How many miles do you have on your car and what kind of discoloration. I have some on my doors, but clearly it is from rubbing up against my hip. It is possible that your problem might not be covered under warranty.

Can you make your case that it is definitely not your fault (at least very unlikely)? Note that it might be clothes you wear, or cleaners you use, or something.

If so, and the Zone Manager gives you no satisfaction, call Ford Customer Service, they might help you. Consider this, if all "damaged seat covers" are not covered by warranty, then why the heck did they need pictures!

And post pictures for us voyeurs to look at and pontificate on

.

Louis

 

The car has 8500 miles.

It's not damaged, it is not something I did, nor clothes I wear. The dealer even agrees with me that it's a defect, but it is apparently out of their hands thanks to Ford's new "Digital Imaging Program." They've basically taken the decisions out of the dealership's hands to limit fraud on warranty claims.

The problem is occuring on the drivers seat, passenger seat, and passenger side insert. There is rarely a passenger in my car, and I assure you that nothing has been spilled.

The discoloration is also discussed in this thread: http://www.focaljet.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=001938#000000

It's kind of a fading from the blue to a white spotting, looks almost like someone spilled a very very small amount of bleach on it. I will post pictures shortly, and you will see that there is no way that anything could have been spilled on the insert in the passenger door where I'm experiencing this problem.

[ 05-22-2003, 07:02 PM: Message edited by: RHoyle ]

 

I have had it. not bad at all. basically hit/tap on it or rub it away. I haven't read of anyone having success with the dealer about this issue. And some have commented it may be the cushion underneath the cover. mine is barely ever there and not bad at all when it is. good luck.

 

eya the digital imaging thing helps reps at ford take a actual look at what the customer is talking about instead of reading it on a computer screen..it also helps getting approval quicker. it is kinda crappy they are calling it damaged...just take some of the stiching out and fray it and claim it that way...

 

I can ususally get the spots out with a damp rag and some wiping...

 

Hummm… I have the same thing. Mine is an ’03 SVT in Sonic Blue as well. I don’t have pictures, but I can get them if needed.

I just thought the little white dots came from something I did. But my car has 1,700 miles on it, and trust me, I have not spilled anything on it. I can also tell you they were not there when I bought the car one month ago.

I have used the damp rag and wiped them away, but they came back. I did this to try to see what it was. I still don’t know, but I thought it might have been from my jeans or something. I will be very interested to find out what happens.

 

What I have are not little white dots, and do not wipe away. They are about spots about the size of quarters/nickels, and a line also - where the blue has faded out and turned into an off-whitish color.

I think I will be getting this fixed, thanks to a local fellow SVTF owner who had the problem resolved by the same dealership in January

 

It could be caused from highly acidic sweat. If you have a diet very high in proteen this might be the cause. I have a back ground in human physiology and have read this a few times and wonder if it's related

Ford should make the material to withstand this but I have seen highly acidic sweat corrode even metal

 

I have a small spot on my passenger seat. I have a little over 12k miles.

 

Its not sweat. I don't sweat very much, and I almost always am wearing long pants... besides, the fading is worse on the passenger seat, which is sat upon much less frequently, and also on a spot on the door insert panel on the passenger side where it'd be hard to imagine sweat being a problem very frequently...

I am going to take pictures now..

 

These pictures didn't come out very well, the damage is much worse than it appears... I think I need to take them in overcast conditions to better show how bad it is, but for now - here's the idea:

The Passenger side seat:

The Driver side seat:

 

I can't help but think how bad it would suck to pick up a date and have her see that on your seats.

I've seen the discoloration on a friend's SVT and it pretty much comes right off by wiping it with a cloth.

 

Is this only in blue seats? Maybe that is why they discontinued?

Louis

 

That's exactly what I have too. Mine showed up within the first few thousand miles.

 

Its from getting to excited when you drive!!!! I have the stain too lol.

 

It might not be sweat by looking at it but thought it could be related.

I only have a few thousand miles and no problems, but I had the leather protecting and material scotch guarded very early on.

 

Yeah... the service manager and service writer were giving me crap about it, but there are two flaws to the "too excited" theory...

1. They know me well enough to know that NO ONE is going to be doing that in my passenger seat. I'd beat their ass. They also know that I drive way to agressively to do it on my own. Both hands tend to be on the wheel most of the time to hold myself in the seat. And there is no question that NO ONE ELSE EVER drives my car.

2. There is a couple similar spots on the side panel of the passenger door. It'd be damned near impossible to make those stains "that way" unless you are some kind of contortionist. Unfortunately, the pics I took of the insert didn't come out at all.

The ArchAngel... This discoloration is IN the fabric, it's not a stain, and it's not on top of it. I've wiped it down several dozen times, it will NOT come off.

SlickShoes... did you get your issue fixed? Do you want to?

 

I have it on my blue seats and door panel as well.I have tryed several types of cleaners with out any luck.

 

Same here... don't try most stain removers, it only makes it worse..

 

My seats look like the ones in the pics with the spotting and discoloration. SUCKS

ps. i thought they only made sonic blue in 02 not in 03
edit 01sportwagon . "Mine is an ’03 SVT in Sonic Blue"

 

My interior is red & I get a white powdered substance on seats & side panels. At first, knowing that my vehicle was built in Mexico I thought it might be an "illegal powder" added as a bonus from the builders

I think it's just an inferior interior material that bleeds from either heat/moisture or ? ? ? ?

I advised & showed my dealer my problem and they did not have a solution. They told me to call the 800#

Now I just vacum and use a moist cloth to remove the residue : ( I love the concept of the Ford Focus "SVT', but I think they have rushed this model to get it on the streets and we the consumers are paying the price for their errors.

I don't think that a Special Vehicle should be discounted or depreciate $10K in nine (9)months

Maybe I will go snort my seats & maybe feel better about my problems....Will I buy another Ford Product ? Will you ? ? ?

Call "SVT Hqs" & let them know your complaints & problems. Maybe ? just maybe if enough consumers let Ford know their concerns they will be addressed ~ or maybe they will just contain more "white powdered substances", in your next purchase.

I'm going back to my `space

`jd

 

I have the same discoloration on my drivers seat, and it is not a stain. I have two and they just showed up. I have 11,500 miles and noticed them about 1000 miles ago. I was able to just use a damp cloth and get one of them to come off/out, but the other one is still there. I know it cannot be from a spill because that is where my leg usually rests.

Anyway, let's know how it goes. . .

 

I have the red inserts, and do notice a powdery substance that seems to be working it's way up through the fabric. I have just thumped it with my finger and it comes out like dust would. I'm not saying it's the same thing, but they may be related. When I see the spots they do seem to resemble the pics from above, just not as bad.

 

Be brave and take a wet towel with water only and soak and rub the seat.

I had white stains and also I had left my sunroof open one night and it rained. When the upholstery dried it left a line where it went from wet to dry. It would not come out with upholstery cleaners.

So I got the ol wet towel out and scrubbed away, and when it dried the line was gone as well as the white spots.

 

Re: Seat Discoloration (Please help!) *DELETED*

Post deleted by Peloton25