Swap leather for fabric seats?

D

Desertsp

Member

:

TBD

• Apr 30, 2018

• #1

If I were to buy a used 2014-16 Grand Touring with leather seats, how hard would it be to find someone willing to trade for their fabric seats? Is it as simple as involving the seats and swapping them out, or is there more to it?

Would they be worth more than a couple hundred bucks?

 

mazdadude

ZOOOOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOOM

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'16.5 Mazda CX-5 Touring

• Apr 30, 2018

• #2

Beyond the Fabric/Leather difference, there is also a difference in the actual construction and design of the seat / bolsters itself. So you would want to make sure you like how the other seat is, as they are different.

I have not heard yet of anybody here performing the GT for Touring seat swap in a CX-5. Power seat harness connectors might be different, as there are more modes, also there are no heated seats in the touring seats except for the 16.5 model.

 

Last edited: Apr 30, 2018

Anchorman

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2022 2.5GT

• May 1, 2018

• #3

I would have opted out of leather seats in a heartbeat if it was an option. They load the price by a couple of thousand pounds and they are cold in winter, hot in summer and slippy as hell. They only good point is the smell when you open the door! I sat in our base level CX5 (we only have 2 trims here) and the seats were much more comfortable in my opinion. However, only the leather ones have the heating and the power adjustment with memory etc so its not worth a swap. If I had a donor car and loads of room to store the originals, they would be out in a jiffy - GONE.

 

J

Jonno21

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2018 CX5 SE-L Nav+ 2WD 2.2D 150hp Auto

• May 1, 2018

• #4

The only reason I have not gone for the UK top trim level is that I'm not bothered about leather seats for all the reasons stated by Anchorman. It can't be beyond the wit of manufacturers to provide heated power seats in fabric and not leather as an option. Even my old Skoda Octavia L&K (2012) (top trim level) could provide black Alcantara power heated drivers seat instead of grey (yuk) leather seats as a no cost option. (The passenger seat was manual adjustment and not electric although it was still heated).It made the interior look better.

 

Last edited: May 2, 2018

ColoradoDriver

2014 CX-5 Touring AWD - 132k miles

Contributor

:

Denver, CO

• May 1, 2018

• #5

Anchorman said:

I would have opted out of leather seats in a heartbeat if it was an option. They load the price by a couple of thousand pounds and they are cold in winter, hot in summer and slippy as hell.

Click to expand...

Makes me happy that my 2014 Touring still came with cloth seats and not leather or leatherette like it is now. I am also not at all a fan of leather seats.

 

Sekmor

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2014.5 CX-5 GS FWD 2.5L

• May 1, 2018

• #6

Our CX has heated seats, or is that a Canadian thing?
It has 6 way power seat where the GT had 8 way.
Why not just buy new covers? They should be available from mazda, and also seen a few aftermarkets out there.

 

D

dc16

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NYC

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2017 CX-5 GT AWD

• May 1, 2018

• #7

Given the hot/cold of leather, we still went leather just in case of baby vomit. If you are quick to wipe up, it's like nothing happened.

 

S

Splinter Cell

Member

:

Mazda CX-5 Platinum

• May 1, 2018

• #8

My wife and I both have new shape CX-5’s – hers with cloth seats and mine with leather. There is no debate that hers is more comfortable, but it’s not because of the seat material covering. Her seat cushion side bolsters are soft and squishy, mine seem to have been carved from solid teak. I have undone and folded back the cloth/leather from the side bolster on both seats – the cushion underneath is the same shape but completely different stiffness. Would gladly sacrifice the heated cushion on the leather seat for the softer cushion of the cloth seat if I could order it as a spare part!

 

J

jeffrow925

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Carless

• May 1, 2018

• #9

OP, get some seat covers? Wet Okole and Cover King over neoprene (think wetsuit) seat covers.

I ordered some from Carid for $197 on carid for the rear seat. Should ship out next week.

 

D

Desertsp

Member

:

TBD

• May 2, 2018

• #10

Thanks everyone.

Sounds like there's more to consider and it might not be a simple swap. I'll look into seat covers. Reason I asked is there's a good deal on a GT locally...but no comparable deals on Tourings.

Main objection to leather is the poor ventilation, but ease of cleaning is an upside (I have dogs who track mud everywhere....much easier to wipe that off leather than fabric).

 

P

Puyapim

• May 2, 2018

• #11

When I purchased my CX5 the salesperson stayed that around 60% of sales were the GT trim. I would venture to say that number may represent the sales figures in North America.