I took delivery of my 2015 Fit EXL on 9/8/15. Today I noticed that the bolster portion of the driver's seat is badly wrinkled and looks awful. Just that part of the seat, and none of the other leather anywhere in the car looks like that. I tried a little leather cleaner that was in my garage, and it seemed to help just a little on the front portion of the bolster. I brought it into service and was told that a district service manager had to be contacted, and this could take up to 7 days. The service manager who examined it did take a pic. He said that this is generally not covered, and when you do fix things like this they're never right. I also asked about this being covered under the fabric protection that I purchased with the car. He said he would check into that as well. I figure that if nothing else, the latter should definitely cover it. If you stain the seat, they're supposed to clean it or replace it. I felt very put off by the dealer, and am very disappointed in my new Fit. I would have thought that they'd try some cleaner/conditioner themselves. I am thinking of calling the finance manager to see if this is covered under the fabric protection. I suppose I could stain the seat and let them deal with that. Thoughts?

 

Could you post a photo? I can't picture a wrinkle in leather, unless it was sewn incorrectly.

 

Sorry to hear. That's not good - I'm about to buy a Navi with the same seats. I had a couch that did that once - is it like a line or fold that won't go away?

 

When I was shopping for my Fit, I test drove the EX-L w/ Navi and turned it down because the leather felt cheap. I went with the EX and pocketed the money. My EX has been to the dealer numerous times for warranty work and not all of it has been fixed. This is my first Honda and I'm not impressed... Have been a Toyota driver for a long time.

 

 

The leather cleaner/conditioner seems to be helping somewhat, but the part closest to the back of the seat is tough to access.

 

It looks like the leather has stretched somewhat but cannot smooth itself out. Can you tell if the leather is glued to the sponge underneath? Try massaging the leather to move the excess to any area that looks tight. If it is glued down there's not much that can be easily done.

 

The leather is usually not glued to the sponge. Only cloth seats are glued to the foam, I checked. I could be wrong on the leather, ya never know.

 

If the leather is not glued to the sponge, then it looks like the sponge is clinging and not allowing the leather to move, causing tightness on some areas and looseness/wrinkles in others. You might want to try slipping a hand down there and massaging (!?@!) to remove the wrinkles.

If the leather is not glued down then this also means that if you wish to add heated seats the install would not be so difficult. There's always an upside to everything!

 

To me, it doesn't look bad. Thats what leather does. Develop character.

 

Also understand guys if you read the cars literature ind full from dealer it states "leather seating surfaces". Only the center of the seats are leather. The rest is VINYL... This is why the side portions and others aren't changed much after clean and conditioning. It's not leather. Using hot water and low PH dish soap mixed in a shallow bucket will help. The hot H2O should help relax the vinyl followed by blotching with a damp cloth.

 

Ok, from the brochure, what does "leather-trimmed seating surfaces" actually mean? Just the centre portion is leather? I'm glad I can't afford Honda's leather. I can buy a whole cow's worth of top grain leather, which includes the ranch's brand, for $150.

If the sides are vinyl, or "pleather", it is backed by a cloth weave that can stick to the foam and wrinkle. I'm not sure that a hot water surface treatment will do much to remove the wrinkling. A hair dryer or low heat gun setting will soften the vinyl a bit faster, but for what purpose?

OT: Is the leather wrapped steering wheel really leather?

 

90% of what you are seeing is the grain in the leather (its not vinyl), not much you can do about it.

To fix the wrinkles and bagginess is fairly easy.
1. Get a Iron with a steam function
2. Clean white towel/rag
3. Heat Gun/Hairdryer

Fill the iron up with water, let it get hot and start steaming.
Lay/hold the towel over the affected area, steam the leather through the towel (this will stop you from burning the leather with a hot iron). Let the leather get nice and saturated, then hit it with the Heat Gun.
Keep the heat gun moving and don't get to close otherwise you can burn the leather.
It will tighten everything up and improve the appearance.

If you don't have a iron with a steam function, get a bucket of hot water and use the towel. Soak the towel, lay it on the seat for a about a min then go to the heat gun.

 

These days trim covers are rarely glued to the foam cushions, really its pour in place. There is a trench in the foam under each seam, the trim cover is fastened/held in place by few different methods.

 

Thanks. I'll give that a try when I get a chance.

 

I agree with this.

It's not a "perfect"-man made artificial product, it's made from cow skin.

That level of wrinkling I'd just take as being "leather".

 

The problem I have is that the rest of the leather on all of the seats looks fine. This portion looks very old and shrivelled up imo. I'm concerned about the possibility of premature cracking. This bolster is prone to this as it's constantly subject to getting into and out of the car. The portion that's furthest back, hardest to reach, looks the worst to me. I'm totally fine with this from a cosmetic standpoint, but plan to keep the car for many years. To those who expressed concern about getting leather, I say do it. I really like it alot, and have had several premium cars with nice leather. This leather, and the heated seat function, is very nice. With the EXL you also get a few other niceties. It's not just about the leather. I was determined to get the cloth, and save $, but am very pleased with my choice, above pics aside. If you're on the fence, I say EXL is a good choice. My '10 Fit Sport, with cloth, doesn't compare for seating comfort.

 

if it were furniture it would be a feature

 

Its not old or dried up, they leather is all cut from the same hide, just different areas of it. The grain you are seeing is from the neck or the belly area of the hide. Go look at 20 different $50,000.00 cars one or more of them will have a leather seat in the same condition as yours.

 

It looks pretty extreme in person. I've had several high end luxury cars with premium leather that didn't exhibit this behavior. I get the variations, and that area is prone to more wear.