the heck am i gonna do..put a seat cover on it? Then whats the point of getting leather..
.........here is my similar story..........what crappy interior quality. I cannot believe that Honda is not concerned about this, but my experience tells me that they just don't care. I'm so angry that I may well dump this car, which is a darned shame. Even though I'll lose money now, Honda will lose an eight time repeat customer (13 in my immediate family alone). Oh well.
Good luck with your situation and YES, I would call American Honda and complain.
My 1st thought after seeing pic #1 was that body oils excreted by you got onto your leather hides and were not properly cleaned off. These body oils can/will comprimise the leather.
When you work out do you hop right into your car with sweaty clothes after - Just a thought.
1) ya sometimes I do, sweaty clothes...but ur tellin me leather can't handle that? dude the benches at the gym have leather on them and they stay pretty much the same for years...ive had this car for 10 months and I can count the number of days I went to the gym and came out with sweaty clothes...
2) I don't maintain it at all...zero. How are we supposed to maintain leather..lol
Amen bro!!! I do this often No blue has rubbed off from my constantl bleeding in the wash Abercrombie jeans. And i wear them often as I work there on the days im not flight instructing. So constant cleaning/conditioning must repel dirt/clothes ink.
Blunt and to the point: Leather upholstery is uncomfortable, high-maintenance, and very expensive to repair. Like Vinyl, it also tends to be somewhat noisy. :thumbsdow
Leather burns you up, during Summer; freezes you to death, during Winter. If not regularly cleaned, with protectant applied, it will fail in short time. And you'd best have a FAT checkbook to get a panel/bolster/insert repaired or replaced.
Not long ago, I saw an '02 "EX" Coupe in an auto upholstery shop for driver's seat repair. One (1) upper seat insert + one (1) lower seat insert smoked the owner's purse/wallet for a QUICK $500! Adding insult to injury, the color match was not exact, either.
EXACTLY the problems you all indicate...is EXACTLY WHY I selected the "LX" trim levels on both of my cars. CLOTH interiors are vastly more comfortable, lower maintenance, far less expensive to repair, and much quieter. Some 23 (twenty-three) years later, to my utter amazement, the interior in my trusty '86 is ORIGINAL...and almost flawless. (The driver's seat IS getting a bit tired. New (OEM) seat covers and foam are scheduled for this Summer.) And my '02 shows absolutely ZERO wear and tear, even with me being its (recent) THIRD owner!
So help me God, I will NEVER own another vehicle fitted with a Vinyl interior. And I wouldn't have any vehicle fitted with "animal skin," not even at gunpoint! While the appearance and aroma of leather is very seductive to many, seems to me they never stop to consider the immediate and eventual downsides of it. Then again, "Different strokes for different Folks."
Exactly why I wished the EX model came with cloth seats but with auto climate control included. I could live without leather (and have been in the past 2 cars) and XM radio.
The main reason I got my Prelude sold so fast was because for a 97' the interior was PRISTINE. No rips or tears in any of the cloth seats at all. I got my full asking price even though there were a number of dents, dings and paint fading on the exterior of the car. And I hardly had to do much to take care of the seats, just vacuum them off every once in a while.
dude the benches at the gym have leather on them and they stay pretty much the same for years...ive had this car for 10 months and I can count the number of days I went to the gym and came out with sweaty clothes...
Believe me, the benches at the gym are not covered in leather unless you go to a real high end gym. Most likely the material is vinyl which is more durable than leather.
Since my cars sit outside, at the eternal mercy of "Mother Nature," only SIGNIFICANT interior issue I ever experience is color fading. (Window Sun Shades and car covers are beneficial! ) As I rarely have any passengers, I MIGHT vacuum my CLOTH interior(s) once a YEAR. An occasional "quick shot" with 3M ScotchGuard, which provides superb stain "repellant/protection," and I'm "Good to GO!" :yes:
The '98 EXL here at home is abused, I can count on one hand the number of times I've bothered with trying to clean/protect the leather.
Yes, the seat has a tear at the outer bolster on the driver's seat, but it does have 230k on it. The leather has absorbed the dye from the dress clothes it's driver wears (NOT ME), it's darkened and/or blued a bit. I can't get that out. The passenger seat, still fully tan, about 10 shades lighter, has all kinds of scratches/stains from carrying plants, spilled soda, coffee, etc.
My '04 black leather is very comfortable, I find the seats in the '04 much more supple and the seams are not in places they shouldn't be. I do cover the seat and steering wheel with a white towel when parked outside at work to keep them cool. They're heated for winter.
I clean/protect them about every 4 to 6 months.
I'd also be all over Honda about that dye issue with the inner bolster.
i believe someone else on the forums brought this up and took pics of his damaged leather seats. I guess poor quality material. To those lookin to get a new car with leather all i gotta tell ya is maintain it. I wish i knew but oh well i'm leasing this bi$ch and probably will change my mind about buying it after
OP, you CANNOT blame the leather for that. The first pic looks like typical damage from driving your car on a tanktop, sweaty, and possibly with sunblock, cream, etc. Seems like you needed VINYL seats, just like the gym benches you mentioned.
The other seam damage is from rubbing. If you want your seats to look great for a long time, you need to do 3 things: One, always maintain your leather conditioned, especially in summer. Two, be careful not to contact your leather with bare skin, especially if sweaty and/or with sunblock or other creams applied (and if you do, clean it quickly afterwards). And third, watch how you get in and out of your car and what you wear: lever yourself in and out so you don't rub on any part of the seat, and don't wear jeans with rivets, or have pointy objects in your pockets (the other photos look like that kind of damage). Nothing is maintenance-free on a car; even vinyl needs conditioning or it cracks too.
As a comment, I've sold many cars after 4 or 5 years and leather looked like new. You just have to take care of it. Take care.
Bottom line is the leather in the accords is crap. Here's a pic of my drivers side leather seat after 8000 miles. The dealer replaced the leather free of charge.
I'm 150 pounds...so it's not a weight thing. It's just garbage leather and I have little confidence that it will hold up over the years no matter what you do. Maybe just not drive the car at all and then it will look good.
Bottom line is the leather in the accords is crap. Here's a pic of my drivers side leather seat after 8000 miles. The dealer replaced the leather free of charge.
THAT is a defect for sure, but that's not leather man; it's VINYL. And yes, having those defects on vinyl makes it even worse.
Not defending Honda here, but vinyl needs to be cared for too (not sure if that'd have helped here); excessive heat dries it out too, although that takes longer than leather. Curious if you treated it or not. Glad Honda replaced it for you. Take care.
You never want a combination of heat, moisture and dye... that will create nightmares.
As far as cleaning and conditioning the leather... just remember that spraying the leather cleaner unto the surface alone will not be effective enough.
1) Vaccum the seat thoroughly (especially inbetween the stitching).
1) Drench a clean cotton towel with warm water and wipe the area you want to clean (do not do the whole seat at one time - clean small portions of a seat at one time)
2) Spray the cleaner onto the damp leather and scrub. (using a leather brush is the best but a cotton towel will work just as well)
3) Using a dry cotton towel, wipe the surface clean.
4) After the area has dried completely, apply a conditioner to moisturize the leather (prevents cracking).
There are various other methods, but i have used the above method for years (as all of my previous cars had leather) and I haven't ever encountered dye marks or cracks.
Has Honda cheaped out on leather over the past few years? I know of an 01 and an 02 Accord (both black) that have leather that looks close to new. Both owners claim they've never used any kind of conditioner. OTOH, I saw an 05 TSX a few months ago and couldn't believe how cracked/stained the driver's leather was.
I have been using their products for years. Keeps the leather soft and supple while removing dirt, sweat and body oils that inevitably get into the leather.
They have a two stage process.
1. Apply the rejuvenator oil (I know, seems backward not cleaning first). Let the oil soak in. As it does it forces out the dirt and sweat from the leather fibers. For best results I let it sit for several hours in an enclosed warm car.
2. Clean off the sticky mess left behind with a white towel using their cleaner, prestine clean. Leave the leather with a dull shine, nice texture. You will be amazed at how much dirt comes off. It does NOT alter the shade of the leather. Light tan (my color) does not darken with use of this product.
I usually do this twice a year. Keeps the leather like new.
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