Front seat covers

Here's the front seat covers installed:

Only two fitment issues stand out to me:

1. The headrest cover is a little "poofy."
2. Where the seat and back come together, the fabric doesn't pull down the sides. It rides up along the plastic cover (where the seatback release handle is). On the other side it rides up where the seatbelt release is. You can see it a little in this photo.

The seat covers have a pocket in the back. I put one of the headrest covers in the pocket to make the pocket more visible in the photo:

Installing the seat covers was a little more involved than you'd expect because I wanted them to tuck down under the seat's plastic trim.


I'm going to describe how that's done because it's a little perplexing when you first approach it.


Passenger Seat Cover Install


1. Remove the plastic cover.


Release the seat back so it folds forward as far as it will go. When you do this, the internal mechanism will hold the handle 2" higher, giving you access to the push pin:

You need to push something into that hole which will press on a plastic latch, allowing the entire plastic handle to come up and off a metal lever. (Also note the screw. You're going to remove that during this process.).


Be careful pushing into that hole, the latch is soft plastic:

That red arrow points at what you're pressing on. It's difficult to know how hard to push. If you have a small diameter punch, you can angle it downward and then "lever" the tab.


This is the metal handle:

The bottom hole is what you're pushing through. The plastic tab latches onto the rectangular protrusion above that hole.



The next step is to remove the screws. You saw one screw in the prior picture. Remove it now. There's another screw on the back of the seat:

(Note: The strap on the left is from the seat cover. I already pushed it through.). You can't access that screw until you remove a carpet-like cover:

Just reach under the seat, feel for this clip, and push it toward the front of the car to unhook it:

The last step is a little complicated. At the front of the cover, underneath the seat, there is a plastic "channel" which slides onto a metal extension. There is a plastic tab that locks onto the metal extension, preventing the plastic cover from sliding forward:

You need to pry that little tab while pulling the plastic cover toward the front of the car. You need to realize there are a couple of clip connections which will impede your effort to slide the plastic forward. (Following photos show the plastic cover removed, and the seat's metal frame. That will make it clearer what I'm talking about here.).



It doesn't hurt to pull the rear and center of the cover loose. That will make it easier to pull it forward as you work with that plastic tab in the front (gently!).


I didn't do it that way until I did the driver's seat. On the passenger seat I flexed the curved part of the plastic cover enough that the channel slipped off the metal extension:

After I did that, I popped the metal connector in the center of the plastic cover:

After the plastic cover is loose, slide it rearward 6" and then straight up to the top of the backrest.



Here is the inside of the plastic cover:

The above shows the plastic channel (and tab you pried, gently!). And, it shows the metal clip.

The above photo shows the two screw holes and a plastic clip.


The metal and plastic clips can be popped loose before working with the plastic channel in the front. Doing it first may make it easier to slide the plastic channel forward. A few photos down shows the metal seat frame which that plastic cover connects to. I'll point out some things about the connectors there too.


One thing to pay attention to is a metal tab near the top of the spring:

It's very easy for the plastic cover to slip under that metal tab. That metal tab is rough, with sharp edges. It will gouge your plastic cover if the cover gets under it.



Pay close attention to where the top-rear of the plastic cover is when you're finessing it loose. And, especially when you reinstall the plastic cover. It's really easy as your working the cover into position for it to go underneath that metal flange.


2. Install seat cover



This is where you should watch the FHgroup video, and/or read the printed instructions.


There's some wiring and structural pieces under the seat. I provide photos showing how I routed my straps:


2a. Straps from the rear

That's the side of the passenger seat closest to the door. You see that I routed the strap above two wires.

That's the side of the passenger seat closest to the center console. You can see how I ran the strap above a wire.


2b. Straps from the front

That's the front of the passenger seat nearest the door. You can see how I went above a wire, and below a large metal "box" thing. (Keep the metal box in mind. We're going to route the side straps through it.).

That's the front of the passenger seat closest to the center console. Here you see I ran the strap above the metal box thing.


The red arrow points to where the side straps will pass through the metal box thing.

That photo shows how to connect the rear strap to the front adjuster. (Go up through the center slot, and down through the third, outer slot -- the one with the serrated teeth. If you get this wrong, it won't hold its tension.).


Pull the slack to the rear. Make it firmly snug. But, don't go crazy tight. This isn't strong material.


2c. Connecting the side straps.


There are two elastic loops on each side of the seat. The green arrows show how I routed them:

The red arrows show 1) where the plastic cover's metal connector slips into, and 2) the metal extension where you pried the small plastic tab, to slip the plastic channel off the front of the seat.


A couple things to think about.



1. Don't cover that slot with the seat cover. The plastic cover needs to pop into that slot.



2. Going back to when you removed the plastic cover, notice how the slot is considerably longer than the metal clip that fits into it. I think that's designed to let the cover slide forward when you pull the front plastic channel off that metal extension. (Since the metal clip is wedged into that slot with spring tension, it won't slide freely. You'll have to bang on the cover to make it move. Or, pop the connector loose to begin with.



Returning to the side straps, you'll need to use one metal clip. There will be a little baggie of clips connected to the inside of one of the seat covers. Look for it. It's easy to miss.

I finessed the straps on the console side down under the seat. I reached under the seat and got both looped onto my finger. Pulled them forward, and connected them to one clip, shown above.


Then I used a coat hanger with a hook bent into the end:

I pushed that through the seat frame where shown above. It goes straight through the metal "box" thing under the seat. Using my right hand, holding the clip, I hooked the clip onto the end of the clothes hanger and pulled it through the metal "box."


Now, with my right hand free, I grabbed the hook on this side of the "box" thing. I disconnected it from the coat hanger. While holding the clip under the seat, just behind the frame shown in the photo above, I'm able to get the other two straps onto the clip.



For example, the straps are stretchy enough that I could pull the clip up near the opening in the seat frame (where I pushed the coat hanger through) and work with the clip through that opening.



3. Install headrest cover

I assume you got the general idea from the install video and/or printed instructions. But, a couple things to keep in mind:


1. There are four straps. One at each corner of the headrest cover. It's easy to miss because the straps tend to retract up into the cover. You might thing there's only two.


2. The instructions seem to say the straps should be tied together. But, I got a smoother fit by tying each one directly to the headrest post:

After it's tied, I slid it up to the top. Again, there are four of those which I tied on each headrest.


Driver Seat Cover Install


The driver side is much the same. However, the driver side has the handle to raise/lower the seat. It has to be removed first:

There is a small notch in one location of that cap. If you pull the handle up it will give you better access to that notch. Pry the cap off.


It will reveal two screws:

Remove those screws and pull the handle off. There's another screw under the handle which holds the plastic cover to the seat.


After that, it's the same as the passenger side.

 

nice write up. but i like the seats that came with the car better. if they get stained or soiled then i will cover them. sometimes i just use a beach towel if i am wet or dirty. i keep them in the trunk.

 

The instruction sheet wasn't attached to the first post. I'm attaching it to this one.

And, the first post's two fabric photos won't display for me in Firefox. (They display in IE.). Since I have to do this post for the attachment, I'm reposting those two images:

I bought the gray/black seat covers. The fabric looks like this:

It's kind of a sheer fabric on a light foam backing:

 

Could you please verify that the outer section of each cover will detach for airbag deployment? Thank you.

 

Yes - vital concern- are the covers side airbag compatible?

 

I have a 5dr also. Can you post some pics for the back seat:

 

Rear seatcover

Here's the rear seat cover. (I really like how they came out, especially for $33 front & back.). I'll start with the final installed appearance, then go into some of the caveats about the installation.

You're seeing some wrinkles in the fabric from being folded up in the packaging. That comes out over time. (For example, the headrest covers had some serious wrinkles. I ran a clothes iron over them (medium heat) and the wrinkles are almost gone.).

There are three zippers in the center of the bench seat. The zippers make sense for the backrest (to accommodate the 50/50 and 60/40 split possibilities). But, I don't understand why they have zippers on the seat bottom.

BTW: It's not due to me receiving two seat backs by mistake. Each piece has a small tag sewn into the inner seam. One says "Bottom" the other "Backrest."

Here's the one part that isn't as good as I wish it could be:

I removed the backrests (it's just 2 bolts at the bottom back corners), and disassembled the backrest's fabric (i.e., the carpet backing and fabric sides). I wanted to see if I could put the strapping underneath the carpet backing.

I couldn't find a way to make that work. I might revisit this someday to see if something could be done to at least eliminate the horizontal straps.

If anyone wants to disassemble their backrests, let me know. I took photos showing how to do it.

Installation

The FH Group install videos (mentioned in the first post of this thread) cover what you need to know. However, here's some gotcha's:

How to remove the bench seat:

There's a bolt in the center. You can see it if you fold the backrest down to 45 degrees:

Remove the bolt and then there are two spring clips holding the front edge of the seat. You just have to put your hand near the clip and pull up firmly. The red arrows show where the spring clips are:

It's like a metal loop on the seat edge which pushes into those sockets.

BTW: That black thing in the middle is a rubber cover. You can remove it to access your fuel pump. But, it's sealed with some gooey rubber sealant. You have to pry it up and that goo will cause you to wonder what's happening.

(I'm going to eventually access that for my stealth kill switch idea mentioned a few days ago in another post.).

At this point, you pretty much follow the printed and/or video directions. Be sure to look for the tags sewn into the covers. One says "Bottom" the other "Seatback." For the seatback, you have to unzip one side for the 60/40 split, and then zip a spare cover onto the 60 and 40 pieces.

Making small cuts in the fabric:

Assuming you have the covers installed, centered, smoothed out, snugged up... the next thing is making a few cuts for the seat belts:

IMPORTANT: With the cover centered on the "60" seat, one of the unused zippers goes right through the center of the seatbelt slot at the top of the seat. I didn't notice this until I cut holes for the headrest slides to the left. At that point, I was locked into how things fit. I had to tug on the fabric to get the zipper far enough over, which gives the fabric to the left an uneven look.

So, you should start your first cut at the seatbelt hole. Then do the headrest guides to the left.

Also, you don't have to cut large holes. I cut about 1/2" (in a cross pattern) for the headrest guides. The fabric will slide under the plastic pretty far.

For the seatbelt hole, I cut about 1-1/2" x 1". Start small and work your way up to a larger cut. The hole will expand a bit. And, it's good to leave it a tight fit for the plastic cover press-fit into.

I suppose you could fit the fabric under that plastic cover, working around all the edges. But, I popped the cover out, got my cut about the right size, then pressed the cover back into the hole (on top of the fabric). The cover will cinch the fabric down and add to the fabric having an overall tight fit.

Just don't cut your holes too large. The fabric won't tear or fray. But, you can pull your cut open into a larger hole. Maybe twice the size of what you cut. It has some ability to tug open before it really tightens up where it won't open further.

Here's the other side of the "60" backrest:

The only thing to point out here is that I removed the latch-release cover, cut my fabric hole about 2" x 2-1/2", then pressed the cover back in, creating a tight fit against the fabric.

Be careful if you remove that plastic cover. It's easy for the screw to drop down into the guts of the seat. I had to hold the seat upside down and shake it to get the screw out(!).

Similarly, here's the latch on the back:

Same process as the latch-release cover. Remove the cover, cut the fabric, put the cover back on. It doesn't take much of a cut. Keep your hole small so the cover has more to grip onto.

Finally, there's a little seatbelt guide on the top corner of the backrest:

That's not like the headrest guides which have a lot of space under the plastic for the seat cover material to slide under. There's almost no free space under those plastic pieces. So, you have to be careful to cut the seatcover fabric just enough to work it onto that plastic.

This is where you'll see how, when you cut the fabric, the hole will expand quite a bit before it becomes tight and won't give any further. You want to make use of that to get it just large enough that it will (when at it's maximum tightness) fit around that plastic piece.

You also have to be a little careful working with that plastic piece. I don't know what holds it onto the seat fabric. You don't want to pry it off as you struggle to get a tight seatcover fit around it.

Reinstallation:

The bottom bench will have seatcover fabric around the two prongs (which snap into the plastic holes, at the front of the seat). And, fabric will cover the metal loop which the bolt goes through. You'll need to at least cut a hole for the bolt.

I didn't cut holes for the snaps. The metal prongs popped into the plastic holes with the fabric covering the metal prongs.

Headrests:

I have more to say about the head rests. I found a way to get a fairly tight fit. It's an elaborate process with a dozen photos. I'll post that later tonight.

 

There are three zippers in the center of the bench seat. The zippers make sense for the backrest (to accommodate the 50/50 and 60/40 split possibilities). But, I don't understand why they have zippers on the seat bottom.

See 2013 Elantra GT back seat folded.

https://www.hyundaiusa.com/images/HyundaiUSA/Vehicles/gallery/elantra-gt/expand/1-11.jpg

 

It looks like they are airbag friendly... In the company link to the seat covers: FH Group: Flat Cloth Seat Covers FB051 115

It says:

Front side airbag compatible - special stitching technique that allows them to inflate upon impact.

.

 

Rear headrest fitment

Earlier I mentioned the front headrest covers were a bit "poofy." The rear headrests are smaller and more irregularly shaped. The covers didn't fit the rear at all. I came up with an elaborate way to tie the four elastic straps to draw the fabric together fairly snug.

The following shows the center headrest.

1. Center the headrest in the cover:

2. Locate the base of the shaft. Poke a hole there. (You don't really have to cut a hole. Just poke sharp scissors through the fabric.).

Do that with the other shaft. Then ...

3. Remove the cover and slip it onto the shafts:

4. Pull the fabric onto the headrest again:

5. Poke two holes in the fabric for the elastic straps to lace through.

5a. First, put two holes in the front:

5b. Poke a hole in the side:

I drew a red line showing where the headrest curves. That might help you estimate where I poked the hole.

Do the other side too.

6. Lace the side holes. Take the front strap shown here:

And pull it straight down (inside the cover) to the hole you poked on the side (the same side as the strap you're working with):

Pull the strap through the hole, to the outside as shown above.

Do the other side. Then tie the two straps together like this:

7. Lace the front holes. Take the strap from the back and pull it straight through the hole in front of it:

Tie that strap to the opposite post:

Note: You're probably going to pull some of the back fabric through the hole:

That's ok. It will snug everything together more.

Do the other side, and you should end up with something like this...

8. Finished product:

Notes:

1. This worked well enough for me. A person could poke 2-4 more holes in the fabric and use a piece of elastic cord to lace the fabric together even better.

2. It might be useful to apply this thought process to the front headrest covers. For example, create "lace holes" and cinch the fabric together more snugly.

 

Great write-up az2008. You worked hard to provide good information for this installation and I am sure everyone appreciates it.

I will wait however until I can learn more about the "special stitching", and what tests the company did to ensure airbag deployment. It is not that the seat airbags offer indispensable protection - they don't. It is that insurance coverage will be waived and plaintiff action nullified if the injured party cannot prove that deployment was not hindered.

This in now our litigious world - we must prove the negative. It's sad...

 

It is that insurance coverage will be waived and plaintiff action nullified if the injured party cannot prove that deployment was not hindered

With the size of the seatcover market, I'd expect to find a significant number of stories about such coverage disputes. Instead, my google searches produced only one "what if" speculation. Do you have any examples of this actually happening?

I could understand your caution if someone used a t-shirt as a seat cover. But, if they use a cover specifically claiming to accommodate side airbags (with a little tag along the side), that sounds like an exercise of one's reasonable-care duty.

For example, if I use a child car seat, and the seat is later found to be designed unsafely, my injury claim (on behalf of my child) won't be denied due to me purchasing a seat without fully testing every safety feature. Some things can be taken at face value. If a product is found to be defective (or intentionally misrepresented as safe), there are other avenues available: such as the NHTSA enforcement action.

Heck, insurance companies like Nationwide even pay claims when an expired seat is used. If they were looking for a way to evade claims, that would be a perfect opportunity.

Sometimes people make the world out to be worse than it is. I suspect this is one of those times. But, if you have examples of claims denied due to seat cover use, dash-mat use, carrying a backpack on your lap, riding with your arm hanging out the window (in contravention of the manufacturer's clearly written prohibitions), I'd love to hear about it.

I'll contact the manufacturer and see what they say. But, if you have any specific examples, let me know.

Thanks!