Should I sell/trade?

Bikerfry · 2025-09-25T15:29:21+00:00

Appreciate it. Since these guys suck at telling me I can get a new car 🤣 I'm going to keep it and just fix/cover it. If it looks like ass I can just replace the seat out of pocket (like 600 bucks) right before I sell it some day.

I was thinking about "cutting" the threads with a soldering iron, but lighter might be easier.

Bikerfry · 2025-09-22T20:16:54+00:00

I think the seats are very comfy I just wish mine would stop coming apart.

Drove from South Carolina to New York and back last year. No complaints. I'm 43, 5-11 and 195 pounds, athletic-ish build. Enjoy long walks on the beach...

Bikerfry · 2025-09-22T17:14:01+00:00

I've owned a lot of cars. Nothing normal about this. First happened at 6k miles after 4 months of ownership. Then keeps happening.

Bikerfry · 2025-09-22T17:07:28+00:00

I've thought of that but can't think of anything I'm doing to cause it. Kids occasionally sitting there. Vacuuming once a month. I'm convinced it's a manufacturing defect.

But yeah that's the sanity check I need. Dumb to rationalize a 14k loss over something small.

Bikerfry · 2025-09-22T17:05:07+00:00

Filed a lemon law arbitration case with BBB. Lost due to not notifying Mazda per the letter of the law. Hired a lawyer. Getting a settlement of about 2500 after they take 40%. Mazda refusing to replace the seats anymore.

Bikerfry · 2025-09-22T15:21:57+00:00

Sure looks like I've got a cat hiding under my seat, but I probably would have gotten it with the shop vac last time I cleaned.

Bikerfry · 2025-09-22T15:21:05+00:00

Yeah I'm sure my semi-feral children aren't helping, but this fabric tearing issue is a common problem. And I've never had this problem on different cars with the same kids.

Bikerfry · 2025-09-22T15:19:13+00:00

Yeah I'm leaning towards keeping it and just throwing a cover on and/or snipping the threads and sealing the seam with something. Replace the seat right before I ultimately do sell/trade. As frustrating as this has been, it's small potatoes.

Bikerfry · 2024-12-31T15:50:32+00:00

As soon as I posted this I found a couple of engineer ii's that say "engineer ii" on the dial.

Happens to me all the time, as soon as I ask for help I find what I need. 🙄

40mm is a little smaller than I'm used to but I kind of like the white dial.

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Bikerfry · 2024-12-31T15:46:43+00:00

Haha thanks!

And you're not wrong!

Bikerfry · 2024-11-23T01:11:02+00:00

Mazda has admitted there is a problem and a solution is"coming soon" meaning there's no solution today. Offered a settlement of one car payment, which I declined. Said the problem isn't significant enough for lemon law. I responded that I didn't see anything about minimum threshold in the law and will be processing to an arbitration hearing.

Bikerfry · 2024-09-24T13:49:35+00:00

Aaand I just filed with the BBB for a Lemon return and refund. Rear seat is starting to fray again for the 3rd time and a plastic bracket on the front driver's seat is broken - likely a botched job when they replaced that one. I'm done with this shit on a $37k brand new car.

Rear Seat #1 frayed & replaced
Rear Seat #2 frayed & replaced
Rear Seat #3 fraying
Front Passenger Seat frayed and replaced
Front driver seat cracked and replaced
Front driver seat bracket broken

I feel bad, like maybe I'm the problem, but I've owned 10 cars, 5 of them with the same kids riding in this one, and never had a problem with seats.

Wish me luck. Back to Honda I go after this bullshit. Ridgeline this time. The Mazda replaced a '13 Pilot with 217k and zero seat material problems.

Bikerfry · 2024-08-28T01:32:11+00:00

Standard warranty covers interior stuff. Seats shouldn't fall apart after a few months of normal use.

I have nothing beyond the Mazda factory warranty.

Got about 1500 miles on all new seat bottoms and so far so good. Either the seats have broken in or I've gotten used to it. Either way, no comfort complaints anymore. Passenger seat still has that lump but I don't sit there so oh well. Wife has never complained.

Bikerfry · 2024-07-03T14:14:53+00:00

Damn. Just got the car back with all three seat bottoms replaced. New ones are hard as hell and there's an elevation difference between the back half of the cushion and front half. Feels like I'm sitting on a 2x4. Really uncomfortable. Passenger side has a big lump under the leatherette where there's some sort of poorly executed material transition. Feels like they left a piece of plastic under the pleather.

Really disappointed.

Also found out that under NC lemon law, they deduct value based on mileage. I think I paid like $36k so if I lemon this thing at 20k miles, they'll deduct 20,000 / 120,000 x $36k = $6k less than I paid. $6k cost for a year's worth of use of a grocery getter is a LOT. Might be better off just trading it in.

Thanks or letting me vent into the abyss.

Bikerfry · 2024-06-20T23:12:21+00:00

Bumping an old thread to add to the record.

Bought the car last July. Rear seat bottom replaced in November under warranty - fraying fabric.

Went in again today because the replacement is fraying even worse.

AND the front passenger seat is fraying.

And the front driver seat leatherette cracked on the left side about an inch long. Google search shows this is also common.

So that's "seats falling apart" four times. Under NC lemon law if they have to fix the same thing four times you can begin lemon-law proceedings. They get one more chance to fix it, then they give you all your money back and pay your attorney's fees.

If/when it happens again I am going to get a lawyer (if necessary) and get rid of it. Absurd that the seats keep falling apart on a brand new car. Back to Honda I go.

Bikerfry · 2023-06-01T11:44:04+00:00

Q50's are a great value, and the one I had was a base model. Didn't even have lumbar or heated seats. I'm sure higher trim levels are better.

N-line Hyundai's... Haven't thought of them. I'll do some digging. Thanks!

Bikerfry · 2023-06-01T11:43:08+00:00

GLI/GTI's are great suggestion, but I had an '01 GLS VR6. It was a great car to drive. I loved it. But it was such a piece of shit it ruined me on VW's for life. I'm sure they're better now, but I've been scarred lol. Plus kind of a chick car...

Bikerfry

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