Seat Leather Stretching, Clips Letting Go

[pwscott]

There are 'clips'...think little angled connectors..on the end of little straps that stretch the leather(ette?) seat in my 2016 Ex Platinum. So the seat cushion you sit on is held tight by these straps, but on mine a few have detached and are hanging down along the console side of the driver seat. When I first saw one, the service advisor reattached it by stretching it out and kind of hooking the little buckle on the edge of the seat frame.

A few had let go when I had my last service around 28K miles and they told me they just can't get them to stay on...
Well now I feel the seat is sinking in a little at the rear right under my butt. And if I take a turn hard, the cushion seems to move some (which it def did not in my 2014 Ex Limited). Anyway, am taking it in for an oil service and to hopefully get the driver side seat belt re-tractor repaired or replaced as it leaves the seat belt hanging with slack along the door frame now instead of retracting it... I told the service advisor and he said he'd run my serial number when it's in and see if there's a fix.

Anyone seen or heard of this? Any resolutions..am not satisfied with 'we just can't seem to fix it'. BTW, before someone asks, I weigh about 230...not 350, but not small either. Still...I don;t think this should be happening. Thanks for any input.

 

[peterk9]

There have been others that have reported these clips coming loose.

 

[luc]

same problem on my 2016 cloth XLT.
What happen is that it is tension ( stretch) that hold those J shaped clips in place. When you seat on the seat and go over bumps, your weight compress the foam to a point where there is no more tension on those clip and they come unhooked. What I did on mine was to put a tiny bit of black weatherstrip glue on the inside of the clip at the bottom.
No more issue since then

 

[reserved50]

On another vehicle I had "hog rings" clipped onto the plastic J hooks to the seat frame, it already had a spot on the metal frame for the ring to go thru. If not might have to drill, not sure if you would want to do this or have it done since its still under warranty but the cover never moved again. I personally would on my vehicle due to the fact that the seat material if replaced or removed may not look and fit like factory anymore depending on who does it and what was replaced.

 

[bcampbe7]

Our 2016 Limited is doing this as well. I gave up on re-attaching as they just come loose after a short time. May try the weatherstrip glue trick mentioned above.

 

[CAtoFLin1994]

The dealer had put in and then removed an aftermarket DVD player in our 2017 Sport. During my inspection it was painfully obvious the technician had done a piss poor job of reattaching the seat clips. They offered to re-attach and I politely said I would rather do it right myself. They are not easy to attach properly next to the console and it is very easy to attach to a spot you may think it goes, I did. Oh, the salesman thinking he could do it when I pointed it out sliced his finger up pretty good, those bracket underneath have some very sharp edges. I ended up looking at a friends Explorer to see the attachment spots and once I did it resolved my issue. I had a heavy duty wire hook left over from installing sheepskin seat covers and it was useful get the extra leverage to attach them

 

[bcampbe7]

Yes, there are some very sharp edges under the seat. I found it easier to loosen the 4 seat bolts and lay the seat back against the rear seats. Allowed me to visually see what was needed to get them re-attached. One just won't stay connected though.

 

[613GT500]

Yup, the clips of both front driver and passenger in my 2016 Sport are also loose and hanging there.
But the odd thing is that the curved part of the platic clip is facing out instead of inwards to hook to the bottm seat frame?
Are these supposed to hook inwards or to something outwards?

 

[bcampbe7]

Yup, the clips of both front driver and passenger in my 2016 Sport are also loose and hanging there.
But the odd thing is that the curved part of the platic clip is facing out instead of inwards to hook to the bottm seat frame?
Are these supposed to hook inwards or to something outwards?

They flip around (upside down) and hook. A bit quirky how they connect.

 

[613GT500]

They flip around (upside down) and hook. A bit quirky how they connect.

Looks like I'll follow your method and unbolt the seats to get a better view.

 

[CAtoFLin1994]

The clips that I had difficulty with were located next to the console. Once I clipped them, I slid it sideways and it seemed to lock it in place. Five months later and still in place.

 

[bcampbe7]

Looks like I'll follow your method and unbolt the seats to get a better view.

Just be careful not to overstretch the cable that is connected at the front lower portion of the seat.

 

[pwscott]

When I took my Ex to the dealer this morning, the Service Advisor had already printed a 2 page TS for the mechanic. He showed it to me.... I will get the TSB # [EDIT: See below post from @swshawaii) when I pick it up shortly. It showed a set of what he called 'J-hooks' that need to be ordered to resolve the situation.
He ordered those and I will need to return to have them installed. Had the signature service done and am hoping the replaced the failing driver side seat belt refractor.

 

[swshawaii]

FRONT SEAT CUSHION COVER LOOSE

http://www.bbbind.com/free_tsb.html

 

[Nasty]

That's funny. My 16 Sport had quite a few of them loose. I put them back on and I haven't had any issues since. I just think they didn't put them on properly from the factory. I knew how the J Clip worked from replacing the seat heater in my F150 and bcampbe7 hit it on the head. Gotta flip it over on itself and than clip it on.

 

[peterk9]

FRONT SEAT CUSHION COVER LOOSE

http://www.bbbind.com/free_tsb.html

Thank you for posting the info. It has been added to the Forum's TSB list.

Peter

 

[pwscott]

Mine seems tighter and more supportive and comfortable so far (based on a 5 mile ride home from the dealer.) Now on to research tires as I'm apparently at 4/32 and 3/32 on the OE Hankooks at 30,093 miles.

 

[Ron Bumpus]

So I am fighting with dealership to fix / replace drivers seat cushion. The leather is either being stretched or is coming apart . I have a big bubble of leather that is separated from the rest of the cushion. Also depending on the driving the seat/leather feels like its moving or something is loose between my AZZ and the foam.

I know I have read about his issue here. anyone else experiencing this?

 

[Rainlord]

I recall watching a video of someone installing Katskin seat covers and the thing that popped into my head reading you post was that they use hog clips to keep the middle section stretched (both factory and on katskin, as you have to remove that clip to get the covers off). The hog clip is pulled down and then pinched into the cushion material with a tool designed for that. They look like this:

I just wonder if that has come off / loose on yours, as it's roughly around that area that you're showing where it's clipped in. No way to find out without taking off the covers (no thanks), but maybe that's why it's like that? I have a used 2012 XLT with 100k KM on it and no issues with the leather. I'd definitely say bring it up with the dealer, as that should not come loose.

 

[peterk9]

So I am fighting with dealership to fix / replace drivers seat cushion. The leather is either being stretched or is coming apart . I have a big bubble of leather that is separated from the rest of the cushion. Also depending on the driving the seat/leather feels like its moving or something is loose between my AZZ and the foam.

I know I have read about his issue here. anyone else experiencing this?

Your thread has been merged with this existing one.
Check out; 2011 + Explorer TSB's & SSM's

Peter