Seat deteriorating already

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Location
Paignton, UK
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MG4 Trophy LR
Now 18 months and roughly 18,000 miles in and the fake leather around the driver's seat is deteriorating as shown.

Any suggestions on anything that might slow it down? I know what to do with real cow, but not this new stuff.

It looks like it is about to crack through to the surface.
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This concern is why I fitted seat covers when Caliban was new. Both my previous cars were showing wear there when I got rid of them (120-130K miles though) - the real leather in the Peugeot wore right through and the fabric of the Golf was worn right down. I noted that MG only warranted the seats for a year, and was a bit worried. I also think the fake leather in the Trophy might be more liable to wear than the fabric in the SE.

It obviously shouldn't happen, but seat covers are one approach. They look very good and I think you can get them to mimic the original Trophy trim.

ETA: actually that's not quite where my previous cars wore. It was higher up and on the side edge of the seat. I assumed that's where I was rubbing it getting in and out.
 
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Could be a defect, could be something you wear is pinching it.
It is in a strange place for that, lower back area, I would have thought yes maybe jeans studs, belts etc... but it is not near there.

Will see if we can figure out anything that is causing it - one possibility is that we're squashing that area as we get in and out and that is leading to cracking. The very squashy nature of the seats means they are prone to that.
 
This concern is why I fitted seat covers when Caliban was new. Both my previous cars were showing wear there when I got rid of them (120-130K miles though) - the real leather in the Peugeot wore right through and the fabric of the Golf was worn right down. I noted that MG only warranted the seats for a year, and was a bit worried. I also think the fake leather in the Trophy might be more liable to wear than the fabric in the SE.

It obviously shouldn't happen, but seat covers are one approach. They look very good and I think you can get them to mimic the original Trophy trim.

ETA: actually that's not quite where my previous cars wore. It was higher up and on the side edge of the seat. I assumed that's where I was rubbing it getting in and out.
Yes, I thought of you and your covers, that may be a good option, thanks.

I wasn't keen on having fake leather but there was no option with the Trophy trim. I'd definitely prefer harder wearing material to something more "plush".

I wouldn't be fussed about some seat damage after 100,000 miles either but after only 18,000 miles, seems very early.
 
Fairly common fault with other MGs with the plastic leather seats. Warranty won't cover it after 12 months but some have tried 'not fit for purpose' and won (AFAIK).

Not sure if the fabric seats on the SEs are any better - I've put cheap Lidl covers on and haven't looked underneath yet.
 
I would imagine if you have covers on, these will protect the seats.

18,000 miles is still a new car in my book and way too early to be seeing such wear. But I don't trust MG at the prices they're charging. Didn't someone else report similar damage at an even earlier stage?
 
ISTR there are creams available, similar to leather food but for vinyl.
 
Found a kit on Amazon last November when I had accidentally made a small perforation in drivers seat while cleaning interior. I know it says "Brown" but I used the black and white to get a satisfactory grey. Also managed to fix my home office chair (first while getting used to it).

Repair is holding so happy, but maybe should have had covers as in previous cars.
 
I was concerned when I got my car, because it was £10,000 cheaper than any other comparable car, and the seats only seemed to have a one-year warranty. What corners might have been cut? Also, I was already aware that there's a real possibility that EVs might outlive their petrol counterparts, so again I didn't want the paintwork and interior to deteriorate unnecessarily. That's why I got the seat covers, which can always be replaced if they themselves wear out. (That, and to brighten up the dark-toned interior of the car.) But having said that, the fabric seats in the SE seem to be robust quality to me. Can't comment about the Trophy seats.

There was a time when I was being bombarded with YouTube adverts for a vinyl repair patch product that was supposed to be able to practically revive torn and worn items to as good as new. Might be worth investigating something like that.
 

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