# Seat foam falling apart



## jaysz2893 (Jan 25, 2013)

I am enraged with Volkswagen of America right now. My Beetle is 3 yrs old but has 61K miles. The drivers side seat foam is disintegrating and getting uncomfortable and making a mess on the floor. In a Facebook forum dedicated to the 2012+ beetle there are 10 others that are having the same issue. 2 of them have under 30K miles. So here is what happened (sorry it is kinda long) today with my Dealer and VWoA. I talked ot VWOa Care in the morning. They said go to the dealer. I went to the dealer (Smith VW) and saw Adam. He is on-board with making VW fix it and gave me a parts estimate of $866.00 and 3 hrs shop time @ $120/hr. We both called VWoA care and were both told my car is out of the "new car 3/36 coverage." Adam said to call back and see if I can escalate it. The third person i talked to said to hold while he reviewed it. Came back with the out of coverage BS. I lost it! I very firmly but respectively said that i want a supervisor. I was on hold 10 min to which i was told that no none cold talk. I said there is a flaw in the logic here. If i only worked 5 miles away i would still get in and out of the sea just as much as I do working 30 miles away. Mileage should not factor in seat foam. I am not asking for drive-train or other mechanical issues that happen with mileage. He said I didn't understand how the warranty worked and that although he understood my frustration the case had been review 3 times now and they weren't willing to fix it. I told him that VW is in no position now with the TDI diesel scam to balk when a customer has an issue. I said the other examples of people would be covered because they are under 3/36 but mine is not for THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. I also said I very well understand how warranties work and that I do this car stuff damn near for a living. I told him i just pulled a seat out of a 200K+ Mile 1970 f-150 to use in the 56 Chevy and it looks better than my seat in my 2013 car. SO there is still a flaw in the logic of age and mileage factoring into a seat. They simply have a manufacturing defect that needs to be addressed. I still owe them money on the car and a this rate will have no seat back cushion in a year or so. That reduces the value of my cart just like that did to the TDI owners. In the grand scheme of issues VW has this seat should be fixed considering how cheap it really is to fix. The dealer is upset because they want me to buy another VW someday from them and they are going to try but i gather from my last call that they will get the same answer. I'm going to contact the consumer product board, NHTSA, NBC10, whoever to spread the word of something so silly.


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## jaysz2893 (Jan 25, 2013)

VW has a very loyal owner base that is getting the shaft. VW needs to step up and make better on the TDI scandal and make good on the defects in quality on all their cars. Customers deserve better for their investment.. The arrogance is showing bright with VW. They knowingly cheated an emissions test, what else did they knowingly cheat and cheap out on?
Sadly, this is textbook VW. From the new Beetle's melting soft-touch interiors, to disintegrating foam on the blend doors; to bad welds on their door switches, to the failing O1m auto transmissions- These are design defects by VW and should've been resolved via a recall. 

I made a petition to get VW's attention
https://www.change.org/p/all-volksw...utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink


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## JJJETTA (Feb 13, 2000)

I'll be watching this. I have a 2012 Beetle 2.5 and the seats are still in perfect condition, but I only have 24k miles. Good luck!


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## GTarr (May 17, 2012)

I should probably talk to my dealer, as I also have this issue. Haven't noticed anything wrong with the seat (yet), just shavings of foam underneath. I'm well out of the 3/36 as well, but the response in your case is discouraging. 

GTarr


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## Blue316 (Feb 11, 2016)

Let's try thinking outside the box on this one. After three years VW does not care at this time about a seat out of warranty. 
Has anyone thought of going to a local shop that does this every day and get a quote. I am wondering if another auto company seat mold would fit at a lower cost. 866 + 360 + tax.... $1300+... Seems high for one seat. 
Faux leather Custom seat covers online alone for the front seats would I cost around 350.
Some times the effort is not worth the worry.
Blue316


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## jaysz2893 (Jan 25, 2013)

I have though about fixing it myself. I restore cars on the side so it is not big deal. Their price is nuts. Thing is there are other with newer cars and less mileage that are having problems too. 

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## jaysz2893 (Jan 25, 2013)

Also it is not the cover it is the foam. It should hold up longer than it has. I don't have the cash to put out on something like this on this car.

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## JJJETTA (Feb 13, 2000)

Do you happen to have any pictures of the issue? Like I said, my 2012 seems ok, but what should I be looking for? Thanks.


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## jaysz2893 (Jan 25, 2013)

Drivers side bolster on the seat back.










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## JJJETTA (Feb 13, 2000)

Dang, that's bad. Sorry man.


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## vdubjettaman (Mar 31, 2004)

I have a '12 Beetle Turbo with the cloth seats and my lower bolster is loosing the padding right where the seat belt attaches. My back/side bolsters are fine. I get the same little shavings under the seat too. I also purposefully slide my seat all the way back EVERY TIME I get in or out. I have seen so many seats with the fabric/leather bolster get worn. I was doing it to avoid having a seat issue. So much for that. :screwy:
BTW- I've noticed it for quite some time now but never did anything about it as I didn't notice what was disintegrating. After really looking at my seat bottoms comparing left and right seat I see where there is less foam. I'm the original owner bought new and have 37,3xx miles now but I believe I bought an extended warranty. I'll have to double check.


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## buglife (May 27, 2014)

Same exact thing happened to my 2012 VW 2.5L Beetle. My seats have lost about 40% of their foam. Little pieces fall from the stitching. Very disappointing. I am out of warranty so I've assumed they will do nothing about this. Started at 37k mi now at 49 k mi. Can't even find replacement foams. At a loss as to what to do...feel your pain man...


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## Blue316 (Feb 11, 2016)

Looks likes Some 2012s had a bad batch of seat foam molds.... but here are some options...

1) checking auto recyclers if there are any seats available from 2012 to 2015 that have been junked. I would check all models beetle, golfs, rabbit, Jettas. Maybe you could find two complete matching seats... Or two passenger seats that could look brand new with custom seat covers... Air bags switched of course 

2) maybe the other passage seat foam could be switched... 

3) how about the seats or foam from another model. The recycler from my old neighborhood would have over a dozen seats from different cars sitting in front of their recycle business. I always wondered why... Now I know!

Keep an open mind... I am sure someone will come up with a solution.

Blue316


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## buglife (May 27, 2014)

Blue316 said:


> Looks likes Some 2012s had a bad batch of seat foam molds.... but here are some options...
> 
> 1) checking auto recyclers if there are any seats available from 2012 to 2015 that have been junked. I would check all models beetle, golfs, rabbit, Jettas. Maybe you could find two complete matching seats... Or two passenger seats that could look brand new with custom seat covers... Air bags switched of course
> 
> ...


Thank you for your post! I have seen a few seats online for $1000 for the set. I just can't bring myself to chalk that up! I'll keep an eye out though


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## billymade (Jan 29, 2008)

When dealing with warranty/defect issues; I noticed that VW Customer Car was basically worthless to deal with. You might ask your VW dealer; to speak with the regional VW rep that comes to the dealer from time to time. When I did a buyback years ago; I had to deal with the VW rep directly (face to face); to actually, get anything done. I cannot guarantee positive results but at least you can give it a try and talk to a actual human in real life. I have found; VW Customer Care, is not very responsive to customer issues! I hope this helps! I had a new 2000 New Beetle; that was really a lemon, VW ended up buying it back from me. Good luck and let us know; how things turn out. :wave: 

PS: If you do not get anywhere; seeing how your are in the auto restoration biz, I would take the seat down to the foam and drop it off at a upholstery shop. They could replicate the stock foam with a superior type of aftermarket foam and you could put everything back together or have them do it for you. As with anything; you are paying for labor; so, tearing it down/putting it back diy, would reduce cost. That would be the cheapest solution; that I can think of. Upholstery shops; do this sort of work all the time as the foam disintegrates on older cars, I don't think it would be that big of a deal. Another set of used seats; may end up the same way, if the foam is defective (you would be back to square one). :facepalm:


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## JJJETTA (Feb 13, 2000)

To OP - just curious, what's the build date on your car? I don't have any issues with my 12 - it was built in April 2012.


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## Blue316 (Feb 11, 2016)

If this will shed new light on the matter. Last night I adjusted the seat cover on the drivers side and noticed about a dozen white specs on my black mat in the back.
This problem maybe more wide spread then you think.

Blue316


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## Binggo (Aug 12, 2015)

My 2014 does it too, I try to be extremely careful getting in and out without smashing the foam as well. The wide door ledge compounds the issue, and I've noticed feeling around that the bolsters seem to be a dual density foam, so maybe where they're bonded together is partly the site of breakdown?


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## Steve Beetle (Mar 23, 2016)

*had issue with 2013 golf*

I had a 2013 Golf that had foam falling out of the drivers seat.


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## JJJETTA (Feb 13, 2000)

Does this happen on cloth seats from the base model, or just the vinyl or leather seats? I wonder if the foam breaks down from using seat heaters. I checked mine again, and sure enough, I had 8-10 little pieces of spongy foam bits behind my front seat. It was actually on the seat track, but oddly enough, NOT the side near the door. It was right side of the drivers side, near the console. 

I'm sure my CPO warranty won't cover replacements - they will consider it wear and tear.


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## JJJETTA (Feb 13, 2000)

Is this a potential safety issue? Can seat deformations mess with the side airbags in some way?


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## jaysz2893 (Jan 25, 2013)

I haven't seen it with the cloth seats. I'm concerned about the airbags too. Still working on this issue with VW.

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## vdubjettaman (Mar 31, 2004)

jaysz2893 said:


> I haven't seen it with the cloth seats. I'm concerned about the airbags too. Still working on this issue with VW.


To quote my post earlier :



vdubjettaman said:


> I have a '12 Beetle Turbo with the *cloth seats* and my lower bolster is loosing the padding right where the seat belt attaches...


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## Hackintosh (Jan 5, 2012)

I have the vinyl seats and mine has done this almost from the start. Only on the drivers side and only the side near the door. So annoying

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## TragicallyHip (Jan 25, 2011)

Hmmm... just gave my 2012 a spring cleaning this weekend, and I noticed a small amount of foam particles on the carpet as well. All-black leather sport seats. Haven't noticed a change in the feel of the seat yet though.


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## jaysz2893 (Jan 25, 2013)

I'm still going back and forth with VWOA care on this. For the time being I installed some aftermarket seats. Both my passenger and driver seat are losing foam on the bolsters and bottoms. Best deal so far I pay for labor and vw pays for parts. Labor is way more than the aftermarket seats and I don't have the cash right now.

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## Binggo (Aug 12, 2015)

My foam continues to break down. Lately I've noticed my seat clicking as well. When I push down on it when not in the car, there's a significant amount of up and down in the seat bracket. Much more in the driver than the passenger (rarely carry passengers). Could be just really poor qc in the entire seat?


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## IHCSCOUT (Feb 24, 2016)

Looks like a repeat of the seat foam problems from the mid 70s on. Back then the foam literally evaporated. We have a 77 convertible that had this happen . We still have it, only 2300 miles and the seats are frame with the vinyl covers but not one ounce of foam.this was a common VW problem then. You would think they had learned a lesson.


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