I don't have a rip per se, but on the back side (on the 4th gear rest point) mine seems to have pinched the boot and caused a mild seam tear in the pleather boot......
Would climate be a factor in this? Yeah, it's Spring/Summer weather now, but I put my shifter in just after Christmas and noticed the pinch mark about 2 weeks ago and was not extremely happy. The central Midwest tends to have chilly weather in the winter and maybe the boot has experienced expansion since the install??