Leather seats not so leather??

[Wakesnowb]

Going to be honest here and probably get flamed but I have yet to see a drivers seat entrance leather area hold up to constant pounding on entrance and exit regardless of make. I recently got the Ram step sides installed knowing what will happen if I didn't avoid running my 228 lb butt over the same area getting in the truck. This can be proven by the area showing the wear. Be nice if FCA would allow the claim though.

dd

Understood but this seat looks brand new except for that peeling. I would expect wear and tear after many years, not this fast though.

 

[SpeedyV]

Going to be honest here and probably get flamed but I have yet to see a drivers seat entrance leather area hold up to constant pounding on entrance and exit regardless of make. I recently got the Ram step sides installed knowing what will happen if I didn't avoid running my 228 lb butt over the same area getting in the truck. This can be proven by the area showing the wear. Be nice if FCA would allow the claim though.

dd

My GMC looked a little worse than the OP’s seat...after 15 years.

 

[ddharris]

My GMC looked a little worse than the OP’s seat...after 15 years.

If that's true these Rams have the cheapest finished leather known to man. It is quick for that to be happening for sure. I make every effort to avoid the seat on the way in because they are finished probably on the cheap side.

 

[ddharris]

Got a question. I just used maguires clean and condition wet wipes on my Ram.
The question is if these seats are painted over the leather do we need to condition the leather or simply wipe off with damp towel?

 

[Saints]

Got a question. I just used maguires clean and condition wet wipes on my Ram.
The question is if these seats are painted over the leather do we need to condition the leather or simply wipe off with damp towel?

Leather in every car is painted over and sealed. Simply wiping with a damp cloth is fine if you do it regularly, if not then a harsher cleaner will be needed. What the OP has is the top coat peeling and should be covered as a defect under warranty. What RBRK has is normal wear and tear from sliding in and out of the seat not using the running boards properly.

 

[392DCGC]

Ya bought 6 Ram trucks since 1994 . Denied under warranty ,pretty nice huh? This is a $250 seat cover made out of cheap man made leather type material that doesn’t last a year. It’s the fake grain look on mine getting rubbed off, you can see the “real” leather fiber stuff underneath. I always use leather protectors on mine and have always tried to be easy getting in and out. My previous 09 11 and 13 that I had, which I got in and out of the same way never looked like this. My 13 had 93000 and looked better. These aren’t going to last long term unfortunately. Passenger seat is starting as well and it has half the use. Cheap garbage.

The cover is sitting at the dealer still. Ive worked at a Honda dealer 21 years, seen it all, and this doesn’t need to be approved by anyone and would get replaced no questions asked. That’s customer care after the sale, we even do them as a goodwill type thing after 3/36 with approval. Nothing is questioned 3/36. Honda cares!

Don't think you know what you're talking about. Many OEMs use leather with a fake embossed pebble leather pattern on the surface to create a uniform look and hide imperfections of cheap leather... FCA is not one of them (in their higher trims), but Honda sure as hell is. Obviously you will see fibers on the inside of the leather if you wear through the top coat. Leather is not the same throughout and has multiple layers. Do some research. The leather in my RAM is some of the best I've had (second only to Laguna in the GC Summit and Hellcat I had). Each piece is unique in look and feel because it's NATURAL leather, not manufactured looking Honda garbage.

 

[LaramieLonghorn19]

I had this happen in my PT Cruiser way back in 2004. 14,000 miles in and the leather started cracking/peeling away. The warranty replaced the seat no questions asked. If you have a good dealer this should get fixed no problem.

 

[deanfx]

Had this happen on my '14 F150. Stuff ain't leather lol, no way. But then again I ain't a farmer.

 

[Wolf]

If I recall correctly, it was only 2 years ago Ram announced they were going to offer seats completely covered in real leather, making them the only vehicle in it's class with it. They also stated all "leather seats" were real leather in the center and men made material for the remainder. For some, that will hit you like when McDonald's proudly proclaimed "we will no longer put additives in our burgers" last year.

@RamCares do you know what "leather" level to order if you want all real leather? I assume the, "premium leather" option.

 

[duke2001]

If I recall correctly, it was only 2 years ago Ram announced they were going to offer seats completely covered in real leather, making them the only vehicle in it's class with it. They also stated all "leather seats" were real leather in the center and men made material for the remainder. For some, that will hit you like when McDonald's proudly proclaimed "we will no longer put additives in our burgers" last year.

@RamCares do you know what "leather" level to order if you want all real leather? I assume the, "premium leather" option.

+1 for getting to the bottom of the question about “is this real leather”. Too much guessing going on. I have a vested interest in this issue since I recently had my drivers side seat replaced from the “flaking “ type failure. Am hoping it was just a bad batch and it doesn’t occur again. My truck was about six months old when I first noticed it. I had never used any kind of product on it. Only wet wiped it occasionally.

 

[Saints]

+1 for getting to the bottom of the question about “is this real leather”. Too much guessing going on. I have a vested interest in this issue since I recently had my drivers side seat replaced from the “flaking “ type failure. Am hoping it was just a bad batch and it doesn’t occur again. My truck was about six months old when I first noticed it. I had never used any kind of product on it. Only wet wiped it occasionally.

There is really nothing to get to the bottom of. It is real leather manufactured at a tannery just like all other leather is made.

If I recall correctly, it was only 2 years ago Ram announced they were going to offer seats completely covered in real leather, making them the only vehicle in it's class with it. They also stated all "leather seats" were real leather in the center and men made material for the remainder. For some, that will hit you like when McDonald's proudly proclaimed "we will no longer put additives in our burgers" last year.

@RamCares do you know what "leather" level to order if you want all real leather? I assume the, "premium leather" option.

If Ram did say that then all that means is they are stepping up to wrap the whole seat in leather which is more of a luxury. Usually only the top or where your body touches is leather and the sides and back are vinyl. This is more the norm than uncommon and even on lower class Mercedez the whole seat is vinyl, no leather at all. It’s the same with furniture. Usually if you buy a sofa that is all leather, meaning no vinyl and the sides and back are also leather, you are going to pay a premium.

What we are seeing a lot of today is using water based coatings which does not adhere as well as the old chemical based if a contaminate where to be on the surface before coating. While there are some cons to water based coatings there are a whole lot of pros with them also.

 

[duke2001]

So as I read your post, you are basing your response on the inserted reference from member "Wolf"? Who started his response with "As I recall" and further included "They also stated all "leather seats" were real leather in the center and men made material for the remainder." Sorry, but I am not sure what "in the center" exactly means and even so he is saying some of the seat material is man made, yet you are saying the whole thing is leather. What would be nice is a reference from Ram that unambiguously states what the seat material is.

 

[Wolf]

On Katskins website they have this, which is probably what you can expect from most OEM vehicles.

 

[Wolf]

The kicker is, I remember when vinyl was for the cheap work trucks.

 

[Saints]

So as I read your post, you are basing your response on the inserted reference from member "Wolf"? Who started his response with "As I recall" and further included "They also stated all "leather seats" were real leather in the center and men made material for the remainder." Sorry, but I am not sure what "in the center" exactly means and even so he is saying some of the seat material is man made, yet you are saying the whole thing is leather. What would be nice is a reference from Ram that unambiguously states what the seat material is.

Right, when he said “ If I recall correctly, it was only 2 years ago Ram announced they were going to offer seats completely covered in real leather, making them the only vehicle in it's class with it” I thought I had remembered Ram also saying this. This may be the case on a Limited, but it is not on a Laramie. The next time I run across a Limited I can check.

"They also stated all "leather seats" were real leather in the center and men made material for the remainder." Basically on a Laramie anything above the piping is real leather and anything under including the back of the seat is vinyl. This is the case for 99.9% of cars. I do not even know of a car that has 100% leather all around.

 

[SpeedyV]

Right, when he said “ If I recall correctly, it was only 2 years ago Ram announced they were going to offer seats completely covered in real leather, making them the only vehicle in it's class with it” I thought I had remembered Ram also saying this. This may be the case on a Limited, but it is not on a Laramie. The next time I run across a Limited I can check.

"They also stated all "leather seats" were real leather in the center and men made material for the remainder." Basically on a Laramie anything above the piping is real leather and anything under including the back of the seat is vinyl. This is the case for 99.9% of cars. I do not even know of a car that has 100% leather all around.

The Longhorn and Limited trims have much more leather...”58% more than ever before in a pickup”, or so Ram claims.

 

[392DCGC]

Nearly the entire front seat of the Limited is leather. On the back of the front seat just above and inside the map pocket there is some vinyl, but that's it. Everything else is real leather. If you think otherwise, then you have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Primosp83]

@RamCares.

Update. Just got notified from the dealership telling me that FCA denied my claim stating that the damage looks “unnatural”. Any thoughts/suggestions for recourse?


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[bgmshrm]

@RamCares.

Update. Just got notified from the dealership telling me that FCA denied my claim stating that the damage looks “unnatural”. Any thoughts/suggestions for recourse?


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its exactly unnatural !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Jtr]

I've heard of warranty denials for "natural" wear but never for "unnatural" wear. I'd keep on pressing FCA.