03 Limited, Reversing Front Seats?

M

MJ Philbin

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I know this is a long shot, but has anyone ever reversed the 2 front seats on an 03? Mine has extensive wear from almost 170K miles, and the passenger's seat looks and feels like new. I know the controls and airbag sensors would have to be re-installed, but is there a difference in the bolting pattern from the left to right sides? Just curious...I'd like to try this if it can be done.
 
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Do you have leather or cloth seats? I was going to get my leather drivers side seat fixed because the seat part of it had cracking in the leather. The upholstery shop was going to pull the seat cover off and fix it, then reinstall it. If you can remove the seat covers why not just swap the covers instead of the entire seat.

If you have cushioning issues maybe just check with a local car upholstery shop to see if they can redo some of the cushioning. If you bring them the foam internals I have to believe it would be pretty cheap to fix it for you.
 
:iagree:

I would check with aftermarket leather suppliers, like Classic Soft Trim, Katzkin, LiquidCell, etc. and see if they'll sell you just the driver's cover.

eBay has full leather kits for a few hundred.

Swapping would still leave you with a worn out seat.
 
The foam (and the seat heaters) "look" the same left and right.. but the leather covers are definitely different.

There is an inboard "button" hole in the leather/vinyl for the round clip that holds the cover by seat belt latch... and on the other side there is a square cutout for the switches.

I got half way into the process of swapping the cover and the foam left to right and right to left and then I bailed when I saw that the leather/vinyl would need to be cut to clear the switches.

I will be sending off some email inquires to the above aftermarket leather suppliers. I suspect there are several problems with that... First, most of the aftermarket seems targeted at SR5 Cloth-> Leather upgrades... Not Limited leather repairs... and from what I can tell the SR5 seats and the limited seats are different (though some part numbers for the foam would prove that one way or another)

And I would bet that color match might also be challenge. When replacing just a seat bottom there is no such thing as "close enough" on a color match. Its either bang on or its plain wrong.
 
After a little digging, I can confirm that the part number for the drivers foam is 71511-35110

Good news the part number for the passenger side foam is 71511-35110 so they are completely L&R reversible! :thumb3:

I would suspect that the limited covers have a cutout for the power seat switches... which would be easily duplicated.

No word from any of the above leather suppliers yet ...
 
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Please post any info you get from the leather suppliers. I, too, have a limited and the drivers seat needs repairs on the left side. The upholstery shop basically told me they can get the exact color/material that was used to make the seat so the color would be perfect. They also wanted around 300 bucks so if a replacement cover is cheaper that may be the way to go.

Thanks.
 
Thanks for the replies and ideas! If it were just a $300 +/- repair to replace the cover, I wouldn't go through the trouble to switch the seats. That's no where near as bad as I expected. I think it's time to stop at a local auto-upholstery shop and talk to someone.

Thanks again! Love this place!
 
MJ, Lombard Toyota referred me to Riggs Brothers for seat repairs. They are in Naperville, Aurora, and Downers Grove. They are the folks who gave me an estimate of 320 bucks to fix the side and top left piece of my limited seat. They appear to have been around forever and both the parts guys at the dealer were very positive on them.

This, of course, was after they quoted me 1000 bucks to buy a genuine OEM replacement seat cover. Just the seat. Not the back, not both front seats. Just the drivers seat part you sit on.

Here is their website.

Riggs Brothers | Chicagoland Suburb
 
Uneek said:
:iagree:

I would check with aftermarket leather suppliers, like Classic Soft Trim, Katzkin, LiquidCell, etc. and see if they'll sell you just the driver's cover.

eBay has full leather kits for a few hundred.

Swapping would still leave you with a worn out seat.
Click to expand...

MidwestT4R said:
Please post any info you get from the leather suppliers. I, too, have a limited and the drivers seat needs repairs on the left side. The upholstery shop basically told me they can get the exact color/material that was used to make the seat so the color would be perfect. They also wanted around 300 bucks so if a replacement cover is cheaper that may be the way to go.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Been a couple of weeks now and not a single positive response from ANY of the above suppliers. Local vinyl and leather repair dude is coming to look at the truck tomorrow. He quoted me "about $75" We shall see...
 
chaz said:
just in case, 334 for a complete diy set isnt bad. leather install - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum
Click to expand...


Whoever the ebay vendor was who offered the kit for $334... I can't find him...
Best price now is around $675. Also, the kit is to upgrade SR5 seats... not sure if the will work with Limited seats. If the only difference is cutouts for the power controls (vs knob and recline lever) then it will be fine... But still no definitive answer on this.

Its too bad that no-one sells something like this for our trucks...

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 4runner backrest leather seatcover | eBay
 
chaz said:
does it have to be real leather? if not, TOYOTA 4RUNNER 2003-2009 S.LEATHER CUSTOM SEAT COVER | eBay heres leather limited for 450 2003-2009 Toyota 4Runner Leather Seat Covers Full Cover - eBay (item 130454889101 end time Aug-10-11 22:04:07 PDT)
Click to expand...

I'm Looking for an upholstered solution... NOT a cover... a new surface, that replaces the factory surface and is hog ringed to the foam/seat frame.

The first link is a "cover"... in other words it goes over existing seat fabric! and only for the front two, and is not leather... its all vinyl. Meh...

I'm Looking to repair/replace leather seats... not go backward.

The Second link, is also a cover.. goes over existing seat fabric and is perforated ... :barf:

We need something to replaces the old factory cover(s).

Like VenomHP, I have hog ring pliers and I have done a proper upholstery job on collector cars in the past. As VenomHP nicely documented... if you have the right parts, a little know how, some simple tools (and a supply of hog rings) this is not all that hard of a project.

Sadly, it looks like, if someone made the proper parts a year or two ago.. They don't seem to anymore. (or at least they aren't on the 'bay)

Venom PM'd me a link to his ebay Vendor... I have a pm off to the ebay'er to see whats up. He is still in business.. But has ZERO inventory.
 
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I used the same guy Venom used on ebay. Got mine ~8 months ago. I swapped the foam from the front seat bottoms at the same time I replaced the covers/upholstery. The foam itself is identical, but I had to carefully peel off the passenger sensor and glue it onto the formerly driver-side foam. Not a big deal though, once you're already that far into it.
 
Venom's vendor is this guy:

Nissan murano Leather Seat Covers 03-08 Partial Set | eBay

He has nothing for sale for Toyota right now... I PM'ed him over at the 'bay and he said that he will have 4Runner covers for sale again in a couple of weeks. He will not break up sets... Its an all or nothing deal. $299 for a 2 Row set (front and back) plus shipping. (He has 3 row sets too)

He felt that the fronts will work in the Limited Seats... He is not sure about the back.
 
jp8900 said:
Check out Toyota Parts Cheap - Genuine OEM . I found the covers there for around 250 and they have the colors for all models. Just something to consider. I check for a 2003 cause thats what im going to have to replace with.

Jon
Click to expand...

Take another look... what you found for $250 is the foam pad that goes under the covers.

The leather covers on that page actually retail 745.73 for just the Drivers Fawn Seat bottom. The Fawn drivers seat back is over $900... OEM part are NOT a cost effective option here.

I ordered a set from that guy on Ebay, and frankly it was the worst experience I have ever had on Ebay. While he lists his location as Texas, he is really in Mainland China, which is where the parts come from. He has NO CLUE about what factory colors Toyota used over the years and "fawn" to him meant bright yellow tan, that not only matches nothing, but is just plain ugly.

He only communicates during a 15 minute window around 8:00AM (Pacific Standard time)... I'm guessing when someone translates emails for him... Ask more than one question per email and you are screwed. One email per day... Takes DAYS to get an answer to a simple question... Days and days to deal with a complex idea like "Hey, the cushion you sent me doesn't match". Long story short, I sent them back and put in a complaint with ebay... Eventually all funds were recovered. (pun intended)

If you are looking to upgrade dark grey SR5 seats... maybe use this guy. If you are looking to repair worn out fawn limited seats.... look elsewhere.
 
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