Leather wear / flaking on 2026 model

[Ecom]

Here's a (dirty) photo of my 26yr old sports car leather that has 80k on it. I see no discoloration or flaking.. Compare that to a 6month old car with 1/40th the amount of use. For those of you saying it's about how you get in and out of it.. I personally think you're insane to justify that.

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[Ecom]

Went to the dealership today. They took some photos and will be sending it to whomever at toyota decides these kind of things. He agreed it's not normal wear for the milage and age but he also isn't the decision maker. We'll see what happens.

 

[tracer bullet]

Here's a (dirty) photo of my 26yr old sports car leather that has 80k on it.

Is that the bolster you don't slide across, the passenger seat, or is your photo flipped? It's seeming a bit apples / oranges.

Sure it could be defective but kind of guarantee even if it's replaced the exact same thing will happen again if you continue to do the exact same things.

You might consider conditioning it less often or not at all, or with something else. i'm not en expert on leather but I'd look into it.

You should also stop scraping it with your butt. Regardless of whether you think it should handle the scraping or not, best bet is to stop doing it to begin with. Maybe set the seat back a few inches when you get out to have it ready for getting in later. Or put your hand on it, when I sit down I reach my left hand behind my back and grab the bolster so I know right where it is and don't touch it with my butt. In some way it's possible it's helping me get in the car to start with. Or do a total 90 degree sit, closer to the steering wheel, and then once in the car spin around.

Inherent seat problem or not you're going to also have to change something you are doing.

 

[Gabe]

I have another car with good quality leather that had the same thing happening. How I know it was me and not the leather decaying on its own:

It was only on that seam. Jeans color on the seam.

best way to know if it’s you or the leather: look for signs of flaking OUTSIDE that seam. Look at the opposite side, is it faking too? Then is the leather. Is not? Then is you.

having said that. I sincerely hope the dealership gives you something.

 

[Ecom]

Is that the bolster you don't slide across, the passenger seat, or is your photo flipped? It's seeming a bit apples / oranges.

Sure it could be defective but kind of guarantee even if it's replaced the exact same thing will happen again if you continue to do the exact same things.

You might consider conditioning it less often or not at all, or with something else. i'm not en expert on leather but I'd look into it.

You should also stop scraping it with your butt. Regardless of whether you think it should handle the scraping or not, best bet is to stop doing it to begin with. Maybe set the seat back a few inches when you get out to have it ready for getting in later. Or put your hand on it, when I sit down I reach my left hand behind my back and grab the bolster so I know right where it is and don't touch it with my butt. In some way it's possible it's helping me get in the car to start with. Or do a total 90 degree sit, closer to the steering wheel, and then once in the car spin around.

Inherent seat problem or not you're going to also have to change something you are doing.

It's 26yr old leather that has been used thousands of times.. it's not apples to oranges.

And I'm getting a lot conflicting advice in this thread. one person says I need to condition more often, you (and others) are saying maybe condition less or not at all. Meanwhile, multiple black seat owners are saying they've never conditioned once in 5-6 years and their seats look new. So clearly conditioning frequency isn't the variable here. It's the same product I use in all 4 of my vehicles.


I'm not going to set my seat back every time I exit, reach around and grab the bolster with my hand, or do a "90 degree sit and spin" (which btw would damage the bottom of the seat even more than what I do now..) to get into a almost 70k car. That's not a reasonable expectation for a factory-spec street car in 2026. My other three vehicles don't require choreographed entry procedures, and neither should this one. In Addition, should I no longer wear jeans when diving? more than half the time has been spent in basketball shorts, so only a small fraction of the 6 month, 2k miles, has been in pants.. which makes it even more ridiculous.


The location of the wear isn't the issue. The rate of wear is. The service advisor agreed the wear isn't normal for 2k miles and escalated it to Toyota. If they replace it and it happens again, that's useful data and suggests the leather and top coat is really poor quality and I should just accept it.

 

[tracer bullet]

You have an incredible lack of reading comprehension. But I wish you luck.

 

[Danimal]

My 2021 with 25k miles and black seats has some of this on the outside bolster from getting in & out. I plan to use some vinyl repair stuff in the spring which should be easy to blend in on the black. The leather quality on these seats are quite bad, IMO.

 

[Loco38SUP]

Several factors can contribute to seat wear: size, weight, clothes, in/out technique.

I lean into my bolsters hard when getting out and mostly wear jeans. I’m not of toothpick weight so my seats do show dryness every few months.

I use a ceramic based leather conditioner which restores them back to showroom. Plus it makes them slick to help with getting out.

-RJM

 

[Ecom]

Several factors can contribute to seat wear: size, weight, clothes, in/out technique.

I lean into my bolsters hard when getting out and mostly wear jeans. I’m not of toothpick weight so my seats do show dryness every few months.

I use a ceramic based leather conditioner which restores them back to showroom. Plus it makes them slick to help with getting out.

-RJM

When you talk about dryness are you talking about flaking that you can pull off or just some cracks? yours is a 2021 so I'm wondering how it compares to how mine are wearing down.

 

[J29DB03]

Wait, did you previously own a Corvette?

 

[Ecom]

Wait, did you previously own a Corvette?

No, never owned one.

 

[Ecom]

If you’re upset about a little wear, I suggest either not posting it publicly, or just selling the car. It’s a car, not a museum piece. I kind of feel bad for you, to be so worked up about something so insignificant. Maybe there’s other stuff going on, and this is a point you feel like you have some control over.

This is normal wear and tear, if Toyota covers it I’ll be happy for you, but I’d bet some money that they won’t.

Many members here have given you their suggestions, everyone is a little different. Great points were made, but you refuse to see logic in any of them, so why ask at all?

Good luck, I hope you feel better soon.

Armchair psychoanalyzing a stranger on a car forum because they expect a product to perform as intended is a weird move. You sure you're okay buddy?

My original ask is... and I quote... "I wanted to see if others had this issue so early on." I've received multiple responses stating that others haven't had this issue with much more time in the seat and milage than me. Toyota's own service manager (apparently the one guy there who has the "credentials" to review these issues) also agreed it was abnormal wear.

but thanks for your concern about my wellbeing. I'll try to recover somehow.

 

[teal.supra]

Armchair psychoanalyzing a stranger on a car forum because they expect a product to perform as intended is a weird move. You sure you're okay buddy?

My original ask is... and I quote... "I wanted to see if others had this issue so early on." I've received multiple responses stating that others haven't had this issue with much more time in the seat and milage than me. Toyota's own service manager (apparently the one guy there who has the "credentials" to review these issues) also agreed it was abnormal wear.

but thanks for your concern about my wellbeing. I'll try to recover somehow.

I deleted this with the “nothing nice to say” in mind…. Honestly, you deserve it at this point lol.

 

[Loco38SUP]

When you talk about dryness are you talking about flaking that you can pull off or just some cracks? yours is a 2021 so I'm wondering how it compares to how mine are wearing down.

It turns a lighter color and looks dry, definitely not peeling and flaking off like yours.

-RJM

 

[itzTang]

Someone else on here with red interior was having this issue super early on. But it comes down to how you get in and out. The roof is much lower than other cars so you can’t get in the same you do other cars. Even if you get it warrantied. You run into the same issue. So it’s best you take the advice of others on the forum and learn to get in the vehicle properly.

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