leatherette in the summer heat

tekka

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Location
Phoenix
TDI
2010 Golf TDI
What has been the experience with the leatherette in extreme summer temps? I'm in Phoenix, and I've avoided leather, fake or real, due to the 5-6 months of 100 degree heat.
 

upsbroke

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Location
Homosassa, Florida
TDI
98 NB and '13 JSW
What has been the experience with the leatherette in extreme summer temps? I'm in Phoenix, and I've avoided leather, fake or real, due to the 5-6 months of 100 degree heat.
I'm married- I'm used to pain! Kidding aside you just get used to it or maybe lay a towel down. Personally- I love the VTex- real leather is a PITA.
 

Tuco

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Location
Las Vegas
TDI
2010 Jetta
Black leatherette in mine. It's fine when temps are 75 and below. When temps reach 90 degrees or above, it feels like sitting on a hot plate inside an oven. The seats absorb and radiate heat. It's the only thing I truly hate about these cars.
 

tekka

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Location
Phoenix
TDI
2010 Golf TDI
Great. Thanks for the feedback. I guess if I want the car bad enough, I'll somehow put up with it. But here in Phoenix, when temps can reach as high as 115, and you're often wearing short and a t-shirt...I wish cloth is was an option. And VW even has a proving ground here.
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
So far, everyone has been talking about heat. Yeah, if it is black and in the sun, it will get hot - duh! Get good tint on your windows and try to park in a shaded spot (whenever possible). What I like about the V-Tex "Pleather" is that is is care free and it appears to hold up well in the desert heat. I have heard no complaints about it melting and very few complaints about any other problems with it. It is easy to clean, wears well, and it looks pretty good. I actually prefer it to real leather which would also get really hot, if black, but it would not hold up as well to desert sun.

Have Fun!

Don
 

Tuco

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Location
Las Vegas
TDI
2010 Jetta
My windows have dark tint. The car is garaged at night, and I use a sun shade when it is parked outside. It doesn't help. The seats absorb heat from the air, not just heat from sunlight. During the summer, it's 90+ degrees in the garage over night. The seats are already hot even before I back the car out of the garage. The carpet, meanwhile, will be cool to the touch...

The other thing is leatherette doesn't breathe. If the car had A/C coming up through the seats, it probably wouldn't be bad at all.
 

WiszMaster

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2002
Location
Fort Myers, FL, USA
TDI
'02 Jetta TDI - Silver, '06 Golf TDI, '06 MB 320 CDI
I'm in SWFL (SouthWest Florida), it gets pretty warm here 9 months out of the year, with humidity. Today it's nice, 82*F with low humidity. Not quite as hot as out your way.

That said, I've got Ceramic tint to keep the heat at bay, and it helps a ton. I wear Jeans most of the time, only occasionally shorts, but the black vTex seats are fine for us. Much better now with Ceramic Tint. Both my wife and I feel that these seats stay cooler than the mkIV cloth seats, and def more comfortable.

My mother though, always has a towel on her leather seats though, and brings a towel when riding with us .. she can't stand when the "leather" sticks to her.
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
The seats absorb heat from the air, not just heat from sunlight. During the summer, it's 90+ degrees in the garage over night. The seats are already hot even before I back the car out of the garage.
Without the sun shining on them, your seats will always be exactly the same temperature as the ambient air. If your garage is at 90 degrees (like mine), then your seats are at 90 degrees. They do not "absorb heat" from the air. Heat is only transferred (naturally) by conduction, convection, or radiation. Your seats feel hotter to you than your carpet does due to the differences in the amount of surface area your finger is in contact with. If your car has been sitting in that garage overnight, an infrared surface thermometer would show everything in the car at the exact same surface temperature. The physics of heat transfer is a well known science.

You are correct that they can "feel" hotter, and the sun make it much worse. Cloth seats have their own problems too. There are always compromises to be made. If cloth seats or ventilated seats were an option, I might have gone for them. However, it is what it is.

Have Fun!

Don
 

Tuco

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Location
Las Vegas
TDI
2010 Jetta
If the air is hotter than the seats, then the seats will absorb heat. Heat flows from high energy to low energy. At 90 degrees surface temperature, the seat feels awful to me.

My wife has cloth seats, and her car stays in the same garage. Her seats stay cool and comfortable.

To each their own. If you like sitting on leatherette, I'm happy for you.
 

tekka

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Location
Phoenix
TDI
2010 Golf TDI
My windows have dark tint. The car is garaged at night, and I use a sun shade when it is parked outside. It doesn't help. The seats absorb heat from the air, not just heat from sunlight. During the summer, it's 90+ degrees in the garage over night. The seats are already hot even before I back the car out of the garage. The carpet, meanwhile, will be cool to the touch...
The other thing is leatherette doesn't breathe. If the car had A/C coming up through the seats, it probably wouldn't be bad at all.
That doesn't bode well for me...we often go 110 and higher for weeks. And the garage gets brutally hot. Shade, well, it's cooler, but that means 100. Damn...why did VW not leave cloth as an option.
 

Tuco

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Location
Las Vegas
TDI
2010 Jetta
I'm not trying to talk you out of anything - just giving my opinion. I love the TDI platform. I just wish I had bought the Golf (cloth seats) instead of the Jetta.

I just got home and snapped this photo. It's 84 degrees outside. Here's my shirt after a 30 minute drive.... I don't get back sweat in the wife's Forester, even when it's 100+. I'm not obese or out of shape either (I run 15 miles a week).

 

tekka

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Location
Phoenix
TDI
2010 Golf TDI
I'm not trying to talk you out of anything - just giving my opinion. I love the TDI platform. I just wish I had bought the Golf (cloth seats) instead of the Jetta.

I just got home and snapped this photo. It's 84 degrees outside. Here's my shirt after a 30 minute drive.... I don't get back sweat in the wife's Forester, even when it's 100+. I'm not obese or out of shape either (I run 15 miles a week).

Yeah, and you all have similar temps to us in Phx. How is it in the middle of the summer, or worst yet, during the monsoon season when it 100 plus with humidity? I would hate for the seat material to be the deal breaker.
 

TurnOne

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2014
Location
Cincinnati, OH
TDI
2015 Golf SEL TDI 6MT
Seats are a back sweaty mess even at moderate temperatures. I'm working on a solution. Only bothers me after a couple hours or more of driving.
 

nkgagne

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2010
Location
Kitchener, Ontario Canada
TDI
2015 Sportwagen 6M, 2006 Golf GLS TDI (sold)
Canadian "Trendline"-spec seats? Unsure if they're heated, but the Trendline (akin to the "S" trim in US nomenclature) in Canada does come with cloth-upholstered seats.
 

Diesl

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2012
Location
Chicago
TDI
'78 Golf Diesel (long gone); 2012 Jetta Sportwagen TDI w/ DSG
For the two summers I've had my TDI the black leatherette seats have been surprisingly fine. No complaints. I'm using a windshield shade when parked for longer. I think the car color (white in my TDI's case) makes a much bigger difference.
 

Diesl

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2012
Location
Chicago
TDI
'78 Golf Diesel (long gone); 2012 Jetta Sportwagen TDI w/ DSG
The other thing is leatherette doesn't breathe. If the car had A/C coming up through the seats, it probably wouldn't be bad at all.
On my seats (2012 JSW TDI) it is perforated. I agree though, directing some A/C through the seat would be very nice.
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
In my JSW, I have back sweat issues year round, if I'm in the car longer than my typical 15 minute commute. I rarely drive with a coat on if the trip is longer than 30 minutes. After all, that's what heated seats are for. It's worse in the summer. What I've done in the past is to take a couple of large towels (bath sheets?) or beach towels and sew a loop in them that you can run a rope through. I then tie these to the head rest and now have something between me and the leatherette. Not always the most comfortable solution because they will move and bunch. I've looked at seat covers but don't want to pay that much and often the sites don't list separate covers for the wagen and sedan.
 

WiszMaster

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2002
Location
Fort Myers, FL, USA
TDI
'02 Jetta TDI - Silver, '06 Golf TDI, '06 MB 320 CDI
In January I bought a new 2014 JSW TDI, and even though summer has not really begun in Maryland, already I hate these seats. If my car faces the afternoon sun and the temperature is over 80F, the seats literally hurt to sit in, and that's with wearing pants and a long-sleeve shirt. [I've had real leather before, and these seats are MUCH hotter by comparison.] My wife has announced that she will no longer ride in this car - and she's not high-maintenance by any means - so now we cannnot use it on long trips... which is why I bought it. Anyone want to buy a 2014 JSW TDI w/Sunroof & Nav, with 3K miles on it? If so, please email me at schultzsw@gmail.com. I'm not kidding.

:mad:
Wrong sub-forum my friend. This isn't Sale forum, and then you're talking about Mk6 vs Mk7 leatherette thread.
 

WiszMaster

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2002
Location
Fort Myers, FL, USA
TDI
'02 Jetta TDI - Silver, '06 Golf TDI, '06 MB 320 CDI
Is there a difference?
Couldn't tell you, I don't own a Mk6. I'm in South(west) Florida, it's mid 90's *F today, and high humidity - as in I'm sweating walking from the garage to car door. I don't feel anywhere near what the Gent is reporting, neither does my wife. Btw, our 2015's Leatherette is BLACK.
 

WiszMaster

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2002
Location
Fort Myers, FL, USA
TDI
'02 Jetta TDI - Silver, '06 Golf TDI, '06 MB 320 CDI
One could also apply seat covers, not sure if windows are already tinted, but a good heat rejecting tint does not have to be black or dark.
 

kjclow

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 26, 2003
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 JSW TDI silver and black. 2017 Ram Ecodiesel dark red with brown and beige interior.
Couldn't tell you, I don't own a Mk6. I'm in South(west) Florida, it's mid 90's *F today, and high humidity - as in I'm sweating walking from the garage to car door. I don't feel anywhere near what the Gent is reporting, neither does my wife. Btw, our 2015's Leatherette is BLACK.
I think we both complain about the black leatherette, but not to the point that we are willing to walk away from the car. I like that our Golf still has cloth seats but find the particular cloth a little rough and the seats have different support points.
 

Diesl

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2012
Location
Chicago
TDI
'78 Golf Diesel (long gone); 2012 Jetta Sportwagen TDI w/ DSG
SWschultz, what color is the car? I find the black fake leather seats in my white 2012 JSW TDI feel less hot than the dark grey & black cloth seats in my previous (dark blue) car. Are the seats still perforated in the 2014 JSW TDI?

You might also want to look into investing in a sunshade for the windshield, before you are forced to sell the car just because of the seats.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
2018 Tesla Model 3: 217,000 miles
In January I bought a new 2014 JSW TDI, and even though summer has not really begun in Maryland, already I hate these seats. If my car faces the afternoon sun and the temperature is over 80F, the seats literally hurt to sit in, and that's with wearing pants and a long-sleeve shirt. [I've had real leather before, and these seats are MUCH hotter by comparison.] My wife has announced that she will no longer ride in this car - and she's not high-maintenance by any means - so now we cannnot use it on long trips... which is why I bought it. Anyone want to buy a 2014 JSW TDI w/Sunroof & Nav, with 3K miles on it? If so, please email me at schultzsw@gmail.com. I'm not kidding.

:mad:
Window tint does wonders in this area! I highly recommend looking into a high quality tint product.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
2018 Tesla Model 3: 217,000 miles
3M, Llumar, and several others. It's worth doing a bunch of research before deciding.
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
Canadian "Trendline"-spec seats? Unsure if they're heated, but the Trendline (akin to the "S" trim in US nomenclature) in Canada does come with cloth-upholstered seats.
The Canadian Trendline has heated seats (optional on the 2-door, standard on the 4-door).

Our driveway has all three: cloth on my wife's Mk V wagon, leatherette on our 2005 Passat TDI, and leather on my Mk VI Golf. The leather is the best for seat design; the cloth is best for the material, the fake leather absolutely sucks.

Real leather does breathe a bit.

Cold is another issue in Canada but at least the seat heaters take care of that quickly. Heat on vinyl is really miserable.
 
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