Tesla Leather Seat Issues- Wrinkles/folds

[patnun]

Hello everyone,
I just bought a new Tesla 75 RWD and received delivery a few days back. It was a good experience expect for what I noticed with the seats. This is brand new factory delivered car with just 7 miles when I took delivery. I don't consider myself very detail oriented but I felt seat leather condition/folds/wrinkles was not acceptable considering the price we are paying and Tesla's quality standards. Of course delivery manager and others dismissed that as "normal". This is the passenger side seat , felt the driver side seat cover is also a little loose. I need some opinions on whether I am being reasonable or overthinking this.In light of the recent lawsuit and reading online about seat issues I felt Tesla has inconsistent quality of seats.

http://nypost.com/2017/08/17/millio...tear-to-spotlight-atrocious-customer-service/

 

[boaterva]

Is this a 'tan leather' or the new 'premium cream'? I doubt you got a custom build of the new material that quickly (or you ordered back when?)... So, hoping (sorry) it's the old leather that is somewhat prone to wrinkles. On what to do about it, I would think this would warrant replacement, when it comes this way from the start. Not would I would expect at all.

Welcome to TMC, BTW!

 

[JasJ]

Your seats are actually better than the first replacement seat (image below) for wrinkles in my MS (also has loose bolsters and stitching pulling apart prior to anyone sitting in it).





Ask them to fix it, it should not be delivered that way.

Seat #3 is being shipped to the local SC for my car. Hope it is wrinkle free.

I suspect the reason they moved to all synthetic is for the wrinkle problem.

 

[oktane]

Way better than my seats on delivery for a brand new $155,000 car. Tesla has terrible quality control. This is "normal" for a Tesla. Don't sweat this stuff, you'll never be happy with the fit and finish compared to a mass-manufactured car. It's just awful, but nothing you can do about it. Accept that Tesla has sub-standard quality and enjoy the EV drive train. Dump the car when another EV comes out and don't look back.

 

[arlorose]

Way better than my seats on delivery for a brand new $155,000 car. Tesla has terrible quality control. This is "normal" for a Tesla. Don't sweat this stuff, you'll never be happy with the fit and finish compared to a mass-manufactured car. It's just awful, but nothing you can do about it. Accept that Tesla has sub-standard quality and enjoy the EV drive train. Dump the car when another EV comes out and don't look back.

This is sad but true. I've had an insane number of quality issues with mine, seat folds (way worse than this) included. And service has been abysmal. They've either broken (or in one case crashed) it every time it's been in... and yes, that means that every time I've brought it in, it goes back for something they've done. It's now waiting on a new front bumper (they backed another car into mine), a new hood (manufacturing defect), and new dash parts (they've taken mine apart so many times the materials are bent and the clips have worn). And I bought the car in March.

Do I love this car? Absolutely!

Will I buy another? Don't know.

If BMW (where my brand loyalty was for 27 years) comes out with an EV that's not a joke will I switch? In a heartbeat. (had an i3, regretted it)

 

[JohnSnowNW]

My seats have these wrinkles, but didn't consider it something to be upset about.

Still don't.

 

[bktiger86]

I do had wrinkles on my seats. My driver side was a lot better, but my passenger side was a mess. I had the service center order new seats for me from day one of my delivery and waited for about a good 4 months and had them installed. Now they do look a lot better. I also had wrinkles on the glove box leather too.

 

[jjh1234]

This makes me kind of glad I got the non-premium gen 1.5 seats. They are a mix of cloth and what I'm assuming is vinyl. They are comfortable to me and seem sturdy enough. I guess time will tell.

I can tell you the leather seats on my BMW X5 did not have any wrinkles like that, but then again, they were rather hard. Are the Tesla ones very soft?

 

[CHG-ON]

Looks fine to me. Many cars have "give" in their leather. It helps it to wear better. Some even add more to give it that "luxury" look. I have original seats where the leather was as tight as can be. I see creases in my fronts that may be problematic in the future.

 

[NewTMSMan]

Your seats are actually better than the first replacement seat (image below) for wrinkles in my MS (also has loose bolsters and stitching pulling apart prior to anyone sitting in it).

View attachment 243321



Ask them to fix it, it should not be delivered that way.

Seat #3 is being shipped to the local SC for my car. Hope it is wrinkle free.

I suspect the reason they moved to all synthetic is for the wrinkle problem.

Every dark leather drivers seat (including mine) has exactly this crease in it that I have seen. It bothers me and I have an appointment in a couple of weeks. Might ask them to replace the seats, and better after replacement?

 

[number12]

I have wrinkles... and didn't care till reading about people having seats replaced. Now I want seats replaced. No rhyme or reason, but maybe new seats will hold up better? Who knows... but fair is fair right?!

 

[ACExpress]

I had my drivers seat replaced (tan leather). It was a little loose at delivery in March 2017 and got progressively worse. My buddy has the ultra white, and the fit and feel of those are so far superior to mine. My father in law has a 2016 build with tan seats, and the fit and feel on those are a lot better than mine as well. The leather feels much nicer.

Even after being replaced, I think the quality just isn't there. For what it's worth, I think it's just the bottom of the seat that gets replaced, and it only took them about 30 to 45 minutes to complete the swap.

Like the OP, I don't get too worked up about many of the details others bring up at delivery, but the leather quality, fit, and feel is atrocious. If I could do it over I probably would've gotten the white instead of convincing myself a car of this price must have real leather (which is no longer an option)

Absolutely love the car otherwise.

 

[ahkahn]

As someone whose business is in the auto trim industry, I'm seeing pics in this thread that are both acceptable and unacceptable. A hard wrinkle is poor patterning and/or sewing, but a loose wave is not bad for real leather. Overall the seats in these pics are showing that the cover was installed too loosely, which is something that can/should be adjusted.

@bktiger86, your seat is not good at all. Your glove box curve is not bad... it's nearly impossible to contour a curve like that without some type of wrinkling effect. That's part of the character of having a wrapped piece... the alternative is a stamped piece of plastic like you'd see in a typical Ford or Chevy.

 

[David29]

My 2015 Model S has the first generation seats that Tesla did not make in-house, as I understand it. They have been making their own seats since the Model X came out, I believe. Anyway, mine have no wrinkles of the type people seem to be complaining about, and my impression is that it is a problem mostly or entirely with the Tesla-made seats in recently-built cars. So far as I recall, this was not an issue with the second generation (optional) seats made by Recaro, either.
If my impression is correct, it may be that the Tesla team is not yet exert at making seats. Or it could be the quality or type of leather being used, or some combination.
On the other hand, my seats look very good, but are not particularly comfortable. And the Recaro seats have a reputation of being quite firm, which some people like and some find uncomfortably hard. So at this point in Tesla's history as a manufacturer, this might be an area in which craftsmanship counts for a lot and their capabilities are not there yet.

 

[NewTMSMan]

Here's what my driver's seat looks like with 2,500 miles on the car:

Think I will try and get a replacement seat.

I will say though the seats are really comfortable. Best of any car I have had really for me.

 

[JasJ]

Here's what my driver's seat looks like with 2,500 miles on the car:

Think I will try and get a replacement seat.

I will say though the seats are really comfortable. Best of any car I have had really for me.

Your seat looked very similar to my first and second seat. I had some bonus seam separation. The third try is next week.. They sent me pictures this time and the bottom seat part looks good, but the back looks looser. Will check it out in person.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Yeah, this is common. There are many older posts and threads about this...

ventilated tan leather seats worn out after a few days

Wrinkles and creases in ultra white perforated seats "normal"?

Wrinkled or loose seat leather? This will help!

Leather wrinkling after 3 days??

 

[NewTMSMan]

I already steamed the drivers seat I posted the pic of and it didn't improve it much. Not a deal breaker for me, but if it can be remedied I would like to get it done.

 

[number12]

Anyone that has had their seats replaced. Has anyone asked to keep their old seats? If so, what did they say?

 

[jelloslug]

Anyone that has had their seats replaced. Has anyone asked to keep their old seats? If so, what did they say?

They will say no.