Honda Pilot Leather Seat Wear

bogiejim

I have a 2006 Pilot with leather seats that is now 2 1/2 years old. I noticed several months ago that the leather driver's seat back was wearing through along the side piping about 6 inches up from the seat bottom. I waited until I had the car in for normal service this past weekend to show this to the dealer. I was told that I would have to show it to the service manager which I will do later this week. I am anticipating that I am going to be told that this is "normal wear and tear" by the dealer. In my opinion this is not "normal". I understand that leather if not treated occasionally will crack, but that is not the case here. Has anyone else run into this problem and if so did you get any satisfaction from your dealer?

peddler1

I purchased a2006 pilot, the seat covers were replaced twice in 20000 miles, the same place as yours, about 6in. above the seat. I then purchased a 2007 pilot same problem. the upside is they replaced the cover both times. I now have a appointment for the second time on my 2007 pilot. My opinion is poor quality seat covers in both 2006 & 2007 pilots.

bogiejim

Thanks for your input. I went to the dealer and saw the service manager. He told me that the area of the problem on the side of the seat is vinyl in order to allow the air bag to deploy if necessary. I was told that this is pretty much "normal wear and tear" as I had suspected I would be told. But that as an act of good faith by his dealership I could bring the vehicle back and he had an outside party that would repair the vinyl area. Now that I have your response I am going to push for a new seat cover as you received. Did you have to go above the local dealer to get this done, or did they offer to have it done? Can I also ask the name of your dealer so that I can give mine a reference if necessary. Thanks.

bmedina

Hello, I found your post as I am having the same issue with my 2006 Pilot, Driver side seat on left side by door has piping coming apart. i was curious if you were able to get anything resolved at your dealership or if anybody was helpful as I feel I will get the same "wear and taer" response. I am the original owner and car only has 30K miles on it. I am also having a few other issues such as rust on the inside of back passenger dorr but that is a different issue, any response would be greatly appreciated. I also have a 2006 Accord that has been flawless, a bummer on thePpilot though

jensad

My wife had the same issue and the dealer repaired it under warranty. This was in 2008. Good luck to all and stay safe.

jensad

aschmann

I have a 2008 pilot, dealer replaced drivers seat cover once under warrenty
, within 6 months it was seperating along the piping in the same place. Went
round and round with Honda and the dealer. ended up with me paying 25 pct of the cost.
This time the service department installed the new seat cover so it wasn't stretched as tight on the side of the seat. I can tell by Looking at the the
slight gap now on the top left back of the seat, the seat cover has slight
wrinkes where it can give a little when somebody heavy sits in the
drivers seat.
This was done by the dealer about 4 weeks ago so we'll see how it
holds up over the long term.

kcellis

We have a '08 TSX that is experiencing VERY similar wearing of the leather seats.
( started just months after we bought it! )

I was wondering how you made out with your dealer?

kcellis

We have a '08 TSX that is experiencing VERY similar wearing of the leather seats.
( started just months after we bought it! )

I was wondering if you had any tips in getting the dealer to replace the seats? I am getting the royal RUN-AROUND...

kcellis

We have a '08 TSX that is experiencing VERY similar wearing of the leather seats.
( started just months after we bought it! )

I was wondering if you had any luck getting your seat cover replaced?

kcellis

We have a '08 TSX that is experiencing VERY similar wearing of the leather seats.
( started just months after we bought it! )

I was wondering if you ever took your situation up with the dealer or anything?

tidester

Please don't post multiple copies of the same message. A single posting will suffice.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

kcellis

sorry! [ just getting used to this...... ]

aschmann

Please look at my previous post. The best course of action is to print these
messages out, show them to your dealer's service manager, They should at
least cut the price of replacing the seat cover. When they agree to replace the
seat cover tell them to install it not as tight as original, thats what they did with mine. The problem has NOT reoccured !

kcellis

Thanks much for the feedback!

Wish me luck....................

bogiejim

The dealer would not replace the seat cover. I had the offered repair done four months ago. They sublet the work out to a sub contractor. He blended the repair to match the color perfectly and so far it is holding up well.

franella

I have a 2006 Pilot and I have this same exact problem. I just noticed it and I already have 52,000 miles on the car. I am extremely disappointed, as I also have a 1994 Civic Si Hatchback with cloth seats. That Civic must have over 250,000 miles (speedometer stopped at 137,900 10 years ago!) on it and the seats are still perfect. I expected the same quality with this car. I plan on expressing my dissatisfaction at the dealership, but I'm not hopeful that I will get anywhere. Keep the suggestions coming PLEASE!

I also have a suspension squeak that my mechanic cannot locate, a drip in the paint on the driver side mirror, and a squeaky driver visor. These things are annoying, but the seat is really really irking me!

tracib1

Has anyone had trouble with their leather seats cracking? The leather seems to have stiffened and is cracking along the perforations of the front seats. I immediately brought it to my Honda repair shop and they had they're upholstery vendor take a look at it. Basically the vendor says it's unrepairable leaving me the option to replace the unholstery altogether which is $625.00 per seat. I expect wear and tear and am willing to pay for repair but it seems like leather should last longer than cloth seats and I believe Honda should cover at least some of the cost. I contacted Honda's customer service and issued a complaint but they say they won't do anything.
I know the car is 7 years old but we bought it new expecting it to last longer than 7 years. I've never had leather seats do this and would appreciate any feedback. Even a suggestion of a more affordable way to replace seat coverings. (I am hoping my 15 year old will be able to take over the car next year.)
THanks.

aschmann

The problem is that the leather seat covers are installed stretched too tight, Rossi Honda in vineland NJ, installed new leather seating covers on our 2008 Pilot twice, the first time they were installed as they were installed as service manuals instructed and they separated at the side seams again, When they replaced the seat covers a second time , the service technician left a slight gap in back of the headrests at the top of the seatback, result was the leather wasn't stretched as tight and problem did not reoccur. Have recently traded the car, but that is definitely the solution. We split the cost of the new seat covers with the dealer after they replaced them the first time at their cost.

hogwild1

My 2005 Pilot is cracking on the bolsters as well. This is in part due to the low grade leather Honda used, and in part due to the nylon fake leather used where leather was implied to be used. I had to replace the short block on my pilot at 30K miles, the VTM system failed at 75K miles requiring all the wheel sensors to be replaced, and the auto has never met milage ratings. This is my fourth Honda in 25 years (usually drive them 10 years, own two at a time). I will buy Subaru from this point forward. Honda customer service promised me an extended warrenty on my faulty engine but then would not honor it. Honda systematically lied to me. The will never get money from me again.

aschmann

Other than the leather seat issue I loved the car and never had any other
problem with it, Rossi Honda in Vineland NJ was very good to deal with,
I can't say that about the Honda company rep though, who wouldn't stand
behind their product.

harmoney

I purchased a used certified 2008 Pilot about 2 months ago. The dealer promosed to fix a rip on the drivers side leather seat at the time of purchase, but I would have to bring it back in order to get it fixed. The dealer fixed it was with a patch. Now, less than a month after this fix it job, the patch is peeling off. I am not happy at all. Every time I get in the car it looks really bad and makes me upset. I was not aware you could get the leather piece reupolstered and looked into that today. It would only cost about $175 to get this small part redone. I called the dealer and they would not pay more than $100. Does anyone know how to handle this? I think they should have fixed it this way to begin with. This was part of the purchasing agreement if you ask me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.