06 TL Leather + Rubbing alcohol= ruined!
 

Today i was installing my carbon fiber trim accessory around the cup holders and seat heater buttons, in the directions they say to clean the surface with alcohol before applying it to the plastic, so i put the bottle of rubbing alcohol between my legs while installing the trim and when finished i got out of the car to discover that some alcohol spilled on the bottom of the bottle and ate away the top finish on my leather, i will take some pics of the damage later but i hope they will cover this under warranty because my car now needs a new bottom seat skin and the car is pretty much new w 2k miles on it. I do have connections with my local acura dealership because i work at their honda dealership also and hope that they will cover the damage under my stupidity warranty. Well the main purpose of my post is to let you guys know to never try this and to keep rubbing alcohol away from your leather seats!

looks like your SOL. that sucks, dont know how rubbing alchol would do that.

Why would or should this be covered? Take responsibility for your actions.

Good luck with that.

yeah im confused

why would you expect them to cover this

you messed up ... spilled alcohol on the seats and expect THEM to cover it ? LOL

What the hell guys. Cut him some slack. He knows it shouldn't typically be covered under warranty. He's hoping they'll hook him up since he works at their Honda dealership:

If he can use his hook ups, more power to him. You would all do the same if you had the ability.

i dont think there is anyone here that wouldn't take the warranty coverage if offered

i think what the gripe here was .. is that he messed up and is expecting the dealership to cover it under warranty when it CLEARLY isnt a warranty issue

but as you stated .. if he can get it done under warranty more power to him .. but to expect/assume they would cover it is foolish

If he can use his hook ups, more power to him. You would all do the same if you had the ability.[/QUOTE]

No, I wouldn't. My first question would be "do you take Visa?"
Makes life a little better for people who have legit warranty claims
Word for the day....ACCOUNTABILITY

geez talk about rubbing salt into an open wound. come on let him come to his senses and then let him have it.

Meh. Do you really thing that spilling a little rubbing alcohol should ruin the finish on the seats? If its what I'm thinking, there is a plastic like cover actually pulling up, not just discoloring? If it was paint thinner or something I could understand, but we're not talking a particularly caustic chemical here. I wouldn't be overly surprised if it was denied, but its certainly worth trying to see if acura will warranty it.

Cut him some slack guys. I am sure most of you wouldn't know that alcohol ruins the seats. You guys should be glad that he told you about it.

Just my $0.02, but... If the stitching in the seat bottom were to become, oh, say... "frayed" and begin to unstitch, then they would have to either fix or recover it under warranty. And if they had to replace a seat cover that just happened to have damage anyway, then that was just your good fortune.

But you didn't hear it from me. ;)

Demonstrated lack of ETHICS is amazing! Did you ever hear 'you broke it, you buy it'?

Yes I might use a hookup if available but your idea really crosses the line imho.

Anyway, ruined is a relative term. I suspect some discoloration at the most, certainly still functional just no longer pretty and matching. It can probably be fixed for a reasonable fee.

Wow.. in your 56 years of living you were just a perfect little angel weren't you?

Anyways... I think this thread was also supposed to be an informative thread as well so instead of berrating him, why don't you thank him for giving you guys the heads up that something you wouldn't think twice about would ruin the leather....could.

everyone is so uptight. the guy is admitting that He ruined the seats. if he can get the dealership to fix than good for him. we would all want the same thing if it happened to us. i just installed my carbon fiber trim as well and tried to extra careful because if this thread. thanks.

Have you tried leather cleaner or using leather conditioner yet? you might want to try that a FEW times before making the dealership pay form something they didn't do.

how come we always have people bashing/putting others down on these forums? we all have love for our cars (acura's)... we should be helping one another... i read through these forums and all i see is people talking trash about others or their own car.. if you have so many negative things to say about your car then go get something else.. or if you have something bad to say about someone.. keep it to yourself.. i bet other people who come one these forums (non-acura owners), they probably laugh and say how stupid we are to talk trash about our cars and our fellow acura owners..

I'm for him trying to get the dealer to fix it, you never know. Beside the stealerships always gets over people so I think they can take one on the chin. :thumbsup:

I thought the same thing. :whyme:

Tell you what, take it to the dealer, describe what you did, and see what they recommend in fixing it.

if they cover it under warranty, great, if not, pay up. Dont even ask to apply your warranty.

it's funny how some on here want things done their way. just try and get the dealer to fix it. you made a mistake. no big deal.

Can't blame the guy for trying - think we all would if it was us

I would try some leather conditioner, apply a thick coat of it on where it happened, and let it sit overnight. It may just be that the alcohol could have dried it up a bit and the conditioner might help it moisturize again. Also, don't use anything by armor all, I would go with the Lexol conditioner, and cleaner.

Been There Done That!
 

I know exactly what this guy is going through because I had a similar issue. Not sure what caused the problem with my seat, but because I travel a lot I occasionally will use disinfectant hand clearner wipes in my car. I had had my car for about a year when I noticed an area had "melted" the leather on my drivers side seat. I had seen other threads dealing with this on Acurazine. I examined the melted area closely with a magnifying glass and low and behold, there is an actual plastic coating on the leather seat covers. I have no idea why, but my suspicions are that it enhances the appearance of the leather. During my next visit to my dealership for service I pointed it out to the service dept. and requested replacement. At first they denied it as they said something had been spilled on it. I countered with: I have had many cars in my life with leather seating and have never seen anything like this. In fact, I have cleaned ink marks from "real"leather seats with alcohol and have never damaged the leather. That's because "real leather seating (or at least in the days of MG's, Early Porsches, Jags, etc.) is typically finished with a wax sealant, not plastic. I also informed the service rep, that if the automaker is going to use a synthetic materials to enhance the look of the leather seating, appropriate care and caution should be noted in the manual. Otherwise, people are going to treat it like what the automaker states it is. That being leather!
Now, with that being said, yeah I probably did spill something on my seat like this young man did, but hell. We're talking about a chemical that is used on leather all the time. Alcohol does not melt leather. Rather, it will damage the plastic/rubber coating on this so called "leather" seating surface. I'm not sure what Acura's motivation was in spec'ing out leather seats with this characteristic or if the vendor who produced the leather for the seats took it upon themselves to coat the leather with a plasticized coating, but one fact remains the same.... They should make the consumer aware of the condition so that they, the consumer, can avoid damaging the product. When I made that clear to the regional claims rep. we were on the same page and he agreed to replace my seat cover.

We need to make sure all of the Acurazine members are aware of this so they can avoid the same situations. It might be a good idea to do a "sticky" on this warning.

:thumbsup:

the leather on the TL where the perforated section will shred/rub/smir off like paper if you let it wet...try to condition the leather and sit on it right away will do it...i have my leather replaced one for this...now i have the same problem because a few drop of rain got into my seats and i got soaked through the leather...i wipe off the rain on top but still didnt help...whatever holding this cheap leather together is not doing a good job...

My germ-a-phobe girlfriend decided to use these on the door area of my older vehicle. Needless to say, there were blotches of discoloration.

:thumbsup: Thank you!

And any acidic chemical with any sort of "drying" factor like alcohol is going to leave a mark. The damage all depends on how acidic it is and how long it sits on the surface. It's likely that the surface finish and some of the dye came out of the leather and it probably looks pretty nasty.

Pictures would be great.

If, in fact, the seat were to become prematurely worn in the first 12 months/12K miles or if the stitching did unravel in 48 months/60K miles, the warranty WOULD cover it. I was just suggesting that if it happened to become prematurely worn somehow, regardless of the "damage" it would have to be repaired under warranty.

I never said that he should actually take a razor and carefully cut the edge of the stitching at the rear of the seat cushion and carefully massage it until the two parts became disconnected because the stitching had gone "bad".

Yes, that would be unethical.

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Hmmm, if this is the case, then there may be some merit to warranty coverage. I'm assuming this is an original Acura accessory that has a warranty (that might get associated with the existing car warranty) as opposed to an after market product. If it is an after market part, then all bets are off. Do the directions warn you that the alcohol will destroy your seats or other components in the car? Even if it doesn't warn you, that doesn't necessarily make your argument stronger.

I don't think it is unethical to try to get it covered under warranty, but if it isn't, this will serve to be a learning experience (about being careful moreso than about using alcohol in your car) and you will just have to bite the bullet.

If they don't cover it and you try to leverage your Honda/Acura relationship, then that is unethical IMO. Put yourself in the dealers shoes and see if you would cover it? What do you have to gain or lose? If you do it, you build goodwill and maybe a return customer for other things. Will Acura corporate reimburse the warranty repair, if not then you lost money. If Acura covers it, this adds to their costs and potentially drives the prices of the cars up that they pass to us... Cause-and-effect, ethics, warranties, grey-areas...

PuuuhLeeeze - why the hell should we as consumers try to be nice and ethical with a stealership? Is it ethical to charge $95-$105 per hour for labor? Is it ethical to fight your customers tooth and nail (or tell them that a problem is "normal") to cover basic problems on cars under warranty? Is it ethical to charge 1 customer $35K for a car and then charge the very next customer $32K for the same car because they happen to be informed and educated? Is it ethical for a dealership to charge a $5000 premium on a car because it's "hot" (go try to get a Shelby Mustang or a Z06 Corvette)? Is it ethical for my dealership to tell me the very best interest rate I could get with my top-tier credit rating is 7.9% and then when I tell them I got offered 6.7% somewhere else, they immediately drop to 6.4% with the same bank?!?! C'mon people, get a grip..........

My advice, think of any trick or lie you can to get the dealership to fix it under warranty - pull the threads out, rip/tear the sides, do what you gotta do to make it look like a defect. Let them eat the cost - they can afford it.

WAY TO GO JET!

You got my vote - I totally agree...........the dealers do what they can to pull the wool over our eyes - it's fair play to me!

You won't know if you don't try.........

Well, I'll say it then - take a razor and carefully cut the edge of the stitching....... :rockon:

Disagree!!
 

Not worth it to me.

I'm far far from an angel, never suggested that I am. I also was providing information. In my world you learn from your experiences and some time you gotta pay the price.


Originally Posted by jetblakTL
PuuuhLeeeze - why the hell should we as consumers try to be nice and ethical with a stealership? Is it ethical to charge $95-$105 per hour for labor? Is it ethical to fight your customers tooth and nail (or tell them that a problem is "normal") to cover basic problems on cars under warranty? Is it ethical to charge 1 customer $35K for a car and then charge the very next customer $32K for the same car because they happen to be informed and educated? Is it ethical for a dealership to charge a $5000 premium on a car because it's "hot" (go try to get a Shelby Mustang or a Z06 Corvette)? Is it ethical for my dealership to tell me the very best interest rate I could get with my top-tier credit rating is 7.9% and then when I tell them I got offered 6.7% somewhere else, they immediately drop to 6.4% with the same bank?!?! C'mon people, get a grip..........

My advice, think of any trick or lie you can to get the dealership to fix it under warranty - pull the threads out, rip/tear the sides, do what you gotta do to make it look like a defect. Let them eat the cost - they can afford it.

If you don't do your homework, you get what you get. There is plenty of blame to go around for everyone. We live in a free market society and I love it. There still have to be some rules and personal responsibility. If your idea of how to do business is lie cheat and steal, I pity you. Better to be aware and have some idea about fair play. We have options regarding dealers that lie and overcharge without reducing ouselves to their level. A few options are to go somewhere else or buy something else. Guess in my 56 years I've just learned to think differently than some of you.

Well anyways for the people that actually care, i was able to get it replaced under warranty with no problems or arguement, i know all the people that work at my acura dealership because i work as a service technician at their honda, so they are taking care of me! The main purpose of my thread is to let people know that alcohol and some cleaners may ruin the finish on your leather to help prevent this from happening to you, it may be an easy fix that a leather doctor could do but my car has very little miles on it and i want it to look new, and yes i do take the blame for this but i just spent $35,000 on a car from they so i dont see why they cant help me out because the dealership can goodwill things under warranty despite if it is self inflicted, i see this happen everyday at my honda dealership. Previously i owned an 04 accord v6 6-speed accord and misshifted the car and they replaced both heads and the labor under goodwill warranty without a problem, so acura and honda of america do take good care of their customers. I didnt expect to get so many rude replies from members about this, i just wanted people to be aware that their leather is very delicate!

While I do agree with the "2 wrongs don't make a right" theory, I don't believe it applies in this kind of case. I just don't see why a consumer should practice good ethics with an industry that IMO is geared to defraud the consumer any chance it gets. Even the best dealerships will give you a hard time with little issues, and there is not 1 dealership on the planet that will stop you from buying a car at sticker price. They are in the business to MAKE MONEY, as much as the can, any way they can. Rules and personal responsibility and fair play are foreign concepts to car dealerships. Lieing, cheating and stealing is NOT how I do business if I can avoid it, but the reality is that this is a dirty world we live in and some industries are way dirtier than others.

If they (dealerships) are going to make us abide by the "buyer beware" credo, then they best beware also - let the best man win.

And the best man did win - good going, Xx06sickspd.

We're really not that bad...
 

Yes, the thread diverted from the point of your original posting and just kept going sideways due to some misunderstanding of, or failure to completely read, your first post. I thought you were just pointing out that alcohol is a solvent and removes moisture from organic hide surfaces such as TL seats.
Glad your problem was resolved without the ethical conniptions some members were undergoing.

Don't hold your breath X !

Man youv'e been spared VATO!

weres the pics?