| easyhgt |
| My wife wants me to add leather seating to our LX. We have a baby on his way and leather seating will be easy to clean. We didn't want to pay extra $5000 to get to EXL since we don't think we will need many extra features. However, a dealer told me that adding leather to a car with side airbags renders them inoperable. Is that true? Thanks. |
|
|
| ctobio |
| Some of the side airbags are in the seats themselves. The replacement skinds would have to be able to split open at just the right point for the airbags to be useable. No idea if this is feasable with aftermarket skins. |
|
|
| jcantanixon |
| Yup, that's how I understand it to work also. I would think that most automotive upholstery shops have run into side airbags before, so it's not a big deal. Maybe it's just as simple as making sure the seems are in the same place as stock...:8: |
|
|
| A6Pilot |
"...so it's not a big deal"? Yikes!
I'm thinking that the engineers, who designed the incredibly sophisticated airbag systems we enjoy in our cars, are about to pass out with the idea that a local upholstery shop could duplicate their years of design expertise.
God forbid you get hit from the side, only to find out your side airbag supplied by a local 'stitch artist' didn't do its intended job. That passenger seat, by the way, contains sensors for occupant weight, position, and seat belt usage. All these sensors send information to the SRS computer, which, in turn, controls which airbags inflate, and at what rate the expand. Do you suppose the local upholstery shop guys sit around on their lunch break kicking these ideas about?
The local shop might be able to supply seats that are easier to clean and cheaper than what Honda can build. But, as Clint would say, "Are you feeling lucky?!"
This might be a case where you really do get what you pays for.
Good luck. |
|
|
| pointech |
| Since only the front seats have built in airbags, maybe you could try and find a wrecked Pilot at a junkyard for those and get the rear recovered to match? Might cost more but be safer. |
|
|
| ncelk |
| Katzkin and Classic Soft Trim leather kits are compatible. Ask your installer................. |
|
|
| slimmn |
Here's my 0.02, having a car with light tan fabric interior and 2 kids (8 & 5) - yes, you will have some spills. And the fabric will be hard to clean up. Scotchgard helps, but not 100%, and has to be reapplied often.
Having said that, car is now 8 years old, and honestly, the stains are not that bad. Yes, it not perfect, but I can live with it. If your interoir is dark colored, don't even worry about it. I had an older car with dark navy fabric, and 10 years later, you can't even see any stains. Wish I had chosen a dark interior for the other car.
How much is this leather job going to cost? I'm guessing around $2-3k. Then the difference is no longer $5k, but more like $2-3k. If that's the case, just get the EX-L. The safety of your family is not worth the compromise. I wholeheartely agree with A6Pilot - the engineering that goes into these cars are beyond what most if not all local upholstery shop can duplicate. Even if they say they can overcome the problem, who's going to prove it? Their family is not on the line, yours is.
Good luck. |
|
|
| JungleJim |
| Yes, there is leather available that is approved for use with the airbags. Call around and ask some reputable shops. |
|
|
| tocohillsguy |
| I've heard that Honda will invalidate your warranty if you use after market leather. Not sure if it's true, but I suggest you double check before going down that road. |
|
|
| ctobio |
quote:
Originally posted by tocohillsguy
I've heard that Honda will invalidate your warranty if you use after market leather. Not sure if it's true, but I suggest you double check before going down that road.
I would imagine that the addition of aftermarket leather may invalidate the warranty on the side airbag components. They cannot invalidate the warranty on the entire car- they would need to prove that the modification had an adverse effect on the component in question. |
|
|
| jcantanixon |
quote:
Originally posted by A6Pilot
"...so it's not a big deal"? Yikes!
I'm thinking that the engineers, who designed the incredibly sophisticated airbag systems we enjoy in our cars, are about to pass out with the idea that a local upholstery shop could duplicate their years of design expertise.
God forbid you get hit from the side, only to find out your side airbag supplied by a local 'stitch artist' didn't do its intended job. That passenger seat, by the way, contains sensors for occupant weight, position, and seat belt usage. All these sensors send information to the SRS computer, which, in turn, controls which airbags inflate, and at what rate the expand. Do you suppose the local upholstery shop guys sit around on their lunch break kicking these ideas about?
The local shop might be able to supply seats that are easier to clean and cheaper than what Honda can build. But, as Clint would say, "Are you feeling lucky?!"
This might be a case where you really do get what you pays for.
Good luck.
Don't overreact.:rolleyes: How much engineering could possibly go into a seatcover? The sensors and bags are built into the seat itself, and those parts are interchangable between the leather and the non-leather versions of the car. If the matierial mattered that much, wouldn't they use a different airbag? If you look at the "sagging leather fix" thread, you'll see the complete disassembly of a front seat and the cover is nothing special. We're not talking sensors and electronics, we're talking vinyl and thread. No breakaway panels or anything trick. Google for some pictures of side airbags that have been deployed...they all deploy through the seems. You could use the toughest leather from the oldest cow in Montana, and it wouldn't matter if the seem was in the same place as stock.
By the way, ever explode an airbag? When an airbag tests defective, a factory replacement is installed and the old one is supposed to be destroyed. That usually means hooking it up to a 12v power source and blowing it up. :eek: If you've ever seen this up close, in person, you'd have no trouble believing that a little bit of thread isn't going to get in the way. |
|
|
|
