I have a 1998 Nissan Maxima GLE with 75000 miles. I have kept it in excellent shape and plan to keep it forever. My only problem is the driver’s side leather seat. The driver seat is beginning to have cracks developing on the left side due to constant entering and exiting from all the short trips. All the other parts of the seats are perfect. Before the seat cracks open, I would like to do something to repair the seat. My question is, can the seat bottom be switched with the passenger seat, not the whole seat, just the bottom? The seats are powered and the side of the back part of the seat has an air bag. This might be a huge project, but I have plenty of time.
After 275k miles I actually switched the seats on my Pathfinder. Had to do a little modification to the seat pan…took me less then an hour. Worked perfectly. The seats were NOT powered…but not sure that would make a difference. I’ll bet the seat pan is a separate piece that can be unbolted (mine just had 4 bolts holding it down.
A few things, if the bottom of the seat is separate you should be to unbolt it from the slider.
If the seat bottom is power controlled the motor will also have to be disconnected.
If the seats are powered AND the controls are located on the side of each seat, after you change them around, the controls will be inboard, meaning you might not be able to reach them.
As you likely have already realized, you won’t be able to switch the complete seat due to the seatback airbag.
If it were me, I’d have the seat bottom reupholstered.
Thank you for the help. I am considering all options. Reupholster was my first thought.
There is only one problem with upholstering one half of the seat and that is matching the ‘grain’ and color.
An upholsterer can order the leather and make up a new seat cover.
A trim shop can repair the part of the seat by doing what is called “inserting”. They will replace the bad portion with new material. I had this repair done on my 1978 Oldamobile when it was much newer The cost was reasonable and the material was matched perfectly.
There will be slight differences in each dye lot of leather. Whoever does the job will probably need to redye the whole seat if they do the standard repair which is called a patch panel. No biggie. They’ve done it before.
“Inserting” sounds like the way I should go, there is only one area that needs any work. When you say a trim shop, I assume you mean a reupholster shop.Thank you.
Yes, a trim shop is a name for an autombile upholstery shop that recovers seats, replaces headliners, door panels,convertible tops,etc. If you can’t find one, ask a used car manager at a dealership. These men know the local “Rembrandts” that do quality work.