Rav 4 Front Seat Crumbling

[ditzyrav]

[color="#800080"]HiI have a rav 4 gtx 1998. I thought i was just sitting wrong but have noticed that the front seat is crumbling away on the right side - almost looks like sawdust - how weird is that, has less than 80,000 miles on the clock and am the second owner - have owned it since 1994. Anyone else come across this? presumably my only recourse is to replace the seat.

[CharlieFarlie]

[color="#800080"]HiI have a rav 4 gtx 1998. I thought i was just sitting wrong but have noticed that the front seat is crumbling away on the right side - almost looks like sawdust - how weird is that, has less than 80,000 miles on the clock and am the second owner - have owned it since 1994. Anyone else come across this? presumably my only recourse is to replace the seat.

How old is the car ?? You say its a 1998 that You have owned since 94 ???

Seats can be rebuilt and the foam parts replaced though if its an older car the breakers will likely be the best option....

The foam on some seats simply breaks down with age and its age rather than mileage that kills them....

Wee Charlie.

[ditzyrav]

Duuh! thats why am called ditzy. It is a 1998 rav and i have owned it since 2004.yes i guess it;s a trawl through breakers yards. thanks

[jedi134]

Do you pass wind a lot while driving? Methane gas can have a detrimental affect on the foams cellular structure, with the up and down motion it can deteriorate very quickly ;)

[Big Kev]

Sounds to me like somebody either put a Battery on said seat (muppet....!) or somebody with Battery acid wiped on the airse of their boiler suit has sat on said seat....? Serviced recently....? Must have been "the trainee.."...my garage has millions of trainees....it's always their fault. :shutit:

Sherlock Kev

[bothwell_buyer]

The front seat of the 4.1 RAV suffered very quickly from degradation of the front seat pad foam, and to the front seat back pad foam. The seat foam just seemed to collapse slowly with use on the offside of the seat... on both the seat base and seat back. I've seen many 4.1 RAVs like this. I took the front seats out of number 1 RAV and stripped the drivers eat down... the foam was basically semi-dust/crumb. It must be the type and quality of foam used being poor as it loses its structure really quite quickly. Mileage has not a lot to do with it - more age. And I guess in my case, its cos I'm heavier than the average Japanese person... or the design weight !!!

I changed the front seats and have just changed them again to Sparco Evo3s... pics soon.

The easiest way would be to get hold of seats from a scrap car, but to be honest I think they will be just as bad as your own. To replace the foam cushion should be fairly simple - just a real footer.

I think the seats from later models were more robust but you would need to check the mounting points are the same. I think this problem only existed with the 4.1.

For what its worth, I can see the same problem on the seat of our JCB 515 - and its only been used for 600 hours.

[Big Kev]

The front seat of the 4.1 RAV suffered very quickly from degradation of the front seat pad foam, and to the front seat back pad foam. The seat foam just seemed to collapse slowly with use on the offside of the seat... on both the seat base and seat back. I've seen many 4.1 RAVs like this. I took the front seats out of number 1 RAV and stripped the drivers eat down... the foam was basically semi-dust/crumb. It must be the type and quality of foam used being poor as it loses its structure really quite quickly. Mileage has not a lot to do with it - more age. And I guess in my case, its cos I'm heavier than the average Japanese person... or the design weight !!!

I changed the front seats and have just changed them again to Sparco Evo3s... pics soon.

The easiest way would be to get hold of seats from a scrap car, but to be honest I think they will be just as bad as your own. To replace the foam cushion should be fairly simple - just a real footer.

I think the seats from later models were more robust but you would need to check the mounting points are the same. I think this problem only existed with the 4.1.

For what its worth, I can see the same problem on the seat of our JCB 515 - and its only been used for 600 hours.

Stand corrected I do....

Yoda McGlinchy fae Glesga :shutit:

[Joylove]

The front seat of the 4.1 RAV suffered very quickly from degradation of the front seat pad foam, and to the front seat back pad foam. The seat foam just seemed to collapse slowly with use on the offside of the seat... on both the seat base and seat back. I've seen many 4.1 RAVs like this. I took the front seats out of number 1 RAV and stripped the drivers eat down... the foam was basically semi-dust/crumb. It must be the type and quality of foam used being poor as it loses its structure really quite quickly. Mileage has not a lot to do with it - more age. And I guess in my case, its cos I'm heavier than the average Japanese person... or the design weight !!!

I changed the front seats and have just changed them again to Sparco Evo3s... pics soon.

The easiest way would be to get hold of seats from a scrap car, but to be honest I think they will be just as bad as your own. To replace the foam cushion should be fairly simple - just a real footer.

I think the seats from later models were more robust but you would need to check the mounting points are the same. I think this problem only existed with the 4.1.

For what its worth, I can see the same problem on the seat of our JCB 515 - and its only been used for 600 hours.

Top post. Sounds like it's worthwhile to see if the 4.2 seats will fit.

[Davrav]

Sounds to me like somebody either put a battery on said seat (muppet....!) or somebody with battery acid wiped on the airse of their boiler suit has sat on said seat....? Serviced recently....? Must have been "the trainee.."...my garage has millions of trainees....it's always their fault. :!Removed!:

Sherlock Kev

Sounds more like age related degeneration to me,

Seen a lot of evidence of that on this forum

[ditzyrav]

Age related degeneration sounds about right - for me and my rav!. I trust my garage have used them for years, will see what they say about replacing it. Thanks peeps x

[Joylove]

It's possible you may need new parts. You can get an idea of the prices (in Euro) here.

[ditzyrav]

have just had a quote for a second hand drivers seat £66 delivered, obviously i need to pay my garage man to fit but does that sound reasonable?

[Joylove]

have just had a quote for a second hand drivers seat £66 delivered, obviously i need to pay my garage man to fit but does that sound reasonable?

Delivered yes it sounds pretty good (I bet delivery is £25+ of that), assuming it's not got worn fabric and the same foam issue as the one you are replacing.

[ditzyrav]

i asked if good condition and have got 30 day guarantee, so will wait and see if get anymore quotes but sounds ok to me - the seat is £35 rest is vat and delivery.