2014 HyTi Ceramic Seat Bolster Wear

[scn101]

Car has 9500 miles, only 11 months old, and the driver's lateral seat bolster piping is showing wear, please see pictures. The brown you see on the piping is not color transfer but I believe it is Ceramic color seat dye loss.

 

I believe this has to be a Ford quality issue because:

 

1. The seat's thigh bolters show no wear and that gets the most rubbing from your full weight as you pivot into and out of the vehicle. I would expect those to show the first signs of wear.

2. I weigh 175 lbs (5'11") so I'm not huge and in constant contact with the piping.

3. I had leather seats in my Sable, 113K miles when sold, no seat wear there.

4. Same thing for my Vette, leather seats, owned for 13 years and no wear.

 

I plan to go to the dealer soon for the first time since the car was purchased new for its first oil change and to get the musty AC smell addressed (TSB 14-0099).

 

Any thoughts, do you think this to be normal or a quality defect? Anyone else see this?

 

 

[hybridbear]

You're talking about the color change as the wear issue? I agree that the color change is an issue if it is wear in the leather and not a stain. I hope the dealer will help. You may wish to involve Meagan. She's our current Ford rep who can help make the process work more smoothly with the dealer.

[scn101]

Definitely not stains. They are areas where the piping has lost its dye. I will report back after the dealer has a look at it.

Edited December 21, 2014 by scn101

[hermans]

Mine has been to the upholstery shop twice and Ford picked up the tab.You and I are not the first ones to complain about this.

[scn101]

Twice? Can you elaborate a bit on your issues and what work Ford did for you?

[hermans]

The dye keeps wearing through and Ford takes it to an upholstery shop for repairs. The next time the upholstery shop will replace the entire bolster. According to the shop the leather is stretched too far. They stretch the material as much as they can as to get as many pieces as they can. I have no such issues with my MKZh. Better quality leather.

[FordService]

Car has 9500 miles, only 11 months old, and the driver's lateral seat bolster piping is showing wear, please see pictures. The brown you see on the piping is not color transfer but I believe it is Ceramic color seat dye loss.

 

I believe this has to be a Ford quality issue because:

 

1. The seat's thigh bolters show no wear and that gets the most rubbing from your full weight as you pivot into and out of the vehicle. I would expect those to show the first signs of wear.

2. I weigh 175 lbs (5'11") so I'm not huge and in constant contact with the piping.

3. I had leather seats in my Sable, 113K miles when sold, no seat wear there.

4. Same thing for my Vette, leather seats, owned for 13 years and no wear.

 

I plan to go to the dealer soon for the first time since the car was purchased new for its first oil change and to get the musty AC smell addressed (TSB 14-0099).

 

Any thoughts, do you think this to be normal or a quality defect? Anyone else see this?

 

 

 

Hi scn101,

 

I'm happy to reach out to your customer service manager on this. I'll need a PM with your VIN, best daytime phone number, full name, and dealer name/location.

 

You're talking about the color change as the wear issue? I agree that the color change is an issue if it is wear in the leather and not a stain. I hope the dealer will help. You may wish to involve Meagan. She's our current Ford rep who can help make the process work more smoothly with the dealer.

 

Thanks for the shout-out!

 

Meagan

[scn101]

Quick update. Brought the car to the dealer for its first oil change earlier this week at 9809 miles and to get a few things looked at (this is its first visit to the dealer since I bought it 11 months ago).

 

1. The seat. Both the dealer and Ford agreed the wear is unusual and they ordered a new seat back cover. Still waiting delivery of the cover.

2. Musty AC smell. A few months ago I dropped by the dealer to let him have a sniff and he definitely smelt it. AC evaporator was ordered this week, now in.

3. Asked them to look at SSM44558 to fix the ambient lighting and they reprogrammed the FCIM. Now my heated steering wheel doesn't heat. The touch screen button illuminates but no heat. It worked the day I dropped it off so I'm thinking the reprogram is causing an issue.

 

Anyways, once the leather seat back cover arrives I'll drop the car off to get the seat back cover replaced, the AC evaporator housing replaced, and hopefully get the steering wheel to warm once again. BTW, even in Texas, the heated steering wheel option is fantastic!

 

Other than the hiccup with the steering wheel the dealership has been nothing but nice and professional with me. No arguments about getting the work done from them or Ford. I still love the car. I sure hope that I get the vehicle back clean and working so I can continue to enjoy my ride.

[scn101]

The dealer did all the work needed and I'm super happy. For those that want to know more:

 

http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/5344-cooling-system-stinks-up-car-even-in-winter/page-28?