Replacement seats

[chops3246]

Hi there - was looking to replace the seats in my 2007 Explorer XLT.
They are currently cloth (tan-ish color I think). No heat, no memory of seat position, although ate least the driver seat is powered.

I wanted to replace them with leather seats I grabbed from something like www.car-part.com or LKQ.com.

Just looking for general advice on this:

1. Is swapping the seats terribly difficult?
2. What should I watch for if buying replacement seats?
3. What other seat options may work (i.e. compatatible models/years)?
4. Is there a difference between left and right sides for the front two seats?

I think I had been looking at 6-way leather seats.
I know there's a 10-way option, but I don't have the heated or memory options now and wanted to keep things as compatible as possible (as I'm thinking hooking up heated seats would be a challenge as I have no dash spot for it).

 

[banditxp]

i really want to see if the Expedition seats will fit. they look for much more comfy. Hate not having like any side bolsters.

 

[GranpaStrange]

Did you ever find a good replacement option for your seat??

 

[07EddyB]

I know this is a zombie thread but at this point good donor seats are going to be rare to nonexistant for our Gen Explorers. I don't really like my EB interior with the almost white inserts on the seats. I've searched here multiple times looking for good seat covers and never really found anything. It seems like at this point it's about our only good option so I'm going to rudely high jack this thread and point it in that direction.

 

[GranpaStrange]

I know this is a zombie thread but at this point good donor seats are going to be rare to nonexistant for our Gen Explorers. I don't really like my EB interior with the almost white inserts on the seats. I've searched here multiple times looking for good seat covers and never really found anything. It seems like at this point it's about our only good option so I'm going to rudely high jack this thread and point it in that direction.

I have the "camel" interior, and I hate it. I was just hoping that someone had figured out whether or not another model had a similar enough mounting pattern to the gen 4 to be used as an alternative.

 

[Scorpion8]

I'd bet that it's not the seat that is the issue, but the mounting rails underneath. So if you can reuse those, I'd think any seat would fit, even something like https://www.recaro-automotive.com/us/comfort/recaro-ergomed.

 

[07EddyB]

I have the "camel" interior, and I hate it. I was just hoping that someone had figured out whether or not another model had a similar enough mounting pattern to the gen 4 to be used as an alternative.

I hear you. Thing is I've disliked that Camel interior since 2008 - so about 14 years now. The worst part was when I put an aftermarket stereo in and the white panel on the passenger seat was in the perfect position to wash out the display even under cloudy conditions. I ended up hanging a black towel over the seat back to give me at least some relief.
Also understand that I don't hate it as much as I used to - things tend to annoy you less after 14 years. If your biggest complaint is the camel color then step back and reassess your priorities.

 

[GranpaStrange]

I hear you. Thing is I've disliked that Camel interior since 2008 - so about 14 years now. The worst part was when I put an aftermarket stereo in and the white panel on the passenger seat was in the perfect position to wash out the display even under cloudy conditions. I ended up hanging a black towel over the seat back to give me at least some relief.
Also understand that I don't hate it as much as I used to - things tend to annoy you less after 14 years. If your biggest complaint is the camel color then step back and reassess your priorities.

Frankly, its the padding in the seat itself. The cushion on the outside has gone flat and the seat is starting to crack..
Perhaps, hate was a bit too strong. I just dislike it, and would much rather it be a darker brown.