Should an owner of these high-end cars install seat covers, particularly because most OEMs do not provide seat cover options as additional accessories?

BHPian adasisthefuture recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I was searching for a discussion on this topic on this forum however, most discussions are only restricted to low-cost cars and hardly any specific to Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volvo etc. These days, luxury cars come with multiple Airbag setups including Centre Airbags and Specialized Airbags apart from regular curtain Airbags (see SIPS - Side Impact Protection System offered by Volvo and a similar system by Mercedes S-Class wherein the seats move towards the centre and the Centre Armrest collapses to save the passenger from Side Impact).

With such complex systems involved, I request knowledgeable members of this forum to throw light on the following aspects:

• Should an owner of these high-end cars install Seat Covers, more particularly in view of the fact that most OEMs do not provide Seat Cover options as additional accessories
• If the answer to question No.1 is in the affirmative then, which type of covers are advisable as there are Custom Fit Options as well as Universal Fit options. The issue with most Custom Fits is that they require removal of seats for installation which is not at all advisable in cars with such complex safety systems in place.
• If the answer to question No.1 is in the negative, then what are the options available to protect and regularly clean expensive Genuine Leather (for example Nappa Leather) seats. There are some detailing outlets doing ceramic coating on the seats however as genuine leather is mostly porous, doing ceramic coating makes the leather hard over time.

Thank you.

 Here's what BHPian BANDHAV replied:

Numerous customization outlets can do Grade A work by changing/upgrading the upholstery for any luxury car. I also work for vehicle customization and interior upholstery rework is possible for all kinds of cars.

To put it into perspective, a Phantom VIII interior is currently being refurbished. The only technicality involved is special stitching to ensure the correct deployment of airbags integrated into the seat.

Here's what BHPian AJ56 replied:

1) Not just premium cars, any car with airbags integrated into the seat cannot be fitted with covers of any kind as it’s difficult to match the factory tear points built into the stock seats. Also, you’ll lose any ventilation and cooling/heating built into the seat. Seat massaging might work but it won’t be the same experience.

For eg. Even mass market cars like Accord, Camry and even smaller ones like Verna have had 6 airbags for many years now. The factory fabric/leather easily lasts 10+ years and on many cars, 15 years. Post which just replace the seat instead of messing with the factory systems.

The correct method would be a full strip and reupholstery, skills I’ve not yet seen any local shop possess (with a quality outcome at least). Unless we’re talking high end interior customisation from the likes of Brabus/Alpina, etc.

Goes without saying, unless the customisation is checked and approved by the mfg. the warranty on all related components will be void.

2) The only way to get a half-decent fit is to remove the seats and do a custom install. Removing seats on any car, specially newer ones is not advisable as you have a lot of wiring and sensors.

Sensors and motors for not just airbags but also occupant weight and position, temperature and ventilation, massaging functions, lumbar support, seat position adjustment and more.

3) Keep the leather clean (use an all-purpose cleaner like Koch Chemie Greenstar with a medium soft brush) and apply a good conditioner like 3D LVP to form a thin barrier between the leather clearcoat and whatever touches it.

It’s the buildup of grease/body oils and fine debris in the folds of the leather that accelerates its wear and tear.

Here's what BHPian Akshay1234 replied:

Seat covers certainly aren't a good idea in my opinion for any car with a lot of seat electronics and airbags, etc. If one has to change the upholstery, it would require removing the existing leather/fabric and then stitching new upholstery on to the seat.

Now there are a lot of factors in this right from the people removing/fitting the parts (they need knowledge and care, so as not to break minor parts), to the person doing the stitching (Who needs to be a bit OCD to ensure the finish), to even the leather/material used. When all these come together then its possible to get an almost factory fit and finish.

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They did a good job in fixing the damaged cover and did not even charge me for it. I highly recommend this team.

BHPian TurboTorque recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I got the seat covers for my Skoda Slavia from Imperial Leathers in July 2022, and this was their first Slavia car. Shiva and the team did a good job from seat cover selection to installation.

After almost two years of use, I noticed a small tear on the driver's side seat. I don't keep a wallet in the back pocket while driving, so I'm not sure how it happened. Once I noticed it, I called him over the phone, and he recognized me and asked me to send a photo over WhatsApp. After reviewing the photo, he called me back and confirmed that the damaged cover could be replaced. He asked me to send a photo of the complete seat and mentioned that he needs 1 or 2 weeks to prepare the lower piece cover with perforations. He will call me once it is ready.

Damaged seat - small tear visible.

He called me on last Tuesday and asked me to come on June 28th, Friday after 3 PM. As we agreed, I reached the shop today at 3:30 PM, and they completed the work by 4:10 PM.

Dismantling the seat.

Seat has been removed.

Removed the lower seat.

New piece is ready.

Stitching the new piece with the other cover.

Seat is being prepared for installation.

Seat has been installed.

As always, they did a good job, and he did not charge me. I highly recommend Shiva and the team.

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Had to get the fabric seat covers removed, even though I didn't want to.

BHPian Reinhard recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The car continues its relaxed lazy life without any issues anywhere. But I made a small addition. The stock fabric seats are actually very good and I love fabric seats (being a rather sweaty guy!). But then a twice-a-day physical activity routine meant I started dumping too much sweat into the driver's seat over the last year, which may have unpleasant consequences in future. So, finally went ahead and got leatherette seat covers installed. (Did the same in the Polo too at the same time, with a black+red inserts combination).

Went for a moderate quality durable PU-like material, with a simple black+grey combination that matches with the exterior white as well as black+grey interiors of the 1st gen Nexon. It was a "bucket seat" installation, so the guys inserted wires in tunnels inside the covers, and clipped them into inner rods of existing seat covers. So, switching off the OE seat upholstery is basically now removed. Obviously, I didn't exactly want this, but I was advised by multiple vendors that this retains the covers and foam better, than sewing through the foam and securing the seats. Eventually, I chose to go ahead with this approach of undoing stock covers in some places.

The finish is not too bad. Has a proper 60:40 split, cutouts for seat belt buckles, and a proper full independent cover for the rear armrest as well. No zipper opening etc for the armrest.

I got it done "at home". The vendor's fitters came home with the covers and tools, and installed the seats in the parking at my place, in both the cars. In about 4 hours in total.

Some pictures for reference.

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The seat cover has a thin profile, however it will still alter your driving position completely. You’ll need to adjust everything to find a new position that works for you.

BHPian krishnakumar recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Riggear Ventilated Seat Covers - Is it an alternative to Ventilated Seats?

Ventilated seats are one of the most demanded features in India (maybe after the sunroof ) and rightfully so. When I was shopping around for a car in 2021, this was one of the top features I was looking to have in my car. But after a fair battle between the contenders, I chose to go with XUV300 that does not have ventilated seats.

I was okay to settle for this but then chanced upon a post on the Citroen C5 Aircross Review thread that piqued my interest on aftermarket accessories. I had in fact searched this earlier but nothing stood out and had stopped looking for options.

I searched again and came across this option on Amazon - RIGGEAR Ventilated Seat Cover

I had a Bangalore to Mumbai drive coming up and I was excited to test something like this out as this would be the perfect usecase for ventilated seats.

But as it is common with small seller listings on Amazon, the price is likely to be inflated. So, some further searches later, I contacted the seller directly to purchase and got a much better deal and a same day delivery as well (since they have a warehouse located in Bangalore). Placed the order at 4pm and I got the product delivered at 8pm.

I have only bought the driver side seat cover. Riggear also sells a co-driver seat cover as a separate unit.

Product features:

• Leatherette + Breathable Mesh Fabric material construction.
• Uses a 5+5 fan system; that is, 5 fans for the back and 5 fans for the bottom.
• Universal fitment to most cars
• 3 stages of fan control. This button doubles as the power on/off button as well and has an integrated LED indicator that glows Red for high speed, Green for medium and Blue for low speed.

Unboxing:

• The product came nicely packed in a large flat box. The box contains:
• Ventilated seat cover for driver
• A set of manual and instructions (along with product disclaimers).
• A power cable with a 12V plug; the plug has to output wires. So the same can be used to power the co-passenger seat cover as well (if bought).

Here's a 1 minute montage of the unboxing.

Fitting it on my car:

This is dead easy to fit on any car. The instructions along with the product are very clear. There are 2 disc shaped plastic clips which needs to be squeezed through the gap between seat back and seat bottom. This holds the seat cover close to the seat. My car has a flap at the bottom that is held by two straps with a clip, which can be easily removed to access the gap. Loop the neck strap of seat cover around the head rests and voila, you're done.

Notice how the disc shaped retainer is locking the cover in position:

Looks neat. Even though the cover is Black in color (only available color) it doesn't look off with the beige interiors:

Based on the clearance from side bolsters, looks like it will not foul with airbag mechanism:

My review after using it for 1000+ km:

Ergonomics/comfort:

• The seat cover has a thin profile, however it will still alter your driving position completely. You’ll need to adjust everything to find a new position that works for you.
• The anti-slip material ensures there is no sliding around during ingress/egress or while operating the pedals. This is super useful and not once in the 1000 km drive did it move.
• The button for fan control is also ergonomically located, just below the left leg thigh and doesn't foul with any leg movement. Also the LED indicator gets covered with the left leg so the light doesn’t bother at night.
• There is some slight drop in comfort while sitting on the cover. This is because now you’re sitting on netted/mesh kind of surface and it isn’t as soft as the leatherette of my seat. However, it isn’t causing any pain/discomfort and I got used to it after some time. I certainly couldn't feel the array of fans, so that is a great plus!

Functionality/User Experience:

• The ventilation can be started by long-pressing the fan speed button. The ventilation always starts at Highest speed (Red), while the recommended speed is lowest. So essentially, it takes 1 long press and 2 clicks to get the seat ventilation operating.
• You could immediately start feeling the blower on the lower back/bottom but it takes ~2 mins before you can feel the blower on your back. Overall, it is quite effective in keeping the back, bottom and thighs fresh and dry.
• Noise levels are super low in the lowest setting. I tested this in my basement, with the engine, music and AC off, and the sound is just barely noticeable at the lowest level. At the highest level it is somewhat noticeable but again when everything else is off. If you run the car's AC even at a blower speed of 2-3, it would easily mask the seat cover fan speed. In short, fan noise is least of your concern - excellent job on this one.
• The product will turn off if you restart the engine even when the accessory power is on. This is a bit cumbersome while using Auto Stop/Start feature. The product will remain on when the engine auto stops but when it auto starts, the power is cut off (as it should be) turning the product off. I’d have really liked if the product came with a memory/UPS function account for this.

Durability:

This is always a gamble with aftermarket accessories. However, looking at the material construction I'm hoping it will hold up good for a year of regular usage. I'll update this over the course of time.

Summary:

A very effective product indeed; would rate this 9/10 based on current experience. I’d totally recommend this product if someone is looking for such an option.

It should be noted that you’ll not get the same effectiveness compared to a factory fitted ventilated seats. This is clarified in a product disclaimer that is mentioned in the user manual as well. The product simply works on evaporative cooling and doesn’t actually provide cool air. However, if the rest of the car is cool with AC then this will “feel cool”. You’d also stop feeling the ventilation after a while but I’m assuming it is the same with factory fitted ventilation as well. This is not the product stopping to work but rather your body doesn’t distinguish the circulation. However, not once did I feel swampy while using this.

As an improvement to this, I’m exploring if this could be hardwired to the car (using fusetaps) and if it would prevent the power cutoff when starting the engine. But that’s something for later!

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Aftermarket shop owners are saying that they can do it without affecting the airbag sensor.

BHPian mayank612722 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I am looking for airbag compliant seat covers for Kia Seltos HTK Plus Diesel IMT. Looked at many posts on the forum but this topic is vaguely covered which is why, I am unable to reach a conclusion. Would be great help if someone who has installed them on their car could point me in the correct direction.

Note:

Kia dealership advising against putting seat cover.

Aftermarket shop owners are saying that they can do it without affecting the airbag sensor but this post has me worried.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

In critical areas (airbags, brake modifications etc.), I don't trust the after-market at all. Avoid seat covers. There are some upholstery vendors who will change the seat fabric / leather, but avoid them as well if your car has seat airbags.

OEM seats are pretty good, be it cloth or leather. In the last 20 years, I haven't installed seat covers in any of my cars.

Here's what BHPian SS-Traveller had to say on the matter:

The short and sweet advice would be: DO NOT install ANY seat cover.

Airbag compliant seat covers are supposed to have specially treated (weak) stitching at the point where the airbag deploys, to enable the airbag to rip through the stitching when it explodes. However, you can never be sure whether the stitching will work as intended. The original seat stitching has been specially made and tested to rip off the stitching on airbag explosive deployment, but who can test & guarantee the quality of stitching in an after-market accessory seat cover?

Here's what BHPian nik0502 had to say on the matter:

Even I am looking for seat covers for my Ecosport Titanium AT, however as mentioned by SS - Traveller & GTO I am not comfortable with the aftermarket seat covers claiming to be airbags friendly( the ones where accessories shop claims the stitching is weak). I bought this variant specially for six airbags and I wouldn’t take that risk of using seat covers which would leave airbags useless. However there are another type of seat covers in which the sides of the seats are left open. I am thinking about installing them. You may look for the same.

Here's what BHPian Scarlet_Rider had to say on the matter:

Avoid if possible. The Nexa guys had offered me Suzuki approved seat covers as an optional accessory for my 2022 Baleno (Alpha). I had declined as I don't want to take any chances.

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It's been a normal routine for me to buy a car and have the dealership upgrade to leather covers.

BHPian MadinMumbai recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

It’s been a few years since I bought a new car and upgraded seat covers. Initially, Maruti 800DX would come with leather seats. Since then, it's been a normal routine to buy a car and have the dealership upgrade to leather covers (Stanley or similar). Logic being, fitting at the dealership even though more expensive is easier because it is a one-stop-solution.

Don’t know how much has changed recently in terms of materials. Today when I enquired the dealership offered faux leather when I asked for leather. I had to specify ‘genuine’ leather. Which made me wonder:

• Have materials improved to such an extent that art/faux leather is more comfortable and durable than leather?
• Do most buyers upgrade to faux/art leather these days?
• Where should one buy from? Dealership or aftermarket?
• Prices (Stanley or similar) for a Honda City?

Here's what BHPian Vid6639 had to say on the matter:

Most cars today have art leather and the slightly premium ones have a mix of pure leather on the contact points and art leather on non-contact points.

Art leather is definitely now closer to leather in texture and durable but it still generates heat and not as supple as real leather.

For Honda City in Mumbai you can try Orchis in Powai or Hi Tech in Malad. These are mainly art leather and will be within 20K or 50K for real leather.

Stanley real leather will start at 50K and can go till 1 lakh.

Here's what BHPian RedTerrano had to say on the matter:

You might find this drool worthy. I certainly did.

I personally would never opt for genuine leather. The ethical factor and the Indian weather being two major influencing factors. But after looking at the pics posted above apparently Alcantara is a worthy substitute. And going by the description, it definitely helps in temperature regulation.

You might want to consider it.

Here's what BHPian sunnysideup_ had to say on the matter:

One thing that people get wrong or fail to consider is that real leather is friendlier to the environment compared to faux leather. Real leather is a by-product of the meat industry, which if wasn't used for leather products will end up being burned and wasted. Faux leather comes from multiple different sources, the most common being PVC, which is plastic. Plastic is non-biodegradable and the manufacturing process has a huge carbon footprint to boot. If you truly want to use vegan leather for its sustainability, there are plant-based vegan leathers, but they are at the moment limited to high-end purses. They haven't made their way into the mainstream market yet.

If sustainability is truly your goal, you'd opt for fabric seats, preferably cotton. Fabric seats are also a lot more breathable in a very hot country like ours, and thus more comfortable. In my opinion, real leather is a much better option than faux leather unless your personal beliefs would not allow you to go for the real option, which is understandable. Real leather is as easy to clean as the faux one, but also softer and more breathable as well.

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My idea is to get an artificial leather lined seat, but with the back and seat portion made out of alcantara/microfiber-suede.

BHPian silverbyte recently shared with other enthusiasts.

I'm planning to do redo the seat covers of my car. Now Delhi heat is terrible most of the year. Even pure leather is intolerable. Plus, I would like to avoid leather for ethical reasons if possible.

I have been trying to find alcantara, but don't seem like most of the shops carry it. In fact, they don't know what it is. Most shops carry some kind of velvet, which I don't like in cars and doesn't look good IMHO.

My idea is to get an artificial leather lined seat, but with the back and seat portion made out of alcantara/microfiber-suede. I would kill to get something that looks like this.

Any idea what is the closest thing in India to it ? Some sort of durable, microfiber suede that is easy to clean.

I see a few Indiamart links for ultrasuede (which is an international competitor to alcantara and seems to be manufactured in India), but I don't know if anyone has managed to source it for their use.

Here's what BHPian Kosfactor had to say on the matter:

For seat covers go for Neoprene or premium fabric + synthetic leather combination if you do not like full synthetic leather, for other areas you can use synthetic leather of some kind.

Leather is premium, alcantara is marketing.

Here's what BHPian Indian2003 had to say on the matter:

When I went to Poland to get the car interior done, I was offered Alcantera at a much cheaper price than leather. I went for leather.

The guy told me it will look good when new but the looks would not last as long as leather.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Alcantara is used in supercars because it offers superior grip, both on the steering and the seats, so you don't slide around. Its function over form here. Of course, because it gained a sexy reputation, alcantara slowly started spreading to other parts of supercar interiors where grip wasn't required.

In mass market cars, alcantara would look awful IMHO! It would have to be really tastefully / carefully done to look nice.

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