myr4ste8

I need to have my driver seat fixed on my 08 C6 because of excessive wear on the left bolster. The auto upholsterer gave me two estimates: One price for patching the vinyl and a higher price to replace and restitch the two pieces of vinyl that are worn. I was surprised to hear that these parts of the seat are in vinyl and the leather is only on the middle portion of the seat (where you sit and where your back rests). Could anyone tell me if this is correct? Thanks

RUBYREDVET

Yup. if you check the brochure it will say leather on all "seating surfaces".

vetteright

Actually, the upper portion of the bolster is leather, but the bottom approximately about two thirds (the part that gets all the wear) is vinyl. Had mine replaced under warranty also. I think that there was a TSB on this quite some time ago. As part of the repair, they add extra foam to the problem area. I had this same issue years ago with my C5 and it too was covered and repaired under the warranty.

waffle1971

I have only 4k miles on my Z06 - and the left bolster looks terrible already. A complete shame, in my opinion...

DS Vettes

The headrest and back insert are leather. The part you sit on is also leather. The side bolsters on the seat back are vinyl, as are the the sides of the seat bottom and the front bottom under your knees. The back is some sort of nylon cloth or the like

PHXAZ06

Same here. Shame is right. How much more could it have cost to use a MUCH better material on both seats bolsters. $20?

AFVETTE

It's been this way since the C5. I had my seat covers replaced on my 99 and 03 because of the infamous "seat bolster premature wear" issue.

I hope the C7 has more and better leather.

Tom

myr4ste8

Vetteright, you add an interesting point. I bought my 2008 C6 used, but it's still under the manufacturer's full warranty until February 2013 (in case you're wondering, although it's a 2008 model, the original owner bought the car in February 2010, so the 3-year warranty started then).

When I asked the local GM dealer to fix the seat, I was told that this was not under warranty as it is not normal wear. Other than that, the car is in perfect shape. They also kind of politely told me that because I bought the car used (I bought it from a CF member last year) and the seat bolster was already worn then, that it was my problem to fix it as I knew this when I bought it... One thing that annoys me is that my buddy bought a used BMW and his seat bolster had similar wear, but the BMW dealer repaired it under warranty, no questions asked...

I'm not sure how any of you have dealt with dealers on getting your worn bolsters fixed under warranty, but up here in Canada, it will cost me $375 to have it fixed at an auto upholsterer.

Thompyt

Go to another dealer, if possible. Used or not, it is a bumper to bumper warranty, no?

I don't think fair wear and tear would fit in by comparison. Does it show knife cuts, nails..... or worn like sanded? Ask to talk to a regional rep or the GM rep on here.

Rich Mickol

I'm not sure how you find them but if someone does maybe they can get you the TSB number. I'd then go back armed with that in hand. Your car is still covered under the 36m/3y bumper to bumper and I'm not sure if you being the second owner really matters. Good Luck

vetteright

I am sorry to hear that. Your local dealer sounds like a total idiot. GM warrantees the vehicle and not just to the original owner - doesn't matter whether or not you purchased the car new, used, from a dealer, or an individual. The original 3 year/36,000 mi bumper-to-bumper warrantee applies to the seat covers. You should contact GM customer service - there should be a procedure outlined for this in the back of your owner's manual.

The dealer where I purchased my C5 new (Coggin Chevrolet in Jacksonville, Florida) repaired that drivcer seat bolster under warranty with no hesitation. I purchased my '08 used (it had 8400 miles on it). I had the driver seat bolster replaced under warranty by the local Chevrolet Dealer (Landers-McLarty Chevrolet in Huntsville, AL) while the vehicle was still under the 3yr/36,000 mi warranty. I did not purchase the car there. Your dealer should take care of this; if not, contact GM.

ohmy

Vinyl... leather... it's all crap! makes your *** sweat in the heat and your nads freeze in the cold... time to stop thinking of these materials as some sort of luxury items, they're not...

as far as OPs question... I dunno

Bill Dearborn

Actually vinyl is the best material you can use on those sections as it is more durable than leather. The problem isn't the materials it is due to the design of the seat and the low entry of the car. The seat frame is basically the same as the C5 seat frame so it has a sharp fiberglass edge supporting the bolster. When you get in the car if you put your leg in first and then let your butt slide against the bolster you are pushing the skin and the foam underneath it hard against the sharp edge of the frame. It doesn't take long for the foam to separate and then the skin is rubbing against the sharp edge of the frame. When the C5s first came out that section was covered in leather and they wore very quickly. The bolster on my 97 showed wear within three days of my taking delivery. I modified my car entry method and extended the life of the leather until close to the end of the 3 year warranty and then had it repaired. GM had so much trouble with the leather wearing out they changed the seat bolster material to vinyl in 2000 and it has been that way ever since. The upholsterer who replaced the section in my 97 told me he could do leather or vinyl but recommended vinyl since it held up much better than leather in high wear areas like the bolster.

If you change the way you enter the car the bolster will not wear at all. Just turn around car and face away from the car then sit down using your right hand on the bolster to keep your body away from the seat back, once seated swivel your legs into the car. This is the same method people had to use to get into C4s with their high door sills.

If you want leather in that area that will hold up to the abuse then I recommend a high quality work boot leather.

Bill

phileaglesfan

If there is a TSB out on it then there is a problem with it. I would find another dealer as I had mine replaced in my 08. GM went cheap with the vinyl and about the worst thing you can do is put some leather conditioner on it. My 08s looked like crap in 6 months. I just use a damp towel on my 11 GS and it looks like new 7 months old (and it sat on the dealer's floor for about 6 months). However I looked at a new 12 GS Vert that they had yesterday and the seats already had crease marks in them. Pretty bad when the Cruze interior has better materials.

myr4ste8

Very useful message Bill. Thank you.

I must say though that I am very careful on how I enter and exit my C6. It is the previous owner who wore out the bolster. I just want to have the interior look like it should especially with the rest of it looking almost new. This worn bolster kills the look and bothers me everytime I open the door. I will be posting a picture of what the worn area looks like shortly so those of you with similar issues can compare...

myr4ste8

As promised in my last reply, I have attached a few pictures of my worn bolster. At leasty some of you can compare with what you have. The car is a 2008 and it had 22,000 miles on it when I bought it in May 2011. It was only about 15 months old. The interior was, and still is in excellent condition, except for the worn bolster. The first two pictures show how clean the overall interior is, and the other three show the worn bolster...

I also checked for Technical Service Bulletins related to the seats on the 2005-2011 Corvette in the NHTSA's safercar.gov site. There's nothing... Zip. I'm disappointed. There are lots of TSBs on electrical, auto transmissions, fuel systems and seat belts though... Geez. I guess they have more problems with those components than the seats

I'll try another dealership to see if they can do something to fix this, then I'll see if I could get a hold of a GM regional service rep, but I won't hold my breath.

QUAKEJAKE

That's strange as my seats with 32K miles look 95% as new.

RO55

I've watched alot of Vette owners use this area for their hand to help them exit the car. No wonder some wear very quickly especially if you weigh more than 110lbs.

JimmyLee

Until you get it repaired, you might consider using a black "Sharpie" marker on the worn areas, which I've done on my older cars. Not an ultimate solution, but the Sharpie will at least tone down the visual.

myr4ste8

Good idea JimmyLee. I'll try a Sharpie as a temporary fix, but in the end, I'll need to have the vinyl replaced because want the bolster to look new again, like the rest of the interior... I'm curious myself on how the first owner managed to wear the bolster this much.