Vinyl Seat Bolsters Hardening/Cracking

J

Jaymzx

New member
The seats in my car have large, vinyl-clad bolsters. Over the past 25,000 miles, the portions of the bolsters that touch my legs have hardened, and one side has even developed a crack in it. I've since had the panel with the crack in it replaced (warranty) but the other side has hardened and I fear it will develop a crack as well.

Since this panel replacement cost the dealership $200, and I only have 11K more miles on my bumper-to-bumper warranty, I want to prevent the other side from cracking.

Is there any way of restoriing the original softness to the vinyl? Why did it harden? I understand that there may have been quite a bit of abrasion at that point from my jeans, but I would think that would simply change the sheen of the vinyl, and not harden it.

I only clean the interior with a damp MF, and using a 6/1 woolite mix for tough spots.



Any suggestions?
 
Are you re-treating the vinyl after cleaning it? If you are simply cleaning it every so often, you will want to follow up with a vinyl conditioner. You may also want to look at one-step products if simplicity is your thing.
 
Simplicity isn't necessarily my thing. I don't mind the extra work required to have a beautiful car.

As far as treating vinyl, what do you suggest? I would figure anything sprayed on the vinyl in that particular area would simply rub off onto my clothes..
 
I'm an ex automotive seat designer. I need some more info to access your situation.



1) What make / model car / color of interior?

2) Where do you live? Climate changes?

3) Are you providing any protection to your interior? Tint / window shades?



Answer these and I'll try to help you out.
 
Autoeng seems like the guy to get to the bottom of this.



But, I would make a couple points. When seats have bolsters, I am very careful not to drag myself across them when getting in and out. Wears them very quickly. Also, the "protectant" you may have been using could be part of the problem. I would avoid any vinyl protectant that contains silicones that accelerate vinyl wear.
 
I have a 2003 Dodge SRT-4 with the Viper-inspired seats. I live in the Seattle area and we're not known for our high UV index :) The car has 20% tint all around, so any UV that enters the car is through the windshield.

The driver's side seat is the only seat with this problem, so I know it's not an environmental issue. I can tell you the very reason for this hardening is the abrasion of my clothes on the vinyl, itself. The seat was made for a much smaller individual, so my pants rub on the bolsters the entire time I'm in the car. Only the portions of the bolsters that actually rub on my clothes are actually hardening.

I never use ANY protectant on the seats, as I feel it just rubs off anyway.

Here's a picture of the driver's seat. This photo isn't actually from my car, but they are the same seats:

390941d_0326.jpg


Interior_Seats.jpg


The part that is hardening/cracking is the lower bolsters on the 'seat' portion of the seat, where the sides of my thighs rub.
 
Ah, it's so simple. Get a bigger car with lower bolsters or work some of those hips off!



Enough joking. Chrysler uses some of the poorest vinyl there is and is very prone to cracking. You could try some vinyl conditioner but I don't think it will help much. Those high bolsters are just a bear. Even if you try to reduce the rubbing that occurs when you enter and exit you probably won't be very successful due to their height. I really don't think that the majority of hardening is occuring due to just rubbing as you sit but the ingress / egress.



Well, what are your options? You could go with a seat cover but I've never found any I like. Conditioner, maybe but vinyl really won't absorb much so I agree with you that it will just rub off on you. I think your best choice is wait for the crack to happen again but this time replace with another type of vinyl. I would recommend marine vinyl which is treated to resist UV rays and cracking much more than regular automotive vinyl. Another choice would to be to use "ultrahide" which is use on leather seats on the sides to reduce the cost of the seat but to simulate the appearance of leather. A good upholstry shop should be able to help you find a more forgiving material such as marine vinyl or ultrahide. In Seattle marine vinyl should be pretty common in upholstry shops.



Another choice would be to replace the vinyl with cloth that matches the rear vinyl but I don't think that would make you happy because with the height issue it is going to stretch as you get in and out.



At an upholstry shop I would think that you could get both seats done for less than $300 total. It's not that difficult of a job and very little materials. On a side note, OEM replacement seats skyrocket in price once the design is no longer being manufactured so I would be working towards a permanent solution now. I assume that the dealer didn't repair the seat cover but replaced it? If so you might think about buying one for $200 from the dealer and putting it back for when you want to return the car to original equipment for sale. Take the one in the car now and change the material so that you have an undamaged seat to drive on until then.
 
Good points. The dealership actually outsourced the repair of the seat. They just replaced the panel that actually had the crack in it. I'm wondering why they didn't just go ahead and replace both sides, since the material is far cheaper than the labor.

Oddly enough, the cost to replace the entire seat cover is $400. A whole new seat is over $800. Rediculous. Supply and demand, I suppose. This is a fairly rare car.

For about $800 I can order the Katzskin cover for these seats. They remove the OEM cover (down to the foam and steel) and re-cover them with leather.

Here's an example:

Picture%20060.jpg


Picture%20061.jpg




I'm just $799 short :lol:

I guess THATS my long term solution.



Oh and regarding working off the hips, I've worked off 70 lbs in the past 9 months and got to work off another 50. By then, the bolsters shouldn't be an issue :)
 
Congrats on the weight loss. Another 50 and the cracking bolsters should be a moot point.



I thought $200 sounded a little cheap for a new cover knowing the markup OEM's and dealers put on them. Your seat cover actually costs about $50 to make! $200 is too much for a reupholsterer though.



Katzskin = yuck. Look at the wrinkles in the upper insert ~ bolster area. A tough area to make look right indeed but it should look better. Is that a big zipper pull I see? WTF? I'm really picky when it comes to seats though so if they float your boat, go for it. But if you like the looks of the current interior I would find a good shop to do a panel replacment on both seats for $300 total.
 
Autoeng said:
Is that a big zipper pull I see? WTF?
Click to expand...

I think you're seeing the shadow of the seat belt latch :)



Thanks for your input!



Is there any way to 'reconditon' the existing vinyl that has hardened?
 
jaymzx said:
I think you're seeing the shadow of the seat belt latch :)



Thanks for your input!



Is there any way to 'reconditon' the existing vinyl that has hardened?
Click to expand...



I thought that was the case but the seam in that area looked like there was a zipper sewn in there. I didn't know what was going on.



I'm happy to help with interiors whenever I can. Just wish I was still doing design work but all of the work moved to Mexico. I could have gone to Detroit but... it's Detroit for God's sake!



Sorry, but there isn't any way to bring the leather back. A chemical / molecular change has already occurred. I hope it cracks in the next 11K so you can get it repaired.
 
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