Driver's seat speration

[Pdotc]

Anyone have any issue with the leather in the front driver's seat of their GTI/R. And if so how did you fix?

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[McJaggleToes]

Yup, mine stretched and discolored, so I replaced the skin. It's fiddly, and the leather isn't cheap, but i didn't want an aftermarket leather repair. You'll need hog rings, hog ring pliers, a decent hook to unclip the old leather (pita), cutters to snip the old rings, and a set of torx and triple square bits to deal with the various bolts.

Seems like the new leather is softer and doesn't have as pronounced of a grain. Also seems like the foam padding in the cover is more substantial.

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[Sumfuncomet]

The seat cover needs to come off as the stitching is performed with the seat cover inside out. Any decent auto upholstery place can do this repair. If you buy a new upper seat back will it match throughout? I myself would just have that one repaired.

 

[armstrom]

My 2016 R has the same exact issue. I was planning to just use a vinyl/leather repair kit. That section of the seat is vinyl rather than leather anyway. That's why you see that light colored fabric backing where it splits.
-Matt

 

[MDLBC]

My stitching pulled apart exactly like Pdotc’s and bought the following from Amazon:

Leather and Vinyl Repair Kit -... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AVVUHQO?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Do I think it will hold up? Not with this 6’ 190 pound frame. The seat bolsters are great but they are going to take a beating over time and I will eventually have to take the car to an upholstery shop.

In any case, my results at the moment after applying the product three months ago:

For $19 and 4 Star Reviews it is worth a shot (assuming out of warranty like myself).

Next is trying the heat gun method to get rid of some wrinkles in the leather.

 

[Pdotc]

Yup, mine stretched and discolored, so I replaced the skin. It's fiddly, and the leather isn't cheap, but i didn't want an aftermarket leather repair. You'll need hog rings, hog ring pliers, a decent hook to unclip the old leather (pita), cutters to snip the old rings, and a set of torx and triple square bits to deal with the various bolts.

Seems like the new leather is softer and doesn't have as pronounced of a grain. Also seems like the foam padding in the cover is more substantial.

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Thank will look into it now

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[Bush Leaguer]

Same for my '16 R. Thanks for posting as I assumed it was an isolated flaw.

 

[McJaggleToes]

The seat cover needs to come off as the stitching is performed with the seat cover inside out. Any decent auto upholstery place can do this repair. If you buy a new upper seat back will it match throughout? I myself would just have that one repaired.

The grain isn't identical, whether that's because of age or the actual leather they sourced I don't know. However, it's pretty much impossible to tell the difference in the seat bottom compared to the backrest given the lighting. The difference is more apparent when you compare it to the seat bottom on the passenger side. I noticed it for maybe a day before I stopped caring.

I wouldn't feel great about a repair to the leather given that the leather itself is tearing around the stitches, but there's probably some repair trick that I don't know about.

 

[Cliff]

Anyone have any issue with the leather in the front driver's seat of their GTI/R. And if so how did you fix?

Both front seats, actually. My driver's seat is much worse than yours, while the passenger seat is about the same. I have not yet gotten around to getting recommendations for an upholstery shop to see about fixing the covers. New covers for the seat bottoms are expensive and likely to exhibit the same problem over time. An upholstery shop would likely remove the covers and add material to the back of the seam to reinforce it.