Seat Cracking and Peeling - Anyone else?
 

Wanted to put this up here before I take it to the dealer in case someone else has been having the same problems. The driver's left side lumbar area has started cracking and slowly peeling, starting noticing it originally about 10 months ago after I had the car for a year, but it has got significantly worse recently. The car has 18k miles and it's always been kept garaged both at home and work, and been using the leather conditioner frequently. I understand that leather seats will eventually crack and peal, but I feel like it's too soon for that kind of wear, especially since it's been taken care of diligently. Pics below.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...cf161a7787.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...1db36964bb.jpg

Yikes. I'm guessing this part gets an unusual amount of wear and tear because it sticks out so much. The rest of us will have to make sure we get in without rubbing into it.

I've been trying to plop my bottom down in the center of the seat instead of sitting on the bolsters (crushing it) and sliding into position. The same for getting out in order to try and prevent creases / cracks in the leather. It's kind of a pain so we'll see how long that lasts :)

Trust me I've been doing my best not to crush it, but can't avoid rubbing against it all the time, plus can't control how the wife get's in it when she drives (I could try but I'd have bigger headaches than a cracked seat lol!). Had my mustang for twice as long and the lumbar leather area looked brand new, wonder if it's the lighter colored seats.

I have my seat set to the lowest, and I'm not a big guy, but the bulk of my weight still lands on the outside cushion every single time I get out of the car. I feel bad because I don't want to wear it out prematurely but I don't know what else to do.

That is insane after 10 months, is there anything Audi can/should do? It’s seems very premature assuming reasonable/regular use.

Yeah, I would say that is abnormal!

The way I read the OP, the picture represents 22 months of ownership — but I could be wrong. I wonder if the windows are tinted to block out UV rays as they are brutal on leather and is it garage kept?

Those pictures are rotated, showing the seat back bolsters, not the bottom seat bolsters. I noticed that they are the ventilated seats, which is what I have and I’m hoping that I will not be looking at a similar situation in a couple of years!

To the OP - I hope Audi helps you out.

— John

Correct, It's about 22 months of ownership, but I started noticing it around the 12 month mark and it has gotten progressively worse. It has been garage kept (home and work) and been cleaned & conditioned frequently.

Also, it is the seat back bolster, not the bottom bolster, bottom bolster has held up well. Wanted to see if anyone had experienced anything similar before I reached out to my dealer.

Real leather is lot more durable than that! It must be a defect. After 14 years my last car a TSX the upholstery looked nearly as good as it came from the factory. Leather chaps and saddles real cowboys use gets lot more punishment than our car seats.