I noticed the other day that the shoulder of my seat is already starting to show signs of wear from the seatbelt rubbing across it. It'll be interesting to see just how hardy the seat material is, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this develop into a hole long before the warranty expires. Look for a TSB, and a design change in next year's RX-8, I reckon.

 

Is this for the leather seat or the cloth seat?

 

Could you post pictures?

Does it matter if it before or after warranty, isn't it just general wear and tear?

Anyone Else have this problem with cloth (because you have the sport pkg) and or Leather?

 

I noticed some premature wear in the lateral support area. I have the cloth and eccles has the sport package ....so I would assume cloth as well.

My question is; Will the seatbelt wearing through the shoulder of the seat OR excessive wear in the lateral section of the seats be covered under warranty? I would imagine some dealerships contesting this. If there is a TSB as Eccles projected, it would br easier to have the warranty work done.

On the upside. It LOOKS like the cloth seats have a zipper along the seam. This makes me believe the cloth material can be "zipped off". Although the more I think of it..........the area around the rotor doesnt appear too willing to be removed.

 

Sport package - cloth seats. Leather may not show the wear quite so rapidly, nor would it probably be a problem if you had the seat all the way back so that the belt didn't rub over the seat on its way to your shoulder.

I think if Mazda will have a battle on their hands if they try to write this off as normal wear and tear - use of the safety equipment should not cause damage to the upholsery!

Anyway, here's a quick photo of the affected area. You can plainly see the wear in the middle of the frame, and this is after only one month.

 

Hmmm, I'll check mine later, but I don't notice it rubbing.

 

As long as we talk about the belt maybe this isn't off topic too much : Anyone thinking like me that the belt should have some sort of device or mechanism that keeps it from being so damn tight on your shoulder and sternum? I have this thing about having anything tight on my stomach. Cars used to have this thing where you adjust it, pull it forward a little and it would lock in place , still protecting you fine but without putting any tension on you. Am i making any sense??

 

i dont think they can do anything about that, nor will they be able to

because it is caused by the driver, not the vehicle. any material shows wear when rubbed by somethign else (i supposed they could use a stronger more tear resistant cloth or something, though) and its being caused by the way you sit

anyway, if they do anything, it will be replaicing the cloth because theres nothing you can do, design-wise to help the problem, as it is caused by the way the driver prefers his seat
________
PRILOSEC SIDE EFFECTS

 

I think this was removed due to safety reasons (the forward motion in a crash should be minimized - this just made it so the movement was increased). there are some things you can get to do this. I know in the UK there's something called the "Clunk Clip" that does this. Not even sure if such a thing is legal here though.

 

Thanks Meat !

 

Seat belt design usually has an adjustable anchor in the pillor so that where the belt crosses the shoulder can be adjusted. This is for safety and comfort. It looks like there is room for that on the 8 but Mazda chose not to do it.

 

Does warranty cover wear and tear interior?

 

Mine doesn't rub, it's not even close????

 

it looks like it'd only rub if the seat was a ways up, it didn't even get close to rubbing when i test drove one

 

As I suggested earlier, if you have the seat pushed back or reclined sufficiently, the belt won't rub on the seat back. However, I like to drive with a reasonable bend in my elbows (no, not hunched over the wheel, thank you), and the rearward edge of the belt does rub as you can see.

 

Well, I had a car once with a similar seat design and a similar (almost exactly the same, actually) wear problem at that location.

When the vehicle was relatively new, I stuck a small strip (maybe 1/2 an inch wide by 2 inches long) of self adhesive velcro (the fuzzy soft side, not the plasticky hook side) over the wearing area. Now at the time it didn't really stay in place all that well, 'cause all I did was stick it on. But I was thinking that if you used a couple of loose stitches at the top and bottom end of the strip to secure it (strategically looped through the stitching holes in the seat fabric), you might have a fair guard against wear, and it might not look too bad. It would be something I would try if I thought I could get away without damaging the fabric of the seat.

My drawing is crappy, but I included it to show how one might use a single loop of thread at three or four locations to give the self adhesive strip of material a fighting chance of staying in place. It also stands to reason that some of you guys can up with either an improvement on this idea, or a much better idea altogether.

 

Worn areas can be replaced under warranty. We had the same trouble with the built in arm rests in the 2000 Tundra. You would get a worn crushed spot on the door arm rest. I had mine replaced only to have it do it on the new one again. If they don't change the design or the covers you will get the same problem back. I would have them write it down on the servive ticket and take a picture everytime you bring it in. When you decide when enough is enough then have them replace it. Everyone with the problem please report it here. There is nothing like a list of 30 to 50 simular reports to add to the evidence of a problem. They changed the material in the 2001 Tundra. Of course the would never read the Tundra solution web site. It seems every problem revealed there got fixed.

 

Have you thought about adding the seatbelt shoulder pad things available in aftermarket parts stores. I've seen them for each make of car and while I think they are usually kind of ugly they make many colors and it might ease the "cut" of the belt against the cloth. I looked yesterday and I'm 6 1 and I guess cause the seat is far enough back it doesn't rub or even touch the seat. I do however wish it had an adjustable height option like most new cars today. Do you have power seats? Maybe try adjusting your seat height to alleviate the rub?

John

 

You may want to checks the side supports on the lower part of the seats, mine are showing some of the same wear.

 

i have no problem.....you guys should NOT have ur seat straight up then! well....im not really laying back, but the seatbelt doesn't really get close to the seat at all w/ it reclined back just a lil

 

This is one of the things I was worried about when I first saw the material used for the cloth seats. It is a great new material - sort of like felt - but the immediate concern my wife and I had was that it didn't look like it would wear well, and the seat belt wear seems to bear that out.

Anyone else seeing wear anywhere else yet (specifically the lower seat cushion?)

 

I'm thinking it has to do with the size of the driver....a taller driver sitting back a bit more would help the belt clear the seat.....a shorter driver sitting really close to the steering wheel could cause the rubbing...yes/no

Now I'm NOT calling anyone short or tall or anything.....so save the I'm short stories.

 

It certainly has to do with the position of the seat back, but I would think it's more in relation to arm length rather than overall height, since that will determine how far back you have the top of the seat. I'm 6'0", but I like to drive with a reasonable bend in my elbow, so the top of my seat is somewhat forward of the seatbelt guide on the B pillar.

 

Part of the concern, though, is that if the seat belt is causing wear like this odds are so will getting in and out of the car over a few years' time (as will wearing jeans rather than dress pants while driving, etc.)

 

ok folks i took a look at the seat belt situation this morning and i have a fix for it. while the problem may be worse depending on seat position the real culprit on mine seems to be the buckle is on the belt upside down. on my car, with the buckle on the strap the way it came from the factory, the edge of the strap rubs against the seat. but when i twisted the buckle over so it is on the other side of the strap, now the flat of the strap runs over that part of the seat. this should keep that area from flattening and becoming shiny since i now have a larger surface area moving over the shoulder of the seat, less force per sq. inch. it will still wear eventually just not at such a quick rate. hope that helps!