MG4 2023 driver seat material degradation cracks

[Lovemyev]

I do agree that it will differ from person to person and the load placed on the seat bolster has an effect on the rate of material cracking, but honestly they should be able to withstand average use from an average sized person without splitting and cracking appearing this early in the life of the car surely to goodness !.
I was constantly aware that this could be a problem on our car, so from day one I went out of my way NOT to place excess pressure on the bolster when getting in or out of the car.
If fact, going overboard it could be said to try and mitigate the material from cracking.
I am 5ft 10 inches tall and of average body weight.
The car was just over 3 years old and had covered about 28,000 miles when we sold it.
I would check the condition of the seat every couple of months, just to monitor the situation.
I was convinced that my hard work had paid off, until in about July 2025 I found that tiny cracks had just started to appear on the inside area of the bolster of the drivers seat .
Therefore even being extra careful to avoid this problem happening was totally ineffective.
I would estimate that in another 9 to 12 months time, the drivers seat will look abysmal.
I have been driving for roughly 40+ years now and been lucky enough to both drive and own many many cars over that time and I have never seen this happen on any other of these cars.
Some of the early cars with seats covered in a vinyl to more expensive cars with leather seats.
Some of the cars where over 10 years old and had covered many thousands of miles and STILL the seat where in a good condition.
Fitted seat covers will help of course but I very much doubt they will stop the inevitable from happening unfortunately.
This type of problem could be forgiven IF the car had been used for delivery use, where in and out of the car constantly is the norm.
Reducing cost on seating material is a big mistake tbh.
Rear seats generally get a loss less use than the drivers seat of course and are likely to last the life of the car, but the front seats are a completely different story.
Imagine you decide to sell your car privately, you open the door of the car, to a perspective buyer and the first thing they see is that the seat is all split and torn, would you buy it ?.

 

[gary333]

I do agree that it will differ from person to person and the load placed on the seat bolster has an effect on the rate of material cracking, but honestly they should be able to withstand average use from an average sized person without splitting and cracking appearing this early in the life of the car surely to goodness !.
I was constantly aware that this could be a problem on our car, so from day one I went out of my way NOT to place excess pressure on the bolster when getting in or out of the car.
If fact, going overboard it could be said to try and mitigate the material from cracking.
I am 5ft 10 inches tall and of average body weight.
The car was just over 3 years old and had covered about 28,000 miles when we sold it.
I would check the condition of the seat every couple of months, just to monitor the situation.
I was convinced that my hard work had paid off, until in about July 2025 I found that tiny cracks had just started to appear on the inside area of the bolster of the drivers seat .
Therefore even being extra careful to avoid this problem happening was totally ineffective.
I would estimate that in another 9 to 12 months time, the drivers seat will look abysmal.
I have been driving for roughly 40+ years now and been lucky enough to both drive and own many many cars over that time and I have never seen this happen on any other of these cars.
Some of the early cars with seats covered in a vinyl to more expensive cars with leather seats.
Some of the cars where over 10 years old and had covered many thousands of miles and STILL the seat where in a good condition.
Fitted seat covers will help of course but I very much doubt they will stop the inevitable from happening unfortunately.
This type of problem could be forgiven IF the car had been used for delivery use, where in and out of the car constantly is the norm.
Reducing cost on seating material is a big mistake tbh.
Rear seats generally get a loss less use than the drivers seat of course and are likely to last the life of the car, but the front seats are a completely different story.
Imagine you decide to sell your car privately, you open the door of the car, to a perspective buyer and the first thing they see is that the seat is all split and torn, would you buy it ?.

It's terrible when this happens and I think manufacturers should give a better warranty.

However (not sticking up for MG here) I had this with my first ever brand new car (a BMW 320D M Sport). I babied this thing, i loved it, i was light weight and never exerted any force on the side bolsters, yet within 2 years the seatbelt (and maybe me moving when going around corners) had wore some of the the black from the leather (leaving the beige leather colour underneath). BMW wouldn't touch it. I was gutted. Luckily in my instance Gliptone came to the rescue and I re-dyed it, not chance of doing this with these cracks in the pleather.

Here it was when I sold it

 

[Anon70]

On the upside anyone returning the car under a lease or PCP agreement can say this is NORMAL wear and tear as the seats are only under warranty for 12 months, so should not incur any penalty.

 

[gary333]

On the upside anyone returning the car under a lease or PCP agreement can say this is NORMAL wear and tear as the seats are only under warranty for 12 months, so should not incur any penalty.

Not quite as it's irrelevant what the warranty says as most go by the following guidelines and the collector would likely class the damage as a tear.

 

[Anon70]

Not quite as it's irrelevant what the warranty says as most go by the following guidelines and the collector would likely class the damage as a tear.
View attachment 41700

Then you can use this to argue MG should be fixing the issue ,as BVRLA say it is not fair. They can't have it both ways. Unless it is an obvious tear from a belt or something in a pocket then the seat should be able to withstand daily use.

 

[gary333]

Then you can use this to argue MG should be fixing the issue ,as BVRLA say it is not fair. They can't have it both ways. Unless it is an obvious tear from a belt or something in a pocket then the seat should be able to withstand daily use.

Always worth arguing, however it's 50/50 they will accept this issue.

When the company i used to work for tried to claim on their warranty for their work chairs having issues with padding they were told the users were likely "too heavy" and that their maximum weight limit was 18 stone. They couldn't prove the users were less than this, so no fix.

 

[tsedge]

Yes, the PCP assessors will say that I caused the damage to the seat. They don't have to prove anything, they will just say: "seat damaged" and add money that I owe them. I can dispute it, but neither of us can prove anything either way. Pointing at the warranty is unlikely to make any difference to them.

Edit: They are just going to point at me and.... well I can't really contradict them, I am not small!

 

[dave99]

yeah I don't think it matters how careful you are, unless you have extremely long shins I'm not sure how you can get out without compressing the side of the seat - its no coincidence it only affects the door side of the drivers seat is it!