Anyone else have fragile leather seats?

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naimad

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I have used Lexol cleaner and conditioner in my current Jeep and previous Jeep SRT8 which had cheap leather. After 23k miles in the SRT the seats look like new compared to others with the same mileage. I also use it on my coffee tables that have leather tops and they look like new after 8 years.

I have had good results with lexol. on my old ford f150 after 9 years still looked like new,the leather in my raptor seems cheap compared to my old truck
 

Crusader1

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Cracking and flaking leather front seats

I too have the exact same problem of my back ( NOT SEAT) portion of the front seats becoming cracked and flaking on my TWO Raptors, one with 17K+ miles and one with 15K+ miles. Both vehicles are always parked in a windowless garage and are never subject to extreme temperatures or sunlight for a inordinate amount of time. I am very gentle on the seats, do not wear any cloting that could sratch or irrate the leather and have not applied any type of topical solution to the seats in order that the warranty remains valid. I have a number of vehicles with leather seats and these are the only two vehicles that have this problem. Has any one with this problem taken their Raptor back to the dealership and if so, what did they tell you? Thank you Joe
 

IRONMAN

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I took mine in and had the bottom portion of my seat completely replaced under warranty.
Mind you I had to go back quite a few times before they finally agreed it was warranty.
It just started to fall apart, you could see the material under the so called "LEATHER" seat.
I even sent a complaint to ford online. Wrote them a nasty letter saying how poor the quality of leather was in these 50 thousand dollar trucks were.
After that....APPROVED!
It pays to be persistent and NOT taking NO for an answer.
Good Luck!
 

BIRDMAN

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The thing to keep in mind here also is that the leather used on the Raptors front seating area is in fact cheap leather. There is a trade off for all of the suspension goodies and body panels that make the Raptor what it is for a starting price below the higher trim level F-150s such as the HD and Platinum. The leathers used in Ford's Limited trims and King Ranch trucks are much more durable. My father has a Fusion with black leather and it looks nothing like the leather used in our trucks. It is much more soft and sponged and actually smells like leather like a German luxury car.

That being said, I still expect my seats to last at least the warranty period of 3/36,000. If not, take it in and insist that your seat bottoms AND foam core be replaced. I didn't have them replace the foam core and I believe the new leather has prematurely worn as a result of not forming correctly to my already misshapen seat foam. Plus it keeps popping off at the front because it doesn't fit right. Oh well, it will be their problem in about a month ;).

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Crusader1

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Thank you: I'll take it in tomorrow. Now, come to think of it, this also happened to my TWO Mercury Marauders. The dealership at that time actually sent both MM to an auto detailerthey use who somehow made the seats look like new but after a month or two they looked just like they did when I origninally brought them in. Eventually had to take them both to a car restorer and he had to order two matching leather swatches of a higher grade leather from an independant vendor to replace the Ford leather.
How many miles did you have on your truck when you took it in?

Thanks; Joe
 

BIRDMAN

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I had 30 something. The work was actually performed after I had passed 36,000 but I reported it around 33k
 

Mike Hammer

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Here is the problem, if it is leather, its a natural product and its not all the same because the cow just can not do it and the tannery can't either. My Best guess, I am 99 % sure of it, its not leather at all.

There are different parts of the hide to pick from, it will tan different and soak up the dye different. Leather is a nightmare to deal with. I really doubt one would get into this mess when there is another way out.

The made made synthetics are much more durable and cheaper. And you have many different grades of them. There are gun holsters made of this material. It is backed by leather but the face is what we are talking about.Look over here

Skin Guard

Extreme Close Up Skin Guard

Skin Grain

Now we go trying to take care of it and pour chemicals on it like its leather and we all get different results. Why does one have good results and another have bad results. Some even have little use and are garage queens under ideal conditions.

Its what was used to make it. Different runs of material are never the same from lot to lot. And if they run out of one they just substitute another that looks like it. They cannot even tell you what it is and how to take care of it.

Look at my 2004 Dodge Ram, garage queen with 52,000 miles on it. The truck never seen the sun. It looks like it disintegrating!!! And I took care of it.

Now look at my 2008 Escalade with 90,000 miles on it. I did the seats 2 times I can remember. Used every day. The seat looks almost new.

Why would that be? Its the quality of the material used. They all come with different proprieties, abrasion Resistances etc etc. And I almost guarantee you its not leather. Its a leather like substance.

Leather Hide Chart.jpgRam.jpgRan Close Up.jpgEscalade.jpg
 

smirniotis

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My driver seat started cracking and chipping at around 15k and now the thin outer layer is missing on a few 1/8" wide sections also the vinyl behind the seat is thin enough that my bike handlebar punctured it. Was thinking of getting the front seats reupholstered if I keep the truck. Also started using lexol the first 2 years then started using griots and they haven't gotten worse but the damage is already there.
 

2014RubyRed

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I've got a 2014 Screw with about 30,000 miles on it. It sits outside all day and night. Sun, rain, snow, dust everything. I wipe my seats down with some kind of Armor All wipes when they get dirty AFTER I wipe them down with a wet cloth. They still look new. I've got no complaints with any of my seats. I've got workers jumping in and out all day with no weird wear happening. Maybe the newer leather seats are made differently.......
 
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