Problem with Softex seat cover

K

kuato

New member
Hi,

I have a 2015 TRDP purchased back in January. It has the Softex seats, and I'm noticing a very frustrating thing happening with the rear passenger seat. The seat cover seems to be coming undone at the bottom of the seat where the Softex cover wraps around and tucks underneath the bottom of the seat. This happened a few weeks ago, and I was able to re-tuck the cover back in and fix it myself. I initially thought I had caused the issue as I hauled some large cargo a few days earlier and thought I may have banged the cargo up against the bottom of the seat while I had the second row folded down. However, I just noticed the same issue has reoccurred. This time I was not hauling any loads. It seems the Softex cover is working itself loose and coming undone. The cover is only held in place by the tension of being stuffed under the bottom of the seat.

This is neither the quality I was expecting in a 40K+ vehicle nor the quality I'd expect from Toyota. Had my '99 4Runner for 16 years and never had any quality issues like this on that one.

Has anyone else seen this happening? If so, how did you fix it? Any suggestions?

It's actually good timing as I have my 5000 miles service appointment with Toyota this Friday, so will definitely be bringing this up to them. I'll post back what they say and do.
 
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I recently noticed the same thing in my 2014 TEP. It looks like a plastic clip is supposed to hold it in place, but it didn't seem to line up with a spot to reconnect with on the seat frame. I'm not sure if some fasteners are missing from my seat, or if it's a bad design.

I was going to wait until I go in for the next service. Let me know what the dealer does/says.
 
If I was having this problem I would screw the dealership and go straight to a automotive upholstery shop and have them fix it for good.
 
It happened to my wife's '15 SR5P and the dealer kept it over night under the auspices of having the mobile automotive after market leather/upholstery installer take care of it. No problem since and the back seat is regularly used.

The lesson here is get it done by a professional.
 
Dude said:
I fixed it myself the first time and it lasted about a day before coming back off. Took to the dealer and had them fix it. Went to pick it up and it had already popped back off. Now have to take it back another day to have some "other guy" who did a "special fix on another T4R" work on it. I am taking it off tonight and will post pics of the problem...it is a poor design and with the full weight of my 90lb child it pops right off. Not sure anything short of a half dozen hog rings through the material is going to fix it.
Click to expand...

Why? If it's covered under warranty let Toyota fix it, then complain if they don't. Worst case scenario they put an entire new seat cover on it; best case scenario they update the part from numerous recorded complaints like yours and you get a new seat cover.

It's a brand new vehicle under warranty, let the manufacturer stand behind their product and fix their mistakes rather than you screw yourself out of warranty.
 
Me too

Just chiming in to say that I've been reattaching the bottom of the rear seat since the car was new (last year).

Going in for my 20k service this week and I've put it on the dealer's radar. Hoping they'll be able to do the service and fix this in a prompt fashion!
 
Dude said:
I just don't need to be the poster child for a TSB...so I take an hour of my time to attempt a fix. If it doesnt work then I will go ***** at them and stop posting....and since this is a documented problem I highly doubt it causes them to void my warranty....really.
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised since you went and tried to "fix" it yourself; they could claim that since the original condition is not present and not documented, they have no way of confirming your issue and thus will not warranty it. They might goodwill it if you complain enough, but the reality is that since you took it upon yourself to "repair" the issue in a non-Toyota approved method, you become liable for the repairs for that particular component. Not to mention that's 1 less person who could contribute to creating a TSB/Recall. It took almost a decade for Toyota to finally admit issues with the dashboards on the 4Runners and a lot of that was contribution from the members on the forum getting together to make a petition, ect.

I understand your point of view and I would rather fix things myself to be honest (and I'm a bit spoiled because I did do all the extended warranty work on my 4th gen and I will be most likely doing the dashboard on my own vehicle soon,) but on a brand new vehicle; it's probably better to just bite the bullet and be patient and get a new seat cover installed than super glue the one you have back together.
 
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Dude said:
Dude....I am really not worried about it and thanks for the lecture. If I get my warranty voided then I will post it up and you can tell me "I told you so".
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Dude, he is trying to help you out. He is a Toyota tech and knows what he is talking about. If you didn't want other people's opinions on want you should do then why the hell would you post about it?
 
Dude said:
Well I don't recall asking for help and just offering some detail for others that have posted similar problems. Does that answer your question? Offensive posts removed....off to see my dealer.
Click to expand...

No need to remove your posts. Everybody's ideas help. I was just trying to point out that BlackWorks was trying to help as well.
 
[MENTION=199]Dude[/MENTION]

I apologize if I came across as condescending and/or lecturing; I was just more baffled that someone wouldn't take advantage of a free repair and/or new part on their brand new vehicle that Toyota messed up on.
 
Seems to be a TSB for this issue

Well, I just took the 4Runner back to the dealer for the second time this week. This time, they took pictures of the issue and spoke to the Toyota rep. Apparently, there's already a TSB for this issue whereby they will replace the clips with a different style supposedly fixing the issue. :banana:

Although the actual seat cover is not part of the TSB, the dealer said they will also be replacing the cover at no charge. Service is scheduled for this coming week. I'll post back my results after I've had the work done and have driven it for a while to see if it actually fixed the issue.

I suggest that anyone else having this issue take the vehicle to the dealer and start going through the process to get it covered by the TSB.
 
I haven't noticed any problems with the SofTex cover on my second-row seats, but will take a close look soon to confirm.

Just curious if any of you with this problem have the third-row seat option? The second-row seats are different than stock, so I wonder if the problem is limited to one style and not the other?

Just for clarification, I have third-row seating and no problem (that I am aware of) with second-row upholstery.
 
kuato said:
Well, I just took the 4Runner back to the dealer for the second time this week. This time, they took pictures of the issue and spoke to the Toyota rep. Apparently, there's already a TSB for this issue whereby they will replace the clips with a different style supposedly fixing the issue. :banana:

Although the actual seat cover is not part of the TSB, the dealer said they will also be replacing the cover at no charge. Service is scheduled for this coming week. I'll post back my results after I've had the work done and have driven it for a while to see if it actually fixed the issue.

I suggest that anyone else having this issue take the vehicle to the dealer and start going through the process to get it covered by the TSB.
Click to expand...
Which dealership did you go to?
 
kuato said:
Hi,

I have a 2015 TRDP purchased back in January. It has the Softex seats, and I'm noticing a very frustrating thing happening with the rear passenger seat. The seat cover seems to be coming undone at the bottom of the seat where the Softex cover wraps around and tucks underneath the bottom of the seat. This happened a few weeks ago, and I was able to re-tuck the cover back in and fix it myself. I initially thought I had caused the issue as I hauled some large cargo a few days earlier and thought I may have banged the cargo up against the bottom of the seat while I had the second row folded down. However, I just noticed the same issue has reoccurred. This time I was not hauling any loads. It seems the Softex cover is working itself loose and coming undone. The cover is only held in place by the tension of being stuffed under the bottom of the seat.

This is neither the quality I was expecting in a 40K+ vehicle nor the quality I'd expect from Toyota. Had my '99 4Runner for 16 years and never had any quality issues like this on that one.

Has anyone else seen this happening? If so, how did you fix it? Any suggestions?

It's actually good timing as I have my 5000 miles service appointment with Toyota this Friday, so will definitely be bringing this up to them. I'll post back what they say and do.
Click to expand...

This-thread-is-useless-without-pictures.gif


abejuju5.jpg
 
Did you happen to have a TSB number? Mine did the same thing, service guy said he doesn't know if there's a fix and set me up an appointment for "inspection". I went home and tucked it in and looks good for now, would be nice to have the TSB number for backup. Thanks
 
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