Hi all...

I'm a 6'3" 235 pound guy and the other morning, it was -25 degrees celsius (-13F) and, truth be told, I was in a rush to get my behind on the seat warmer and my face away from the blowing wind.

In doing so, I may have dropped myself into the seat instead of sliding in. The combination of that and the frozen plastic was all it took for me to hear a cracking sound. I haven't taken an actual picture yet but here's a stock picture with an arrow showing where the plastic broke. I will post an actual pic tonight.

I tried to snap it back into place but it's now as easy as it sounds.
Has anyone experienced this before ? I am still under warranty so I guess it would/should be covered (?)

Thanks

 

Buy the new part and replace it...

 

The part is only $15 plus shipping for my car.
Link to 2012-SHAWD (item 14): FRONT SEAT (L.) for 2012 Acura TL

Not worth the hassle/time to me to attempt to get dealer to cover it under warranty.

 

I actually think the broken piece is the part at the front, not the side.. which for some reason is $140 instead of $15 ! Not sure what's so special about it.

MID shows 20% oil life. I'll be going in soon enough.

In the meantime.. .here's the pic :

 

wow... yea, if it's covered go to the dealer.

 

I guess I broke the seat on my 2013 TL recently. I'm 6'1" 230lbs and I don't remember hearing it break, I just saw the crack one day.
Acura is replacing it under warranty. Good to know it's a cheap fix though if I ever do it again.
They said it's probably the way I move across the seat when I get in and out?
In 35 years of driving I've never seen a seat crack like that before.

 

Wow. I've never seen any seats crack like that on my TL's, but after seeing this I will be more careful. I'm 6'3 and about 210.

 

I had the same thing happen to me. I opened my car door and found the same part broken. I'm not a big guy so I do not think its a weight issue. It may be a defect in the car.

 

Noticed the same issue on my 2015 TLX this weekend which is the exact same as what "Socall211" showed (see my pic below). Weather here has been about 4 degrees celcius so no issue there. Going to go to the dealer this week to inquire about getting it fixed

 

That's just a "feature" of the car. Side mounting points lol.

For real though that looks like a design flaw to me. That metal bracket clearly breaks through the plastic. Good luck getting Acura to see it that way though. That part of the seat shouldnt really be moving against the metal underneath is the thing.

 

I realize this is an old thread... but the trim under my driver seat broke (same as above). This is the second time. The first time the dealer replaced it under warranty. The car is way out of warranty now. I looked up the part and it looks like it is ~ $45. Most places list two different part numbers and one place had a not that the first was replaced by the second... I'm hoping they maybe made some changes to keep this from happening - may be wishful thinking!). The front piece is popped out, but it looks like that piece is fine - looks like if I replaced the side piece (the piece with the controls, for ~$45) I can reseat the front piece and it will be fine.
But, the reason for my post - I can't figure out how to get the piece off - at least not without pulling the seat! Looking at the parts diagram it shows two screws holding it on. The front screw is accessible and pretty easily removed. But, I can't find (can't see it, even after removing the seat belt cover; can't feel it, etc.) the rear screw (see the rear #19 in the pic below)! Moving the seat all the way forward, or back, gives me access to the whole piece, but where is that rear screw? I really do not want to pull the seat, nor do I want to pay someone to replace it - especially if I will have the additional labor charge to pull the seat! I've searched everywhere on the internet can't find anything. I do have the service manual (electronic version), and it does show the seat removal procedure, but it looks quite involved. Sure seems this part should be able to be replaced with the seat in the car?
So, as a last resort I thought I'd post here and hopefully someone has done this and can provide some insight, direction, or something?

 

To respond to my own post, Acura replaced the door trim under warranty. Now a year later it just broke again in the same spot. Obviously a design flaw.
I'm out of warranty so I guess I'm stuck fixing it.

Actually I would love to replace the entire drivers seat, mine is starting to sag under my weight. I wonder how much that cost for a 2013 TL Advance?

 

Mind sharing where you found the part? Been looking for one for my 2015 tlx but haven’t had any luck

 

Part # 14 should be the one you need. I did this repair when i first bought my car too, its common.

The front piece "Slips" into part 14 once #14 is bolted to the frame of the seat.

 

Deanoatkinson... Did you have to pull the seat out of the car to replace part #14?? Do you recall where the rear bolt for part #14 is located? The front bolt is easy, can’t find the rear one!?

 

Just for future searches, you have the rear under the back of the seat and pull the carpet cover that goes from the back of the lower seat to underneath. It connects by a rubber band type latch. Once that is removed you have access to the last bolt! Hope everything works out Rick!

 

I had the exact same thing happen. Same break, same spot. Just out of warranty bu 3 months. RIP off.....

 

This is an interesting thread. My wife's recently traded '12 TL had the same issue with the front piece snapping off. The break was in the clips/tabs on the front piece that snap into the side piece (top 2 in tact, bottom tab broke). I removed the screw from the console-side and removed the piece altogether and it stayed that way when we traded it. Interestingly enough, if you look at the attached photo from the dealer's site (advertising the car for sale), this pic of the seat controls shows the start of the same break on the side of the seat at the top of the trim. Never noticed that part at all till just now.... And yes, the front piece is OUTRAGEOUS in terms of cost. Mostly why I never replaced it.....

andy

 

I'm having the same issue with my 2015 TLX SH-AWD. I took it to Rosenthal Acura and said they would NOT replace it under warranty. Seriously? This is a design flaw on Acura's part. I'm reading on other forums that some are having success in having the Acura dealership repair the issue. I think they can bend the metal support piece down before replacing the plastic trim piece. If my dealership won't take care of it, I will contact Acura Customer Relations.

 

I just replaced the side piece on my 2015 TLX today and was thinking that to prevent it from happening again I should have hammered that metal piece down a bit before applying the side piece. I may pop it off again tomorrow just enough to do that.

 

I realize it's 2 years later, but if you're still interested in changing this or if my reply can help someone else; The #19 screw is actually a bolt that anchors the seat belt in place. You have to pop the #12 cover off to get to it. It's a real pain in the butt to change, let me tell you. In order to get to the #19 bolt to remove it and to remove the lumbar adjustment switch, I cut the old side piece to pieces! The lumbar switch needs to be taken apart before inserting in to the new side piece, but I don't see how it's possible without cutting it out of the old side piece first. Also, you're going to need a crescent wrench to get the seat belt anchor tightened. Make sure that you DON'T completely snap the side piece in to place before tightening the seat belt anchor. There won't be enough room to get a wrench in.

Any other questions, feel free to reach out!

 

Ive been trying to figure out how the hell to get that plastic trim off so I can tuck in my seat covers....Anyone know how? They seem to be impossible to get off....I just need the side that faces outwatrd off so i can tuck the seat cover the put back on. Do I haveto remove the seat?

 

Hubby's 2016 TLX has this problem of the broken trim above that metal latch. Only has 45k miles and he is avg size guy, about 225 lbs. Acura wants $450 to fix it. We haven't had much work done by them because it only has needed oil changes and air filters and he usually just goes to a local shop for that. (Well, not much work aside from the NEW transmission it needed at 14k miles under warranty.)

He might let Acura do it which I think is dumb when he might trade it in a year if more cars become available (side note--dealer says they don't plan to carry inventory, only take orders in the future!)

I'm willing to try anything with a good google search and youtube video. We have basic tools like a socket set and wrenches. Is this a diy repair??? Can someone give me details of their experiences? Does the piece come off easily once unscrewed? What about the front piece? His seems to be separating at the front right corner but I think it's just because the side piece is failing. Does that front part snap back in easily?

I know the dealer us usually overpriced, but why would they charge $450 if it's just 2 screws???? That seems extreme for what should be one hour of labor.
Thanks for any help!

 

Just saw another thread about the leather and repair....Got me thinking...Should I just call an upholstery type shop or one of those places that installs heated seats and remote starts? They should know how to take a seat off. Might even let me provide the part to avoid the dealer markup on that???

 

Most dealerships charge 150 Per hour. Upholstery places wont do it because of the airbag. They will all fear the liability.

• I suggest going to Acura pArts warehouse online...buy the part...and take it to Acura yourself. That should take off about 100+ dollars
• Order part yourself from Acura Parts warehouse, and install it yourself. The parts department at your local dealership should be able to supply you with the exploded view of the seat to see what goes where and a good parts person would even print out the instructions. They have done it for me.

If you google acura parts LOTS of parts sellers that sell GENUINE acura parts will come up. The dealership Marke parts up by like 500%!

 

To add to my previous two posts, after Acura replaced my original crack under warranty in 2015, it happened again a few months later. Also, the front plastic came loose and looks almost identical to the picture posted by Chaotik in post #4. I put black tape over it to keep it together and it's been like that for years.
I talked to an Acura mechanic recently who said it is a very common problem. I bought my own parts this time and he stated that the lumbar switch always breaks so he recommended that I also buy one of those.
These are the parts I purchased from AcuraPartsWarehouse and the total after tax and shipping was $480.
Acura 81510-TK4-A11ZB Driver Seat-Front Cover (Premium Black)
Acura 81638-TK4-H00ZB Outer Finish Panel (Premium Black)
Acura 81611-S3V-A01ZU Lumbar Adjust Knob (Premium Black)
Acura 90134-SE3-003 Screw, Tapping (5X10) - Quantity 3

I have the parts but I still need to figure out how I'm going to have them installed. Acura wants $330 for labor (1.5 hours) which would make it $810 total to fix two plastic pieces.
I'm not too happy having to spend so much money on what is obviously a poorly designed product. I recently purchased a CPO 2022 MDX Advance so I will eventually sell my beloved TL. I just want it to be fully functional without the broken plastic when I sell it.