Got some Leather Seats for the Focus

[SwampSurvivor]

Went to a junkyard that opened up a year or two ago as a pick and pull style. Haven't had great luck with the one closest to me so I figured I'd go to this one.

Had to pick up some Jeep parts and that was the purpose of our trip. Not sure what happened, but everything we needed was just sitting there already pulled so ... that saved us some time.

I went through the Ford section to find some trim panels for my Focus. Found a sandwhiched 2009 SEL focus 70000 miles with heated leather. Thought about it for a minute but figured it wasn't worth it. Turns out seats are $20 and they were on sale - buy one get one according to the pricelist.

The seats aren't in the greatest of shape. But on these second generation Focuses, it's well known the the cloth seats are garbage and wear out quickly. I already had no side bolstering on the drivers seat and the cushion was gone on the bottom of the left. Not so comfortable.

So we pulled the seats out , not too hard on these cars..

Turns out it was buy one (row) get one (row). So I paid a total of $20 for the seats. I also grabbed the HVAC control panel for the heated seats. Unfortunately, Ford wired the 08-10 for heated seats but not mine. Oh well. If it was a '10, it would be a plug and play.

Seats went in without issue. SRS system works.

Some pics- not great, but for $20 I'm not complaining. So much more comfortable! I'm sure they detract from the value of the car but I'll keep the originals. Not that a 5 year old Ford Focus with 65000 miles is worth anything anyway. Plus I plan on running this car into the ground.

 

[Run]

Looks good. $20 for leather seats is a steal any day of the week.

 

[JHZR2]

Congrats! I can't fathom leather seats in an econobox, but for the price you paid, it's a decent upgrade if you like leather. Retrofit of the heater wiring can't be that tough...

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The seats have the relays and all of the control wiring. I have a wiring diagram and FSM for a 2009, I could see how they are controlled and work through it. But I'm just glad to have comfortable seats.

Leather seats, in a new vehicle, aren't something I'd pay for. I'd prefer to have vinyl if it were possible.

 

[Nick1994]

Looks like you got a good find!

I just picked up seats out of a ZJ for my grandfather's XJ. You have to swap the seat frames over, 4 bolts super easy. I haven't installed them yet, going to clean them a little bit. I sat in them in the junk yard, wow is all I have to say. MUCH more comfortable than XJ seats. But finding manual seats from a ZJ wasn't easy, and most of them are leather and torn up.

 

[sciphi]

Nice! Glad to hear it was a cheap upgrade!

 

[TmanP]

They look great... and for $20!! I'd call that a great upgrade! I really like leather, and if you plan on keeping the car forever it's a smart move.

 

[gregk24]

They need a deep cleaning! But nice upgrade.

 

[daves87rs]

Nice!!!

 

[andyd]

Can you "re-hand" the seats? Set the seats up so you can mount the pssgr's seat on the driver's side. Pssgr's typically have way less wear.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

There's definitely some blemishes. There was a pretty big tear in the rear that was patched (look on the rear drivers side) and a 3 inch gash in the passenger seat that was patched poorly. But I don't really care. They are much nicer seats.

Any suggestions on what to clean them with? I was using some Meguiars leather cleaner/polish for it, but open to suggestions.

I think the tearing on the drivers' seat is a lost cause.





Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Looks like you got a good find!

I just picked up seats out of a ZJ for my grandfather's XJ. You have to swap the seat frames over, 4 bolts super easy. I haven't installed them yet, going to clean them a little bit. I sat in them in the junk yard, wow is all I have to say. MUCH more comfortable than XJ seats. But finding manual seats from a ZJ wasn't easy, and most of them are leather and torn up.


The seats are way nicer than Cherokee seats for sure. If I didn't have the poop tan interior on my Cherokee, I would have done the black grand seats a long time ago. The Cherokee seats held up a lot better than the Focus seats. 11 years older and more than twice the mileage and they are still somewhat comfortable.


Originally Posted By: andyd
Can you "re-hand" the seats? Set the seats up so you can mount the pssgr's seat on the driver's side. Pssgr's typically have way less wear.

Thought about it but unfortunately, there are airbags in the top of the seat and the passenger seat base has a scale and a bunch of extra sensors that the drivers' seat doesn't have.

But these leather ones with slightly more miles still have 100% padding!

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: andyd
Can you "re-hand" the seats? Set the seats up so you can mount the pssgr's seat on the driver's side. Pssgr's typically have way less wear.

A lot of times you can swap the upholstery and foam over to the driver's side. I haven't seen a modern car for a while with hog rings holding it on, just plastic channels that pop into the metal edge of the seat frame.

 

[maximus]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Congrats! I can't fathom leather seats in an econobox..


Non-powered at that. Kinda silly lookin.

 

[supton]

Nice.

Loved leather seats in my econobox; but then again I did 314k in eleven years time. Two hours a day on average. Wore like iron. Then again, the foam guts don't care what they are covered in. But I preferred the feel of leather.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Originally Posted By: andyd
Can you "re-hand" the seats? Set the seats up so you can mount the pssgr's seat on the driver's side. Pssgr's typically have way less wear.

A lot of times you can swap the upholstery and foam over to the driver's side. I haven't seen a modern car for a while with hog rings holding it on, just plastic channels that pop into the metal edge of the seat frame.
On the famous VW Beetle you could swap over the entire seat.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: supton
Nice.

Loved leather seats in my econobox; but then again I did 314k in eleven years time. Two hours a day on average. Wore like iron. Then again, the foam guts don't care what they are covered in. But I preferred the feel of leather.


That was the issue. The cloth seats in these cars have different innards than the leather ones.

 

[IndyIan]

$20 is a deal! I'm not sure why but I always like the look of leather headrests in a car.
I guess the lever at the front is for the height adjustment? I don't know if the base cloth seats came with height adjustment in my car, but my leather ones have it for the driver and its been handy to set the lumbar height and keep my head from brushing the roof with the sunroof. I've only had my car for 100,000km but the seats seem to be holding together pretty well structurally. My hot tip for the summer is park facing away from the sun so the seat is cooler to start with.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

First day at work with the new seats. They are much more comfortable for my lunchtime nap, too!

The side/front lever is height adjustment. The other drivers seat has height adjustment, neither cloth nor leather passenger seat has height adjustment, however.

What's a good product to clean/condition them?

The seats are perfect for a living room! They have flat bases so you can sit right on them.