Quote:
Originally Posted by Temple
Is this something that you will have done at an upholstery shop? Does this cost much?
Folks - here's my 2 cents of experience ... I bought my Solstice 3 weeks ago with cloth because the dealer leather looked awful and was too expensive ... after 1 week with cloth I decided to get custom leather because the cloth was just plain uncomfortable and felt more like polyester than cloth. I visited with a local custom shop in NJ and they assured me that they can get the GM approved pattern in leather from a local factory shop in NJ. A few days later (much to my amazement) they had in fact gotten the leather kit which looked and felt awesome (including the Pontiac emblem stitched in the headrest). I also had them do a leather steering wheel wrap.
The seat cover installation looked liked a snap but turned out to be a bear. Lessons learned if you decide to go down this path:
1. The recliner tabs on the side of the seats are one way tabbed throughout (have a GM set ready for the shop before they take apart your seats otherwise you may have a problem when they crack).
2. The factory foam on the seats is absolute garbage - the shop had to steam it so that it fluffed back up prior to installing the leather - this is the reason why some of you are seeing the sagging effect irrespective of your weight - the shop suggested that if it sags again they will custom order the foam in higher density
3. The seats must be carefully removed as to ensure that the under-seat electric sensor/connection is not ripped out - has to be manually disconnected since it is locked. Do not under any circumstances turn the car on while the sensors are being disconnected or reconnected and while the sensors are completely disconnected - possible danger of airbag activation.
4. The passenger side sensor is a bit more complicated since it has the pressure pad so you must be prepared to explain it to the shop before they start removing the cover of the seat. I got my info from this forum site (thank you very much). The shop was grateful since it made it easier for them not to screw things up.
5. Have them carefully remove the old covers and keep them as replacements. Some shops cut the old covers from the back of the seat where there is no foam or electric unless you ask them not to do so in order to save time on installation.
6. The new covers must be properly prep'ed and slightly silicone spray lubed on the inside to fit easily over the foam otherwise the process may damage the foam.
7. Once the covers are fitted they have to be zippered, bottom snapped and all the side tabs snapped back into the seat frame to ensure proper mounting (some shops forget to do the bottom tabs which causes the covers to pull up when you sit down and expose the foam although you don't always see it being that the seat is so low - this may cause damage to the foam much quicker than normal wear).
8. The anchor bolts for the seat belts must be properly torqued when they are remounted to the seat especially on the passenger side which seemed to be at a higher torque than the driver side (odd detail - not sure why and neither was the shop).
9. Finally - once everything is bolted down, have them double check all bolts and snaps - there is always something that gets lost or remains incomplete during the process.
10. The new leather takes about 10 to 15 days to form fit the foam during which time it should be wiped down with a moist towel and exposed to sun.
11. I absolutely love my new leather seats and would recommend that you do an aftermarket job with a reputable shop if you hate the factory leather or the cloth.
Total installation time (and I was in the shop every minute while they worked) -- 1 crew, 10:30 am to 3:45 pm with about 15 minutes for his lunch - total cost $1552 for seats and steering wheel including installation and tax.
Pictures to follow if anyone is interested ...