I recently found a set of leather seats on ebay. The seller said they were the "factory" OEM leather seats to fit a 2006 Prius. I sent an email to ask if they would fit seats with the side air bag. Here is the response I got: THEY ARE MADE FOR THE SIDE AIR BAGS. THEY ARE MADE JUST LIKE THE TOYOTA FACTORY ONES ARE WITH LEATHER ON THE FRONT SIDES AND VINYL ON THE BACK SIDES OF THE SEATS. So do your factory leather seats have vinyl on them?? or are they all leather?? If not, where exactly are the vinyl panels? I'm thinking about replacing the cloth seats in my '06, but I don't want vinyl... thanks.. B)
ask them about the side sides too I bet those are vinyl which means it's only the middle of the seat, and the middle of the back that is leather
These days, I think you will be hardpressed to find cars where the OEM leather seats are 100% leather. Usually it's only the center seat panel and center back panel that are leather. The rest is vinyl. I believe that's the case with OEM leather seats on the Prius: That's why Toyota describes them as "leather trimmed" seats --- the leather's only on the center panel surfaces that your body normally touches.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boo @ Nov 4 2007, 04:36 PM) [snapback]534677[/snapback]</div> Yep. That's another reason I'm not paying $1,000 extra for what amounts to vinyl seats with a little bit of leather. The microfiber cleans great, isn't hot in the summer or cold in the winter. I'll buy Wheelskins for the wheel and have an auto upholsterer put leather on the armrests and center console. Real leather. And I'll bet that little bit will make it smell like leather when it's new.
On the Plus Side: Even if the leather is only in the center panels, that's a pretty large area and is certainly the sweet spot in terms of comfort. Also, I love the way the Prius looks with the OEM leather trimmed seats (and some of the aftermarket ones -- like prius2go's -- look even better than the OEMs). Whenever I see one parked on the street, I always stop and admire it for at least a moment or two.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rangerdavid @ Nov 4 2007, 01:25 PM) [snapback]534655[/snapback]</div> Unless you buy a $100k car, the leather seats will have some sort of vinyl or synthetic leather. The leather is real on the seat bottom and seat backs and sometimes even the headrest but the side bolsters and sides and seatback will be vinyl. On entry level luxury cars, the side bolsters will be leather but the sides and seatbacks will be vinyl.
On most SUVs/Minivans with 3rd row seat, the 3rd row surface is actually mode of vinyl entirely. For instance, Acura MDX.
