39RN

To OP... I had the exact same issue on the top middle of the steering wheel where my hand never sits. looked exactly like yours does. Dealer fixed it under warranty. Not sure how they fixed it though because now the steering wheel in the same area is just deteriorating. Almost sticky. I am not looking forward to how it looks in a couple years.

dchar

That is definitely not defect of the part. Agree with others that that is the result of scratching the leather with long finger nails/jewelry/clothing.

alexkidd

Glad you are so sure.

I do not have long finger nails
I do not have rings
Nothing rubs or touches the wheel besides my hands
I do not use any lotions or crap on my hands
This is my 8th car I am 40 years old and I have never had this issue.
Nobody drives the car but me.

This is a defect.

arentz07

If it's still under warranty and you are able to convince the dealer that it is a defect, I hope they will fix it under warranty then.

premier3IS

whats being 40 have to do with anything? also weren't you just on another thread complaining about how you thought the F-Sport seats are "trash" and how the paint isn't good either? Seems like user errors to me... Don't blame the car, it is not a defect.

Like arentz said, good luck trying to convince the dealership on that one.

39RN

if you are under warranty they should take care of you I️ also don’t have jewelry that would have caused my issue. Was no issue for a fix at the dealer.

alexkidd

The seat material is trash compared to good leather and the paint is super soft and prone to easy scratches.

arentz07

I just cleaned the interior of mine today - vacuumed, dusted, wiped things down - and I didn't notice any wear on my steering wheel leather whatsoever, aside from a small, triagular "chip" in it, for lack of a better word, top dead-center of the wheel, which I assume was from something from before I bought the car, since I recall seeing it just days after I bought the car a year ago. I wiped down the leather on the wheel with a damp cloth, and just a little bit of dirt came loose - however, I went shopping in the car afterward and could swear it felt better after cleaning.

I can only say what I have been doing to take care of it, if it helps to prevent this issue from coming back:

• Every 2-3 months, I wipe off the steering wheel with a damp microfiber cloth. (At just over a year with this car, I haven't had to be worried about chemicals yet.) I would say even that the cloth is ever so slightly damp... You shouldn't need to dry the wheel off after you're done.
• I use a sunshade in my front windshield to protect against UV damage. This is mainly for keeping the seats from getting hot in the summer, but since I have the shade, I just use it year-round.
• I mostly avoid letting the steering wheel slide through my hands as it straightens up. If I do let it do so, I use a very loose grip, given the IS's steering wheel seems to unwind pretty slowly compared to other vehicles I have owned. I wear a ring, too.

I haven't seen any issues with the seats yet either. Mind, I am pretty skinny and can easily place myself into the seat without sliding across the bolsters. I also wipe down the seats at the same time I wipe down everything else in the car, like the steering wheel.

Idk, maybe I am just more gentle with my car than the average person, who knows?

LeapFrog

This looks like normal wear and tear.

My 1991 MR2's leather-wrapped steering wheel developed the same kind of scratches and by the time it was 25 years old (and > 120K miles) it looked like this:

premier3IS

umm... maybe because the f-sport seats aren't leather? just a thought there........

alexkidd

I will see what dealer says. It's not the end of the world if I have to live with it. I would rather have my B pillar noises fixed.

anamynous

I have the exact same scratches in the exact same spot. From your picture I can see they are on the bottom left corner of the steering wheel, which is the contact point from getting in and out of the car. I had no idea for the longest time how I was getting these scratches, and then realized it was from my zippered pocket (right side) from a pair of sweatpants.

But yea, good luck at the dealership. Hopefully they can help you out.