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Seat fabric: rips, cuts, cracks, split seams

134K views 487 replies 302 participants last post by  AWD 
#1 ·
I have a small tear in the back of the passager rear seats near the cup holder? The tear is located between the side seat < the seams > and the cup holder. I only have 2,100 miles and rarely have someone sit in the back. Will Honda fix this problem before it rips completely!

Also the engine light came on again and the tail light is out! I loved my E but all these problems are surfacing on a weekly basis and i only own the car for 8 weeks. :?
 
#5 ·
Thanks guys,

I just got a call from my dealer and he said it's under warranty. I am lucky i have a wonderful dealer who takes great care of me. We are on a first name basis since i been going to the dealership for the past 4 weeks now :shock: They also fixed my tail light < burnt bulb > and reset the engine light < something to do with the V-TEC >. Next week will be the 5th consecutive week i been to my dealer < seat replacement >.

But i still Love my E
 
#7 ·
my front passenger seat has a tear in it. actually, it's more like a seam with defective stitching. the stitching has started coming loose on the seam in the middle of the seat. it's not noticible, but it is about 2 inches long now where i can stick my fingers down into the padding.
i took my E to the dealer with a laundry list of warranty issues, and they are replacing the seat cover, no problem. they are also replacing the floor, because it is bubbling, again with no problems.
 
#8 ·
When the dealer replaces the fabric, make sure you check for any gouges. I found a gouge near the cup holder when they tried to pull out the old fabric. I let the manager know and he is replacing the cup holder this week. I just hate when my dealer replace something defective, something else goes wrong :evil:

The dealer fixed 4 defective things on my E, but everytime i get my car back, their is a gouges near the defective item.
 
#10 ·
Seat cover rips, cuts, cracks, split seams

Has anyone else had problems with splits or cracks in the vinyl parts of the seats? I hung my driver's-side rear seat up for the first time and when I took it back down a few hours later there was a large split in the lower back vinyl part. I took it in to the dealer and the service manager said it was a cut and acted like he didn't believe me about how it happened! :x He said he would call Honda, but he didn't know if they'd replace it! Please let me know if this has happened to your E.
 
#13 ·
[quote:2757631a8f="Element"]I had the same problem in May and the dealer fixed it with no hassels at all.[/quote:2757631a8f]

It's good to know someone else had the same problem. I haven't heard back from Honda yet. Did yours look almost as if someone had slit it with a box knife?

Mine looks just like it's been cut with a razor or something. The thing is, I haven't had anything sharp anywhere near my backseat. No one ever even sits in it! I'm wondering if maybe it could have been damaged at the factory or dealership and it just didn't show up until I hung it up for the first time...
 
#16 ·
My side panel on the drivers side front seat is showing wear and coming apart near the seam. Actually its spliting near the seam. I have eight thousands miles on the Element. I hope this is an isolated incident and not an indicator of what is to come later with a wear factor. I was told to take it to an auto Upholstery shop and send my Honda dealer the bill.
 
#17 ·
take it to your dealer.. you never want to hope they will pay the bill from an outside company.. give them the chance to help you, please for your own sake..

I am over 8K miles and completely no wear.. at all. so i woulc say that would be isolated, but i am still sorry you have it at all..

please keep us posted on the resolution!
 
#18 ·
[quote:f0d6c497be=" "]My side panel on the drivers side front seat is showing wear and coming apart near the seam. Actually its spliting near the seam. I have eight thousands miles on the Element. I hope this is an isolated incident and not an indicator of what is to come later with a wear factor. I was told to take it to an auto Upholstery shop and send my Honda dealer the bill.[/quote:f0d6c497be]

A caution here, since you have an EXS...I wonder if the seam that is splitting is actually the breakaway seam for the side airbag. Before bringing it to an upholstery shop, get the dealer to check out whether there's any relation of that seam to the side-airbag mechanism.

-brendan
 
#19 ·
The seam is actually on the flat outside part of the seat and not the back part of the seat. The dealer suggested getting it repaired at the upohlstery shop rather than order a entire seat cover. I did nothing to snag the material but there is a slight wrinkle in the area where the material is splitting.
 
#20 ·
[quote:9db93d139a=" "]The seam is actually on the flat outside part of the seat and not the back part of the seat. The dealer suggested getting it repaired at the upohlstery shop rather than order a entire seat cover. I did nothing to snag the material but there is a slight wrinkle in the area where the material is splitting.[/quote:9db93d139a]
so your dealer suggested having someone else do it, did they agree to pay for it?? I don;t think you should have to pay for the seat repair, as new as the E is, that is just not something i would accept!!
 
#21 ·
I agree with GYPSYTDA! With only 8K you should not have to deal with this crap by yourself and act as a middleman between the dealer and the upholstery guys. I only smell trouble going through that route. Your dealer can outsource the work if they choose but you should ultimately hold them accountable for any warranty work.
 
#22 ·
[quote:814cb129a6=" "]I agree with GYPSYTDA! With only 8K you should not have to deal with this crap by yourself and act as a middleman between the dealer and the upholstery guys. I only smell trouble going through that route. Your dealer can outsource the work if they choose but you should ultimately hold them accountable for any warranty work.[/quote:814cb129a6]

thank you, you wrote my thoughts exactly.. i love that, i was thinking that just my fingers and keyboard just did not connect.. smiles!
 
#23 ·
[quote:0eee61eae9=" "]The seam is actually on the flat outside part of the seat and not the back part of the seat. The dealer suggested getting it repaired at the upohlstery shop rather than order a entire seat cover. I did nothing to snag the material but there is a slight wrinkle in the area where the material is splitting.[/quote:0eee61eae9]

My understanding is that the side airbag exits the seat from that side. Since there doesn't seem to be a way to exit the seat, except through the seams, I remain concerned about outside repairs.

-brendan
 
#24 ·
Seems like most of what I would have said is already being suggested. I will just post a couple things and reiterate some of what has already been pointed out.

First, it isn't that uncommon for dealers to refer you to a third party shop for some types of work. Upholstery might be one of those things. I had this done twice with my last car. A tire puncture due to a screw that a tire picked up during dealer prep. In that situation they referred the work to a local Goodyear shop. They drove the car back and forth from their shop but, none the less, the work was done by a third party. And, the delamination problem with my 90 Lumina where the top dash panel came unglued after a recall on the issue. The dealer refused to fix it under the recall since it had expired even though the problem developed less than a month after the expiration of the recall. In that case they referred me to such a shop to have the dash panel reglued. At my expense though. I never did get it done.

In your case, as has been mentioned, you may have a potentially serious situation. The Side Airbag. The seam that is failing MAY be that break away seem for the airbag. If it is repaired wrong that could have a serious if not deadly effect on the ability for your airbag to deploy in an accident. The dealer may be brushing it off because they are lazy and figure just stitch it rather than replace it. Or it could be an expensive repair to do right. (A NEW SEAT?) I would question the recommendation and referal by contacting HONDA directly. This could be a potential liability problem that they would not want. After all, if you are at or around 8,000 miles this should be a warrantee issue and done at no cost to you. Thus the incentive for them to have it fixed on the cheap rather than right. Was the dealer aware that your seat is equipped with AIRBAG? If they insist on the 3rd party repair, keep all documentation in writing. Tell the dealer that since the airbag is in that side of the seat, (I don't recall you mentioning??? Is this the side of the seat toward a door?) you want their referral and recommendation IN WRITING along with a guarantee that they will stand behind the safety of the repair, vis a vis the airbag situation. That way should something ever happen and someone should be injured in an accident you will have the documentation that THEY TOLD YOU TO DO IT THAT WAY so they can't come back at you and say it was an improper unwarranted repair. Also, mention to the third party upholsterer the presence of the airbag. It could very well be his insurance company won't allow him to do that repair due to liability. Or, maybe it is a common repair and there is a special thread or stitching that he would use to repair it correctly. In all fairness, that would be good piece of mind to know before hand that it can be done right.

WmAS1960 (Bill)
 
#25 ·
wmas1960: great advice.. though as far as 3rd party referral.. that is something the dealer should not have you take your car to someone else if they need something done by someone outside the dealer they should be taking it in themselves, under their responsibility.. rather then yours..

if youare taking a vehicle into another place, outside the dealer, you are taking responsibility. Even with it in writing from the dealer, that can still get ugly.. and you may have to fight to get your money back, not to mention any liability issues, and the side air bags functioning.

So if your dealer is not going to cooperate, contact Honda directly.. get their help.. and heck take pictures, make sure you clarify you have side air bags.. this may be a deveioping problem with side air bag vehicles, and they may be working on a TSB or recall on it.. you may be on the beginning of an issue.

Please keep us posted, good luck!!
 
#26 ·
With due respect to WmAS1960 (Bill) I disagree on a minor point. I have had unfortunate experiences in the past where I have kept all the paper work and documented everything and still had to sort through heaps of BS down the road. What happens is staff at dealerships change or they won't back someone else's work down the road even though they referred you to them. It is just a hassle you really don't want to be involved in. I am sticking to my original suggestion, let them deal with it. By doing it this way, everything you had done to your car was done through them and should be backed up them even if they choose to outsource. Put the ball in their court and let them do it to your satisfaction.
 
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