Seat flaw 250 miles in

Audi A3 E-tron Forum

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gonkulator

Active member
Joined
Jan 2, 2017
Messages
34
See the image on the link. Not sure why the img function doesn't work for me.

Anyway, i noticed this (see image) yesterday. 250 miles on the etron. What do you suggest I do?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/babepqqnlw5wf ... t.jpg?dl=0

A3Drivers%20seat.jpg
 
The crease/waviness? I'm at 450 miles and don't have that on my e-tron with same color seats. However, I did have something like that in my a4 seat especially after a long drive or with seat warmer use. My a4 seat settled into a not-unpleasant buckling/waviness after 7 years.
 
Mine also has the same issue, like the leather stretched. Only mine is actually slightly worse than yours, probably because I've had my etron for about a year now.
 
Mine looks like that (also gray leather) after a year now and 16K miles. It's all good though. It's a lease car and goes back to Audi in 2019.
 
Mine's also 1 year & 16,000 miles old but I see no puckering of the seats.

My seats are light grey leather and suede sports seats though.
 
I have a 2016 etron with a black interior and have developed the exact same problem. I initially thought it was something odd about my derriere or weight. I will ask the dealer next time I'm there. Thanks for bringing the issue to the forum.
 
bruintoo":68oglt20 said:
Mine looks like that (also gray leather) after a year now and 16K miles. It's all good though. It's a lease car and goes back to Audi in 2019.

Same here. I just figured the seats were getting "broken in". Doesn't bother me, but ask me again next year.
 
I took the etron in to Audi of Seattle today for a charging issue, and showed the service writer the seat. I got a call later that they are contacting Audi about it, but also mentioned that most seat cover replacements were of typically so-so quality. The funny thing is, the 2017 A3 loaner car with 700 miles had the same flaw in the same place, which I also mentioned. He said at the very least they now have it on record, so if it does wear prematurely or distorts more, we'll know when it started. I don't expect anything to happen.
 
That is usually caused by someone putting their knee in the seat, often the person who vacuums your car. One knee in the seat, vacuuming or reaching across for something, does it every time . So much weight focused on a small area stretches the leather. Very prevalent in Audi and Porsche seats.
 
I can't speak for the others, but that is definitely NOT the cause in my case. There's never been a knee on the driver's seat. Just sitting. Mine is on the right butt cheek side and I don't carry a wallet or phone there. There's probably more pressure on that side because that's the leg that works the pedals.
 
This doesn't seem to be an issue of vacuumer's knees or excessive wear on the pedal foot side of the seat. In my 2016, wear dimples similar to those posted by the OP are showing up on the passenger's seat as well with the deeper dimple on the in-board side of the seat. Essentially, the same wear as on the driver's seat but a mirrored image.

As a guess, this is after 40-60 hours of someone using that seat. All told the GoM says ~ 400 hours total use and yes, there are dimples on the driver's side too. The driver's side dimples are much more pronounced than on the passenger side.
 
estrong":2xyv10t7 said:
This doesn't seem to be an issue of vacuumer's knees or excessive wear on the pedal foot side of the seat. In my 2016, wear dimples similar to those posted by the OP are showing up on the passenger's seat as well with the deeper dimple on the in-board side of the seat. Essentially, the same wear as on the driver's seat but a mirrored image.

As a guess, this is after 40-60 hours of someone using that seat. All told the GoM says ~ 400 hours total use and yes, there are dimples on the driver's side too. The driver's side dimples are much more pronounced than on the passenger side.

Yeah, I had maybe ten hours in the seat, no cleaning, no knees. Like I said, the 2017 A3 sedan loaner (800 mi) had the same dimple.
 
That bump is the seat sensor for seatbelt warning and airbag activation. My Mini had that way back in 2008, except you could actually feel the sensor under the bump. The A3 is not the same as some of the more premium Audi cars - remember it's an entry level model, especially in Europe! - so there will be things like this that will crop up. That also explains why the A4 had it in exactly the same place. Bad design yes but ultimately you will probably not get the seat cover replaced and even if you do I bet it will fit worse than the factory install.
 
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