Car Seats on Leather Seats??

Yes, put a blanket or towel doubled up underneath, this needs to be done under any carseat on any type of fabric. It seems that no matter how snugly you get that seat down, there is always some amount of movement that will ruin your seats!

Leather is GREAT!! I just got a leather sofa and with the amount of little spills, cat paw dirt, and mysterious stuff I am always wiping off (with a paper towel and water) I am shocked at what must go into a fabric sofa on a daily basis. You should find your leather car seats to be quite durable, and after that first scratch you won't freak out any more. For my sofa I just ordered cleaning and protecting products online from Stainsafe, ask the car dealer or the Stainsafe people if it should be good for car seats as well. I would think so.

Don't worry -- with kids especially, leather will be WAY better than fabric seats. Enjoy!!

When I had my son's carseat installed at CHP, they used a piece of that rubbery shelf liner to place between the leather and the carseat. You can get it somewhere like Target, and it would be with the contact paper. The CHP said that material is best, and as opposed to something that will slip, this will actually help the carseat stay in place on a leather seat.

I put a blanket down even on my cloth seats. This makes clean ups easier-esp. in the winter with muddy feet!
Its not their fault their legs are so short!!
And it helps a bit with the endent issue also.

M.,
they make these car seat protectors (somewhat thick rubbery type material) my sister-in-law uses them in her truck that has leather interior. They help keep the car set in place and protect the upholstery. You can get them at almost any baby store or probably online. Don't know if they are the help you are looking for but worth looking into. Good luck.

I noticed the same problem when I switched from cloth to leather. I just put a towel down under the car seat. To get the right fit it has to be snug, and that in turn will cause indentions. But if you take the car seat out the seat should go back to normal.

Hope that helps,
Julia L

Hi M.,

Eddie Bauer makes a carseat pad and you can find it at any R'us store it is great...it sure has worked for me.

~G.~

Target sells car seat protectors. They are about $20.00 I have them under my carseats to protect my leather. I think they were Eddie Bower brand.

Hi M.! I have a van with leather seats and I fold a towel in half long ways and place it underneath the car seat from the headrest all the way down to wear the kid's legs rest. So far, it has worked and I don't have any dents.

There is a seat protector you can buy at babies r us...
I think it is called a "seat saver", it is a mat.
I am sure blankets will work too...

thX,
R.

You do want to make sure the car seat doesn't slip on the leather seat. I always used a no slip pad. I found sticky shelf liner (the materail was no slip not something that actually peels and sticks to your seat.) You can also try carpet no slip liner if not shelf liner. The shelf liner I found at Target but that was a long time ago. This will keep your seat from slipping and from making a hole. The indention will bounce back when you are done. My kids are older and their is no mark from their car seat days. You don't want to use any blankets or thick items because in an accident it will not be safe. The pull in an accident will allow the blanket to give and actually loosen the seat and be very dangerous.

We used to put a cotton bath towel down under the carseat. It protected the seat beautifully. You could never tell there was a carset on there. A nice product to clean and condition leather is Luxol.

I don't know the name of the brand but they make a leather seat saver, that you can place under your car seat to protect the leather it is the same material as a car foot mat, try babies-r-us or look online

I've seen things for sale just for this purpose at onestepahead.com.

Toys r us sells a pressure mat, it will protect your seats from damage. That is what I use on my cloth seats.

You can put a blanket down. There are also seat protectors that strap onto the headrest. Try looking at One Step Ahead. Honestly, the blanket works just as well.

Target sells a little protector thing that you put under your carseat. I can't remember what it is called. I think a sporting goods store would also sell a similar item.

I have leather seats as well and I purchased plastic carseat mats. Check online at Walmart or Target and I'm sure you'll find them. They go under the car seat and protect the seat from the carseat as well as from those dirty little feet. Good Luck! H.

it has to be something that is skid free so that the seat doesn't slide too much on a blanket. i would recommend something like that rubbery material that they use for bath mats and kneeling mats and just cut it to hide under the seat. i know it's a bummer, i have dents in my leather too, never got around to getting the mat.. Good Luck, have fum in your new car!

Ok so you've already heard about the mats that go under carseats. Before we had ever found that, we used a piece of carpet remnant. I know that it sounds cheesy, but if you know a good local carpet place a lot of times you can get one big enough for little to no money. Just a thought, good luck.

At Target ad I believe Walmart sells them too in the baby section they have car seat seat protectors that go on your seat under the car seat. It works great for dents and spills I have one under both of my kids seats.

Hi! I purchased a thick rubber car seat mat at Target that fits right under the seat and helps prevent dents. It also somewhat protects the seats from spills and crumbs. I also have one that is a thick canvas material- prevents dents a little bit but this one is mainly to prevent wet shoes on the seat. Both of these were in the baby sections at Target and Babies R Us

I love my seat protecters from One Step Ahead. They work great! I didn't find that towels worked that well. I would still end up with marks on the leather.

M.,

Not sure where you live, but babies R us has seat protectors. I have 4, one under each carseat. You could probably order online also if you don't have a baby store around. Be sure they say non slip, otherwise over time it starts slipping and then it doesn't protect as much. Mine are black with nonslip on the back. The front covers the back of the seat as well as the bottom of the seat.
Good luck, trish

I think they call it shelf liner, it comes in a roll - I found it at Long's - it's thick and squishy. I use it in my cars with leather seats and they seem to be fine.

We just got a new car too, with leather seats. We have Super Mat Car Seat Protectors for our car seats that we used on the the cloth seats too. We are happy with them. We got one at Target but I have not seen them there recently. I ordered one on line recently. I found the best deal I could at Amazon.com.

Hi M.,
I purchased a product from Baby's R Us that lays on your car seat and has holes in it for the seat belts. It has held up my leather seats and has net pockets that hang over the edge to hold toys, etc.

I got a new sequoia last yr and my 5 yr old still has a carseat . I went and got ablack /grey protective seat cover at Target, Eddie Bower makes them and lots of other cool things for protecting your seats!!! it has worked great...No dents and it has been ove ra yr:)
good luck. ps. imsure u could get it at Babiesr us or somewhere liek that
--A.

I too have leather seats but was told by emergency personnel conducting a safety class NOT to use blankets to protect your seats. It compromises the safety of the car seat if in a collision. What was recommended was to use a rubber material used for non-slid/stick in cuboards, shelves, etc. It puts something between the car seat and the leather but keeps the car seat in place without sliding. You can find it in the kitchen section of a grocery store with the contact paper.

I still think leather seats are way better with kids as you can easily wipe up spills that would otherwise set into cloth seats. But, from experience, your leather will wear over time. It's the price we pay to have children AND leather! But soooo worth it. =)

There's a fine line between safety and protecting your car. We folded up bath towels to put underneath, but made sure the car seats are snug enough to be secure. The indentations are still there, but not as bad as they would be if there wasn't a towel.

You can buy seat protectors made specially for car seats. You can be them at Target.

A blanket or towel could make the car seat slip in an accident, I suspect. A rubbery mat would be safer.

Eddie Bauer has a line of car products for babies. There's a seat protector that I use - its great.
They sell it at Target.

Excellent seat protector is available in One Step catalogue.P..

I also have leather seats. I use a car seat protector that you can buy at babiesrus or anywhere they sell carseats. It works great.

I have leather seats also and two daughters in car seats. There is a product out there that covers the seats. It works pretty good. Just look in the baby isle, it should be there.

M.,
I also have leather seats and use a seat protector made specifically to protect the seats. When we put the car seat into someone else's car we use a towel but the seat protector is more stable (doesn't slide). Mine was a gift but I've seen similar products at Target. My sister got one there that works well and I believe it only cost around $15.
Hope this helps,
D.

I just used that squishy shelf liner that you can get at Target or Walmart. Works great for my car.

Hi M.,

I had the same problem in the beginning. I purchased this car seat cover from Toys R Us and so far it has been working. The bottom of the seat cover has a rubber like feel to it and the top of the cover has a soft mesh feel with 2 holes at the top for the seat belts. The are very resonably priced, I believe I paid less than $20.00 for each one and I bought 2. I hope this helpful. Tami L

Eddie Bauer makes a carseat pad that a friend gave us to protect leather seats. It reduces the denting, but doesn't avoid it completely. I'm sure there are others out there. The important bit is to get something that won't slip or compress - a blanket or towel isn't as good an idea (advice from police officer when we had our installation checked).

Hi there. What I do w/ my car is put a towel down where the seat hits. There are still dents left but it goes back into place after a while. There are some things on the market specifically for that problem but kinda costly (babiesrus). Also I had a friend who took her seats out and strapped the seat directly to the latch system= it's legal, she didn't have to lift her kids as much!?

Hi M.--I have a 2007 Honda Pilot and I've had a blanket under the carseat for a year now and it seems to work fine. Minimizes slippage and no indentions on the leather seat. (I've had the car for a year)
good luck and congrats on your new car!
S.

We bought a seat protector by "Prince Lionheart" that is sold at Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Target, Onestepahead.com and LeapsandBounds.com (sometimes these two websites have coupons or free shipping if you sign up for their newsletter, or google "leapsandbounds.com coupons" or whatever store for coupon codes if you order online. It's thick, with a non-slip back and a cushioned, water resistant top. It goes under the carseat and also up the back of the seat -- great when the carseat is facing backwards (keeps dirty feet off the leather) and facing forwards (cushions the seat from dents from the back of the carseat against the leather). It also has a small flap that hangs down the front of the seat to protect the leather from little feet when the carseat is facing front, and a small ridge around the whole thing to keep dirt and gunk from getting in to the crevices of leather seat. I forget how much it was, but I think it was around $30. Definitely worth the price, and we haven't had a problem or dent in our seats. It also doesn't compromise the safety of the carseat. One thing to keep in mind about using "non-approved" methods of adjusting the carseat (like a towel for example) is that if there is an accident, God forbid, then the carseat company can say you "modified" the carseat in an "unapproved" way and deny any claim of malfunctioning on the carseat. This is what our pediatrician told us (goes also for using any kind of insert in the carseat, like those fuzzy pads or liners to position the baby or keep them warm -- just use the accessories that came from the carseat company when it comes to inserts in the carseat itself). If you have any questions about safety, call the carseat company to check.

Eddie Bauer has a seat protector that we use for both of our cars. Available at babies r us or target.

we put a cloth napkin down. We hope it will work to preserve the leather.

good luck.

J.

The highway patrol installed my car seat and what they used on leather seats (and it works great) is the rubbery cabinet liner! Not kidding....works wonderful and the indentions on the seat aren't as bad.

We found a protector at Babies R Us. It is specifically for going under the car seat. It even has a piece that hangs down by their feet where you can keep small toys, snacks, etc. It was only $15 - well worth it!

Hi M.,

I have a 3 yr old grandson and we just bought a car that has leather seats also. I put a towel down before I put the car seat in, I did it so that it would not scratch the seats and it has worked just fine. You just have to be sure to secure it tight so that it will not slip. So far I have not seen any dents in my seat. I do take it out to give the seat a "rest" also. That seems to help.

Good luck

Both of our vehicles have leather seats and my husbund is very protective of them.Blankets work great or I just use towels,they seem to work great!

you know that non slide stuff you can buy to put in yoru kitchen? I bought some of that, put it down between the seat and the thing towel. Basically there is going to be a dent no matter what you do because you have to get that car seat as tight as possible. But I did notice that the dent was less severe with the blanket. Good luck!

M.,
Try Babies r us for the Prince Lionheart seat pad for use under your carseat. I've used ours for 10 years. Works like a charm and is easy to clean.
L.

Hi M.,
We purchased a car seat 'protector' from Babies-R-Us and a "wedge" that fits between the seat and the car seat. So far, it seems to work! )

M.,

I too have leather seats and I got a set protector that is designed to go under the car seat. It is a really thick rubber. I got it at Goores becasue it was the sturdiest and thickest one we could find. The whole thing will push down into the seat, but there will not be lines from the car seat and it will not cut into the seat or damage it at all. When you remove the car seat it will gradually plump back up, but initially it will look a bit squished down.

D.

They have a great mat that you get get on Walmart.com for about $13.00, similar to the one they sell at Babies R Us for 3 times that price. It works better than the towel we used before.