Poor man seat covers.

[RysiuM]

I have SR5 with cloth seats. After few years of sliding in and out of the driver seat I noticed that the fabric took quite abuse especially on the left side, where my but was rubbing it while getting in and out of vehicle. Running boards helped a little bit but not that much.

The main problem is that there are no "real" seat covers for this particular truck. Some companies claim to make seat covers just for this model, but they don't account for airbags in the seat back. Companies claim that their covers are "SRS compatible" but really, who actually proved that? Toyota does not have solution to the problem either - no OEM seat covers available.

So I decided to go my own way, and because I am cheap by nature, I went for something simple, reliable and "SRS compatible". I bought two bath towels from Target (for 4.99 each), shower rings from Joan's (10 for 3 dollars after discounts) and bungee line from Home Depot. I had some 1/2 inch grommets and hooks for bungee cord. All these I needed to create my own "aftermarket seat covers".

As you can see on these pictures the airbag seam is loosely covered by the cloth which can flap forward when airbag is deployed. It is almost perfect fit but for the price I paid I can't find better deal.

 

[Bad_Influence]

Best mod yet, but....does the added weight cause the driver side to rub or what?

 

[marshal]

Looks like you just came back from the beach in 1993 to me :dunno:

 

[stamonkey]

Here's two legit car cover companies that sell covers compatible with our air bags. They are a bit more expensive than towels though.

Custom Car Covers | Custom Seat Covers | Dash Covers | Car and Truck Floor Mats - Coverking®
Car Seat Covers | Seat Covers | Custom Seat Covers | Truck Seat Covers | Automotive Seat Covers

 

[KidVermicious]

They are a bit more expensive than towels though.

ound:

For what it's worth, Coverkings are crap.

 

[RysiuM]

Looks like you just came back from the beach in 1993 to me :dunno:

It was a good year, 1993:wave: I used that kind on my Mazda5 I traded in after four years of commuting. The seat fabric was like new and I got top value for that.

BTW "beach seat covers" are easy to remove and machine wash in common household washer keeping them fresh from body smell:hand:

Here's two legit car cover companies that sell covers compatible with our air bags.

This is what I was talking about. "Compatible" is not good enough for me. Unless Toyota says they will work as OEM I'm not buying it. Any extra seam on the top of the airbag can or may disturb correct deployment (per Toyota reps). I don't want to be a test dummy on that. "Parachute manufacturer never gets any complains about their products not working" :frisky:

 

[stamonkey]

I swapped my fabric seat covers for the OEM Softex TEP covers. It was a lot of work, but worth it.

 

[SirBarton]

I swapped my fabric seat covers for the OEM Softex TEP covers. It was a lot of work, but worth it.

where did you source the softer TEP covers?

 

[flyrv9]

Looks like Towele from South Park!

 

[serial0l0]

This is what I was talking about. "Compatible" is not good enough for me. Unless Toyota says they will work as OEM I'm not buying it. :frisky:

Did Toyota confirm the towels would work as OEM? :frisky:

 

[Hellamatic]

<a href="http://s1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/?action=view&current=c72d946dbb582e8351ed4620e180fe39_zpsc62pod5a.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii615/kelseyreder/c72d946dbb582e8351ed4620e180fe39_zpsc62pod5a.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

 

[stamonkey]

where did you source the softer TEP covers?

Picked then up off eBay, there are a couple sellers that auction oem seat covers from custom upholstery shops. I watched for a while before something popped up.

 

[ECBMCC]

Just put Marathon seat covers on mine, not cheap but well made. My neighbor has his on his 4Runner since 2001 and he has roughly 350K miles on the ODO and they're still going strong. Good luck!

 

[RysiuM]

Did Toyota confirm the towels would work as OEM? :frisky:

I did not ask yet :argue: but I can guarantee with my both balls that this towel will not interfere with any of all gazillions airbags in this car. I would like to have such guarantee from any seat cover manufacturers :horn:

 

[Victor_inox]

ound:

For what it's worth, Coverkings are crap.

I agree, I sent mine back.

Actually I drove to their shop in Aurora, CO and showed them how poorly they fit.

 

[RysiuM]

For what it's worth, Coverkings are crap.

After almost one year I can say that my towels are not the best quality either. They show now some "tear and wear" but the good news is, they are cheap and easy to replace, and then can be used to wipe out the garage floor after the oil change. You can't do that with Coverkings :biggrin2: