[GeoFX]

I replaced the leather seat cover and seat cushion on my FX35 with graphite interior at 750 miles back in early May. These replacement items were actually inferior to the original ones I had. Here are my observations:

Seat cushion - The new one is noticeably softer than the original. This was verified by the service manager when comparing it against the passenger's side. It almost feels like I'm sitting on one of those swedish therapedic pillows they sell over at Brookstone since my butt keeps on sinking into the seat! BTW - I'm 5'7" and 135lbs so no fat jokes please. Anyway, this is causing some back discomfort...

Leather seat cover - I still have the "bubbling" issues but the new one has a lot more wrinkles at the corners where the stitching meets.

I just went to the dealer to get another set after 1500 miles on the new cushion/cover. The service advisor and manager were very accomodating and agreed that there are issues and will order a new cushion and leather cover. If it still doesn't work out, they are willing to have a local upholstery shop add a extra layer of foam to the cushion at no cost. This is great dealer response!

Looks like dealer response to this issue seems to vary a lot from acknowledgement/willingness to fix it to pure denial. Don't really know why... :roll:

 

[topguy]

I just dropped of mine at the dealer for them to replace my seats. But the service guy said they actually would replace only seat covers not cusions. He said tech guy would disassemble the seat and assemble the whole seat together with new cover.

If it still gives me bubble and wrinkle, I will probably go to Nebraska to find my own leather supplier :-x .

 

[davezaristo]

My car is still in the shop since last friday on the exact same issue. Apparently, the dealer told me there were 29 cushions being shipped from japan to the distribution center in sacramento and 28 of them were damaged since the packing was not done properly. Anyhow, i was fortunate enough to get the undamaged piece and my car "should" be ready by tommorrow. I will update you guys on the result.

 

[mushutofu]

yes please..very intersted on the outcome since I use the same dealer

 

[topguy]

I'm at the dealer now to pick up mine with replaced seat cover. Service guy told me that new leather is from different "part( :roll: )" of cow. In other words, better quality of leaher. I hope so.

He told me to leave the outside under sun for few days in order for the leather to settle.

I'll let youguys know how different new seats will be.

BTW, someone was getting his G35 Coupe dressed up today. I saw Stillen exhaust, BBS wheels and service guy said dealer just installed high performance clutch and etc.... And he's waiting for his supercharger. Nice.

 

[topguy]

I like new seat cover better. Dealer only replaced bottom cover since reclining back cover was not damaged. It was fine with me and new leather cover is definately softer but not too soft. Feels more like G35's.

 

[topguy]

Here are the picture of new seat covers. They look like they need to be ironed :? Passenger side looks little better but it's ok.

 

[topguy]

Oops. File got too big.

 

[ujmot]

:? I'd go back and complain.... my first replacement looked alittle worse than that and had it changed again. The last replacements looked great for a few days and it now looks worse than my original set. **** Infiniti better get it straight.

 

[topguy]

:? I'd go back and complain.... my first replacement looked alittle worse than that and had it changed again. The last replacements looked great for a few days and it now looks worse than my original set. **** Infiniti better get it straight.

Well, I will probably wait for few weeks to see how they "settle". If they don't, then it gives me another reason to argue about the seats with the dealer. Right?

 

[davezaristo]

I got my car back and the passenger side looks better than the driver...

The leather seems softer as commented by others and there's more wrinkle than before. My SA told me to wait for couple days to settle in and should be more even

Also, he told me that i got 4 more yrs and 60000 more miles to complain and they will be glad to change it at anytime if i am not satisfied...

My feeling is Infiniti better find a permanent fix soon as i am still not 100% satisfied. The g35 loaner i got for a week had better seat and more well-designed and it cost less. My SA agreed but I understand that there's not much the dealer can do so...

I will post pics later..

 

[GeoFX]

The g35 loaner i got for a week had better seat and more well-designed and it cost less.

I agree. The seats in a G35 sedan loaner I drove are a lot more comfortable IMO. BTW I went to an auto upholstery place today to get an estimate on how much it would cost to insert a firm piece of foam to make up some of the "slack" between the leather and soft foam (thus causing the bubbling IMO). They wanted 135 bucks... :roll: They also mentioned they can add more braces to the bottom of the seat to firm it up as well.

Anyway, still waiting for my new seat (cover and cushion)...I must have been scheduled to receive one of those other 28 seat covers that had to be returned :x

 

[grmensz]

Seat comfort is clearly a personal thing. For me there is no comparison between the G35S seats and my FX45. I had a G35S for over 18 months that I sold when I got the FX and the difference for me is night and day. I find the FX's seats much more comfortable and more supportive. Almost everyone who has ridden in both of the cars (I always liked to drive when we went out for lunch at work ) thinks the FX seats are more comfortable. Again, this is a very personal thing so I respect your opinion completely.

Gary...

 

[topguy]

Seat comfort is clearly a personal thing. For me there is no comparison between the G35S seats and my FX45. I had a G35S for over 18 months that I sold when I got the FX and the difference for me is night and day. I find the FX's seats much more comfortable and more supportive. Almost everyone who has ridden in both of the cars (I always liked to drive when we went out for lunch at work ) thinks the FX seats are more comfortable. Again, this is a very personal thing so I respect your opinion completely.

Gary...

When I had a G35 loaner car. I liked the a bit of siftness of the seat but thought it was maybe little too soft and small(less thigh support). On the other hand FX's seats had good firm foam pad but felt too flat due to its poor leather quality. Now after replacing the seat covers, I love my seats a lot. Still firm but with soft touch.

 

[davezaristo]

Here's my 3 month updates on the seats:

Bubbling happening again and parts of the leather already feels dry despite the car is under a covered parking almost every single day...I am very disappointed on the leather for the front seats and with my gf complaining that it is too soft and not as comfy and firm as my friends cayenne, it is making this matter worse....

I also discovered a new problem that it is bubbling on the top part of the seat as well, the 2 side area next to the infiniti logo. This time, i will demand my dealer to replace the ENTIRE seat and see what they say.

This is probably the last infinti product i will buy since it is definitely not up to par in terms of quality for a 50g car. I understand that every car has its own little quirk but the seat that i sit on everyday and it is having ongoing issues is just unacceptable.

I am seriously considering about filing a complain either directly to infinti corporate or consumer affair and demand a compensation or a PERMANENT FIX...please let me know your thoughts and i think if enough of us speak up, Infiniti may finally wake up and listen and do something about it....

 

[FXLENT]

Do you have any pics of your problems?

 

[davezaristo]

Do you have any pics of your problems?

I will take some tmw or tues and post them up...

 

[davezaristo]

OK, i am now making this post at the dealership and they told me that they will no longer replace my seats since it has been replaced once!!!! Even my SA agreed that the wear and tear is premature and totally unacceptable but there isn't much they can do at the dealership level. I am planning to start a petition and contact infiniti corporate directly and complain to them about our issues. Please pm me with your info if you are interested in joining me in battling this frustrating situation and hopefully infiniti will do something about it. Please comment or advise if you think there's a better and more effective way to handling this situation..sorry for the venting but i am just very disappointed at the quality of our graphite leather.

 

[davezaristo]

For those who pmed me, thank you for sharing your experience..i will wait one more week to collect more pm's (i know there's definitely more graphite interior out there) and will go ahead and contact infiniti corporate to discuss our matters. In addition, I will also contact consumer affair to see if there's any way they can represent us in order to reach a reasonable resolution. I will keep everyone posted so please keep those pm coming if you are experiecing the problem so that we have a more powerful claim.

In addition, please provide me with your name, location, and contact info in your pm just in case if infiniti decides to contact us individually when i submit everyone's claims. Thanks!

 

[MustGoFastR]

I wonder if they'll issue a new "fix" for this, since the '05s w/ graphite apparently now have perforated leather.