[tinfoiltuna]

About 1 week after purchasing my X7 CPO, I noticed a crease running across the entire seat that I hadn’t seen before. Took it to the dealership I purchased from, assuming it was some defect, and they told me it’s been repaired before (!!!!). They tried to get BMW to cover and the sales side of the dealership to cover, but nobody will. BMW NA advised me to take it to another dealership for a second option before they will escalate. Naturally I’m pretty upset, replacement seats + labor, the sales team told me, $6000.

Had anybody seen this issue in leather before? It seems like some sort of defect, and frankly, very confused as to how it’s shown up 1-week after driving (early Jan). I didn’t see anything during purchase, and in photos I don’t see a crease except for maybe what looks like the beginning of one right on the edge. Only have had someone sit in the back twice.

View post on imgur.com

[Qsilver7]

That doesn’t look like a defect or a repair to me….but having leather shoes that have gotten wet from wearing them in snow or heavy rain…it looks like water damage.

If it wasn’t you…then the previous owners/users of this vehicle appears to have had something happen with a liquid of some type that probably got spilt on the back portion of the lower seat cushion and part of the upper back. Or a window or sunroof was left open and the seat got wet/drenched.

Do a google search using the phrase “BMW wet leather seat” and look at the images you get from the results to see if it is similar to your situation.

Example from an X5 thread: https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2004403




Example from an X3 thread: https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2030547

[tinfoiltuna]

That’s exactly what it looks like

[1230vani]

Looks like water damage to me, hot tea or coffee

[Opie55]

It also continues across different pieces of leather that are sewn together - so it can't have been in the leather itself before the seat was made. QSilver has correctly identified the issue.

[tinfoiltuna]

Agree with everybody, that’s what it looks it. Super bummed. I don’t recall seeing it when I purchased the car. Looks like I’ll need to see if an upholster can fix it. Otherwise I just live with it ��

What I don’t get, is why the dealer says it “looks like it’s been repaired before”.

[Orient330iNYC]

Originally Posted by tinfoiltuna

What I don’t get, is why the dealer says it “looks like it’s been repaired before”.

Translation: not a defect, not covered under warranty, not our problem.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by tinfoiltuna

Agree with everybody, that’s what it looks it. Super bummed. I don’t recall seeing it when I purchased the car. Looks like I’ll need to see if an upholster can fix it. Otherwise I just live with it ��

What I don’t get, is why the dealer says it “looks like it’s been repaired before”.

Because some guy at the dealer is not an expert in leather and had no clue what it was. So he just guessed.

I'd go to a high-end detailer before I'd go to an upholstery shop. All an upholstery shop could do is replace the leather. But they won't have a source for that exact leather grade or color except for the same source you do - to buy a seat cover from the dealer and install it. Very expensive. But a high-end detailer may have seen it before and can tell you if they have any tricks to make it look better. I'm not quite sure what exactly is going on in the leather to make that happen, but I'm skeptical it can be fixed or even improved. But let us know.

[Opie55]

If I were to guess, but a better guess than the dealer, the liquid stays on the leather long enough to swell the leather fibers, and when it finally dries the leather fibers are permanently swollen and do not shrink again. So you can where the edges were much like you can see the former waterline in a reservoir when the water has lowered. If you look carefully at the pics QSilver posted, you can see the swelling is not just at the edges because the pebble grain is less pronounced inside the formerly wet area. I cannot see any way to reverse that process, so probably the only thing that might improve it is to "blend" the ridges by wetting or probably steaming the adjacent areas.

[cncmastr]

Guys, if you’re gonna replace the leather, you don’t need to get a new piece. You just order a new cover from BMW.