Hi, my 500 is 23 months old & i've had it for 1 year. I wonder if others have had this much wear of the leather seats, mileage is 17k, & I only weigh 60kg!

There is an obvious stretching of the driver's seat pad (left photo) compared with the passenger seat.
My previous car was a Peugeot 406 coupe with 65k miles, and though the seat as more cracked and shiny, there was none of this "sagging"

Second service due in a month, do people think this is a warranty issue?

That looks quite excessive, but not unusual. Was the previous owner a fatty? Either that or the car has been used for very short journeys i.e. lots of getting in/getting out etc. I'm also guessing that the leather hasn't been treated or conditioned as often as it should have been (if at all) Mines saggy and cracked too, not to that extent but i've only done 12200 miles in my Abarth. Dealers will say it's wear and tear so i doubt it will be covered under warranty.

I use it for my commute to work, 11 miles each way. Not sure about the size of the previous owner.
I condition the leather every 3-4 months, is that not enough?

neet said:

I use it for my commute to work, 11 miles each way. Not sure about the size of the previous owner.
I condition the leather every 3-4 months, is that not enough?

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That's probably enough, i do mine about the same. Thing is you've had the car 1 year but it's 2 years old, maybe the previous owner abused it? Most of the wear could have been caused in the first year. I wouldn't worry too much, this always happens to leather, it's like wine or cheese, it "matures"

neet said:

I use it for my commute to work, 11 miles each way. Not sure about the size of the previous owner.
I condition the leather every 3-4 months, is that not enough?

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Neet, it appears you are taking care of the leather OK. Check here for info regarding this problem and a positive outcome.

That's how leather car seats go. In fact all leather chairs end up looking lived in: think club armchairs - lovely.

Don't know specifically about the 500s but it looks pretty normal to me. I actually like a saggy leather as long as it is not cracked.
As Ulpian says, think armchair!

Still the appearance of the driver's seat looks a bit spooky, what kind of massively heavy bones does the previous owner seem to have?

As long as you're treating them to hide food every so often it's not a problem. It'll develop an Homer Simpson style "ass groove", but shouldn't crack or split at all

18 months in and my red leather has a very very slight mark on the driver seat, very slight stretch but you'd struggle to notice. I have never 'fed' my leather, only using leather wipes every now and again to remove dye that has transferred from my jeans. I would say that that sort of leather stretching is not normal.

I've looked at the leather seats in several Minis and the leather on their seats always seems to be very saggy, stretched and rippled. Mine is still good in my 500 after just over a year and I'm no lightweight... tho I do find that in the warm weather the leather seems to take back its original shape much faster than it does in cold weather.

I'm not convinced about the quality of the leather on the 500. My drivers seat looks just like the passenger seat from the op above after only a month!! The dealer has taken photos of the seat and is getting in touch with Fiat on Monday. He reckons they will simply replace all or part of it, as it's not right.

Contrary to what many posters are saying, not all leather seats end up that worn and wrinkled. My Mitsubishi showed no signs of wear, other than at the point the seat belt touched it and that was a 10-year old car. My Range Rover (admittedly a slightly different class of vehicle) was 15-years old and the seats were pristine. Only very occasionally were they ever fed with some form of leather care.

Mine are a little saggy after 6 months and just over 6k miles. Will be keeping an eye on the seats to see if it gets worse.

digimonsta said:

I'm not convinced about the quality of the leather on the 500.

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As with everything in life you get what you pay for...

Take a look at the leather in an S Class, 7 Series, Bentley or Rolls Royce, of any age, and see how good quality leather ages.

Long time no see Scrogg *waves*

Remember one thing...Leather wears in, Fabric wears out!

Tiddy500 said:

Remember one thing...Leather wears in, Fabric wears out!

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Yes but leather shouldn't really sag tbh.

306maxi said:

Yes but leather shouldn't really sag tbh.

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Maybe it depends on which bit of the cow's hide is used, perhaps some of you got the "udder" bit.

grimwau said:

Maybe it depends on which bit of the cow's hide is used, perhaps some of you got the "udder" bit.

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You thought too much about that.

306maxi said:

Yes but leather shouldn't really sag tbh.

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This was my point really. As I mentioned I had a 65k Peugeot with burgundy leather. The drivers seat was "worn in" nicely compared to the other seats, and had a lovely character to it.

However there was none of this sagging, which is obviously (over)stretching of the leather.

Maybe it is down to the padding underneath that has settled causing the effect. Leather, as stated shouldn't sag but it does need to be well supported.

Once the support has gone then the leather panel which was previously "stretched" will now appear saggy although it is still the same size as previously.