Vw warranty issue

M1SOG

I have a 2 year old vw Touareg with leather seats. The car is in excellent condition aside from the fact that on the drivers seat bolster cushion nearest the door the leather is cracking along a seam and in one place has lifted. I haven’t abused the seat in any way, it’s just that it’s impossible to get into the car without touching this part of the seat. Obviously the repeated getting in and out of the car has caused the problem, but should the leather have deteriorated to such an extent in such a short space of time? My dealer doubts the cars warranty will cover a repair or replacement as seat covers are classed as a wear and tear item but has admitted this is not a unique problem. What should I do please?

neilmcl

What sort of miles has it done?

There was a known issue with older BMW 1 series a few years back with the leather seat bolsters also creasing/cracking. It turned out that the padding wasn't sufficient enough on that part of the seat for the sort of wear that the bolsters get when getting in and out of the car. They fixed it for anyone who raised the issue, I had mine done for free even outside the warranty period.

M1SOG

45,000 miles. I've now raised the issue again with the dealership but I'm told any remedy will be discretionary. What did BMW do for your seat? A repair? I can't imagine how this could be done with mine

neilmcl

M1SOG wrote: »

45,000 miles. I've now raised the issue again with the dealership but I'm told any remedy will be discretionary. What did BMW do for your seat? A repair? I can't imagine how this could be done with mine

Yes the bolsters can be repaired/replaced without having to replace the whole seat. If they still don't do anything then you may want to contact VW customer services directly.

M1SOG

Thanks. Had an interesting conversation with someone in what's laughingly called VW 'customer care' today. She said all VW seats only have a 6 month warranty. I replied that my dealership was aware that many drivers are suffering the same problem as me, therefore it must be a manufacturing fault. Her reply was "you're not covered by a warranty, this is a goodwill issue and VW doesn't offer any goodwill". I've since spoken to the Motor Ombudsman who's referred me back to the entity I purchased the car from - VW Financial Services!!

Frozen_up_north

If push comes to shove... there are firms around that specialise in this sort of repair. I had the same seat issue on a Jeep Cherokee several years ago, and the repair was perfect. The dealer handled the seat removal and re-fitting. The cost was very low (an hours labour or so), but I don't know if that was subsidised by the dealer.

davidwood681

I get this all the time with the vans we run.

It's always the vehicles driven by, shall we say, ''big lads''