Seat post wear?

[ddenboer]

All,
I spoke with my OEA today he is asking for pictures. My wear isn't bad right now actually barely noticeable, the spot with the worse wear I've already had replaced. If anyone out there has some good pictures of wear, I would appreciate it if you would post with your VIN #. My OEA is looking for examples on owner cars to take to upper management.

thanks

I will post tomorrow when it is light outside. I have pretty serious wear showing there, and I DO have an exit profile (VIN 776)

 

[jomo25]

I think that's what's needed. Please post pics of wear on actual owner vehicles.

 

[Liz G]

I will post tomorrow when it is light outside. I have pretty serious wear showing there, and I DO have an exit profile (VIN 776)

Thanks.

Anyone else having wear issues they can post photos of?

 

[ddenboer]

Here. Not as bad as some, but this is a one driver car, using profiles to exit and enter.

 

[ddruz]

Just curious: Has anyone run a bead of crazy glue along the thread seam on their new car prior to the wear and tear showing? Wondering if that might invisibly mitigate the problem at least to some degree.

 

[MarkR]

Just curious: Has anyone run a bead of crazy glue along the thread seam on their new car prior to the wear and tear showing? Wondering if that might invisibly mitigate the problem at least to some degree.

Someone had earlier suggested putting nail polish to accomplish the same end, but I'd be concerned that it might make the leather and threads more brittle . . . making a bad situation much worse.

 

[rlr]

Does anyone know the extent of this issue? I've been on Tesla's forums diligently the past few weeks before placing an order yesterday and did not see this issue...just came across the leather wear problem late last night on this forum. We planned to use the car frequently - with 3 kids, so we'd be getting in and out of the car a lot...I'm spending $20K-$30K more on a car than I typically do and buying "new, " as opposed to slightly used for the first time in over 15 years...I would be more than disappointed if this happened to my car with a 100K miles, let alone, a few thousand miles. The fact Tesla reps have stated this would not be covered under warranty does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling about the purchase. I can justify foregoing some of the "niceties" other luxury sedans have (lighted vanity, door storage, console storage, parking lines; obstacle detection, etc.) because it's such a cool driving experience and really historical. But, if this "failure" of the design/leather is likely to occur in my Model S and not be covered under warranty, it'd give me great pause...Perhaps I'm more suited to be a late "early adopter" or even in the "early majority" of the innovation life cycle...

 

[jerry33]

But, if this "failure" of the design/leather is likely to occur in my Model S and not be covered under warranty, it'd give me great pause...Perhaps I'm more suited to be a late "early adopter" or even in the "early majority" of the innovation life cycle...

A couple of points:

1. Tesla has been good about fixing problems--even if they initially say no they later come through with the goods.

2. The Model S isn't the only car with this problem (according to other posts). It's a side-effect of the safety regulations that puts the B pillar in that location.

3. Whether you are affected by this depends a lot on your size and seat position.

4. FWIW, no wear at 5,200 miles.

 

[Todd Burch]

I have no wear at 7,700 miles and 6 months of ownership...however I am aware of the problem so I'm conscious to keep my seat forward enough to not expose that portion of the B pillar. Being 5'11" allows me to do this. You taller folks probably have less success.

 

[swegman]

I have tried to be careful getting in and out from the car, even putting my hand over the area so that my body rubs against my hand and not the leather. Even with that attention, I noticed the start of wear and have reported it to Lenny at the Rockville Service Center. My car is about 7 weeks old and just turned 2,000 miles. Lenny said he will look into the matter and whether Tesla is designing a fix for it.

 

[huntjo]

No wear after 7 months and 4700 miles.

For what it's worth, when I was a kid my mom had to see patches on the knees of my jeans because I wore through them so fast. It wasn't a problem with the jeans. We played in the dirt, in the bayou, army guys, dragon slayers, breakdancers, etc. If you continuously rub a fabric or leather surface you will get wear. Solution: don't let your kid o play outside in his expensive church slacks. And don't rub the B pillar and it won't wear.

 

[mknox]

And don't rub the B pillar and it won't wear.

I have no wear on mine either, but I'm extremely aware of the potential and am careful getting in and out. The fact is, most cars don't have the type of protrusion on the B-pillar that Model S does, and most cars' B-pillars are usually made of hard plastic, not fabric or leather.

 

[spatterso911]

No wear for me either after nearly 6000 miles in nearly 5 months.

 

[captain_zap]

Corner protector for B pillar

I started noticing a bit of wear on mine, so installed some soft clear rubber corner protectors I found on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BM2C39Q/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They come with off-white double sided tape squares, but I supposed one could use clear double sided tape as well so the leather color will show through.
Don't know how they will hold up since I just installed them today, but here's a pic:

 

[Shakespear]

I started noticing a bit of wear on mine, so installed some soft clear rubber corner protectors I found on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BM2C39Q/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They come with off-white double sided tape squares, but I supposed one could use clear double sided tape as well so the leather color will show through.
Don't know how they will hold up since I just installed them today, but here's a pic:

View attachment 23545

GREAT.. Start a new thread. Not all will find this after 154 posts.

 

[tdelta1000]

The 6:58 mark of this video will better explain my previous point about setting a profile when exiting the Model S to reduce or eliminate damage to the post.

 

[swegman]

My wear is not on the tan leather material, but on the black (leather?) material just below the tan leather. Thus, I don't know if those corner protectors would work for me.

 

[gimmee2]

After only a couple of weeks I was also starting to notice wear on the black part. I have a tight fit in my garage so I have to get in and out without fully opening my door, which means an entry/exit profile wouldn't help. I put a few layers of Skuff over it and that seems to have worked. It's been on there for a couple of weeks now and appears to be holding up fine. I didn't do the best job of applying it but to be honest I wasn't that concerned about the appearance as no one's going to see it anyway. It can easily be removed with rubbing alcohol.

 

[swegman]

Thanks, which Skuff product did you use? There are several different items on your link.

 

[gimmee2]

Thanks, which Skuff product did you use? There are several different items on your link.

I bought the Original Single Use. The single use bottle is enough for a pair of shoes so it's way more than enough to cover both points with multiple coats. I think the key is to put a very light coat on and repeat several times. I did three heavy coats and, as you can see, it started to run a little. It comes right off with rubbing alcohol so if you're a perfectionist you can remove it and redo if you don't like it.