Folks, I have some potentially good news for people who have an 04 model and are wanting to get the seats for the 05 model. I spoke to one of the dealers in my city and they told me that they may be able to give me the 05 seats. I have to go there later today so they can inspect the leather to make sure it can be matched with what the 05 has, which suggests that the leather may be different depending on when you got the 04 model. He also said that they've done the switch before. So keep your fingers crossed. If my leather matches and the dealer agrees to do the switch, then we'll have finally have a precedent that the rest of you can take to your dealers. Man, I hope this works. The last dealer I went to told me it could not be done at all which I thought I was total BS and I told him I'm never going back to that dealer again.

I want to be ready in case this guy tries to wiggle out of giving me the 05 seats so any advice you have would be appreciated.

 

Good luck......keep us updated.....points for you.

 

Yeah lets us know what happens, good luck.

 

Does anyone know whether the '05 leather is a match for the '04 skins, both with respect to color and texture? Also, if they change out the leather for the front seats will there be an obvious difference from the rears? By that I mean the fact that the '05s have the extra panel. Just wondering and I don't have my car here at work to look at it.

 

The rear seats on the 05s look like the rear seats in the 04s. It's only the front two seats that would be different - probably because they get the most wear and tear!

 

can u show the pict??? havnt seen the difference

 

Before one gets too overjoyed.....

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103030

 

GOOD NEWS!!!

My dealer came through. They just called to tell me that they would be able to put the 05 seat covers on my 04 TL. I was shocked. When I went there to show them the seats, they didn't think it was that bad. They told me they would call Acura to find out what could be done. Once I heard that, I figured they would call back and tell me that they could only give me 04 parts. So anyways, they told me they would call me the next day to let me know what Acura said. I never got the call and was so busy with work that I never got around to calling back. Then today, they called to tell me that not only can they give me the 05 seat covers, but that they already ordered and received the parts. I told the guy who called that other Acura dealers would only give 04 parts. He laughed at that and said "a seat cover is a seat cover." I'm so excited cause even though the 05 seat has the butt print problem, it's not nearly as bad as the one on the 04. I go there next week to get the new seats installed. I will keep you updated.

 

Which dealer is this? This is great news.

 

That's really great news for all us who have become obsessed with this buttprint issue. My dealer also told me he didn't think they could swap covers with the '05 style because of warranty issues. It's true the price is the same, but they seem to think they won't be reumbursed by Acura if they put '05 covers on a '04TL. As soon as you get the work done, please let us all know if they did a good job. I'm a little concerned about having mechanics do upholstery work.

 

I was looking at my seats today, why not just find a qualified seamstress or some type of auto person who can just sitch another line in the seat, it looks like it is feasable.

 

HondaOnly

Can you please sharew with the group the exact detail they put on the work order/invoice they give you.

Even better would be a scaned version posted on the site.....

good job on getting those seats replaced

 

I do not understand why everyone is jumping for joy, when it appears the 2005 is susceptible to the same problem. It is like putting a blanket over a dead elephant in your family room - it may look better, but it still stinks.

I do not get this whole thing.

???

 

thats just exactly what i was thinking!!! people with '05's stil complain about it.... and look at it this way... do you really want to replace the seats with leather that didnt come from the factory.... the color could be a lil off, and it prolly wont look as good with a service tech installing it.... i had this conversation with a service tech when i had my TL looked at.

id rather keep my factory, leather matching, butt print seats then possibly having a techy mess anything up while hauling a seat into my TL

just my

O YA! anyone with black interior wana switch me for my gray interior? heehee

dont know why they never made the WDP with black interior... only canadian's get em! darn

 

The leather does come from the factory, and it matches perfectly.

 

Folks, I don't want to give the name of the dealer just yet. I'm worried that if people know which dealer it is, they will tell their dealer that so-and-so dealer is replacing the seats. Then my dealer will get flooded with calls and maybe decide not to do it. Regardless of how this turns out, I will let you all know which dealership this is. I'm seheduled to have the seats replaced next Wednesday(15th) so by Wednesday evening, I will have something to report. I do have a camera but just need a place to upload the pics.

Someone above said that they don't want to let a technician put in the seat and mess it up. Well my dealer told me that they would send the car to an upholstery place to do the switch. The dealer would not do it themselves. That makes me think that this particular dealer has done the switch before and knows well enough to not let a technician do it.

Also, a lot of you think that the 05 seat is no better than the 04. Well I've seen pics of both seats and I personally think the butt print on the 04 is a LOT worse. The print that I've seen on the 05 is barely noticeable. We only notice it cause we're actively looking for butt prints. But the print on the 04 is awful. I've seen pics on this site that look like someone put 2 bowling balls on their seat.

The leather will match. The dealer said that he wanted to inspect the seats on my TL specifically to see if the leather could be matched. So he would not have ordered the parts if he didn't think it could be matched. I will look at the seats before they install them to make sure they match.

 

Very glad to hear that you were successful in getting a dealer to try something. I have seen some of the photos posted and agree that some of the seats look worse than someone should expect. That said, I'm skeptical that a perfect job can be done unless your seats are ebony. Even then fabric is dyed in different lots. The only way to get close to an exact match is either same dye lot or trial and error I suspect. Hate to be a wet blanket and truly hope it works well. Don't expect perfection, maeby lesser butt prints but slightly less color match. Watch for unintended consequences.

 

If it looks like there's even a slight mismatch, I will not let them do the switch.

 

Honda...good info! Keep us posted. Knock on wood my 05 seats does not have any butt prints after 1500 miles. In a couple of weeks I will doing a drive from Houston to New Orleans so I will really be able to see if there's any butt prints.

 

havokgroup, 2 days after I get the new seat covers, I'm going on a 12 hour road trip. It'll be interesting to see how the seat withstands my butt for that long.

 

Def...keep us posted. The trip to New Orleans from Houston should be about 6 hours each way. I'm sure I can do it quicker...so I'll keep everyone posted about that drive.

 

Well I'm off to drop off my car in about another hour. Any last advice on what I should ask, tell, or look for?