Replacing Cloth seats with Leather - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

ScrooYoo · 03-24-2007, 05:09 PM

Anyone know if these will fit an 03, and if not where to get a leather kit that will? I know you can get them from the dealer but dealers charge ridiculous prices for everything.
Anyone have any knowledge or experiences they can share?
thx.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/04-06...QQcmdZViewItem

***Yazovets*** · 03-24-2007, 06:07 PM

The dealer wants about 6-7 times the amount of this eBay item.

But despite their massive markup, I just cannot see how this eBay item can cost just $250 US. That's worth about one seat alone. Something is fishy, and I sincerely doubt it's the same stuff as Toyota uses.

Furthermore, then there's the issue of installation and possible mounting hardware.

Webb26 · 03-24-2007, 06:25 PM

Katzkin is source you might want to look into...

jorallo · 03-24-2007, 06:30 PM

i installed those myself and 2 other guys in my garage.. you want pictures i have them on my cardomain sight.. thats the same exact kit i bought for my car the onlything that doesn't fit is the 3rd head rest they give that and there is no 3rd head rest for the 04 camry...

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2247692

i have pictures of the install
also they give the door pannel leather inserts btw if u are going to do this urself u need someone to have hog-ring- clamper or its going to be a loonnnng day...

jorallo · 03-24-2007, 06:44 PM

oh to finish out the possible mounting hardware u use the existing bars they don't provide you with that ....the original coth seats have metal rods u remove from them which require u to use all new hog rings hog rings are just circular clamps you could attempt to reuse the original ones but it would takea lot of work i just used pair of needle nose pliers to remove it. just bend one way and it unclamps hope this helps

btw it takes a couple of days for the leather to unwrinkle if its cold but if its hot it will shrink alot faster.. lastly they are alot thicker with foam than the cloth seats so u will like the feel of it.. that seller ships really fast too..

Aceventura9586 · 03-24-2007, 06:55 PM

there's several companies that make seat "covers" and they use leather as well. I've seen one car my friend has and the covers fit so tight its like the cars came with it. www.ajusa.com has links to several companies that do this. coverking is one of dealt with. And they will make it a set to match the back seats as well. Check them out. They're pretty cool.

KILRCAM · 03-24-2007, 11:23 PM

The kit I purchased was the same as this one but It cam from a Toyota dealership from New Jersey and I did it my self. It cost me $300.00.

Trojan · 03-24-2007, 11:56 PM

Ask for a serial number on that leather kit. I upgraded from cloth to leather using a stock Camry Leather kit from Ebay (Company is called PECCA) and later found out that it was stolen goods. The local upholstery shop that I took it to found out it was stolen after they were trying to make sure if this was the right kit for my Camry. Apparently, there was a huge theft ring going on in one of Pecca's major warehouses in the midwest. The ebay seller has since been shutdown and I was left to cooperate with the police. The trial is still pending.

So yeah, be sure that kit ain't stolen lol.

jorallo · 03-25-2007, 12:51 AM

its nota pecca kit i have the same kit from that ebay site.. the manufacturer is from some whack company in indonesia they use a thick arse leather.. gets soft after several applications of conditioner over all im still happy with that decision..

ScrooYoo · 03-25-2007, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jorallo

i installed those myself and 2 other guys in my garage.. you want pictures i have them on my cardomain sight.. thats the same exact kit i bought for my car the onlything that doesn't fit is the 3rd head rest they give that and there is no 3rd head rest for the 04 camry...

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2247692

i have pictures of the install
also they give the door pannel leather inserts btw if u are going to do this urself u need someone to have hog-ring- clamper or its going to be a loonnnng day...

looks awesome. mad props for doing that yourself. at this point would you still say you're happy with it and that it's worth the $$$??

and how did you do the doorpanels? from what i hear that part is tricky as hell

ScrooYoo · 03-25-2007, 03:43 AM

jorallo, is your cam an 03 or 04??

ScrooYoo · 03-25-2007, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KILRCAM

The kit I purchased was the same as this one but It cam from a Toyota dealership from New Jersey and I did it my self. It cost me $300.00.

kilrcam i checked out your ride on cardomain and your leather looks sick too.

and your car is the same year as mine, an 03 so i know whichever kit you bought would fit my cam for sure. can you tell me the dealer you bought it from? i would f'n drive down to Jersey from Canada if i could get a kit that would fit my car for $300

jorallo · 03-25-2007, 04:57 AM

i have a 2004 camry .. as for the door pannels u have to do some crazy imagination.. haha first off toyota used that plastic melted fastner caps to hold those cloth inserts on there... so either way u have to shave them off .. i used a hammer and a chizel to take off those plastic molded fastners once removed i kinda cheated and i spray glued right on the orginal cloth pannel and the back of the new leather.. i used the good stuff that 3M makes i waited till the glue was dry on the pannel and the leather... and then you put both peices on top of each other yes you have to wait till spray glue is dried.. before applying it to the opposing side... well once the leather is on the small sectioned pannel all you have to do is cut off the excess with a razor i left a little extra incase it later sags and i may have to reapply glue (it has been 2 .5 years since i installed that leather).. also reinstalling was a creative process since you have now shaved the original plastic molded holders how to put them back on ...hehe well u have to use self tapping screws from homedepot ..any small self tapping screw will do about .5 to 1 inch in length will do ..you will need lots of washers! screwing them back down on to the original points of oem melted plastic fastener locations shaved down to hide the install.. this part is tricky because u have .5-1inch screws THOSE ARE LONG!!!!! over screwing will cause plastic damage on the VISIBLE PART OF THE DOOR PANNEL or worse u have a screw sticking out of ur plastic pannel so USE THE WASHERS! i used about 4-6 washers per screw i only barely messed up on 1 you can see where the plastic pannel is being pulled in by a screw its a concave ding on one pannel barely noticeable for any passenger only to me. i highly recommend using a hand held screwdriver that way you don't just over torq screws through your door pannel or cause plastic warping/discoloration. the added bonus of screwing the pannel back is that it will be more snug than the oem plastic fastner less rattle also road noise will be reduced since it will be more snug on to the door pannel after all that install on the door took less than 20 min on each door pannel.. the worst part of the whole experience is the middle cup holder in the rear seat omg that thing is a pain! u have to remove that plastic cup holder and u have to actually cut that leather yourself! so the cupholder will fit! that part is scary i just eyeballed it and prayed to god i didn't over cut or worse the leather ripping while trying to shove that stupid plastic cup holder back in its place.. over all this install was alot easier than doing my girlfriend's civic i will forever hate working on that piece of crap! honda has very sharp metal wear gloves....

yes 2.5 years later I LOVE MY LEATHER SEATS the leather kit from that guy is a luxury type leather .. the middle section is designed saggy i was kind of shocked at first because my girfriend's civic leather was very tight all over and after the installation i saw my leather at the lumbard support region to be kind of poofy full of foam/saggy i went to a professional interior shop and they called it something special but he said it was a luxury look and it was designed that way its not an error or defect.. it is definitely better quality than the factory leather the only thing i wish i did was to copy the design of the door pannel inserts from the factory where they added pleats and folds i will post detailed pictures of the door pannel if u want me to later...

YES THAT KIT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY i baby that kit with maguires leather conditioner and cleaner !! i love the beach here in fl the beach smell is great in the beach just not lingering in the car fabric...

hope this helps u out.. just ask more questions i will try to answer them as best as i can

100carlos100 · 03-25-2007, 08:53 AM

Im curious if they sell it with 40-60 Split Bench Rear Seat... I would love to get sth like this for my 2007 Camry LE.

Webb26 · 03-25-2007, 09:52 AM

^like i said...look into katzkin. Good quality leather. Kit comes with...door inserts, front seats, and split rear seat covers. As for the saggy look jorallo, that is what is in most luxury cars...its called something like a gathered look. INStead of having a flat look to it, they pul the leather closer together in layers, if you will, so it gives it some texture, or the bunched up look.