2009 Cloth Seats

Does anyone know where I can find some pictures of the cloth seats in the 2009 Ridgeline? I have heard that the seat material was changed and should be easier to clean. :D

thanks in advance.

Yah, the Honda website. They have a 360 view of the whole 2009 Ridgeline interior.

Yah, the Honda website. They have a 360 view of the whole 2009 Ridgeline interior.

Which of course tells you absolutely nothing about the stain-ability of the fabric. Come to think of it, I don't think Honda has uttered a word about the crap fabric they've used for 3 years in the Ridgeline trucks. I'm sure they're not going to start by staying "New for 2009, a fabric that won't look awful if you spill 1 cc of distilled water on it." :rolleyes:

The only way to know if the 2009 seats are any better than what they've been foisting on customers for the past 3 years is to find out if they changed vendors. The company that manufactures the seats for the Ridgeline should NOT be a Honda vendor. Period.

But I imagine my opinion & $2.95 will buy you a cup of java at Starbucks. Honda is low-bidding those seats.

The leather in my daughter's Accord EX-L & my wife's Pilot EX-L RES are about 9000% finer than the leather in the most decked-out Ridgeline RTL made. And the cloth in a Civic beats the cloth in a Ridgeline RT/X/S hands-down. Whoever specked the seat fabric for Ridgelines ought to be traded to Toyota for a 19th round draft pick.

The leather in my daughter's Accord EX-L & my wife's Pilot EX-L RES are about 9000% finer than the leather in the most decked-out Ridgeline RTL made.I suspect that the leather is coarser to take more abuse by truck owners.

I suspect that the leather is coarser to take more abuse by truck owners.
?? All I know is that the leather in my Accord is heavier and yet just as supple as the thinner stuff in my RTL.

?? All I know is that the leather in my Accord is heavier and yet just as supple as the thinner stuff in my RTL.

The leather in our new Pilot seems pretty tough & butter-soft. It also doesn't have those stupid perfs all over it.

But I imagine my opinion & $2.95 will buy you a cup of java at Starbucks.

They have coffee for $2.95 a cup at Starbucks? They always hit me for at least $4 bucks no matter what I order.

Thanks fgor the replies.

Venomadness - I had checked the Honda site, but could only find pictures with the leather seats. Is there a way to pull up the RT with pictures of the cloth seats?


Djeaux - I agree with you about the person responsible for picking the seat fabric being traded to Toyota. :-) I have had the seats steam cleaned by the dealer 4 times now. I told the service manager that we have owned many Hondas and these seats are the worst by far. He said that the seat material is the issue and that the Elements have the same seat material. The dealership has really worked wih me on this issue though.

I agree the seat manufacturing is being outsourced to an industry supplier. I would venture a guess that the seat foam production is also outsourced by the seat manufacturing company.

Over the past few days I have thought through a win-win solution to the problem that could be utilized on future models to improve quality and lower manufacturing cost.

The solution is nothing new and I enjoyed this solution and approach on my 1992 Ford Explorer once it had reached 150,000 miles and the driver’s seat cushion was beginning to show some wear.

Not to endorse or condemn Ford, I do know enough about the inner workings of their procurement and vendor management process that in most cases will allow them to successfully manage and avoid this type of issue. This is not the type of information that I want to post in a public forum out of respect for past non-disclosure agreements. I will say that effective management of this type of issue with suppliers could be partially based on an automobile company’s size.

We have all grown to love the products that are produced by core Honda engineering and manufacturing facilities. When part of a Honda vehicle is outsourced to a 3rd party supplier, the customer base is quick to notice any quality gaps. I can say that, in most cases, organizations that successfully manage suppliers do have enough size and momentum within their respective industry to effectively cause the supplier to either go out of business or suffer some financial penalties when a performance issues arises. It does help to be an 800 pound gorilla when you need to adjust the priorities one of your suppliers. Honda’s size and polite business culture may not allow it to get as tough with the seat supplier as a GM, Toyota , or Ford.

Ultimately, it will be the Accounting and Financial Control area that will be responsible for resolving the financial impact of this issue, so they really should be the first group within Honda to be engaged to help develop the long term remedy. I would like to share my thoughts and idea on a solution with a verifiable contact from the Accounting and Financial Control area of Honda if they are interested in resolving the problem. :D :D

I just found the picture below on the about.com Website tonight. http://trucks.about.com/od/2007hondaridgeline/ig/2009-Honda-Ridgeline-Pictures/09-Honda-Ridgeline-RT-Cockpit.htm

It's hard to tell if the seat material has changed from the picture though.

Thanks fgor the replies.

He said that the seat material is the issue and that the Elements have the same seat material. The dealership has really worked wih me on this issue though.

Not true, I have both vehicles, and teh Element has much more durable seats. The material is not even similar in texture or appearance. The only part that may be similar is the center section on the RTS Ridgelines, which has a similar shiny texture to sections of the Element seats. The real fabric part, though, is more stain-resistamt in the Element and is actually sort of like neoprene.

A neoprene type material would be awesome in the Ridgeline. I believe that is what the Wet Okole seat covers are made out of and have had good reviews on this forum.