Ripped 2010 leather seats on outback

My 2009 Outback developed a hole in the leather on the side of the seat from almost no use. After only one month of use of a new seat, another hole developed in the same spot. I never have anything in my back pocket. The only time this part of the seat is touched is upon entering or exiting the car. No other car has ever posed this problem for me. I think the leather is low grade and very thin and cheap. The dealer replaced the seat cover one month ago with no hassle but this time he just took photos and will send them to the factory.

Yah brutal eh?? Really quite disappointed in this vehicle, as previously mentioned I had an accord forever and I abused that vehicles interior. Every couple of months id give it a good clean and it would good as new. If I wasnt sick of manual transmission I would have kept it. If only honda would come out with an accord wagon! I'd trade in this wanna be tough and robust car which is actually cheap crap for one the day they came out! Not the paint on the silver spokes on my steering wheel is rubbing off! Is this car for real?? My buddy has a Kia and it's better than this.

YOUR INTERIOR IS COVER UNDER THE 36,000 MILE WARRANTY

Well someone should have told Subaru that. It was a terrible experience dealing with their management and the dealer. It took months of back and forth nonsense and me explaining the situation over and over again for them to finally come across and fix it. After about three months of back and forth crap I had a meeting with one of the most pompous little brat managers I have ever met. After he examined the seat he determined that Subaru would not replace the seat but pay for half the repair. Who makes this guy an expert on the quality of the seat material anyway? I explained to him that after paying in cash over forty thousand dollars for the vehicle I was very disappointed and intended on sharing my experience with my friends and family. His response was “so what are you threatening to bad mouth Subaru if I don’t pay for this”. I responded by saying “well call it what you want but this rip in the seat is unacceptable and when I am asked how I like the new car I purchased it’s only normal to share my experience with others”. Finally Scarborough Subaru stepped up to the plate and made a call to Subaru and got the seat fixed. Good on them! I highly recommend this dealership; it was a strong contrast to any other dealer.

I just vacuumed my wife's 2011 Outback today with less than 3000 miles and as I removed the car seat in the back I have the same issue!!! We even made sure to cover the seats the day we picked the car up before installing the car seats to avoid scratching the seats, etc.. and the tear is about 2"-3" long!!! Any suggestions? I am going to the dealership this week to see what they can do for me. It absolutely ridiculous!!!! The car is brand new!

I've had problems with 2007 Outback cloth seats wearing prematurely; the problem appeared after only two years, mostly highway use (ie, not much getting in and out of the vehicle). The dealers I asked about this said that this was normal. The best car's seats I've had were in a Honda.

The dealer charged me $100 as a one time "courtesy" and said that I would have to pay the full $500 if it happened again. I have been extra careful, never let valets drive the car, never let carwash people get inside, but it is happening again. 7,000 miles later and a wear spot is appearing and will become a hole. The car has under 29,000 miles.

Yes. I'm having the same problem with my 2010 Outback. More specifically, the driver's seat has frayed at the left edge of the seat back. I believe the frequent entry/exit has worn down a very thin layer of (fake?) leather along the beaded edge.

Yup me too. Driver side on the piping around mid-lumbar area. Pretty upset since this was my first new vehicle purchase and I sprung for the "top end" only to discover that most of my leather seat is actually cheap vinyl!

I wrote to Subaru and they authorized the dealer to replace the seat at no cost to me. Thanks Subaru!

How lovely. I'm looking to buy a new car but after reading these comments I'll be scratching Subaru off my list.

I bought a new Outback in 2006 and have experienced the same rubbing on the driver's seat left side about half way up the seat. I thought it was something my husband had in his pockets, but he does not carry anything except his wallet. It is continually getting worse. Only 60K highway miles on the car. I have another friend that has the same car and it is doing the same thing in the same spot. Arrrrrg!

Be for warning, Subaru is now replacing many of the leather seating areas in their newer Outbacks with cheap thin vinyl inserts. Our new 2001 limited outback was all leather in the seating areas and bullet proof for over 200,000 miles. Our new 2009 outback limited has thin vinyl on the many seating portions of the front and rear seats. My drivers seat started ripped at the seam at 37,000 miles when I realized it was vinyl. We bought it in to our Subaru dealership to be repaired and because it was just out of warranty we were out of luck. Don't get me wrong, we've enjoyed our Subaru's over the years, but when you pay extra for the limited model and assume you are getting leather seating, at least where your back and bottom touch the seats and find out that's not the case anymore, I start wondering where else is Subaru cutting corners. If we stick with Subaru, it's fabric seating going forward unless Subaru bring back the Love and installs leather where our body's meet the seats.

Thanks for this forum. Same problem in my 2011 suby that I just bought used. Perfect condition except for tear in seat that I didn't notice until after I signed/paid. Dealer was zero help. Also made me angry to learn that the seats are advertised as leather but actually mostly vinyl. I took Mark helpul's advice and contacted Subaru and they are paying for a new seat cover! Thanks Subaru. Wish your dealers were as customer-oriented as you are.

Hmm..a child seat is not minor use...it's probably one of the worst things you can do to a leather seat, and I bet your honda seats WERE ripped you probably just didn't notice where, because that's the most ridiculous biased statement if I ever heard!! And that's not a tear, that was definitely CUT with something sharp and it's screams of misuse, so your very fortunate! Dicook, Do you guys wear jeans a lot? I think the rivets maybe doing damage if so?? And either Crappie is very obese or is probably doing something weird they don't notice where it ripped, daily. My '08 has has nice leather on the SEAT and BACK of all seats(except middle rear) and the so-called vinyl is the same thing your nike's are made of now because it's easier to take care of and lasts longer. PROBLEM IS..LEATHER NEEDS CARE AND MOISTURE...!!! BTW, If you have kids, wear riveted pants, are over-weight, like to keep things in your back pocket... your probably the cause. Period.

Luap...your comment is not helpful or accurate at all. I am not a child and I don't need to be told how to sit in a car without causing damage. I am extremely careful and take good care of my vehicles and never carry sharp objects and never have jeans with rivets. Nobody else drives my car. I bought the top of the line Subaru expecting to get top of the line results, but am disappointed in their shortcuts and denial. My friend drives a Honda and does all the things you describe and there is not a mark on the leather. Subaru uses cheap thin fake leather that wears out no matter how careful you are.

So disappointed in Subaru. My 2016 Outback was ordered with black leather seating. I had traded in my 2005 Nissan Altima with full leather seating. The leather was as good as new in the Altima. Never a problem. When I paid substantially more for leather in my Outback, I did not question if it was FULL leather, or just in particular areas. Now with 24,000 miles, the leather, which I was just informed by a Subaru service man as "pleather" on the drivers side, is now rubbing off (thin layer of pleather), he told me it was from getting in and out of the vehicle, and my jeans rubbing the side. WHAT?? So am I supposed to wear a certain material, or perhaps a silk dress to avoid the normality of entering and exiting the vehicle? I was also told that the actual sitting area of the seat is pleather as well!! So upset that I was misleaded into what I thought was leather is actually a thin pleather over fabric. Only surrounding areas are real leather. My Husband's Ford F-150 has beautiful black leather, and it withstands everything. I'm writing to Subaru, and possibly file a class action suit.

I feel kipster13. I am experiencing same thing with my 2016 legacy 2.4i Limited with leather seat. It is ripping from pressure point on left hip and wearing on front edge of the seat. I have own other vehicles with leather seat for many years without problem. My one year old subaru is the only one acting up. I went to the dealer they don't want to do anything about it. They said the tearing on pressure point is from external source and the wearing off on front edge is from usage. They said since this is not from sewing spot, I have to pay loke 325dollars to fix. They won't fix it. Mind you I have 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee for 4 years and counting and tge leather seat or even the belt clip never give me problem like subaru is. So normal usage and their seat are tearing means their made of poor quality and not dutable but they want us the consumer to suffer and put up with the drama and they won't do anything about it.

Best Answer I feel kipster13. I am experiencing same thing with my 2016 legacy 2.4i Limited with leather seat. It is ripping from pressure point on left hip and wearing on front edge of the seat. I have own other vehicles with leather seat for many years without problem. My one year old subaru is the only one acting up. I went to the dealer they don't want to do anything about it. They said the tearing on pressure point is from external source and the wearing off on front edge is from usage. They said since this is not from sewing spot, I have to pay loke 325dollars to fix. They won't fix it. Mind you I have 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee for 4 years and counting and tge leather seat or even the belt clip never give me problem like subaru is. So normal usage and their seat are tearing means their made of poor quality and not dutable but they want us the consumer to suffer and put up with the drama and they won't do anything about it.

Meanwhile other Vehicle we have used, Camry, Highlander, and using Cherokee we never have this issue except subaru.

I sat in our 2010 Outback a few days ago and hard a strang noise and when I got out I discovered these huge cracks in what I thought was leather. The material is very thin with cloth backing and appears to be vinyl or something other tha leather. Discovery this URL link, I now believe this is definitely not leather as stated on the original documentation and window sticker of this Outback Limited. I will ask my dealer to explain this misrepresentation and ask them or Subaru USA to fix this. Like others we have much older cars (91 Jag and 98 Nissan) with real leather which has never split.

Cheap grades of leather will have a cloth backing. What they do is split the leather until it is paper thin and then glue it to a backing.

An issue as far back as 2002 for such a well thought of company - shame on you that you never felt the need to take care of this

My 2017 Outback has cracked leather on the drivers side in 4 places. Will Subaru fix this? I have 42,000 miles on it.

My 2015 Outback has the same exact problem - split/crack in “leather” driver’s seat pretty much in the location of drivers back left pocket – just like everyone else has stated above.. So disappointing. Dealer no help. I’d like to feel some of that Love that makes a Subaru a Subaru

Follow up on my 2010 Outback comments made last year. After several persistent emails to Subaru USA, the rep there admitted that only the perforate$ material in th3 middle of the seats are real leather. All other solid material is vinyl according to him. So, the listing of leather seats in their brochures and on their window stickers is, in my opinion, not exactly correct. A visit to a local leather repair shop gave me a $250 quote to remove and replace the damaged bolster section. I have delayed such repair. The cracks have gotten worse in this section.

I purchased a 2017 Subaru Outback and was told it was "Java Leather Interior". As a note they never gave me my window sticker . My seat ripped and cracked on the side after 3 years and have since discovered that the only leather parts in the car are the steering wheel, shift knob and the perforated part of the seats. This vehicle has obviously been grossly misrepresented and I have consulted a lawyer. I believe I will be issuing a claim. Perhaps this should be a class action lawsuit as it seems there are several people in the same boat.

I have the same problem with my 2016 Outback, also presented as leather.

We have a 2019 Outback and after 6 months (June, 2019) there was a tear in the driver's seat. My husband usually drives and he's average weight, doesn't carry anything sharp in his back pocket, just his wallet in his right back pocket and the tear was on the left side. We bought it at Reynolds Subaru in Lyme, CT and they replaced the seat at no charge. So now it is May, 2020 and we have another tear in almost the same spot. I just called them and sent the picture. Hoping they will not charge us again this time.

I just discovered a tear in my 2017 Outback. I am the only person who drives it back and forth to work. Its all highway miles. I am not heavy nor do i have anything in my back pockets. I am very disappointed. I will be contacting my dealer this week. I am sure i will be told there is nothing they can do since i have surpassed the 36,000 mile warranty.

I have a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. My synthetic leather driver seat has two tears in it, I'm not very hard on cars and i certainly take car of the seat. The leather in my 2004 Land Rover was amazing and I put more wear and tear on that car. Sent emails back and forth to Subaru USA after I received zero help fro the dealership, they gave me $150 Credit. Now that I have read the reviews I'm almost certain that this will be my first and last Subaru. Just not happy with the quality of the seats and the overall response. When my lease is up I think I will give something else a try

I have less than 50,000 miles on my outback and the drivers seat is tearing at the stitching. I have an Accord with 300,000 miles and the days are still fine. This is my first Subaru after a lifetime of Hondas. Hope I didn’t make a mistake.

Same on my 2017 Outback, rip in the same spot as most of you. Never buy a Subaru for $30k again, cheap build all around for that price. Anybody buy replacement cover? Seen some around $200, just not sure how easy to remove the old cover. Anybody do this?

We are having the same issue with our 2016 Outback and am glad to have found this thread. Those who mentioned a class action suit... has there been any progress in that area?

I have a 2018 Subaru Outback and mine is also cracking majorly in the exact same area as GuruMWRDQ. Same material and color and area that its cracking. Went in for an appointment and told me because of the age of my car there is nothing we can do to help you. The age?! Its not that freaking old! She offered me a phone number to an auto upholsterer. I have had Hondas, Toyotas and Fords and never experienced this quality before. Besides the entire dash system going out and having that replaced 3xs and bluetooth connectivity issues. I'm out. I am so through with Subaru!!! Is there a class action lawsuit going on for this yet?

My 2017 Outback with only 70K miles is tearing at the outside corner where your thigh would touch. So disappointed with the quality. I also just had to replace my alternator. Sharon