Merino leather seat creases

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Hi all, I recently bought a brand new BMW optioned with Merino leather on M Sport seats.

I’ve only had it for less than 4 weeks (driven 2-3x a week) and already creases are appearing on the seat cushion (where your bum sits) and also on the thigh bolster on the side where you climb out.

I know this isn’t a problem with Dakota leather but this Merino leather is extremely soft. FYI, i’ve treated the seats with Swissvax cleaner, conditioner and dabbed ample amounts of that Swissvax elephant cream on the driver’s seat.

I’ve only noticed this on the driver’s seat whereas passenger seat is holding up quite well – admittedly it’s only endured bums 50% of time.

Does anyone else have experience with this problem and be kind enough to share? Did you accept it as is, asked dealership to fix or bought products to remedy?

[southern6er22]

I have Nappa - not quite as exclusive but similar.

I've had my car for 16 months, and my seats are holding up nicely. There are some minor lines, but I don't think they are completely avoidable if you use the car more than just a "special occasion" vehicle.

I use Gliptone products, and I've been very happy with the results. All of the leather still looks very nice. Aside from the seat bottoms, it all looks just as good as the day I took delivery. As for the bottoms, I feel like these products are doing everything physically possible to counteract the mechanical stress applied to the seats with normal wear. The creases are hardly noticeable if you don't go looking for them, and you really can't tell unless you compare to some of the very first pictures I took of the car.

For my full review of the car, Google "Southern6er22 Caring for the Cattle," and my blog post should be one of the first hits.

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Thanks southern6er for the quick feedback. After reading your blog I have a question.

In your quest for the best leather treatment products, did you try a few other well known brands before you settled with the Gliptone products? I might have being sucked in by the hype that is Swissvax but I would've thought it was good for the Merino leather.

I did think that the brushes may be too harsh for such a soft and porous leather (look closely and you'll see lots of tiny holes) - I will start cleaning using the hand rubbing method too to make it less abrasive for my leather.

[m630]

Are you absolutely certain its Merino leather? Im very suprised by your comments. I had Silverstone Merino on my former M6 for nearly 4 years, it was my daily driver and I never had an issue with wearability even in its color that was near white. For prep and cleaning, you may also want to try Lexol, which was the brand that BMW used to sell directly from the service centers, I still use it when needed...

[ibimmer954]

My car features the Platinum Merino leather on the active/ventilated seats. I'm not seeing any creasing or other weird artifacts in the leather. They are still perfect. However, I've only had the car about a month.

These seats are comfy, but relatively firm compared to the seats in the 535i I had before. That should help the leather hold up.

I'm not a fan of the "active" seats. Turn 'em on and it feels like someone is cramming something up your backside. Not good execution of that feature as far as I'm concerned. The ventilation feature actually works though. They're pretty "cool". (Pun intended)

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Originally Posted by m630

Are you absolutely certain its Merino leather? Im very suprised by your comments.

I am about 101% sure that it's Merino. The car was custom ordered from the dealership, built to my spec and waited 6 months for the privilege of meeting my new car. The leather is very soft and smooth different to the standard leather in BMW cars which is actually quite hard and taut. Here's a pic I posted earlier. I'm surprised that the Merino leather in your daily drive 640i had no distortion in it after 4 years! Any pics of the seat area?

I have heard of Lexol numerous times and might get it to try out, although I wouldn't have thought it'd be more effective than what I currently use?

My car features the Platinum Merino leather on the active/ventilated seats.

My seats are not fitted with anything other than electric adjustment and hence no mechanical influence can be had on the leather other than my own self. I took a picture of the wavy leather just this morning. It's not that obvious but clear enough when you look. The side that's wavy is the LHS - I tend to lean in to my left when I drive to get more support from the arm rest I guess. Btw, it's a right hand drive vehicle.



I also spoke to a leather specialist on the phone yesterday who advised that Merino or sheep leather would be easier to crease than cow hide.

Anyone think it's a warranty issue? I'm taking the car to the dealership tomorrow get some preliminary assessment prior to the booked service next Wednesday.

[ibimmer954]

Yep, it's definitely making creases. I'm not sure there's really anything they can do about it other than replace the seats. But then the new ones might just do it again. I'll take comparison pics of my seats.

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Yes please do. I'm going to try stop the dealership weaseling their way out of this by claiming it to be "normal".

[ibimmer954]

Here's a picture of my seat. There are definitely signs the leather is "stretching". It's not quite the same as the way yours are creasing. Mine look more like yours in the middle of the seat. Personally, I'm not overly worried about it. This leather is clearly softer than the Dakota leather. I guess softer also means more fragile.

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I see, so it's pretty common. Probably hard to claim it for warranty eh. Even if you did, it would reappear in no time I would've thought. Thanks for the pics.

Is it just the phone camera exposure or does your seat look like it's got different colours? The back rest looks more yellow than the seat part.

[ibimmer954]

It's an iPhone picture in relatively low-light. I'm sure it's just the lighting. lol The seats are Individual Platinum/Black. Not the color I would have chosen, but it was in a car on the lot. The main thing I wanted was the exterior color: Ruby Black!

[Tuesday]

LOL

[Growlyr04]

LEATHERIQUE is a wonderful leather restoration rejuvenating and cleaning product:

2 bottles: one cleaner and one restorer...its AMAZING\
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