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MASTER THREAD: Removing marks from white seats

Discussion in 'Model 3: Interior & Exterior' started by Chuckie69, Jun 29, 2019.

  1. Payjack

    Payjack Member

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    AAB83505-C263-4E64-88DA-6771C46A415E.jpeg

    That’s what it says but I’m not holding my breath
     
  2. Jaenonymous

    Jaenonymous Member

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    I have mobile service coming out on the 21st to replace the passenger seat back (the plastic black part) as it has a scratch on it that looks buffed out. Didn’t notice in the light we were in when I took delivery but on a sunny day, can see it plain as day. So, I got a 0.00 charge so far to replace. I did send another message showing the seat and they said to show the tech when they are doing the other service. Since showing Erik on YT live stream and showing the SC via message, I have another HUGE one showing up. This seat bottom is for sure a dud. Hope they replace it quickly UGH.
     
  3. Payjack

    Payjack Member

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    Fingers crossed for the both of us, my luck with Tesla service hasn’t been the best but it’s 2021 so I’m remaining hopeful!
     
    • Like x 1
  4. supercrouton

    supercrouton New Member

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    New guy here with a '21 3LR w/white seats and about 1500mi (27 days of ownership). I wear black every day so I too was worried about dye transfer. The delivery assistant told me that "it's not an issue" So I sprung for it. So far no hat-stains, seatbelt stains, or other major issues besides the "stretch marks" on the lower outboard bolster. After reading every post on this thread, I hit the seats with the recommended 91% alcohol and a white towel and it cleaned up the "stretch marks", a bunch of handprints that I noticed on delivery, and slight overall soiling on the driver's seat that wasn't even really visible until I cleaned a section of the seat as a test.

    TLDR: After 1500 miles, my white interior cleaned up like-new w/91% alcohol, even though I wear black every day. It looks like it WILL however be more maintenance than black. Duh! ;)
     
  5. Jaenonymous

    Jaenonymous Member

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    Pardon for the clarification, but how did the alcohol deal with the "stretch marks", as mine are growing faster than I did during the first month of quarantine! LOL
     
  6. Jaenonymous

    Jaenonymous Member

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    When is your service appt for this? Mine is now set for the 28th. Havent heard back from the SC yet about it though.
     
  7. Payjack

    Payjack Member

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    DE732498-A196-4E62-B901-A6A314227545.png Even though they ordered the part for me before the visit they say it’s normal wear and tear for 5k miles. I asked how much for the bottom seat and was quoted $440 or $520 installed to replace out of warranty.

    Also, it looks the same after “cleaning” and Jared agreed he wish he could have approved it, but higher up the chain didn’t approve.
     
  8. Jaenonymous

    Jaenonymous Member

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    Ugh. That sucks. IMG_3156.jpeg IMG_3156.jpeg IMG_3157.jpeg IMG_3158.jpeg I got a message stating they ordered the part for me as well. My seat has gotten even worse since I inquired a few weeks ago. Now a huge strip on the left side and some more faint ones on the same area as before. The tech that replaced my seat back with a scratch on it stated if it was at 15k miles, normal. 1500k miles. Not so much. We shall see!
     
  9. Payjack

    Payjack Member

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    Wow, yours got so bad! I’m going to just live with mine for now and just enjoy the car. If mine ever get as bad as yours I’ll just pay outta pocket and replace.

    I wish you better luck!
     
    • Like x 1
  10. elptxjc

    elptxjc Member

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    You know, those seats look perfectly made, meaning the creases were not caused by improperly stitched seat cover. But yes, they shouldn't mark so soon; at least real leather on a (harder) non-Tesla car wouldn't. So the material is creasing when occupant weight is placed on the seat. My take is Tesla's cushy seats obviously deform more than regular seats under weight, meaning their weight limit to avoid such creases is less. I'm not going to ask Jaenonymous for occupant weight ( :) ), but if it's on the heavy side, at least that would be a logical (even if not acceptable) explanation why it happened. My car has almost 2K miles, and seats still look perfect, but we're on the light side (compared to most Americans. Ha ha), at 165 and 130 lbs.

    At any rate, those crease marks don't look bad at all IMO, and as picky as I am, I wouldn't do anything about them. I had issues with passenger airbag sensors several times in the past, and the seat covers were never even close to factory fit after that. So no way I'd do anything to those seats, since they look perfectly made, and doesn't look like a material defect either, so a new cover would probably look the same after another 1,500 miles anyway. But good luck with the fix; hope you're not disappointed at the new cover fit. I even had professional upholstery shops redo the seat covers on my new cars with defective airbag sensors, and still couldn't come close to match factory fit. Oh, and when I demanded a new seat one time, the freaking leather tone was different, and my wife was even more upset with that than the floppy fit, so I traded it in for a different car, since dealer couldn't do anything else about it.
     
  11. Jaenonymous

    Jaenonymous Member

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    I weigh 645 pounds and Im only 4 foot 8 inches. Rough.... right?

    Just kidding.

    Im a bigger guy, around 250 and 6-1. I thought the same and tested it. I gave the car to my wife, who isnt that big at all, and it got worst. To add to it, I sat solely in our passenger seat when traveling to recreate the two weeks on that side. Seats still look perfect on the passenger side.

    Adding. I had a 2020 SR+ and the seats didnt do this at all.

    So, not sure what it is, but they look like "ish" on the driver side and am looking to get them replaced on Thursday. Yay!

    We shall see if they balk.
     
    • Like x 1
  12. kishkaru

    kishkaru Member

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    #152 kishkaru, Feb 22, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021
    I have some stains/marks on my Model Y white seats which occurred less than 1 month into ownership.
    I created a separate post in the MY Interior page : Impossible to Remove Stain/Mark on White Seats (photos are attached to that thread)

    My stains are similar to the original poster's "hat stain". Now that I found this thread, I'm going to cross port a bit from that thread into here.
    Short summary:

    From what I see in this thread, some folks are successful fairly easily in getting Tesla to replace their entire seat under warranty due to the stain, since they claim the seat to be fairly "stain resistant". Is there any special keyword or something that can be used to trigger warranty replacement? Or is it case-by-case basis after inspection?

    From the Tesla New Vehicle Limited Warranty document (page 8):
    I'm currently working with a local auto upholstery shop to re-dye and blend the seat bottom in white to cover the stains. Unfortunately the shop is unable to find a matching white dye, since the Tesla white is some special Ultra White that Tesla is not currently selling to the public. They can try another white, but they warned me that the color might be off. I'll update if the shop is able to find a supplier for the Tesla Ultra White dye.
     
  13. elptxjc

    elptxjc Member

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    Did you try a leather cleaner? That's what I use, and it works great, even though it's not leather. Give it a try :).
     
  14. Jaenonymous

    Jaenonymous Member

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    Tesla replaced my seat bottom free of charge the other day.
     
    • Like x 1
  15. kishkaru

    kishkaru Member

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    C'mon, you can't say something like that without giving us more details :)
    What did you tell the Service Center?
     
    • Funny x 1
  16. kishkaru

    kishkaru Member

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    #156 kishkaru, Feb 23, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2021
    Nevermind, I scrolled up and read your history. Your specific issue is about premature creasing of the PU leather. Verses the original poster and this thread in general was about stains/marks on the seats. Seems like two different issues: one covered under warranty, while other falls under general "discolorations" and is exempt from warranty.

    (That's not to say that your issue is not valid. To me, it's even more of a concern that the seats would become that creased after only 1500 miles)
     
  17. SeaM3White2021

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    I don't see anyone in this thread mentioning the 303 Aerospace Protectant - I picked some up for my White/White M3 on order. This thread has some more info - 303 Aerospace Protectant:
     
  18. elptxjc

    elptxjc Member

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    #158 elptxjc, Feb 24, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2021
    I have that product, but don't recommend it for seats. I only use leather cleaner for stains and such, and works great. Other than that, just a damp microfiber rag (sprayed with distilled water) to clean them every once in a while. I only had to use leather cleaner for some stains I found after picking up the car. But nothing needed in 2K+ miles other than the microfiber method mentioned above. I use 303 for the dash and upper doors, but not for the imitation leather on seats, door armrests, and center console lid. Same method as the seats for those.
     
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