Leather Seats Not Wearing Well

Well, we've only own the B9 for 6 hours now so I can't comment on exactly what to use. Have you been cleaning and conditioning the leather on a regular basis?

Magic Marker said:

Well, we've only own the B9 for 6 hours now so I can't comment on exactly what to use. Have you been cleaning and conditioning the leather on a regular basis?

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Acually it's not all "real" leather, and leather conditioner will actually make a mess (doesn't soak in and just stays wet and greasy looking). I use Armor All occasionally and it seems to work well.

-Karen in AZ-

kmartin said:

Acually it's not all "real" leather, and leather conditioner will actually make a mess (doesn't soak in and just stays wet and greasy looking). I use Armor All occasionally and it seems to work well.

-Karen in AZ-

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Really? The leather seating isn't all real leather?

There is considerable faux leather in the "leather" insterior material. Your dealer should know this as a fact, and be able to point it out to you. There are few parts which ar real leather (such as the shift knob), but the faux stuff wears better and looks very much like the real thing :-(

kmartin said:

There is considerable faux leather in the "leather" insterior material. Your dealer should know this as a fact, and be able to point it out to you. There are few parts which ar real leather (such as the shift knob), but the faux stuff wears better and looks very much like the real thing :-(

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I'm sure the faux leather wears better, but then they shouldn't charge you as if it is full leather.

kmartin said:

There is considerable faux leather in the "leather" insterior material. Your dealer should know this as a fact, and be able to point it out to you. There are few parts which ar real leather (such as the shift knob), but the faux stuff wears better and looks very much like the real thing :-(

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I wasn't aware of that either. I have had my 2007 Tribeca for 7 months and have been using Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner with fantastic results. I highly recommend Lexol!

I bought some Meguiars Leather Conditioner/ Cleaner, but have yet to use it. I've always trusted Meg's so I'm not worried about it.

cash911 said:

I wasn't aware of that either. I have had my 2007 Tribeca for 7 months and have been using Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner with fantastic results. I highly recommend Lexol!

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Where does one find this "Lexol"....

PS -I live in Canada...went to the site and I don't think they sell up here?..

I just bought a bottle of Meguiars Leather conditioner/cleaner wipes yesterday. Will probably try one out today and see how it works. Will keep you posted.

corn oil said:

Where does one find this "Lexol"....

PS -I live in Canada...went to the site and I don't think they sell up here?..

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Lexol can be bought at most any auto parts store here in the US (pep boys, autozone, napa, strauss, etc.) Some supermarkets carry it as well or you can try a wal-mart type store too...not sure what you guys have up in canada. I use lexol cleaner and conditioner, they get my recommendation. The vinyl parts you'd be better off with armor all.

As for faux leather vs. real leather...the seat top surface, back rest and headrests are leather, all the rest is vinyl (ie: sides and seatbacks). Most all cars are like this, it's not until you get into MBs, BMWs, etc that all surfaces are leather...and even then it's usually only all leather in the S-class & 7-series, lower models still have leather/vinyl combos or even all vinyl It's always annoyed me that base model 3-series came with "leatherette" standard...thats pretty freakin cheap IMHO.

SubieTri08 said:

I just bought a bottle of Meguiars Leather conditioner/cleaner wipes yesterday. Will probably try one out today and see how it works. Will keep you posted.

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I got some too. If I have time, I'll try it out this weekend.

OK, just used the Meguiars Leather wipes on the car today. I intially bought it for the middle console in the car since that color is beige rather than slate. FIY - I have 2008 7pass limited in Diamond Gary Metallic so the interior leather seats are slate instead of beige. Middle console is noticebly getting dirty I assume from clothes or whatever. I used the wipes and it did a really good job of cleaning it. Then I used it on my seats which are slate... I've never had leather seats nor used those type of wipes before so when I used it on the slate color seats its kinda like putting armor all on them because they became shiny. I noticed that when used on the beige you could see the shininess but couldn't see the noticeably contrast on the slate seats. I ended up using one for each seats since the used ones started drying as I wiped. Long story short... if used on darker surface seats make sure you do the entire seat so it's shiny altogether.

SubieTri08 said:

... if used on darker surface seats make sure you do the entire seat so it's shiny altogether.

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Just be careful on those slippery seats when you hit the brakes the first time (make sure you have your seat belt on

BTW, I have the gray perforated leather on my '06. Much of the seat surface is not real leather in my vehicle, and the wipes do leave a wet mess that does not soak in no matter how long you leave it on. Other real leather surfaces in the car do just fine. I use Armor All pretty much exclusively, and it has worked well so far.

-Karen-

Look for a leather protection kit in a furniture store.... designed for leather sofas, etc.

Doesn't leave the mess, works awesome.

Costs a bit more though than typical mcGuire's, Armor-All, etc.

The only thing i would wonder about stuff made for household furniture is whether it has UV protection, I think some of the car stuff does, and it helps protect against sun damage.

Please also remember you need to CONDITION as well as clean your leather seats. Cleaners will get the dirt, grime off, but leather conditioners will keep the leather softer and help prevent cracking/wrinkling with age. Conditioner is what makes most furniture cleaners more expensive and they usually skip the UV protectants.

Here's a link to Lexol's auto info... http://www.lexol.com/auto.html

i've been using meguiars leather cleaner on the 08 tribeca twice in about 8000 miles and the seats are still perfect