[BLADE Z51]

OK, I got the drivers seat bolster repaired by the dealer in my '09 C6 Z51 base model. As I wrote in another thread, this seems to be a too common problem with the Corvette seats. The bolster cover cuts and tears in a short time in certain cars. I believe it is common in base model cars that do not have the "easy entry" feature and with drivers who are average to small stature and slender because they tend to leave the seat in a forward position and when entering or exiting the car, your butt will rub against the bolster causing the fiberglass seat shell to cut the upholstery.

Larger or heavier drivers or those with the easy entry feature might not experience this problem because their seat is all the way back when they enter or exit the car.

Anyway, the problem is not with the drivers. After all there are huge numbers of cars with the same situation and their seats never wear holes or cuts into the bolster cover.

The base model C6 Corvette has a big design flaw and rather low quality build. If you just had your seat repaired because of this, or if you want to prevent this from happening, you might want to do this simple and inexpensive modification. It's not guaranteed to prevent the problem, but it will probably help a lot.

First tilt the seatback forward and adjust the seat for easier access to the back of the seat. Then look for the zippers that run up and down along both sides of the seat back. You need to unzip the side closest to the door so you can access the seat shell, padding and cover. Here you can see the "cutting edge" (pun intended) technology that GM uses to made this seat.

The edge where the tip of the screw driver points and the red arrow that I painted there is the edge that appears to cut through the padding and soon after, the bolster cover. Obviously, some edge protection is in order...

I went to Autozone and scored this piece of 5/16" hose for about $1.75

I cut a piece about 7" long. Since it is to cover the convex edge, I cut it along the inside diameter.

Then I cut 2 shorter pieces about 4" long and cut them along the outside diameter so they would best fit the concave curve of the shell above the "cutting edge"

Then I placed them first over the cutting edge and the above and push them them and pull them until they were where I wanted them.

Now make sure everything is where and how you want it and zip up (down actually) the seat back cover and you are basically done. here is the finished product.

This is the "before" picture with the torn bolster

 

[BLADE Z51]

Another tip

Also, if your bolster is beginning to show signs of wear & tear, it would not be too hard to attach either some strong, thick tape or another piece of vinyl or other reinforcement to the inside of the bolter cover in the problem area. Then, go ahead and do the cutting edge modification.

Oh yeah, and let me know how it works

 

[RTGordon]

That's a slick idea. Shame they didn't think to cover that part of the tub during manufacture.

 

[BLADE Z51]

That's a slick idea. Shame they didn't think to cover that part of the tub during manufacture.

Thanks, in reality I think it needs further development. That is a really problematic area for some cars depending on the trim level and the drivers physique. The padding they put in there is pitifully inadequate for the application. I hope what I did helps but like I said, it needs further development. :thumbsup:

 

[hertge]

Hey your post made me want to go check my seats, and sure enough seat is showing wear. Car is about a year old. Going to get some tubing tomorrow. Should i do the passenger seat as well? Thanks for the great tip.artyon::thumbsup::nuts:

 

[BLADE Z51]

Hey your post made me want to go check my seats, and sure enough seat is showing wear. Car is about a year old. Going to get some tubing tomorrow. Should i do the passenger seat as well? Thanks for the great tip.artyon::thumbsup::nuts:

I never noticed if the pax side is suffering the same fate.. However, I don't believe it gets the same wear because:

1. I don't often get passengers
2. When people ride in the car they all seem to keep the seat all the way back

Now that you mention it, I will take a look at it.

Thanks!

 

[BLADE Z51]

UPDATE:

I have over 30K miles in the car now and the seat is holding up pretty well. Of course, I continue to exercise care getting in and out of it, but the modification seems to have helped :thumbsup:

 

[PredatorC6]

Makes you wonder what kind of testing these car go through during development :crazy:

There are so many issues with the 2005's that it would lead one to assume that the extent of model testing in this car was the mileage from the assembly line to the car hauler.

I know of three 2005 cars, just in my area, that were returned under the Lemon Law.

And, that's :down: for GM.

 

[midnite902]

This is a known problem for the '05s without the Side Air Bags. I did a similar fix on my seat a few years ago and it still looks good. It is interesting when I did my repair the price of the driver's side cover was much cheaper than the Passenger side cover.

:cheers:

 

[Junkman2008]

I did this to mine over 3 years ago and it is still holding up. I took it a lot further and insulated all the hard edges on my seats.

 

[yukonz51]

Excellent posts and pictures guys.

Thank youartyon:

 

[BLADE Z51]

I did this to mine over 3 years ago and it is still holding up. I took it a lot further and insulated all the hard edges on my seats.

That's some kind of thorough work Junkman! I'll examine the seats and see if there is any sign of wearing in the other areas.
It might be good for people to consider doing the modifications as you have done. For me it might be way too much overkill since my skinny butt is not likely to do more damage than what I had by pushing the bolster against the sharp edge every time I got in the car. Also, I sure don't want to pull the seats completely out. Great job though :thumbsup:

 

[Junkman2008]

Thanks. As someone else said, great minds think alike! :thumbsup: