Freel2,

When I fold the seat down the seat belt buckle is damaging the seat




Note: the picture doesn't do the damage justice this is after several applications of Lexol and manipulating the foam under the leather to minimize the damage done



I do accept that my conditioning of the leather seats has made the leather soft and more susceptible to this type of damage, but in my defense I really like how nice the seats are now and that's why I wanted leather in the first place.


I had been carefully pushing the buckle down but I have children and children aren’t so careful

So I had to do something

If anyone has a better solution please let me know

I will accept the suggestion that I should keep the children away from the Land Rover but to effectively implement that decision I will need a time machine and if you have one of those then we can fix a lot more than some damaged leather seats.

Here is the solution that I found

I’ve never come across this problem.

SYFL2,

Thanks for the reply.

It looks like I am the only one with this issue.

The solution that I implemented seems to be working well.


When the leather was new and stiff it just pushed the latch out of the way.


This is the first problem that I've had that wasn't identified by the Forums before the problem appeared.


The Freel2 is incredibly reliable and durable.


I'm never selling mine

Thanks

Paul

I’m happy your fix worked

There is a surprising amount of room under the rear seats if they are removed & the backs lay down permanently, but the buckles do leave a bit of a mark & a bit of a mis calculation with tow ropes thickness.

This photo is after the seat backs have been down for 3 months. The foam does start to compress a bit due to our weight sleeping, probably more from "sitting up in bed".

But the indentations have now pretty much gone. A towel to spread the load towards the front edge which lift the seat back a bit maybe the go as in the right of the photo but thicker than this stored tee shirt.

6 metre tow rope (orange) & 20 metre extension (purple). Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

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The damage will get worse over time

I use mine like a van often with seats folded down 70% of the time. My belts buckles do go flat into their cavity MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
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LR Nut,

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't fold the seat very often.

Its possible that folding the seats more when the leather is new and stiff may reduce the tension on the spring and lower the chance for damage in the future.

Due to the low number of replies I suspect most Freel2 owners are not having this problem.

Paul

I also have the marks but rarely see them as I have mine set up as a flat back 95% of the time. One of the reasons I am still running it after 10.5 years of ownership is that very few other cars offer a completely flat back. Silver 2009 HSE

Hey Paul,

I have your identical model; I don't have this specific issue.

Its possibly the high temperature here in Cali that makes the leather more susceptible to damaging this way.

When its cold outside the leather is stiff and it just pushes the buckle out of the way.

We do occasionally get in the triple digits here >100F

or if you prefer above 40C

I suspect that Lite Water also see temperatures that high and that may be the reason he also has some evidence of the damage.

For the first 7 or 8 years of ownership my damage looked like the picture that Lite Water posted.

But it did get worse over time.

Hopefully the string will fix the root cause

Take care

Paul

That makes total sense, the high heat. We have a fair amount of humidity in the warmer months but not the extreme heat.

GlynnB wrote:

I also have the marks but rarely see them as I have mine set up as a flat back 95% of the time. One of the reasons I am still running it after 10.5 years of ownership is that very few other cars offer a completely flat back.

Other half wanted a Tiguan. It was the second last left on the list of new cars. I managed to avoid it due to the fake automatic which is no good for rock crawling, towing or Sydney start stop traffic with steep hills.

When one has to operate the clutch 600+ times in 10km, I over it with manuals.



This sort of pointless towing testing?
 Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Here is the link to Season 20 episode 5


https://www.topgear.com/videos/ultimate-ca...-episode-5