# Rear seat seam ripping open



## CrazyGerman (Jun 9, 2007)

Hey everybody! I read it here before now it is happening to mine: A seam on the driver side rear seat is ripping open (windows are not tinted). It is not bad yet but I can see that it is going to rip open... Since I am out of my warranty I was wondering what my options are... I don't really want to buy a new seat... does anybody know who could fix something like that and how much a new seat would be (if that's my only option)...


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## ricekiller848 (Oct 24, 2007)

Sow it back together. Thats what i did. (not to hard)


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## michaelescobar1606 (May 28, 2009)

its happening to me too man  but i see a zipper in the back of the seats i think it might be eazy to take the leather off and have it repaired


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## Robocop (May 9, 2009)

Is our leather interior rougher than other car makes leather?? Thanks


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## rextheracer (Jul 3, 2008)

take it to the dealer, even if its out of warranty...theyll fix it...the thing is, they put a whole new cover of leather, so (if you look hard enough) you can tell ones newer....but if the pontiac dealerships know anything, theyll help you out.


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## wernig (Sep 28, 2009)

Does anyone kno of a website that would sell lil plastic clips that hold the back of the driver together? Someone riped the whole back of my seat of like were the pocket is and broke the clips so now it won't go on


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## HP11 (Apr 11, 2009)

You might try looking through the 'help' section in an autoparts store for something that would match up. I don't think GM sells the clips separately.


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## i2old4this (Sep 29, 2009)

*same car/same color/same prob*

the stiching on both rear seats is coming apart. the center rear console is as well. talked to the factory & dealer and they can't help as 'it's no longer in warranty'. nevermind it started separating about 2 years back. haven't tried to fix it myself, but the dealer did give me a name of a upolstry shop.

the driver's seat is also coming unstiched, upper left. $30k, and this is the quality GM product i get??? but i'm not bitter......

cheerz


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## rextheracer (Jul 3, 2008)

id def advise going to different dealers, ones bound to help you out. this is a documented problem, and shouldnt be to big of a deal.


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## jeffgtols2 (Jun 6, 2008)

*Just noticed that on mine too*

The stitching on the top of the rear seats has come apart.
I couldn't believe it when I saw it yesterday. Both seats, same thing.
Warranty or not, this seems like it should be a recall candidate.
I like my car, but this is in the "patchetic" category. I agree that for $30k,
this absolutely shouldn't happen.


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## goat400 (Aug 18, 2009)

same here. driverside rear seat was separated when bought my GTO, passenger side started now too. SUCKS!!


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

goat400 said:


> same here. driverside rear seat was separated when bought my GTO, passenger side started now too. SUCKS!!


Why did you purchase the car knowing this? Did you bring it to the attention of the seller? Money knocked off the price of the car because of it? Try taking the car to a qualified upholsterer and see if they can restitch the affected area?


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## BobS (Jul 28, 2005)

rextheracer said:


> take it to the dealer, even if its out of warranty...theyll fix it...the thing is, they put a whole new cover of leather, so (if you look hard enough) you can tell ones newer....but if the pontiac dealerships know anything, theyll help you out.



If the dealer won't take care of you.... ask for a reference for their leather repair guy... My dealer was able to have it restitched by a skilled professional.

Another case of a top notch dealer covering for a GM corporate oversight.


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## goat400 (Aug 18, 2009)

because i really wanted a GTO and its mint besides tht. seems to be a pretty common problem anyways and yes the guy knocked some off the price


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## danfigg (Sep 27, 2009)

I have the same problem with the rear seats I brought it to an upholsterer and he told me $1000.00. I almost laughed in his face. He started to tell me how much work it is to remove the seats and started to show me where it all starts due to the window and how the sun goes in and all this BS and suddenly I see the zipper on the seats and I say to my self wow these are seat covers. I quickly ended the conversation and left his establishment. I will take out the seats and have them repaired my self. By the way he did give an explaination as to why the seams rip. The seats are very cushiony at the edges and when the heat from the sun hits them the leather shrinks and the seams start to rip. When I do my repair I am going to trim the cushion so that they are not so tight on the edges and when the sun hit them they will have room to shrink without putting stress on the threaded seams. If this is covered under warranty I am in luck I have 9 months left on my warranty---Danfigg
__________________


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

The threads in these seats came from China. They were bad. The leather came from swine. All the swine used had the flu.

NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA just busting but it sounds valid.


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## jpalamar (Jul 22, 2008)

GTO JUDGE said:


> The threads in these seats came from China. They were bad. The leather came from swine. All the swine used had the flu.
> 
> NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA just busting but it sounds valid.


My new favorite GTO qoute.


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## LOWET (Oct 21, 2007)

Not sure where GM purchased the leather for these seats or who made them for GM but the quality is kind of low grade. They seem to get dried out quickly. I clean and condition them every month plus the addition of tints sure helps out a lot


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## 05GTO75TRANSAM (Jan 25, 2010)

Hate for my first post to be negative but I saw this topic . I have owned many leather interior cars since 1971, and never had this happen. Between this , the steering column plastic shroud not fitting, gas cap stuck on, and the silver trim all pealing I not pleased. Owned the car from new, 05, happened 30k miles out if warranty. Wish I had my 75 Trans Am or my 70 1/2 z28 still, except for the gas mileage. The drive train performance is super. Shifter is as bad as my 75 T/A w. BW super T-10 which I switched to a Hurst. GM always has poor linkages.

Anyone have a fix for that silver trim?


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## jeffgtols2 (Jun 6, 2008)

So, I'm finally getting around to getting this fixed.
I spoke with an upholstry guy and he said he'd have to remove
the back seat in order to stitch it up.
Does that sound normal?


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

jeffgtols2 said:


> So, I'm finally getting around to getting this fixed.
> I spoke with an upholstry guy and he said he'd have to remove
> the back seat in order to stitch it up.
> Does that sound normal?


Yes he'll have to remove the cover. He may find it too brittle to sew, if you're lucky he can save it, be prepared to order new Justin Case.


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## jeffgtols2 (Jun 6, 2008)

Well that's a depressing thought, but I'm glad
you've forewarned me. 
Thanks for your input.

I'm thinking of selling my goat. I don't want to, but 
I need the money. It's got about 23k miles on it (2006),
six-speed, silver with the classic front grill.
Any clue what I might ask for it? I saw some blue book
for around $19k.


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## jpalamar (Jul 22, 2008)

jeffgtols2 said:


> So, I'm finally getting around to getting this fixed.
> I spoke with an upholstry guy and he said he'd have to remove
> the back seat in order to stitch it up.
> Does that sound normal?


Taking the rear seats out is 5 minutes of work. Sounds normal as it would be a PITA to do it while in the car.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

jeffgtols2 said:


> Well that's a depressing thought, but I'm glad
> you've forewarned me.
> Thanks for your input.
> 
> ...


It's not cheap to replace the covers. To go through GM you're looking at 1800+. Local upholstery shop about 800-1K. This is a well documented issue with GM. 

Issue with restitching is: the leather has gotten brittle and restitching may tear the leather. Maybe the guy doing your work can take it real easy.... forewarn him of this issue. 

If you are an original owner try addressing your local former Pontiac dealer maybe they can work with you on this....They DO HAVE the option to do this depending on mileage and years out of warranty. You may be pushing it. Worth a try.... If they are ignorant to this issue call their attention to the TSB's on this.


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## jpalamar (Jul 22, 2008)

The replacement GM seats don't match the origionals. The leather grain was way off on Julie's replacements.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

jpalamar said:


> The replacement GM seats don't match the origionals. The leather grain was way off on Julie's replacements.


Mine are very close... ya either live with it or replace it. For me, replace it, it cost me 0.


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## dustyminpin (Jun 19, 2006)

The local upholster told me that the leater was too hard for him to do anything with. Was like a baseball glove underneath that back glass. He had me feel it to see what he was talking about. He was gonna charge me 300 something to replace the bad parts with vinyl that was so close to leather you couldn't tell, the problem was he couldn't match the blue. Whatever shade of blue GM used on the IBM cars, isn't listed in his GM book. He swore up and down it was an aftermarket interior job. I had to explain to him I was the original owner and these cars came with black, red, and blue guts depending on exterior color. I didn't want a 2-tone rear seat for now I just got the windows tinted with 15 and am living with it. The stitching on the back of both headrests are coming apart as well.


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## Leahburk714 (Apr 22, 2010)

Was just cleaning my leather and noticed a small stitch was coming apart on my passenger rear seat at the top... what conditioner r u using for the seats to help keep them soft

I keep a car cover on mine as much as possible n tinted windows n this stil happened


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## HP11 (Apr 11, 2009)

I use Meguiar's Gold Class leather cleaner and conditioner every couple of months or so and Meguiar's Qwik interior detailer in between. So far, so good................


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Leahburk714 said:


> Was just cleaning my leather and noticed a small stitch was coming apart on my passenger rear seat at the top... what conditioner r u using for the seats to help keep them soft
> 
> I keep a car cover on mine as much as possible n tinted windows n this stil happened


It's not gonna help with the failing seam. It will continue to come apart. Your best bet is to get it to an auto upholstery shop and see if they can save it from getting worse.

I apply gold class from day 1 periodically and I paid particular attention to the seams. Car is garage kept in total darkness I was victimized too. It's the poor quality leather that was used. The stitching will continue to unravel and your seam will spread further and further. If it's not too bad now maybe it can be saved before it gets worse.


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## Mike_V (Mar 10, 2006)

I use Lexol cleaner and conditioner once a month. I always make sure to do it the day I put the car up for the winter and the day I pull it out. I've been waiting for this problem with the rear seats, but my stitching's perfect and seats still look 100% new.


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## HP11 (Apr 11, 2009)

You know what's strange? I've seen GTOs that are driveway kept that don't have this stitching problem and garage kept ones that do. Maybe it's a quality control problem with the stitching that is random based the leather used at the particular time of production and/or who did the actual sticthing? My stitching is fine. I've kept it garaged in the two years I've had it but I can't vouch for the 4+ years of previous owner.


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## Mike_V (Mar 10, 2006)

You're right - they probably had more than one source for the leather covers.


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

I live in Miami Florida where it doesnt get under 90 degrees in the summer. My car is my DD and its a PBM with red interior. I've had it 2 years now and don't have the benefit of keeping it in the shade. I don't have one single sign of this problem. At all. Seats are immaculate


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## Leahburk714 (Apr 22, 2010)

Falco21 said:


> I live in Miami Florida where it doesnt get under 90 degrees in the summer. My car is my DD and its a PBM with red interior. I've had it 2 years now and don't have the benefit of keeping it in the shade. I don't have one single sign of this problem. At all. Seats are immaculate


So how can i go about getting this fixed, it seems to be an ongoing problem with these cars clearly should be a fault in the car and should be able to be fixed for free but there is no pontiac anymore so the dealerships have no one to reimburse them for the poor quaility in some of these vehicles, so what to do im going to try n take the cover off myself for i have an industrial sewing machine and can get a strong thread to seal it up but i shoudlnt be the one fixing this, Pontiac should be at fault. So what to do....


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

If would be tough to get any car manufacturer to fix things long after the warranty is up. Other than a few that may have extra cost, extended warranties we have to face up to the fact that whatever happens to the car it is ours or maybe in an accident an insurance company's liability. The issue seems to have been a real hit and miss situation and who knows why. After 7 years mine is still fine. Could it be the humidity, cold, heat, sun, care, leather, particular sewing machine? Whatever the cause it is what it is.


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## SPICERED2006 (Oct 7, 2007)

I had mine replaced at the dealer...they match.....I also had a problem with the driver's side seat release.....they had to replace the whole inside of the seat back...took two days.


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## stlfab5 (Jul 11, 2011)

mine is also spliting at the seam in the rear seat, fron also did same thing, have a local leather guy fix mine did a great job!


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## IlliniGTO (Feb 28, 2011)

Note sure if anyone's seen this, its not too difficult if you're patient with it...

Step-by-step DIY torn rear seat stitching fix... - LS1GTO.com Forums


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