Lomag

Hey Guys,

So another issue I've been having is this noise from the back. I always thought it was the door seals but I had those replaced with no change. It turns out it's the fold down rear seats. So, I came back today from a 2nd service visit to check on the noise and it's still there eventhough the dealer put felt and other things behind there.

My problem through my own investigation is the leather rubbing against the leather producing this noise over bumps and even when cornering or when any flex is put on the car. We tried some kind of leather conditioner but that made the leather a little sticky which made the problem even worse. I ended up washing that away with some water.

The area I'm talking about is (on both sides):



Stuffing a towel between the seat back and the side on both sides solves the problem and it looks like this:



I can't drive around like that so my idea is two fold. First, I figure there must be some kind of spray or cream to put on both sides of the leather so they don't produce noise when they rub against each other, but that may not be a permanent type solution. The car didn't make this noise until recently so I don't know what's changed. Does anyone have any idea of such a product?

My second idea was to buy some kind of gray felt and stuff it between there which should work longer. I've used the fold down seats and they do come in handy but in retrospect I wish I didn't get them now. I remember thinking long and hard about them when buying the car. For anyone buying now, I urge you to AVOID the fold down rear seat option.

I hate to sound like a complainer lately. The issues I'm having are just cosmetic I guess you could say. The cars electronics are perfect and mechanical items are perfect. I expect them to remain so down the road.

So, what do you guys think?

twh

I have the fold down seats, but I don't have this problem. One thing I do notice is that I must really push (slam) the seat hard to have it lock back in place. Perhaps your seat backs aren't holding tight enough to the latch?

Tom

Ricracing

Since I have custom made Nappa leathers I know what you mean.

The Leather Master who did my seats showed me that he did saw the
leathers upside down at these problem points you showed!

No sqeezes!

Sorry for the shitty cellcam pics

Lomag

What do you mean?

vern

And make sure you rub the leather conditioner into the the leather very well,don't let it just sit on the outside.It worked for me.JMK told me also to make sure that the seat back is hard against the lock. Good luck
cheers
vern

Ricracing

What do you mean?
[/quote]

Leather has two sides of it, the nice outside and the raw inside.

My leathers are turned to the raw outside at the contact areas
shown in your pic here.

PS. Do I need to go down to my car the second time this nite and take a pic?

stream

I had a similar problem on a previous car, and used Lexol leather conditioner on the parts that were rubbing and causing the noise, and it solved the problem. If you've never conditioned that area of the leather before, I'd suggest 2 or 3 treatments, since the dakota leather is very porous and just sucks up the conditioner. After each application, wait half an hour then buff off with a soft cotton rag. Let us know how you solve it (other than that towel look... )

jeffnin

Are you sure that it is the leather and not the rear parcel shelf? I've had car in twice for creak noise in back seat area. I finally gave up with dealer not being able to fix, and went to Lowes and purchased a set of small rubber door stops that I wedge between seat back and parcel shelf. Depending on outside temp, the creak is sometimes non-existent while other times, it's horrible.

By the way, I would suggest a lighter grey towel.

Lomag

I understand, but, thats a tough fix re-sewing the leather!

Jeff: I'm pretty sure it's the leather with my towel test. The seats were fully closed and the towels stopped the noise. The dealer put felt in the back so I don't think its from there.

I've been searching around for some leather cream but no luck yet.

Freewilly

To apply conditioner or cream is not a permanent solution. Have you ask the dealer to check the lock of your back seats, maybe your rear folding seats doesn't lock tight enough.