My wife has arthritis problems in her hips and knees, so we always buy cars with leather seats so she can slide in and out easily. This 2013 Prius v Five has the Softex imitation leather seats, which just don't slide very well. I complained at the dealer and asked if I could use something like saddle soap. They said not to use anything on them, and contacted an upholstery shop they have dealt with in the past. They will replace the seat bottoms with real leather (but not a perfect color match) for $200 per seat. Anybody have this problem?
The first thing I posted about after first sitting in a car with the new softex 2 years ago or so was how you don't slide around on it as much as leather. For me it wasn't a problem though, I kind of liked it in my 2012 over the leather in my 2010. Anyways, yes, this is how softex feels compared to the leather the Prius had before.
Agreed. I like that it is "stickier" than leather. I had Clazzio leather seats in my 2012 and Softex in my PIPa. I like the looks of the Clazzios better but the feel of the Softex better.
First of all, I think I would give the seats a chance to "break in" a little first. Mine don't seem quite as "sticky" as they were when we first purchased our v last summer. If you only do the seat bottoms I don't think it will ever look right color wise, and may also take away resale value instead of increasing value of your vehicle. My advice would be to try it for six months and if after that time your wife is still having as much problem getting in and out, go for full leather for the front seats.
A set of Clazzio seat covers looks nice enough and only cost $300-$450 for the front and rear seats. That solves the color match issue and the non-sliding issue.
If you had the seat covers replaced and kept the Softex covers, when you went to sell it you could restore the matching colors/texture. While you have it, you'd just give up something for some gain for your spouse.
Interesting reality. My Mother suffered from severe Rheumatoid Arthritis, as well as having other issues that affected her mobility. So I know how something that seems like a minor issue can be a big thing when it comes to mobility issues. I don't really have an answer any better than those you've already been presented with. But if you can be happy with the leather and Softex hybrid mix on the front seats? That seems like a pretty nice solution. Obviously my concern would be checking out the actual leather being installed, making sure it's "slick" enough, and whether you can live with this "not perfect" color match. I'm relatively sure given you like Softex, Leather, that this is far too low budget of a suggestion, but years back when I was dealing with transporting my Mother and 97 year old grandmother in a 1994 Honda Accord, I actually bought one of those wooden bead seat back covers. The wooden beads allowed them both to "slide" easily in and out of the seat. However, I did just use it like a tool. Threw it in the back when not transporting them. Because I hated the look otherwise. I guess however if it's only the seat bottom that is an issue, you could just use the beaded seat bottom. My concern with Clazzio's is that my understanding is that even the "Leather" Clazzio's are not full leather. It's only the inserts that are leather. Therefore the surrounding material is still PVC. Someone with Clazzio's could chime in, if I'm wrong.
You're not going to get full real leather without spending big bucks. The Clazzio covers with leather inserts are not sticky like Softex and they install over your OE seat material so labor is less expensive.
