Leather in Gen 3?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by lex, Dec 30, 2023.

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  1. lex

    lex 2005 Prius, always garaged

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    Did the 2012 Gen 3 higher trim levels (trim V) have a leather seating option? I believe that is the case with ours — that what we're looking at, though it seems indistinguishable from vinyl at first, is indeed leather, but wish to confirm. Unconditioned leather can harden and resemble vinyl after many years.

    If so, what have others used to clean the leather before applying conditioner?
     
    #1 lex, Dec 30, 2023
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2023
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    In the pre-refresh Gen 3s, 2010 and 2011, the leather is leather. In the post-refresh, 2012–15, the 'leather' is SofTex.
     
    #2 ChapmanF, Dec 30, 2023
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  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    I have both here a 2010 solar roof car JBL stereo and leather and it looks like h a l e. I have a 2013 with soft tex And it almost 300,000 mi it looks impeccable there is one piece of piping on the seat bottom front edge not the black vinyl is come off and it's showing the white cord but it's on the side facing towards the dash or towards the floorboard actually. The soft tex is way better than the leather on the cloth backing way better It's unbelievable.
     
    #3 Tombukt2, Dec 30, 2023
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  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    The difference between the 10 and the 13 driver front seat covering material is night and day I can provide pictures to anybody that wants to see but the leather 10 is terrible. Now in the 2007 8 9. That I have here the leather hasn't peeled like the 2010 I'm very surprised and I have both versions the perforated leather and the smooth.
     
    #4 Tombukt2, Dec 30, 2023
  5. lex

    lex 2005 Prius, always garaged

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    This link from a Toyota dealer suggests one can use leather conditioner on the Softex synthetic leather material. I wasn't previously aware of the material or what it's composed of. We recently had an issue with an air bag warning light coming on from within the seat, apparently or possibly due to the hardening of the material over time and interfering. It was recommended to soften the material through conditioner.
     
    #5 lex, Dec 30, 2023
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2023
  6. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Leather seats are a dealbreaker as far as I'm concerned. If kept clean, fabric seats look way nicer in a car after it's 15 years old... And if you're wearing shorts on a hot day in Summer you'll nearly burn your legs on leather, but not on fabric. I'd also rather not sit on dead animals, let alone have to eat them. Of course, everybody has been brainwashed to think leather = luxury. But in a Prius? Lol...
     
    #6 PriusCamper, Dec 30, 2023
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  7. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    On the soft tex You would probably want to use something that's more in line for vinyl/rubber than you would leather I would think not saying you should put armor all on the seats but something that's more for the vinyl end of the deal.
     
    #7 Tombukt2, Dec 30, 2023
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