Seat Leather Stretching, Clips Letting Go

[Magiaone]

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.

They are junk........as you have probably read. I got the Michelins Defender and its a different truck.

 

[auburn exp]

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.

I have the same issue on both front seats 2016 limited. Has been "fixed" 2x by the dealer only to snap off within 2 weeks. I will bring it back in but I am not happy that a 40k vehicle has such fitment issues.

 

[BerndM]

My 2017 Sport has the console side clips dangling on both front seats.
So far I have not been able to figure out exactly where they are supposed to clip to.
Would one of you please take a picture of how they are when properly attached?
Once I can see where they go I will apply a nice coating of contact cement to hold them in place
Thanks

 

[gidgybelle]

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

Any chance you could post a picture of how these quirky hooks look when attached? I just bought a (new to me) 2016 Explorer Sport and the first thing I noticed this morning was the clips dangling next to the console. The dealership I bought it from is over 45 minutes away and if it's something simple I can do myself I'd rather. TY!

 

[jhu8]

I'm actually having my driver side seat clip fixed tomorrow at an upholstery place, paid for by Ford. Cheaper for them to fix it then order a whole new seat cover. The actual plastic clip part broke and doesn't hook anymore.

 

[eymansays]

I have fixed my seat covers from coming off in a different way then what I have read here.

Summary:
The plastic J-Clips have an edge that has a "catch" built into them. Those catches are meant to clip above a D-shaped indent in the metal seat structure below and around the seat.

Here is what I did after suffering years of trying to fix this issue along with having the dealer "fix" it.

1. Need to remove seat. Not that difficult. 4 bolts and unclipping wire junctions underneath. I also removed the headrest to get the seat out more easiliy.
2. Once out, tip seat on its back.
3. Look under the seat on the metal rim that supports the seat and where the J-clips are to clip to.
4. You should see some indent/cutouts in a D shape where the metal has been pushed inward.

This is the issue...those cutouts are not pushed in far enough to catch the J-clip.

5. Take a flat screwdriver and bend those cutouts a little more inward. Now they will catch the J-clip.

Have driven over 500 miles now and have no issues...finally!

Note...the J-clips have to be rolled up twice until the opening is facing upward and can be pushed up the metal rim until you hear clicks.

 

[peterk9]

^^Welcome to the Forum.
Thanks for posting that.

Peter

 

[Michael Bishop]

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

It took some doing, but I was finally able to reattach my driver's side, front leather seat clip (2019 Explorer). This method does not require loosening or dismantling the car seat. The trick is to sit in the seat. Curl inward the loose leather tab that has the sewn-in clip, and then press it under the seat. There's not much room to work with here, because of the plastic frame that is just below the seat cushion. But I was able to get my fingers in there, between the plastic frame and the bottom of the seat cushion. Once in position, the leading edge of the clip will meet up with the leading edge of the strip where the clip is attached. Now the tricky part: With the clip in position, gently work it side to side, while rotating the clip inwards, using both hands, until you can feel one side of the clip start to attach to the seat's edge strip. Then, continue rotating inward and pressing upward until the rest of the clip snaps into place. I spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out this technique, but once I did, I could put the clip back on in a minute or two. If I discover it's not staying on, I will put a little glue on the seat's edge strip, and then re-clip it, to hold the clip in place, permanently. Hope this helps. Good luck to all who try this.

 

[Chrisrj8084]

So when I bought my car a couple months ago I was going through it to clean as it was filthy and the dealership really did a bad job detailing.

So I noticed on the front seats and the sides facing the center console the fabric is loose. There are plastic latch clips at the end of the fabric but I cannot for the life of me figure out what they latch onto. I have tried reaching under the seat for any connection points but I can't feel anything.

Anyone know how the fabric connectors latch on? Or know of a diagram showing it?

 

[peterk9]

^^Your thread was merged with this one found using the SEARCH feature.

Peter