Prado leather seat splitting

[MachE]

Has anyone experienced their drivers seat splitting? If so, what have you done to rectify it? Any advice is appreciated. 2017 Prado VX.

[Tony Prodigy]

Normally leather doesn't come away like that without some form of human intervention, but you are fortunate in that there is a solution. Have a look online and you'll find a multitude of leather repair tutorials, videos and repair kits. Take your pick.

[MachE]

Thanks for the advice. I will look into it. Not sure what the intervention could be? This is the second time this has happened. 2 years ago the seat was replaced under warranty for "premature wear". This time around "a result of the vehicle not being entered or exited as designed" and not supported by Toyota. Therefore the repair is something I have to work out myself.

[Tony Prodigy]

I can understand how you'd develop a crease along that outer edge of the outer bolster when exiting the car. These SUV cars are pretty high off the ground and in most cases the driver or passenger have to kind of rotate their bodies and at the same time that bolster squeezes right down before your feet touch the ground and in doing so the bolster tends to bind on the inner frame of the seat. Typically, the seat cushion takes the brunt, but I suspect that the bolster cushion may be quite thin and the leather is inadvertently being constantly over squeezed and bottoming out, hence that crease line. It shouldn't happen, I know, but unfortunately the quality of vehicle manufacture is slowly declining and this looks to be but one more of those quality control issues.

If you have side boards on your vehicle, I think this could help mitigate that issue once you have it repaired.

[MachE]

Yes. I agree with all that you have said. Really should not happen to such a high priced vehicle. Probably more annoyed that Toyota and the dealership that I purchased from and have had serviced since new have both turned their collective backs on the situation the situation. I tried to follow up to find the best solution and was told by Toyota Customer support that the best course of action was to seek legal advice?

[Tony Prodigy]

22 hours ago, MachE said:

I tried to follow up to find the best solution and was told by Toyota Customer support that the best course of action was to seek legal advice?

I feel you there, but going down the legal road can be quite expensive and frustrating. Seek advice for sure and see if you have a case. I don't like your chances, but it's certainly worth looking into.

Have you looked online for any other situations like yours ? You may not be the only one. If there are you could use these in your defense.