I have a 2008 S80 with 3500 miles on it. I have noticed within the last week some cracking and flaking of the leather on the drivers seat left side seat bolster and back bolsters. This is very dissapointing because the car is always garaged when not in use . Has anyone else experienced this problem and what do you think Volvo would do about it. This to me is very unsatisfactory wear for a new car. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

By "cracking" do you mean actual beaking of the leather itself or more like stretch marking? Actual breaking should be looked at and should be under warranty I would think. Just stretching will be somewhat expected I would think from use as the leather begins to form from use, as opposed to a new appearance where no weight has been put on it yet.

The flaking I am not sure of. Sounds a little strange to me. Not sure what would cause this, or I just dont quite understand what it is doing. Is it something that would show up well enough in a photo?

Leather could be called stretch marked. Will try to post a picture if I can figure out how to do it.

I'd go to the dealer. If it's wearing already, I can't see how it wouldn't be under warranty.

+1 on that answer. let them fix it, under waranty.

Stretch marks will me expected with use. Whether they should be appear this soon or not will probably become a debate between you and the dealer. They certainly wont want to eat the costs of new leather seats, so prepare for a debate.

They will probably start out with saying that is just normal and expected wear. However without any pics it is hard to say if it really is, or if you are showing signs of weak parts of the leather (which is not uncommon, since its a natural thing not man made and consistent). All leather will have stress areas and potential weak spots that are not easily found at the beginning.