jamesh
Member
With two active kids, my light colored interior was taking a beating. I just upgraded to CalTrend's I Can't Believe It's Not Leather covers. I was hoping to closely match the dark accents in the car and went with Charcoal, they tied in fairly well.
I don't think any discerning person will be fooled into thinking the covers are real leather, however, I have had leather seats that I would have sworn were vinyl (2003 Subaru), so you just never know.
They are just what I expected and were not a huge pain to install. Note that I did set them out side for a day in a half to air out and warm up in the sun.
My install experience....
Front Head Rests: Easy
Rear Head Rests: Some pulling and tugging required
Front Seats: Slid on fairly easy. Does require unhooking the flap on the current seat. This is done underneath the seat and can be done by feeling around without being able to see. Two hooks (left and right) and one elastic strap (middle). This must be removed so you can pull the straps of the two parts between the upper and lower portions of the seat. Pulled everything taught and they looked great. Note that moving the seat forward and backward and tilting the seat was helpful in certain instances.
Rear Seats: Upper was pretty straight forward. I worked it on with the seat partially leaning forward and zipped it up without issue. The lower portion requires removing the seat. I had directions from another thread on Wet Okole cover installation. Basically, about 11 inches in on either side, you can push in and pull up, releasing the hooks, and the seat came out fairly easily. There are wires clipped in, so the seat did not get fully removed. Still, it was easy enough putting on the cover, pulling straps tight and carefully reinstalling.
I did not time the process and I was watching football at the time (going in and out to watch the game) but before the game was over, I was done.
I have had them on now for nearly a month and they are fantastic.
-edit: I just noticed I need to work the seams around the seat heater switch. Funny that I never noticed it until seeing the pic.
I don't think any discerning person will be fooled into thinking the covers are real leather, however, I have had leather seats that I would have sworn were vinyl (2003 Subaru), so you just never know.
They are just what I expected and were not a huge pain to install. Note that I did set them out side for a day in a half to air out and warm up in the sun.
My install experience....
Front Head Rests: Easy
Rear Head Rests: Some pulling and tugging required
Front Seats: Slid on fairly easy. Does require unhooking the flap on the current seat. This is done underneath the seat and can be done by feeling around without being able to see. Two hooks (left and right) and one elastic strap (middle). This must be removed so you can pull the straps of the two parts between the upper and lower portions of the seat. Pulled everything taught and they looked great. Note that moving the seat forward and backward and tilting the seat was helpful in certain instances.
Rear Seats: Upper was pretty straight forward. I worked it on with the seat partially leaning forward and zipped it up without issue. The lower portion requires removing the seat. I had directions from another thread on Wet Okole cover installation. Basically, about 11 inches in on either side, you can push in and pull up, releasing the hooks, and the seat came out fairly easily. There are wires clipped in, so the seat did not get fully removed. Still, it was easy enough putting on the cover, pulling straps tight and carefully reinstalling.
I did not time the process and I was watching football at the time (going in and out to watch the game) but before the game was over, I was done.
I have had them on now for nearly a month and they are fantastic.
-edit: I just noticed I need to work the seams around the seat heater switch. Funny that I never noticed it until seeing the pic.