I thought the seats were made to be wet and stain resistant. I left my window open a bit today and it rained buckets for a bit. I know the seats would have gotten wet, I was not worried because of the way the E is made to take such abuse but, I had no idea they would spot and look like crap. It looks like there is oil spots or something. Something got spilt on the passenger seat as well, probably soda and it is spotted as well. What do I have to do to keep them looking good? I have the SLM w/ the darker interior and the spotty seats really bother me. So much for not having to worry about this getting wet, etc.

On a positibe note, my daughter was in town last week with the grandkids so she took my E around w/ the two car seats in the back and it worked out so wonderful for her. She had so much room to strap the kids in and was able to crawl in so easy, just like their mini-van. So convenient. My 3-yr. old grandson said Grammas new car was "really cool!" :D

My daughter was shocked when I told her I had no problem w/ food in my new vehicle, etc. because I know it is indestructable... except the look of the front seats now since they got wet. :cry:

Help anyone?? Those with pets, what are your interior seats looking like when you get pet drool all over them? That would be the ultimate, what do you do to protect your seats after that? Am I missing something???

We've had rain here 25 of the last 27 days. The rain has hit the seats and dried clear.

Are the stains there after the water has dried up? Maybe they're not completely dry?

Maybe there was a bit of roaddust on your roof that mixed with the water?

Here's sending you good luck with your stains! Let us know how you get them out.

I would try a foaming carpet cleaner. Just spot test it first.

Very strange. I just spent a week at the beach and sat in the seats daily with a wet swimming suit. No spots, stains, or anything.

My 3 year old hikes himself up to his seat along with whatever is on the bottom of his sneakers. He spills stuff as most 3 year olds do. I looked for the Shout wipes that someone here suggested, but I couldn't find them. I did find Oxy Clean wipes and went wiping without testing. No more stains. They products probably are equally effective.

Great suggestions! I will probably go out to Walmart to pick up some wipes. I am hoping that the rain was just dirty rain drops. If not and the spots are still there after I try wiping the seats clean, I will take it to the shop to see if they have any idea. Yes, it is very strange.

I will let you know how it works :)

I haven't had any problems with my seats in the E....but in my old car I spilled my starbucks all over the front passenger seat on my way to work....I had mopped it up as best I could....but it left a HUGE stain onmy light gray interior....I found this product called "Spot Shot" it comes in a navy blue can with an orage cap....I bought it at Linens'nThings....but I am sure they carry it at other places too! Check near carpet cleaners and carpet stain sprays.

It is a little bit more expensive....but works incredibly well! There was nothing left of my coffee stain at all....and now I always keep a can around the house because you never know what is going to happen! It works so well that I told my sister in law about it....she as a 6 month old and a 3 year old....she had lots of stains in her Odyssey Mini Van, but not anymore!

I got the same nasty spots from simple rainwater. I put up with it for a few weeks before I finally got around to (as someone mentioned) trying Spot Shot on it which we use around the house on the carpets. It helped. I also wet the whole seat down with Forumula 409 and wiped on it... and when that dried, the seat looked perfect. I think there is something about just getting part of the seat wet and letting it dry that makes "rings" form around the wet part.

hi there!
proud new owner of an exs with a small problem. i purchased some godiva for my wife for mothers day and could not leave the store without a truffle for myself. of course a small spot of chocolate fell on the front seat. i cleaned the seat with a wet towel as soon as i got home and the chocolate is gone but there is a discoloration over the enitre area i scubbed. it is clean just dried different. i only used water. do you think i took off some of the water proofing? does honda sell that? any ideas short of scrubbing the entire seat bottom to even the color?
thanks

For a fabric that is supposed to be easy clean, sure stains easy!
I also had some discoloration when window tinter oversprayed water on my seats and door panels.
Vinylex cleaned off discoloration on the door panels, but haven't tried it on the seats yet.
I will try it later and let you know.

Try SHOUT wipes.They work great.Good Luck

Try SHOUT wipes.They work great.Good Luck

click this link and then print out the instructions from the fabric manufacturer:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/share/view?i=EeAN2TVo5ZuGaj6E&open=1&sm=1&sl=0

By discolor do you mean it got lighter? Darker?

My dog the WonderLab drooled all over the back seat and I was able to simply clean it off with a damp towel. I used warm water and didn't rub it to hard.

From what I have read these seats are supposed to be stain and water resistant, so this is indeed odd.

Are you sure the chocolate didn't leave behind some oily residue, maybe you need to use some soap.

I hope we solve this problem before we all mess up the seats.

Keep us posted.

JJ

That link is for pictures.Post again

[quote:0423e5068f=" "]That link is for pictures.Post again[/quote:0423e5068f]

click the link then click on the picture - it will open up an then you can print out the instructions i scanned in as a .jpg image

i have never been able to figure out how to upload an image to this site.

anyone with questions re: the FXC fabric - here's the contact information --

Stacy Walker
Director, Marketing Communications
Milliken Automotive
920 Milliken Road, M620
Spartanburg, SC 29304
stacy.walker@milliken.com
p: 864.503.6297
f: 864.503.6303

thank you i will try the soap. i did rub it pretty hard. maybe i took off the water repellent? i will let you know tomorrow.

Here you go.
http://www.elementownersclub.com/uploads/files/E_seatclean.jpg

thank you very much. it is still a little hard to read. could i trouble you to post for me what "code D" is?
thanks

Hard to see, but looks like 1 part laundry detergent and 9 parts water.
THat's a crapload of detergent!

please - give me simple - step by step instructions how to post an image -- i just can't seem to make it work when i follow the elementownersclub.com "Upload instructions" -- did you upload from your computer or from the shutterfly website link that posted????????????

any chance of getting that page scanned at higher resolution?

-brendan

i just rescanned the FXC fabric care instructions and sucessfully uploaded them from my computer to the elementownersclub.com server -- but although i followed the instructions re: how to include the image in a message, as you can see, all i get is a blue question mark!!!

here's what i put in (minus the spaces: http://www.elementownersclub.com/uploads/files/fxccareinstructions.jpg

http://www.elementownersclub.com/uploads/files/fxccareinstructions.jpg

I think you wanted it this way:

http://www.elementownersclub.com/uploads/files/fxc%20care%20instructions.jpg

-brendan

PS-thanks!

-brendan

I just saved the jpeg and uploaded to EOC server.
*******, you may want to double check the file name on your pc to be sure it matches the name in the link, especially the .jgp extension.

never mind.
thanks Brendan.

Immediately after purchasing my E I managed to drop not only oily mayonnaise on the seat, but a speck of chocolate as well. Now, I purchased my E because it was blunderproofed (I have a tendency to be a little clumsy), so I was disapponted that neither of these stains seemed to come out. I wiped them with water (though I didn't use soap), and got most of the stain out.

Then, a miracle happened: the seat basically cleaned itself. Since I didn't grind the chocolate in with prolonged scrubbing, eventually it dried and flaked out due to normal seat usage. The mayonnaise stain is simply gone. I find that the Element usually takes a 'less-is-more approach,' and since I love my E because it's so convenient this was just further proof of howe great it is.

If you can handle it (and the stain isn't too big), I suggest a sort of Taoistic style of cleaning--just let it be.

Just my two cents.

The urine part is hilarious! :lol: However, I have one question. I have some oil that dripped on my seat and it said solvent (odorless mineral spirits). Does that mean I can use those carbonated drinks like Perrier (however you want to spell it) to clean the seat?

We recently bought a 2003 Element. However, it no longer had an owner's manual, though we are trying to get one. One thing we'd like to know in the meantime is how best to clean the seats. No major spillages or anything--just some muddy footprints from our dog. Are there specific recommendations in the manual on how to clean the seats? Really appreciate any help!

Lisa

I imagine warm water works best. I just bought an E, too. I haven't cleaned it out yet, but time is getting close for me to do it. I'm afraid of spraying any chemicals in the thing...

i just used a wet sponge, wiped off the seats, wiped up the floors ta-da done! and it dries up nicely.. no sopping wet seats! (just use a moist sponge, and you are set)

[quote:e20d67385d=" "]i just used a wet sponge, wiped off the seats, wiped up the floors ta-da done! and it dries up nicely.. no sopping wet seats! (just use a moist sponge, and you are set)[/quote:e20d67385d]

I used a bucket with warm water, a sponge, a rag and some dish-soap. I did, however, limit the amount of liquid I was splashing about, and sopped up the small puddle.

-brendan

I asked about cleaning the seats a while back and, while I got some good info, I didn't get quite what I was looking for.

Today, in desperation, I grabbed a bucket with some water & laundry soap and a scrub brush. I dipped the scrub brush in the water, shook off some of the excess and scrubbed the seats. Then I took a wet/dry shop vac and vacuumed the water/soap/munge off. I did one seat at a time and it worked like a champ.

OK, I am going to try to be as politically correct as possible about this and it is a SERIOUS question... It is difficult to remain tactful. This thread will probably go way out of bounds and I apologize, but its not really something I can ask around the office.

I own the privacy screens and pillows/sleeping bags for camping. I usually keep them in my car 24/7. I'm a young guy in his late 20s. I'm active, I'm pretty social, I tend to go out quite a bit. I do all right in the woman department. For having the Element for almost a year, I'm a little disappointed when I say that I have only "shared" the interior space of the element twice. Yup, not very classy, but these things do happen.

Yeah, well I now have two stains on the upright portion of my front passenger seat. Honostly, I do not think they are the products of my... welll... biology, but more hers. (Trying to be tactful)

Any tips on how to remove the lighter stains? I have tried water and scrubbing with a towel. No luck. My next step was soap and a brush, but im nervous of making even more of a visible mark. Will anything ruin the water resistant nature of the seats?

FXC Product Care.

I've used TUFF STUFF multi purpose foam cleaner on my GMC seats and carpet to remove coffee stains etc. with success.

Help! just bought a 2006 element, previous owner---left it dirty!!Had it detailed for a cost of $250.00---passenger seat--ugly/dirty looking still, drivers has some stains, talked with detailer and said they steam clean the seats, but some elements seat stains just dont come out????? I am going to try the spot shot someone mentioned but any other suggestions---thanks

Help! just bought a 2006 element, previous owner---left it dirty!!Had it detailed for a cost of $250.00---passenger seat--ugly/dirty looking still, drivers has some stains, talked with detailer and said they steam clean the seats, but some elements seat stains just dont come out????? I am going to try the spot shot someone mentioned but any other suggestions---thanks

That sounds like a shotty detailing service to me...."Well we couldnt do our job, but thats just the way it is..." I would complain and get some money back

The interior cleaner from Griot's Garage works wonders.... I think its griotsgarage.com

Griot's Garage Interior Cleaner (http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?SKUupsell=11104)

I use a mild solution of Simple Green, and just wipe them down with that. I just make sure that all areas get equally dampened and then let it dry on its own.

Sometimes I've let it go a little long and they look actually stained with coffee, etc. But then I do my quick wipe down and they do look brand new again.

That's on my EX, which has FXC fabric all around....

I found this product called "Spot Shot" it comes in a navy blue can with an orage cap....I bought it at Linens'nThings....but I am sure they carry it at other places too! Check near carpet cleaners and carpet stain sprays.


I have nothing but good things to say for SPOT SHOT, it work's on everything! I was reading this post because out seat in the GGM look like crap! I completly forgot about SPOT SHOT.. I'm gonna have to make a trip to walmart!

I use a mild solution of Simple Green, and just wipe them down with that. I just make sure that all areas get equally dampened and then let it dry on its own.

Sometimes I've let it go a little long and they look actually stained with coffee, etc. But then I do my quick wipe down and they do look brand new again.

That's on my EX, which has FXC fabric all around....

Not so sure I'd trust simple green on it unless you clean it with lots of water afterwards. That's really a degreaser not a cleaner. Once or twice as a last ditch after mild soap fails, but not as a regular thing. Full strength it's been known to eat the grease out of a bicycle hub. I'm guessing that FXC fabric is petroleum based so degreasers may not be a wise choice.

Not so sure I'd trust simple green on it unless you clean it with lots of water afterwards. That's really a degreaser not a cleaner. Once or twice as a last ditch after mild soap fails, but not as a regular thing. Full strength it's been known to eat the grease out of a bicycle hub. I'm guessing that FXC fabric is petroleum based so degreasers may not be a wise choice.

Thanks! That's a good point. I'm going to switch to a mild soap. Actually I'd had the same experience with my bike. The girl at the bike shop recommended using undiluted Simple Green in the chain cleaner in lieu of their expensive solvent. It cleaned the chain AND the inside of the hub, and I had to re-pack it.

I did just go in and read the label. They recommend it for most of the car interior, but caution not to use it on plastic dashboards, so ........... Thanks.

I can't remember exactly what I used but I do remember using a small scrubby brush (with bristles not a scouring pad) to work the solution down into the seats. Don't be afraid to get the area wet with the solution. After all, you want it to get in there and dilute the stain so it'll pull it back out. Just spraying the surface and wiping wont get the stain down deep. I had chocolate ground into my seat and I just scrubbed a little with some type of carpet cleaner and it came right out.

My hubby "Mr. Jojo" likes to hold his drink cup between his legs and eventually I started to see a round stain on the passenger seat. I gave him a little scolding, and used the cheap Wal-mart carpet cleaner-it cleaned up just fine, and now I have cheap wal-mart seat covers- just in case:)

Since the rear seats in LX are not the "engineered" Waterproof FXC™ (Fabric for Extreme Conditions) Seat Fabric, are there any recommendations for safely treating or covering them?

IMO, Honda blew it by not having all four seats with the special covering. Where do they think the dogs and kids ride? :rolleyes:

I kinda always thought that they were figuring the flip up your seats, put a lot of dirty crap in the back of your car, crowd would tend to buy the less fancy (read:cheaper) version and tend to be younger and childless. And the EX crowd would be more the family, less likely to take the seats out, need the baby puke protection crowd. Of course there's lots of threads here on how they got the demographics wrong...but who knows.

BTW, good location you have accordn2me...class of '89...Geaux Tigers! :D

Anyone tried ScotchGuard or a similar product?

I kinda always thought that they were figuring the flip up your seats, put a lot of dirty crap in the back of your car, crowd would tend to buy the less fancy (read:cheaper) version and tend to be younger and childless. And the EX crowd would be more the family, less likely to take the seats out, need the baby puke protection crowd. Of course there's lots of threads here on how they got the demographics wrong...but who knows.

BTW, good location you have accordn2me...class of '89...Geaux Tigers! :D
Class of 92 (got a late...as usual...start) here. Love the Tigers all the same. Can hardly wait for the SHIP in NOLA!!! Les Miles has his chance to romp Ohio State. Hope he does it right.

Honda really missed the boat when they didn't put the special fabric, treatment, whatever it is...on ALL the seats. Everyone
needs that! And it's better to have it and not need it anyway. The fabric looks exactly the same. There's no way to tell if it's treated or not. I wouldn't have known had I not read the specs page. My salesman didn't know either.

As for Scotchguard.....I believe I read that you are NOT supposed to treat the special fabric with it. However, my salesman said he knew people who were treating seats with it. Covers wouldn't be a bad idea because they can be removed and washed, except I read that covers will interfere with the airbags. :confused: I don't know what I'll end up doing. Probably nothing.

I had this prob a few weeks ago when I drove around with a cold bottle of water between my legs for a little while. Little white rings. I think I just whipped out an old towel, wet it and rubbed it on the spot. Poof! But I'm sure there is a much more complicated and expensive way to deal with any problem and I'm surprised I didn't come up with one of those before trying the towel.

I have a theory for why rings form. I thing that dirt/dust builds up on the surface from daily use. When the water lands on the surface it cleans the spot it lands on and washes the dirt away towards the perimeter of the water "bubble". Since the dirt is now concentrated in a smaller area along the perimeter, it looks darker (more dirt packed along the perimeter). That's why for some people, cleaning works well when they wet the entire seat area with cloth. The dirt spreads evenly over the surface instead of concentrating in small spots.

I think there is something about just getting part of the seat wet and letting it dry that makes "rings" form around the wet part.

Yeah. Like. What he said! I'm gonna try that with my new to me 06 which had a driver's window cracked during trip north from NC to ME and has 3 inch strip of 'bathtub ring'. Will try your solution and others.:)

This is one the things I don't like about the Element....it's hard to keep the seats clean looking. I hate the seats when they show a ring of "something" that got spilled on them.
What are some of using out there besides what has already been mentioned?????????? HELP!!!!!