Corolla Fire-retardant Breaking Down/staining.

[daviescr]

Hi,

Apologies if this particular subject has already been discussed on the forum however i'd wanted to ask how many others are experiencing the Fire-Retardant material on the upholstery breaking down on their Toyota Corrola. This is a known fault on models that are approximately 12-months old however replacement panels are taking 4-months upwards for Toyota to source (much to my annoyance and sheer discontent).

The upholstery on my Corolla looks awful due to the staining from rain-drops (and from staining caused by the Fire-Retardent material coming though on parts never sat on nor stained by rain-drops) IMHO, cleaned up tidily however problem re-occurs shortly afterwards. Dealer suggested that other manufacturers would tell customers to clean the upholstery and would not entertain replacing panels, regardless of their comments the manufacturers themselves have issued a document illustrating the failings and listed replacement part numbers for the panels that are affected.

Kind Regards.

[K19NE G]

Hi,

Apologies if this particular subject has already been discussed on the forum however i'd wanted to ask how many others are experiencing the Fire-Retardant material on the upholstery breaking down on their Toyota Corrola. This is a known fault on models that are approximately 12-months old however replacement panels are taking 4-months upwards for Toyota to source (much to my annoyance and sheer discontent).

The upholstery on my Corolla looks awful due to the staining from rain-drops (and from staining caused by the Fire-Retardent material coming though on parts never sat on nor stained by rain-drops) IMHO, cleaned up tidily however problem re-occurs shortly afterwards. Dealer suggested that other manufacturers would tell customers to clean the upholstery and would not entertain replacing panels, regardless of their comments the manufacturers themselves have issued a document illustrating the failings and listed replacement part numbers for the panels that are affected.

Kind Regards.

I can't say I've noticed... I lean my elbow on the driver's door card and the centre arm rest a lot and always thought any discolouration was down to skin!!! Wipes of easily though and I use a car interior carpet cleaner for any deep stains...

I've no staining from rain drops either even though the T Sport has the same problem as the T3 models etc. As far as I know the face lift T Sport seats are exactly the same only with red inserts instead of blue...

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Corolla 1.6 T3 Japanese built, September 04, black upholstery with blue inserts.

I too had the staining on the seats. Took it in in November last year. Dealer knew what it was about as soon as I described it, and was only too pleased to get the replacements on order. They finally arrived and were fitted yesterday. Even got a courtesy car for the day!

John L

[bert.tsport]

would you be on about white patches on the seats? ive got them on my drivers seat... i thought i had spilt something, but cant remember spilling anything????

ive cleaned it , but it does keep comming back

[poultonjoe]

would you be on about white patches on the seats? ive got them on my drivers seat... i thought i had spilt something, but cant remember spilling anything????

ive cleaned it , but it does keep comming back

My E11 is the same, kinda looks like an anti-perspirant mark/stain??

[bert.tsport]

would you be on about white patches on the seats? ive got them on my drivers seat... i thought i had spilt something, but cant remember spilling anything????

ive cleaned it , but it does keep comming back

My E11 is the same, kinda looks like an anti-perspirant mark/stain??

yeah, i was thinking more like some other type of stain... bodily fluids.

infact, i swear thats what people think when they see it..... :P

[vvtl-iboy]

So that's why my seat looks like I've been enjoying my driving a little too much.

[mickandjanet]

Hi,

Apologies if this particular subject has already been discussed on the forum however i'd wanted to ask how many others are experiencing the Fire-Retardant material on the upholstery breaking down on their Toyota Corrola. This is a known fault on models that are approximately 12-months old however replacement panels are taking 4-months upwards for Toyota to source (much to my annoyance and sheer discontent).

The upholstery on my Corolla looks awful due to the staining from rain-drops (and from staining caused by the Fire-Retardent material coming though on parts never sat on nor stained by rain-drops) IMHO, cleaned up tidily however problem re-occurs shortly afterwards. Dealer suggested that other manufacturers would tell customers to clean the upholstery and would not entertain replacing panels, regardless of their comments the manufacturers themselves have issued a document illustrating the failings and listed replacement part numbers for the panels that are affected.

Kind Regards.

[mickandjanet]

Hi,

Apologies if this particular subject has already been discussed on the forum however i'd wanted to ask how many others are experiencing the Fire-Retardant material on the upholstery breaking down on their Toyota Corrola. This is a known fault on models that are approximately 12-months old however replacement panels are taking 4-months upwards for Toyota to source (much to my annoyance and sheer discontent).

The upholstery on my Corolla looks awful due to the staining from rain-drops (and from staining caused by the Fire-Retardent material coming though on parts never sat on nor stained by rain-drops) IMHO, cleaned up tidily however problem re-occurs shortly afterwards. Dealer suggested that other manufacturers would tell customers to clean the upholstery and would not entertain replacing panels, regardless of their comments the manufacturers themselves have issued a document illustrating the failings and listed replacement part numbers for the panels that are affected.

Kind Regards.

Hi daviescr

I have a 54 reg T3 1.6 Corolla manufactured in Japan with bad stains on both front seats from the rain drips on opening the doors, keeps coming back a short time after cleaning, you say that Toyota have issued a document on this issue, how do I get a copy before confronting Mr T regards warranty.

Thanks

michael

[bert.tsport]

So that's why my seat looks like I've been enjoying my driving a little too much.

[geoffb]

Thought it might be worth bumping this topic up and sharing my current experiences. I have a 55 Corolla that has experienced staining with white rings on the front cloth seats. I mentioned this in passing to the salesman at the dealer when the car was in for its first service. He confirmed that it is a known problem and advised that I ask for replacement seat covers. This I did. I waited a short while for the covers to come in and was provided with a hire car for the day. OK so far - but then the problems .... .

I took the car home in the dark and was shocked to see the result of the cover replacement the next day. There are loads of creases in the covers. All over the front seats and along the whole length of the rear seat squab. The front seats are rucked up in a couple of places where fabric joins midway down the front seat right hand squab and one door panel was scratched and scored! Clearly quality control isn't known to my dealer.

Took the car back today and complained. They claim the creases are inevitable ("well, the covers come in a plastic bag so they are going to be creased") and that they will come out after a few weeks but have agreed to take the car back in to see what can be done - even they admitted that the rucking was bad. Grudgingly, they are replacing the scratched panel too.

I think this is going to be a longer term problem. The dealer seems to think they've done all they can so if I now have a car with creased upholstery that's that!

Anyone else had seat cover problems like this? I'd welcome comments etc. Do replacement seat cover creases actually go away I ask myself or should I resort to a bit of ironing?!

[mickandjanet]

Thought it might be worth bumping this topic up and sharing my current experiences. I have a 55 Corolla that has experienced staining with white rings on the front cloth seats. I mentioned this in passing to the salesman at the dealer when the car was in for its first service. He confirmed that it is a known problem and advised that I ask for replacement seat covers. This I did. I waited a short while for the covers to come in and was provided with a hire car for the day. OK so far - but then the problems .... .

I took the car home in the dark and was shocked to see the result of the cover replacement the next day. There are loads of creases in the covers. All over the front seats and along the whole length of the rear seat squab. The front seats are rucked up in a couple of places where fabric joins midway down the front seat right hand squab and one door panel was scratched and scored! Clearly quality control isn't known to my dealer.

Took the car back today and complained. They claim the creases are inevitable ("well, the covers come in a plastic bag so they are going to be creased") and that they will come out after a few weeks but have agreed to take the car back in to see what can be done - even they admitted that the rucking was bad. Grudgingly, they are replacing the scratched panel too.

I think this is going to be a longer term problem. The dealer seems to think they've done all they can so if I now have a car with creased upholstery that's that!

Anyone else had seat cover problems like this? I'd welcome comments etc. Do replacement seat cover creases actually go away I ask myself or should I resort to a bit of ironing?!

Thought it might be worth bumping this topic up and sharing my current experiences. I have a 55 Corolla that has experienced staining with white rings on the front cloth seats. I mentioned this in passing to the salesman at the dealer when the car was in for its first service. He confirmed that it is a known problem and advised that I ask for replacement seat covers. This I did. I waited a short while for the covers to come in and was provided with a hire car for the day. OK so far - but then the problems .... .

I took the car home in the dark and was shocked to see the result of the cover replacement the next day. There are loads of creases in the covers. All over the front seats and along the whole length of the rear seat squab. The front seats are rucked up in a couple of places where fabric joins midway down the front seat right hand squab and one door panel was scratched and scored! Clearly quality control isn't known to my dealer.

Took the car back today and complained. They claim the creases are inevitable ("well, the covers come in a plastic bag so they are going to be creased") and that they will come out after a few weeks but have agreed to take the car back in to see what can be done - even they admitted that the rucking was bad. Grudgingly, they are replacing the scratched panel too.

I think this is going to be a longer term problem. The dealer seems to think they've done all they can so if I now have a car with creased upholstery that's that!

Anyone else had seat cover problems like this? I'd welcome comments etc. Do replacement seat cover creases actually go away I ask myself or should I resort to a bit of ironing?!

Hi geoffb

I had the same problem, not once but twice and was awaiting third replacement, decided to take the bull by the horns, placing a very damp tea towel over the creases and using a steam Iron, very gently ironed the creases out, the area tended to look wet but soon dried out and now look ok, using the damp tea towel prevents iron shine on the material.

[geoffb]

Thanks for the reply. It's helpful to know that someone else has had this issue with creased upholstery. I will probably have a go as you suggest once the car has returned from the dealer's second attempt to get it right (which I don't expect to go well anyway).

I find it mind boggling that the dealer could let the car out with the way it was. Funny how they fall over themselves to sell you that new car but suddenly view you as a threat when you have a subsequent problem!

Shan't be buying any future cars from this dealership. They are (genuinely) very good at the sales part but the service part is appalling.

[geoffb]

Just an update for anyone who's interested in this seat staining issue.

The car has now been returned after the dealer's second attempt at fitting the covers properly and replacing a scratched part in the front passenger door panel. I decided in the end not to let them refit the rear seats since they had already scratched the interior and I really couldn't be doing with any more aggro than was necessary. Defeatist I know but I just don't trust the standard of care and workmanship at this dealership any more.

Anyway, the front seats do now look much better (mind you, this should have been done properly first time round). Not perfect - there are still quite a few creases in the fabric - but I will try the ironing technique as suggested elsewhere in this thread.

The point in all this really is that there is a recognised staining problem with the seats in certain recent Corollas and if you have this problem and it's bad you may want to ask your dealer about replacement covers. Mind you, whether they do it properly is another matter :ffs:

If anyone else has (or has had) this done perhaps they'd share their experiences in this thread for others to see.