Heat cracks in leather/hot seats

[alex_ab]

Hey guys, after many a hot summer, the leather driver's door armrest has begun to crack (as shown). I was wondering if anyone has experienced this and has a visually acceptable solution. I was thinking of just sealing it with clear silicone to stop it from worsening, but it obviously won't be the same color as the leather...

On a side note... the leather seats in the car get EXTREMELY hot in temperatures over 30C. Any suggestions on what I can do? Seat covers maybe?

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/3309/armrest.png

[costinbv]

i think you will have to reapholster the seat....and to prevent heating the leather you should install some anti-uv tinted windows

[kowalski]

find another armrest at your local junkyard

do you ever treat your leatherseats with conditioner?
maybe you should try this to get them soft again.
leather and heat is a lousy combination.

tint your windows or get rollerblinds for rear doors and windows.
btw. rear window rollers are discontinued from dealer

[alex_ab]

i think you will have to reapholster the seat....and to prevent heating the leather you should install some anti-uv tinted windows


find another armrest at your local junkyard

do you ever treat your leatherseats with conditioner?
maybe you should try this to get them soft again.
leather and heat is a lousy combination.

tint your windows or get rollerblinds for rear doors and windows.
btw. rear window rollers are discontinued from dealer

i already have my windows tinted (to 15% i think), but i think it's just insulating the heat. it's actually ridiculous.
as far as leather treatment goes, i do it every now and then when i wash the car, but it never seems to make a difference with the heat.
i'll investigate getting another arm rest and the roller blinds. thanks for the advice guys

[kowalski]

are you in death valley arizona desert?
if yes there isn't anything you can do about heat.
when you don't drive your car always keep it inside if you have a garage, otherwise it will be hot as a sauna.

[MikeD]

Which brand are your tints? Illinois had a ton of days over 90 degrees F (over 30C) this summer and my suntek carbon tints were the reason everyone wanted to ride in my car. They really did the job right! Tinting the already tinted sunroof helps as well.

[Jims202]

Unfortunatly those arm rests are made out of a non leather materal and are very suseptible to cracking. The only thing you can do is get it reupolstered with real leather,its a bit more expensive but well worth it. And about your question about stopping the crack,There really is no way of stopping it.