Impossible to Remove Stain/Mark on White Seats

[bo3bdar]

Seems like getting it reupholstered is the best solution.


Just a thought however for another option, you can get complete seats of eBay. Here's an example for the entire seat:

2017-2020 TESLA MODEL 3 FRONT LEFT DRIVER SEAT CUSHION TRACK BUCKLE PAD | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2017-2020 TESLA MODEL 3 FRONT LEFT DRIVER SEAT CUSHION TRACK BUCKLE PAD at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Unhappywithnew]

I got my Model Y with white seats just over a month ago. Somehow I was able to stain/mark the front passenger seat with something. From the color, it looks like it could be dye from jeans but not certain. I did not put anything other than passengers on the front seat, so it should not be from cargo. I also don't have any pets. Unfortunately I didn't notice these stains until likely a few days after the event, when I was working at the front passenger side to clean the floor mats.

I researched and tried nearly every solution from this forum for cleaning the white seats, and had no luck. None of these solutions even made a little bit of change.

From least to most abrasive:

1) Dawn dish soap
2) Baby wipes
3) 91% IPA
4) Diluted and concentrated degreaser
5) Magic eraser

I thought the white seats were supposed to be easy to clean? As I understand, there's some kind of coating on the seat which is supposed to make it resistant to permanent dye transfer of the PU leather. I hear of folks who don't even think about the white seats, have pets, etc. that haven't stained the seats, claiming easy clean with just dish soap. And yet here I am within 1 month of ownership I managed to stain it.

From the Model Y owners manual ("Cleaning the Interior", page 171):


When I took my vehicle to the Tesla Service Center (for unrelated reasons), I asked the Service Advisor to try to clean it off with whatever they use at the shop. Apparently they use a high-quality upholstery cleaner that works well. Unfortunately that did not work at all in my case, and they tried a few other solutions as well.

I was told by the Service Advisor that at this point the only solution is to replace the front passenger seat assembly, the entire thing including power electronics. Unfortunately, they don't have a way to replace just the seating areas. The cost for this for the front passenger white seat is $1870 (seat assembly) + $68.25 (labor) for a total of $1938.25.

I don't want to pay nearly $2k to replace a seat assembly for a brand new vehicle. If you have any other ideas of things I can try, please let me know!

I am in the same situation. I am so disappointed with these seat covers!!! And the entire seat renewal is $2000. C’mon someone must know how to clean or the covers only

 

[Mike8403]

Not the best photo, but I got some dye transfer from a black trash bag. I had a spare tire in a trashbag in the back seat. Thinking it would protect the seats from the tire. I found this stain this morning. Tried cleaning it with a microfiber and some seat cleaner. And that didn’t seem to work.

 

[Noixd]

View attachment 723628
Not the best photo, but I got some dye transfer from a black trash bag. I had a spare tire in a trashbag in the back seat. Thinking it would protect the seats from the tire. I found this stain this morning. Tried cleaning it with a microfiber and some seat cleaner. And that didn’t seem to work.

Sonax leather foam!

 

[Noixd]

Sonax leather foam!

NANOLEX TEXTILE & LEATHER SEALANT to ceramic coat seats and carpet!

 

[TheLex]

IMO if you're going to replace the pleather in your MY, then why not get real leather seats from a place like Katzkin? My brother has a full Katzkin interior on his Toyota Highlander and the quality of the leather is far superior than what you get oem from Toyota.

 

[Jim P]

I got my Model Y with white seats just over a month ago. Somehow I was able to stain/mark the front passenger seat with something. From the color, it looks like it could be dye from jeans but not certain. I did not put anything other than passengers on the front seat, so it should not be from cargo. I also don't have any pets. Unfortunately I didn't notice these stains until likely a few days after the event, when I was working at the front passenger side to clean the floor mats.

I researched and tried nearly every solution from this forum for cleaning the white seats, and had no luck. None of these solutions even made a little bit of change.

From least to most abrasive:

1) Dawn dish soap
2) Baby wipes
3) 91% IPA
4) Diluted and concentrated degreaser
5) Magic eraser

I thought the white seats were supposed to be easy to clean? As I understand, there's some kind of coating on the seat which is supposed to make it resistant to permanent dye transfer of the PU leather. I hear of folks who don't even think about the white seats, have pets, etc. that haven't stained the seats, claiming easy clean with just dish soap. And yet here I am within 1 month of ownership I managed to stain it.

From the Model Y owners manual ("Cleaning the Interior", page 171):


When I took my vehicle to the Tesla Service Center (for unrelated reasons), I asked the Service Advisor to try to clean it off with whatever they use at the shop. Apparently they use a high-quality upholstery cleaner that works well. Unfortunately that did not work at all in my case, and they tried a few other solutions as well.

I was told by the Service Advisor that at this point the only solution is to replace the front passenger seat assembly, the entire thing including power electronics. Unfortunately, they don't have a way to replace just the seating areas. The cost for this for the front passenger white seat is $1870 (seat assembly) + $68.25 (labor) for a total of $1938.25.

I don't want to pay nearly $2k to replace a seat assembly for a brand new vehicle. If you have any other ideas of things I can try, please let me know!

Have you tried bleach? will Spot check for performance in a inconspicuous place

 

[TMYB-C1]

IMO if you're going to replace the pleather in your MY, then why not get real leather seats from a place like Katzkin? My brother has a full Katzkin interior on his Toyota Highlander and the quality of the leather is far superior than what you get oem from Toyota.

Any idea what this would cost?

 

[Mateo83]

I coated mine early on. So baby wipes and interior cleaner work pretty well.

 

[TMYB-C1]

I coated mine early on. So baby wipes and interior cleaner work pretty well.

What'd you coat with?

 

[Mateo83]

What'd you coat with?

Amazon.com

 

[DA Miskito]

They're meaning the original covering on the seat bottom, the original seat cover. Not an aftermarket seat cover.

I forgot to add the images to the initial post:

Closeup of some of the marks:

Recently treated a Tesla Model S to prevent exactly this problem. Fairly common, looks like dye transfer from jeans. Once it sets, almost impossible to remove without dyeing or replacing the seat material. We have one product that has worked well, non caustic, called "Velour" - on the Tesla we treated to prevent this (as well on other high end leather interiors) we use a product called Titania to prevent dye transfer, odors, stains etc. Basically, it's a 5 year or longer surface protectant made of TiO2 and phosphates - it covalently bonds with any surface (including metal, paint, gel coat, leather, vinyl, chrome etc.) and its hydroxyl radicals prevent attachment from substances like dye. Unlike the ceramics you read about, it is NOT a protective shell that can break down over time. Active Titania is a nano thin web of hydroxyl radicals that resist chemical adhesion. We just removed dye transfer from jeans in a BMW with a a rug cleaner because the Titania prevented the stain from setting into the leather, took a few minutes. Anyway, we apply this same spray to boat hulls, paint, as well as vehicle interiors. Oh yes, it also destroys VOCs and inhibits growth of bacteria. 4everguard protective coatings.

 

[Manbutter]

I have this blue stain that I magic erasered the hell out of and it still won’t come clean. This is ridiculous. I applied two layers of Gyeon leather protector before I used the car. That seems like a whole lotta pointless waste. If the product really worked, I’d be able to take off the Gyeon protectant with the stain on top of it as a sacrificial layer like PPF. Snake oil.

 

[J Neptune]

Have you tried nail polish remover with some water. Might be get away with detergent with little bit of water, but you ll need tool like the polishing attachment for drill.

Rubbing alcohol, go get a good sneaker cleaner,

 

[Manbutter]

Have you tried nail polish remover with some water. Might be get away with detergent with little bit of water, but you ll need tool like the polishing attachment for drill.

Rubbing alcohol, go get a good sneaker cleaner,

Good idea. I’ll definitely try nail polish remover. But hesitant about using a Dremel tool attachment.

I was also about to get some teeth whitening strips to apply to this thing. The thing is that bleach or hydrogen peroxide needs time to act on it and whiten. So the sprays don’t really work that well cause they are only on for a few seconds before you wipe it off.

 

[BB82]

Works great to protect from stains

 

[CleanDemon]

This is a stretch but you may want to try Folex. My wife uses it to remove spots in carpet and it’s spectacular.

 

[imthiazah]

Tried using magic eraser on some dye transfer which didn’t work. Got desperate and used a lot of 100% acetone which helped a lot. Picture before and after with poor lighting shown.

Will provide updates on the long term damage this causes.

 

[GWord]

Tried using magic eraser on some dye transfer which didn’t work. Got desperate and used a lot of 100% acetone which helped a lot. Picture before and after with poor lighting shown.

Will provide updates on the long term damage this causes.

Holy smokes. That’s a heckuva stain.

 

[ArizonaJon]

Based on the yellow microfiber cloth, it looks like he shops at Costco.