Steering wheel - peeling/flaking "leather".

[Topeka]

Will post some photos soon.

We've had our (second hand) 72 plate ZS EV Long Range since February. We bought it with 14k on the clock and it's currently at 20k. It's generally been problem free.

However a couple of months ago, we noticed the false leather coating which covers most of the steering wheel was starting to flake and peel away. None of the drivers wear rings (which is what we thought was causing it), or any moisturisers or anything else that we think could be causing it.

Is this a common issue? Has anyone else experienced this?

Everywhere else inside the interior is fine, no signs of wear on the seats or dash etc. But the steering wheel looks

Reading the warranty, it seems the steering wheel is only covered for 12 months.

Is there anything at all MG can do to replace/repair it? It's not great that with the car being just over 2 years old and only 20k miles half the "leather" coating has flaked away.

Would we have any chance under the Consumer Rights Act (fit for purpose etc)? We aren't the original owners and it was bought privately second hand - would that negate any claim we had under the CRA?

Lastly, is there anything we can do to actually repair the coating? We don't want to use a steering wheel cover.

Thanks

 

[DB Go Rex]

Mine seems fine after 2 years and 25K miles. Maybe someone has a death grip or sweaty hands?

If you look on eBay there are are lots of replacements available for the ZS for less than £100. I once replaced the wheel on my Mk7 Golf with the flappy paddle version and it wasn’t too difficult to do. You need some trim tools, a double square socket set and a torque wrench.

There are leather covers on there too, but they don’t look good to me.

 

[Topeka]

Pic…

 

[fred12345]

Pic…

Yes, there is at one other thread on the forum about it, do a quick search... mine is about the same age and I can see one small spot starting... but, the same happened on my last car in one place where I kept my right thumb all the time so it's not only MG problem ...

 

[salty]

You can get tailoured, steering wheel covers for the ZS. That look great.

 

[Chris H]

Isn't that covered by the 7-year warranty? Looks to me like a material failure.

Guarantees repair replacement or adjustment, free of charge, by an Authorised Repairer, of any part which fails during the warranty period, as a result of a manufacturing or material defect.

Here's the warranty statement.
They might argue that the steering wheel material is a ‘wear and tear’ item but personally I wouldn't expect the seat or steering wheel materials to be included in that. What do others think?

 

[peter Smith]

I have that issue, it started within the first year of purchase. I reported it about 2 months before the end of the first year, as the wear and tear covering tyres leather and steering wheel has only a 1 year warranty. they are still looking into a replacement wheel whilst haggling with MG manufacturers

 

[farrells]

Hi, I had a similar issue, out of warranty as wear and tear. Ended up getting the wheel re-upholstered: Upgraded Steeting Wheel

 

[tomsl]

And here we go. It started on the left hand side (where I don't wear any rings) and yesterday I noticed that it also started on the right side.

Honestly, I am getting really annoyed with the cheap quality of the car.

 

[fred12345]

And here we go. It started on the left hand side (where I don't wear any rings) and yesterday I noticed that it also started on the right side.

Honestly, I am getting really annoyed with the cheap quality of the car.

It happens on other cars too, it happened on my not so cheap 5008 Peugeot ... so far my ZS steering wheel is still fine after almost 60,000 miles (coming up to 100,000 km).
Lot of things can contribute to this, strong sun, holding and rubbing the steering wheel always in the same place, sweaty hands ...

 

[Lovemyev]

And here we go. It started on the left hand side (where I don't wear any rings) and yesterday I noticed that it also started on the right side.

Honestly, I am getting really annoyed with the cheap quality of the car.

View attachment 39713

I assume that you have the Trophy mode with the pleather seats ?.
If so, just keep an eye on the front seats .
The bolsters are very prone to developing cracks in the material.
They will usually start very small on the inside of the bolster, closest to the drivers door.
This has been picked up as an issue by other owners as well.
Therefore I kept a close eye on the ZS EV we had.
The car was three years old and covered about 28,000 miles and they where absolutely fine, until about 2 months ago when I spotted a tiny crack starting to form on the drivers seat.
You could hardly see it, but it had started !.
I guess in about 12 months time, it is going to look terrible.
This is what you would expect to see on an older car that has covered much more milage than ours.
I have never owned a car that this has happen ever !.
I never carry keys or anything in my back pockets and I am only average height and weight, so it’s not that for sure.
The inside of the car reached 40 degrees this summer on a couple of days, I was not around to be able to open it up to let out the heat.
I have no idea if this was a factor in causing this condition, but if so, then I would suggest that covering the seat with towel or something if you have to leave the car locked up in direct sun light in super hot weather, may help ?.
The material has a high plastic content, so feeding it with a conditioner like you would with leather is not really an option.
It is very obvious that there is high level of vinyl /plastic in this material, because when the weather is hot, the bottom of your back becomes very wet .
The passenger seat will also become affected by the cracking problem over time as well.
My personal preference for seat covering, is leather bolsters with a alcantara / suede type centre section.
It is not cold in the winter can breathe properly in the summer.