Model 3 seats wearing out early?

[Jedi2155]

It seems my seats are starting to crack in areas where there could not possibly be any abrasion by me. I'm at ~25,000 miles and I have one of the earliest white seats in the Model 3 (August 2018 build). Something doesn't seem right about this. I have not used any abrasive cleaner with the occasion WATER only wiping approximately every 3-5 months.

 

[polyphonic54]

Yikes. That looks terrible. I wonder if you got seats made with a bad batch of the vegan leather. I saw some of the damage ratings on the stuff and it should hold up even better than cow hide.

 

[linux-works]

reminds me of the bmw's I had (328 and e36 m3). I wear jeans to work (well, ever day, actually) and both of those bmw's had excessive wear, just like your photos. it was a known problem and if you were lucky, bmw would replace one for you under goodwill, but it would not be a repeat gw gift after that. those were all leather seats (beige on 328 and black on m3) and neither one wore well; both looked like crap from just the driver getting in and out. 2 years or less to get to that level of wear.

otoh, 15 years of vw passat with leather and that didn't flake off at all.

expensive car: had problems. cheap vw: no problems.

can't really say its about leather or even perceived cost of car. its hit and miss.

 

[linux-works]

Mmmm...moose. Goes best with squirrel.

(russian-like typing detected)

 

[tvad]

(russian-like typing detected)

That is you, Natasha?

 

[jelloslug]

Our Model 3 with black seats is holding up quite well. We are at 30k miles on it now with no noticeable wear on the seats at all.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

We have a family member that is 4'11" and less than 100 lbs, and she is a tasmanian devil when it comes to destroying things and doing damage. I am 6'1" and 215, and my seat bolsters and cushions on my cars never age.

But I pay attention when I am getting in and out of cars and how I sit in the car to make sure I am not doing any damage. The other one does not.

 

[needp3d-]

You can buy whole set of seat cover for $200 from Aliexpress and they look OEM. ( a good way to turn you black interior to white

 

[Jedi2155]

You can buy whole set of seat cover for $200 from Aliexpress and they look OEM. ( a good way to turn you black interior to white

I was considering the following from TapTes

Leather Seat Covers for Tesla Model 3 Tesla Seat Protector

But i heard it screws up some of the airbag sensor issues?

 

[needp3d-]

I suggest you buy it from China for about $100 bucks instead of $399. TapTes to me is a middleman

 

[needp3d-]

I was considering the following from TapTes

Leather Seat Covers for Tesla Model 3 Tesla Seat Protector

But i heard it screws up some of the airbag sensor issues?

I suggest you buy it from China for about $100 bucks instead of $399. TapTes to me is a middleman

 

[Spacep0d]

Are you rubbing hard against the side bolsters on entry or exit? If you're a larger person, I could see how this might be unavoidable. I'm pretty small so I doubt this will be an issue for me. Good info on the seats in this thread.

 

[dmurphy]

That is you, Natasha?

You nogoodnik!

 

[Dolemite]

Mandatory weight in lbs, for any persons with this problem.

 

[aplusautoMD]

White seats sure do look cool...I don’t know how anyone would expect them to look new after a month. If you’re worried about it, I would get seat covers, or never ever wear jeans or anything with buttons on them while driving. Maybe here’s an opportunity for someone to make microfiber driving pants for people who wanted white seats

 

[SMAlset]

OP notice your stitching is also discolored in your last photo of the bolstered side edges. No way that can be from wear in the crevice there. I would be guessing here that it was from cleaning and transferring of some substance. The other damage looks like abrasion damage.

As for the side cracking, have you used a leather cleaner or some sort of chemical on the material. If so it can dry the material out and eventually crack the surface. I suppose too much water and getting too wet could do the same thing. Has your car been cleaned/detailed by someone else perhaps who could have used the wrong thing to clean it?

Had my Model 3 for over a year, black interior, and looks good. I’m in and out of it daily. I have two small creases in the driver’s side bolster area, likely from getting in and out of it over time, but something I’d expect. Really happy with the seats so far. I did start with Easy Entry from the beginning and recommend everyone using.

 

[XLR82XS]

Its generally a mental fixation that leather = luxury by consumers. While true bespoke leather can be quite nice, no cars have that. It would cost $15k per seat

No true. My Bentley Flying Spur Mulliner has bespoke interior.

 

[XLR82XS]

White seats sure do look cool...I don’t know how anyone would expect them to look new after a month. If you’re worried about it, I would get seat covers, or never ever wear jeans or anything with buttons on them while driving. Maybe here’s an opportunity for someone to make microfiber driving pants for people who wanted white seats

White is recommended by Tesla. My 3 and sister's 2017 S have zero wear issues and look just as good as new well after a month.

 

[mswlogo]

It seems my seats are starting to crack in areas where there could not possibly be any abrasion by me. I'm at ~25,000 miles and I have one of the earliest white seats in the Model 3 (August 2018 build). Something doesn't seem right about this. I have not used any abrasive cleaner with the occasion WATER only wiping approximately every 3-5 months.

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Holy smoke, that's really bad. My 1 year old Model 3 with 9K miles, black seats looked brand new.
I'd really love to know if white "leather-ette" is the same as the black. I keep getting mixed messages, soft say white is "softer".
I would try and baulk with Tesla, that should not be happening.
Needing seat covers is ridiculous.

Your tearing reminds me of Bjorn showing the condition of his white Perforated Model X seats

 

[Jedi2155]

Are you rubbing hard against the side bolsters on entry or exit? If you're a larger person, I could see how this might be unavoidable. I'm pretty small so I doubt this will be an issue for me. Good info on the seats in this thread.

I'm 5'8" ~160 lbs but yes I am rubbing against the bolsters. I am surprised by the cracking on the seat cushion. For those asking if I've been using chemicals to clean, I very rarely clean my seats maybe 2-4x total over the life of the car and never with chemicals (only water).

Holy smoke, that's really bad. My 1 year old Model 3 with 9K miles, black seats looked brand new.
I'd really love to know if white "leather-ette" is the same as the black. I keep getting mixed messages, soft say white is "softer".
I would try and baulk with Tesla, that should not be happening.
Needing seat covers is ridiculous.

Your tearing reminds me of Bjorn showing the condition of his white Perforated Model X seats

This is quite interesting thanks for posting that.