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2022 Tesla Model S Refresh Drivers Seat Damage

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I am only 3 months since purchase of a new 2022 Tesla Model S refresh and noticed damage to my front drivers seat. I reached out to Tesla Service and setup an appointment and sent pictures to them. They reviewed and said the seat concern would not be covered under warranty and recommended that I work with a 3rd party for upholstery repair. i obviously was not satisfied with that answer as I would consider premature wear and tear with a new car 3 months old is unacceptable and should be addressed under warranty. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I should handle this? I’m concerned that I may have to Lawyer up and find an attorney if the repair cost is high. So the best option would be to get Tesla to address this.


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Haha. I have no keys. It’s a tesla! And the car is treated like a museum piece. It’s unlikely to be user induced. Look the car is only three months old. And In many years of owning cars I’ve never experienced a situation where material failure occurred so early in its lifespan. The only other incident that I can think of is when tesla had the car for five days due to post delivery misalignment issues to fix. But who would know?

You would think tesla would at least make a good faith attempt given the car I almost new and profits margins are so much higher on the Model S and X. It just seems like they could care less about their premium customers and remained focused only on the 3 and Y.
 
Haha. I have no keys. It’s a tesla! And the car is treated like a museum piece. It’s unlikely to be user induced. Look the car is only three months old. And In many years of owning cars I’ve never experienced a situation where material failure occurred so early in its lifespan. The only other incident that I can think of is when tesla had the car for five days due to post delivery misalignment issues to fix. But who would know?

You would think tesla would at least make a good faith attempt given the car I almost new and profits margins are so much higher on the Model S and X. It just seems like they could care less about their premium customers and remained focused only on the 3 and Y.

I mean sure, it's possible Tesla did it while the car was in their care, but... really tough one to prove that. I'd find out how much a new seat cover is, and just suck it up, I suppose...
 
Thanks for the feedback on the Porsche upholsterer and also on the seat covers. I'll look into these options. it makes sense that this is friction induced from a button on the pants because it's right on the edge of the driver's seat. However, it's very disappointing to experience a failure like this on a car that is only 3 months old. These seats should be somewhat more durable to withstand these issues at least in the first year. this is my 4th Tesla and I never had any previous wear issues on the other cars(one with white seats).
 
Not sure from the pic if it’s a cut or just finish wear. You could try COLOURLOCK repair dye if it’s finish wear. They sell a repair kit that matches Tesla white. I had similar finish wear on a BMW white seat and it did a great job covering it up. I got their kit for Tesla white seats as soon as I got our cars but have not had to use it yet.
 
I am getting my passenger seat replaced entirely because of blemishes on the seat vegan leather. However, this is because there was something sharp in the seat and they took it apart and actually found that the assembly plant left a tool in the seat.

They initially quoted me $4k for the full seat replacement and noted they aren’t able to re-upholster part of the seat (in case you want a reference for cost to fix via tesla).

You’re fighting an uphill battle on getting them to cover this. I can’t even get them to cover a side window that is misaligned, all because I tinted it.
 

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yes, it's frustrating on a new car and also wow careful I have been with it. I usually nothing in my pockets or anything that would cause damage. I did take it to Tesla for post inspection work where they had it for 5 days to inspect. The before picture of the seat show no damage. the picture with the damage though is about 6 weeks after they did the work so anything could have happened during that period of time.

I tried the advice and ordered COLOURLOCK repair dye through Amazon to see if it is finish wear and may come off with the treatment. we'll see
 
One can't really warranty wear & tear...
I understand the logic behind that but the car is essentially a new car at 3 months old. Who really experiences wear and tear after only 3 months? You would think there is some wiggle room for goodwill especially for a high margin sale like model S and FSD. On my 4th Tesla and customer service keeps getting worse with every purchase. My biggest regret is not being patient enough to wait for Lucid or Mercedes backlog delays. I think the treatment would be more customer friendly..
 
I am getting my passenger seat replaced entirely because of blemishes on the seat vegan leather. However, this is because there was something sharp in the seat and they took it apart and actually found that the assembly plant left a tool in the seat.

They initially quoted me $4k for the full seat replacement and noted they aren’t able to re-upholster part of the seat (in case you want a reference for cost to fix via tesla).

You’re fighting an uphill battle on getting them to cover this. I can’t even get them to cover a side window that is misaligned, all because I tinted it.
Um....they found a TOOL in there O_O What on earth

As for OP, I think if you had noticed this before hand at delivery or within a day or two, it might be something to get at. But wear and tear isn't really warranty worthy....Only time I've seen this happen is my buddies brand new C7 Vette. The center console section started wrinkling up like a week into ownership. And they fixed it. But it kept coming back over and over for months on end. So eventually they just replaced the part entirely and fixed the issue.

But a scratch in the seat isn't really warranty related I wouldn't think unfortunately. Specially since it was probably user induced.
This is one reason I didnt go with white interior as, and am kinda nervous even going with the cream/tan interior
 
Um....they found a TOOL in there O_O What on earth

As for OP, I think if you had noticed this before hand at delivery or within a day or two, it might be something to get at. But wear and tear isn't really warranty worthy....Only time I've seen this happen is my buddies brand new C7 Vette. The center console section started wrinkling up like a week into ownership. And they fixed it. But it kept coming back over and over for months on end. So eventually they just replaced the part entirely and fixed the issue.

But a scratch in the seat isn't really warranty related I wouldn't think unfortunately. Specially since it was probably user induced.
This is one reason I didnt go with white interior as, and am kinda nervous even going with the cream/tan interior
I noticed it soon after getting ppf installation so it's possible one of the installers could have had a tool on something in his back pocket. But no way to prove that and I'd rather not bring up the subject and risk my relationship with them. I squeezed the sides of the linear scratch and it is actually a cut that will likely grow larger over time. The crazy thing Is that I asked Tesla what the repair cost would be and they wouldn't even consider repair and said I would have to take it to a 3rd party for repair. So they don't replace a seat cushion even if I pay for it? At this point, I'm frustrated and just want it fixed. It looks like it will be costly but living with a tear in a new car is not something I can deal with.
 
I noticed it soon after getting ppf installation so it's possible one of the installers could have had a tool on something in his back pocket. But no way to prove that and I'd rather not bring up the subject and risk my relationship with them. I squeezed the sides of the linear scratch and it is actually a cut that will likely grow larger over time. The crazy thing Is that I asked Tesla what the repair cost would be and they wouldn't even consider repair and said I would have to take it to a 3rd party for repair. So they don't replace a seat cushion even if I pay for it? At this point, I'm frustrated and just want it fixed. It looks like it will be costly but living with a tear in a new car is not something I can deal with.
There are people who could definitely patch the tear and probably make it hard to see if not impossible. Will require removing it, and fixing from the inside out typically. Here in Texas I have someone I'd send you to, they've done all sorts of levels of repairs up to full on replacements for us. Not sure what they would charge for this though.

But for the size, would definitely shop around before considering replacing the entire thing. But if it's a cut, then definitely not a Tesla issue/fault. Was someone with a tool in their pocket or something, unfortunately.

In cali, there should be some crazy upholstery shops.
 
Thanks for the feedback on the Porsche upholsterer and also on the seat covers. I'll look into these options. it makes sense that this is friction induced from a button on the pants because it's right on the edge of the driver's seat. However, it's very disappointing to experience a failure like this on a car that is only 3 months old. These seats should be somewhat more durable to withstand these issues at least in the first year. this is my 4th Tesla and I never had any previous wear issues on the other cars(one with white seats).
+1 on finding a dealership and contacting whoever does their leather/upholstery repairs. Might not be as expensive as you think, One of our dogs gouged the leather on the center console in my wife's old Dodge Durango, and the dealership took care of it for us. Looked like it never happened and wore well
Hope it all works out!