Tear in All-Terrain seat not being covered by Warranty

Thomcat · June 24, 2017

To quote Albert Einstein ........ Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So why would one expect the problem to be solved by replace the seatcover with the same crap?

.02 worth of thought -----

Made me wonder why mine made of the same crap is still perfectly intact and looks great despite being constantly pounded with my 240 lb a$$? Granted, even though the passenger seat gets less use....seems these are not having the same problems. Then I realized mine is spared because I get in and out of the vehicle the same way as a passenger, instead of a driver.

Passengers step onto the running board or door sill and grab the assist handle using their arm/hand to pull themselves over and onto the seat, while drivers lacking an assist handle grab the steering wheel which doesn't provide lift and drag their fat a$$ across the seat stretching the leather cover inward stressing the he!! out of the stitched seam- ditto but less so sliding out.

First thing I did when I bought the Silvy was to buy a GM driver's side assist handle to match the driver's side which saved GM a few pennies by omitting....less than $40 on Amazon. Not sure but the part might be intended for GM left side steering wheel export vehicles??????? Anyway the driver's "A" pillar molding simply pops off with a trim tool, cut the plastic tether which is intended to keep it from flying into your face if the airbag underneath should explode in a crash. The metal frame of the "A" pillar itself is already pre-drilled and tapped for the two bolts on the new driver's side "A" pillar assist handle.....simply bolt in and attached the decorative bolt covers......no need to replace the tether because the new handle is designed and secured just like the passenger side....by two bolts and contains a built in fracture outline for the airbag.

Best accessory I bought for the truck.....now I get in easier and quicker by using my arm/hand to lift my self over and onto the seat instead of stretching the crap out of the stitched seam.

Almost as easy as coloring in the tear with a black magic marker when the dealer tells you to pound sand for warranty coverage.

Thomcat · June 24, 2017

Yes that should be covered. Those seats/foam/leather/vynl are tested and designed to last 100,000 miles at minimum of ingress/egress stresses with robot simulators. This was obviously a manufacturer defect in the stitching. It happens. And should be covered.

Yeah, they test them alright.....if they were tested properly, they wouldn't rip.....these are material not stitching failures...Without using a robot Eli Levi knew how to make a material with a stitched seam that would tear off your bumper before it tore his pants that were snagged on it.

Might be a useful test if they did it for two years under intense UV light simulating an open windows, repetitive heat and cold cycles with ingress/egress every day twice a day for a period of 3 years over a period of 6 x 365 cycles using a 180 lb dummy in work dirty coveralls....more likely using an 80 lb foam covered robot in shiny polyester pants getting in and out once every 1000 miles.

If I didn't install the missing driver's assist handle, no doubt mine would have been torn to crap by now also!

426ted · July 21, 2017

Interesting read. I noticed today that mine had developed a tear as well. 40,000km on the truck and I weigh in at 180. I try not to drag my butt over the side of the seat, but I do it occasionally. The seat in my old '09 GMC started to rip at around 230,000km.

Volkster · September 4, 2018

My '17 with 19,000 miles on it is doing exactly what the original post in this thread did. My "tears" look identical to their photos. It is cheap vinyl on the sides of our seats. My son's '15 Silverado LT (50,000 miles) has full leather seats with no signs of a problem. I will stop in soon to the dealer and see what they say. I also recently added the drivers side pillar handle like someone in this thread did. Even if the dealer replaces the seat cover, I figure the new one will do the same thing so I'm trying to get used to getting in and out differently than before. Only issue I've had with truck so far. Very unfortunate for something with a $58K sticker price. It's even more discouraging that this has been happening since at least 2014

BigBadSierra · September 4, 2018

I had the seat in the 2014 replaced under warranty and the 2016 same issue.

It's not cheap it's a bad design. That spot gets pinched when you get out between your BUTT and the plastic seat side.

It puts to much pressure on the stitching and it rips through.

Volkster · September 4, 2018

57 minutes ago, BigBadSierra said:

I had the seat in the 2014 replaced under warranty and the 2016 same issue.

It's not cheap it's a bad design. That spot gets pinched when you get out between your BUTT and the plastic seat side.

It puts to much pressure on the stitching and it rips through.

I just hope it's under warranty. Several in here got denied due to "wear-n-tear" which is crap!

Cupton · September 4, 2018

Same exact issue in the same exact spot for me and it was replaced under warranty for my ‘15 All Terrain. I no longer have that truck but wanted to chime in anyway. I also had them replace the back door handle (inside) because the stitching was coming out. No questions asked since it was under warranty. We’ll see if it does the same thing in my ‘18 All Terrain.

300 Blackout · September 8, 2018

Mine is ripped at the stitching also. Oddly enough, the left side “leather” of the seat cover feels rigid and the right side leather is still soft and pliable. Not gonna be fixed under warranty.

Does anyone know what the part number is for the All Terrain driver’s seat cover?

(Part number is 23423855. $83 online.)

ToxicAir · October 3, 2018

My 2016 with 28K miles has cuts in the same seat location. Crappy dealer has rejected the warranty idea. There seems to be two problems. Poor workmanship on the plastic support underneath. There is a sharp edge that cuts through the seat cover. The other problem is in the materials. It's cheep vinyl on an expensive leather seat. That sure seems like manufacturing defects in both materials and workmanship.

Volkster · October 22, 2018

On 9/4/2018 at 5:01 PM, Volkster said:

My '17 with 19,000 miles on it is doing exactly what the original post in this thread did. My "tears" look identical to their photos. It is cheap vinyl on the sides of our seats. My son's '15 Silverado LT (50,000 miles) has full leather seats with no signs of a problem. I will stop in soon to the dealer and see what they say. I also recently added the drivers side pillar handle like someone in this thread did. Even if the dealer replaces the seat cover, I figure the new one will do the same thing so I'm trying to get used to getting in and out differently than before. Only issue I've had with truck so far. Very unfortunate for something with a $58K sticker price. It's even more discouraging that this has been happening since at least 2014

Update....i had to bring my truck to the dealer for the typical 8-speed torque converter “shutter” problem (21,000 miles) so why it was there I showed them the tears in the drivers seat base along with my steering wheel which had a defect in the leather at the top of the wheel right were I typically hold it. Both were replaced with no questions asked. I was happily surprised so it appears some dealers just fix it and some reject it due to “wear-n-tear”. Seems hit or miss, not sure why

L86 All Terrain · October 22, 2018

I am not sure if you guys have the Symtech warranty in the USA but in Canada it covers your interior from defects or even self-inflicted damage. The burn, rip, tear warranty they call it, it also covers the paint and gives your paint a "treatment" when it is new, doubtful it is a ceramic coating but i havent looked into it that far. I had it on my 2010 and they repainted the entire bed of the truck about 5 months after the Symtech warranty expired when it started to peel so i bought it again for my 2015 but i have not used it yet.

I never buy extended warranties but after my positive experiences with the Symtech package, i will continue to purchase it on my GM trucks as is covers two of their big weaknesses, leather and paint.

Edited October 22, 2018 by L86 All Terrain

16SierraAllTerrain · March 9, 2019

I'm having the same issue. Going to the dealer tomorrow to discuss this. I'm barely in my warranty still.

16SierraAllTerrain · March 9, 2019

I'm having the same issue. Going to the dealer tomorrow to discuss this. I'm barely

16SierraAllTerrain · March 9, 2019

My 2009 sierra that I had before this 16 had full leather seats and at 140,000 miles when I traded it in, the seats in it were in better shape than this crap in this new truck. I love the red stitched seats but if it means having this carbon fiber vinyl crap then I'm out.

Asylvain · April 9, 2019

2017 GMC All Terrain 2500 HD crew cab 4x4. Same issue. Drivers seat tear, drivers side. At 16k and at 32k miles. Dealer has replaced both, so in 32k miles three seat covers. Unacceptable. $65k pickup with issues like these is frustrating to say the least. I hope GM steps up and issues a recall to this issue for their short and long term customers.