Cloth Seat Wear on 2011 Golf TDI

[scruff1]

I purchased my 2011 Golf TDI back in June of 2011, it came with cloth seats. Since then I've noticed my drivers side wearing around the left lumbar bolster area (about a 2 inch by 3 inch area). I'm very conscious of when I'm getting in and out not to rub that area too much, yet it still seems to wear (I only weigh 172 pounds, don't wear a phone on my belt, and have no rivets on my pants in that area). No other area on the seat is showing any wear at all. Does anyone know of a solution to this issue without having to buy seat covers? I thought that I could possibly sew a piece of fabric to that area for protection. Car is only four months old and has 2,000 miles on odometer. I now consciously place my hand on that bolster so I don't rub against it getting in and out.

UPDATE! Member agoodhi wrote that anyone having this same problem should see following thread. UPDATE!

You're not the only one. See this thread...
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...Di-models-only

[jbkendrick]

Sorry to hear of your problem with the seat. I purchased my 2011 Golf in early April and don't see any signs of wear on driver's seat. I just went over 10k miles so I spend a good bit of time in the car and weigh in at about 210. Could this be a manufacturer's defect that VW should cover? Might want to check with your dealer. John

[agoodhi]

You're not the only one. See this thread...
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...Di-models-only

[1analguy]

The car I traded in on my '11 Golf TDI 2dr was an '04 R32 that had gigantic bolsters on both the seat cushion and the seat back. Right from new, I was very conscious of the wear potential on those leather seats and so immediately got into the habit of placing my hand on the exposed edge of the cushion bolster and lifting myself into the seat over the bolster. I did this for over six years, so when I got the TDI it was very easy to continue doing it. In fact, I didn't even have to think about it.

The reason I bring this up is that I now (and since about 4-5k miles) have very visible wear (lots of white thread ends hanging out) on the outer driver's seat cushion bolster. This is just ridiculous because I barely ever even brush that spot. I far prefer cloth to leather on my car seats, but what the hell? Before the R32, I had a '99 Passat (purchased new) with cloth seats. All I ever did to those seats was vacuum them and they still looked new the day I traded it in almost six years (and 70k miles) later on the R32.

I asked the service manager at my dealer about this and he told me that I wasn't the "Lone Ranger" on this problem and that they (the dealership) were waiting to hear from VW's reps on exactly what (if anything) was to be done about it. This was a while ago and I haven't heard anything from him on it, so I'll have to rattle his cage and see what's going on with this...

And thanks for the Vortex link, folks. I posted this over there, too.

[2011GolfTDI]

Almost 15K on mine and no noticeable wear on cloth seats. Do you have anything attached to your belt like a BlackBerry or beeper that could be wearing the seat in that area?

[Cogen Man]

Now I have to go and take a real close look at my drivers seat. That shouldn't be happening on a seat just a few months old.

[1analguy]

I've just returned from my dealer (Boucher in Racine), and my new seat cover looks perfect. It was replaced under warranty, without any hassle. I'm completely satisfied...provided that the frayed condition doesn't re-occur. I should mention that my dealer has always been great to deal with, going back to '04 when I purchased my R32. I didn't buy it from them, but they always took care of it like I did...