[DavidPJ]

My Escape's leather steering wheel already has wear indications at the 12 O'Clock position on the backside of the wheel. It shows a little wear and even a small tear.

I can't believe this is happening at only 20K miles, and I've done nothing to damage it. Anyone else seeing something similar on their leather steering wheels?

Thanks.

[wptski]

Originally Posted by DavidPJ

My Escape's leather steering wheel already has wear indications at the 12 O'Clock position on the backside of the wheel. It shows a little wear and even a small tear. I can't believe this is happening at only 20K miles, and I've done nothing to damage it. Anyone else seeing something similar on their leather steering wheels? Thanks.

Can't say anything about the tear but I know that some people have a high acid content in their perspiration enough to etch steel. There are some jobs out there that they test for this before applying/getting certain jobs. Not sure what the acids would do to leather.

[DavidPJ]

Thanks Bill. I've owned cars with leather steering wheels for many years so and I never had a problem with any of them, even at 100K miles. I'm going to put some Leatherique on it and see how it turns out. I'll probably show it to my dealer too.

[DavidPJ]

Originally Posted by DavidPJ

My Escape's leather steering wheel already has wear indications at the 12 O'Clock position on the backside of the wheel. It shows a little wear and even a small tear. I can't believe this is happening at only 20K miles, and I've done nothing to damage it. Anyone else seeing something similar on their leather steering wheels? Thanks.

This is an update to my post. Once my dealer's service manager saw the tears in the steering wheel, they ordered a new one and replaced it earlier this week. However, the steering wheel is not the same as the one that came with the Escape. The original wheel was wrapped with a smooth and glossy black leather. It easily and quietly slid through my hands. The replacement wheel is wrapped with a rough and flat charcoal-black finish leather. It slides noisly through my hands now as if I was running my hands on sandpaper. I treated it with Leatherique and it softened the leather a little bit.

I asked the dealer rep about it and he didn't have a clue why it was different other than maybe Ford switched to a different leather after other people had the same problem.

I like the original steering wheel better, but at least this one isn't damaged.

[eddyb]

Originally Posted by DavidPJ

This is an update to my post. Once my dealer's service manager saw the tears in the steering wheel, they ordered a new one and replaced it earlier this week. However, the steering wheel is not the same as the one that came with the Escape. The original wheel was wrapped with a smooth and glossy black leather. It easily and quietly slid through my hands. The replacement wheel is wrapped with a rough and flat charcoal-black finish leather. It slightly noisly through my hands now as if I was running my hands on sandpaper. I treated it with Leatherique and it softened the leather a little bit. I asked the dealer rep about it and he didn't have a clue why it was different other than maybe Ford switched to a different leather after other people had the same problem. I like the original steering wheel better, but at least this one isn't damaged.

That sounds like a current wheel. My wheel in my 2010 is charcoal gray and not smooth. I dont mind it because I know it will break in.