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'13 Recaro Leather Problem


Madlock

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A small section of the red striped area of my passenger Recaros seems to be abraded. It's not so much worn - but almost like its finish has been dissolved. Can limited sections of leather like this have their finishes restored? Can anybody recommend any vendors or solutions? I'd hate to spend $1,200 for a new seat cover. The car is less than 3 months old. Can/should I pursue it under any kind of warranty/satisfaction?

 

Thanks!

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Of course go for warranty your car is brand new. And how come you are having so many problems with it? BTW I sent you a PM check it out.

 

 

Where I have I ever implied having "so many problems with it"?

 

WRT your PM, unless I completely misread your many posts on the subject in another thread in which you seemed perfectly certain of there being no difference between the 5490-B sway bar from the FR-3 Pack for the '13 cars and the OE equipment with the '13 and SVT Performance Package despite my decision to proceed with it based upon information I received from SVT establishing that it was both up-rated from the OE components and tested to work in concert with the FR-3 Pack's "L" springs, why are you re-asking the question now?

 

I suggest contacting SVT with any further questions and proceeding accordingly.

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Where I have I ever implied having "so many problems with it"?

 

WRT your PM, unless I completely misread your many posts on the subject in another thread in which you seemed perfectly certain of there being no difference between the 5490-B sway bar from the FR-3 Pack for the '13 cars and the OE equipment with the '13 and SVT Performance Package despite my decision to proceed with it based upon information I received from SVT establishing that it was both up-rated from the OE components and tested to work in concert with the FR-3 Pack's "L" springs, why are you re-asking the question now?

 

I suggest contacting SVT with any further questions and proceeding accordingly.

 

 

He has asked me the same question about the sway bars a couple times and the rest of the suspension as well. Tried explaining the upgrades I felt over the stock suspension as best as I could. I would definitely agree with madlock about calling SVT if you are still unsure if upgraded suspension parts are really upgrades.

 

SVT13 I do wish you the best of luck but if your asking every member the same question in a pm and also posting questions about it, if your getting basically the same response, don't second guess about stuff being an upgrade. Even though the 13's are amazing from the factory, there will always be something better than the factory setup.

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If it is on the Seat Bottom, it could be from the "PPF"................................ "Passenger Pucker Reflex" everytime you stepped on the Gas. A good shop should be able to restore it or replace it so you couldn't tell. Personally, I would let the Warrenty fix it.

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A small section of the red striped area of my passenger Recaros seems to be abraded. It's not so much worn - but almost like its finish has been dissolved. Can limited sections of leather like this have their finishes restored? Can anybody recommend any vendors or solutions? I'd hate to spend $1,200 for a new seat cover. The car is less than 3 months old. Can/should I pursue it under any kind of warranty/satisfaction?

 

Thanks!

 

Take it to the dealer, warranty issue.

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Take it to the dealer, warranty issue.

 

 

+1

 

 

Jer

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A small section of the red striped area of my passenger Recaros seems to be abraded. It's not so much worn - but almost like its finish has been dissolved. Can limited sections of leather like this have their finishes restored? Can anybody recommend any vendors or solutions? I'd hate to spend $1,200 for a new seat cover. The car is less than 3 months old. Can/should I pursue it under any kind of warranty/satisfaction?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Warranty call, without question...

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I have the same thing on a portion of of the white stripe on the drivers side recaro. I am on the fence to take it to the dealer or just find leather repair place. On mine it looks like discolored with a oranges hue. Trying to clean it just lifted the die.

 

 

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I have the same thing on a portion of of the white stripe on the drivers side recaro. I am on the fence to take it to the dealer or just find leather repair place. On mine it looks like discolored with a oranges hue. Trying to clean it just lifted the die.

 

 

Like yours, trying to see whether this was something ON the leather or IN it only lifted the die. Hopefully Ford will warranty the problem, but I've been looking for a good local leather repair shop just in-case. I thought I had one, but the the guy turned out to be SUCH a jackass that I left him where I found him. Taking it to the dealer tomorrow who must send a picture to Ford using the dealer's camera. Ford apparently makes all warranty decisions about interior surfaces directly.

 

Here's a picture of exactly what's going on. If Ford can't fix it, does anybody think a good leather worker or saddle shop can?

 

Seat%20Problem.JPG?psid=1

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That looks like some caustic substance was spilled on it.

 

It looks like it's "melted" or dissolved in some way.

 

You can try getting it warranted. However, it if looked right during a dealer inspection, you may have a hard time proving it was there when you bought it.

 

Either way, whether Ford takes care of it, or you do, it's a leather cover and can be replaced.

 

If it was mine and Ford refused, I'd take it upon myself, pay for it and replace the cover.

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That looks like some caustic substance was spilled on it.

 

It looks like it's "melted" or dissolved in some way.

 

Looks like, kind of - but wasn't. It's effectively an unused seat.

 

Either way, whether Ford takes care of it, or you do, it's a leather cover and can be replaced.

 

If it was mine and Ford refused, I'd take it upon myself, pay for it and replace the cover.

 

 

Obviously. But it's about an $800 replacement - JUST for the material. Hoping a set of take-off skins become available through SPP.

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I suppose "someone" could have spilled something on it before you took delivery, maybe even at the manufacturer level.

 

It ain't right for sure and it's definitely something I could not live with.

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When I have time I'll post a picture. Mine is on the back area of the seat. It's not terribly bad and if I wouldn't show someone they wouldn't notice. I will be curious what the dealer tells you. They is an upholstery show by my house that I stopped at $75.00 please the cost of matching die. The tough part is the white strips are stitched with black thread so it would be a time consuming job. I may buy my own kit and try myself. 99.9% of the time I do better work than the people I would hire. Other option use the guy my Infiniti dealer uses for interior repairs, I saw a burn hope he repaired and though he did an excellent job.

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Well, now I'm officially pissed. I haven't yet heard back from Ford, but after pricing out what the replacement cover would be for just the passenger ass-end, not only do the prices vary from $260 to $939 for the Recaros depending upon the color of the stripe (not kidding), but the passenger seat bottom cover is generally MORE expensive than the driver's side (again dependent upon color), but sometimes by a HUGE margin.

 

This is pricing jackassery at its finest.

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Hopefully these links work, this is what my driver seat looks like. If you look close you can see that orange looking stuff.

http://s229.photobucket.com/albums/ee258/Elcrissman/2012%20Shelby/?action=view&current=2012-09-12_17-47-01_209.jpg&evt=user_media_share

 

http://s229.photobucket.com/albums/ee258/Elcrissman/2012%20Shelby/?action=view&current=2012-09-12_17-46-35_8.jpg&evt=user_media_share

 

They didn't thumbnail like I hoped but if you click the links they do open.

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Well, now I'm officially pissed. I haven't yet heard back from Ford, but after pricing out what the replacement cover would be for just the passenger ass-end, not only do the prices vary from $260 to $939 for the Recaros depending upon the color of the stripe (not kidding), but the passenger seat bottom cover is generally MORE expensive than the driver's side (again dependent upon color), but sometimes by a HUGE margin.

 

Hmm for $260 thats not bad, if not covered by warranty. I'll have to price a drivers side seat back for mine. Did you just price at the stealership?

 

This is pricing jackassery at its finest.

 

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Well, now I'm officially pissed. I haven't yet heard back from Ford, but after pricing out what the replacement cover would be for just the passenger ass-end, not only do the prices vary from $260 to $939 for the Recaros depending upon the color of the stripe (not kidding), but the passenger seat bottom cover is generally MORE expensive than the driver's side (again dependent upon color), but sometimes by a HUGE margin.

 

This is pricing jackassery at its finest.

 

When you say you haven't heard from Ford, did you actually take it in to a dealer? That is clearly warrantable.
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  • 3 weeks later...

So, I had a leather repairman come out and look at my Recaro's today. I must say I am completely satisfied with the repair and would have no problem recommending this company to anyone. Excellant service, completely professional, and passionate about the details. One of the most difficult things to repair this seat was the fact that it is stitched with black thread so it took quite a bit of time to touch up the grey (looks white but actually isn't) stripes. The repairman said he thought oil or grease may have made contact with the seat at some point and over time penetrated the top coat and stained the dye. Also as a side note, he recommended using a 20:1 woolite and water mixture to simply wipe the dust off the seats and if I felt the need to use a protectant like Lexol or Meguiars Leather conditioner only use it once a year and do not apply to heavily and gently buff dry. Here are the results...

 

th_e2012-11-02_13-08-18_851.jpg

 

Before:

th_2012-09-12_17-47-01_209.jpg

th_RecaroSeat002.jpg

After:

th_RecaroSeat004.jpg

th_RecaroSeat005.jpg

th_RecaroSeat006.jpg

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I think regardless of color if something with petroleum or a chemical that will lift the protective top coat and then stain the color your going to have a problem. Just keep them wiped clear. I saw the discoloration on my seat the first time I saw the car. I didnt really think much of it until I tried to clean it off. Also buying the car 400 miles from home pretty much leaves me with no Ford support or local relationship's. The leather guy told my oils from your skin and abrasion from dust are the top 2 reasons he has to repair / re-coat leather. Once the top coat is opened up the leather will degrade quickly..

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