Front Driver's lower seat cushion replacememt (SV6)
Front driver's seat replacement of cushion.
The driver's lower cushion was starting to feel less supportive with wear and tear. (Build -Sept 2004 SV6). Approached a local auto upholsterer, verbal price was $125 to make the cushion more supportive. I got the impression he was going to pack the underside of the cushion with some "stuff" to lift the existing foam cushion to make it more supportive. Trundled to local Holden dealer- Bought a new cushion foam for about $125. Decided that I would replace the cushion as a day project. Dealer wanted VIN data to get correct foam cushion.
I cannot remember the step by step process, but I did photograph some of the progress, hope some images may help. Other readers may have a documented process from their manuals.
Disconnected the battery and waited about 5 minutes for all capacitors etc to leak down their charge. Didn't want problems with the air bags triggering. Also find the security code for your CD unit. You may need it, not too certain.
Uncoupled the two connectors under the seat - the seat tilt/height, the yellow connector for the airbag sensor.
Used a screwdriver to push the plastic end caps away to expose the 4 bolts which held the seat in place on the cabin floor.
I wrapped the lower seat frame in a blanket to aid in removing the complete seat without scratching the door pillars and the driver's door trim. When reinstalling, the blanket moved and I put a scratch on the door trim - bugger.
The cabin floor held a couple of cable looms which got caught up on one of the seats hold-down brackets when removing the seat. There is a flap which exposes under carpet cabling etc. An extra pair of hands would be handy.
Take care removing the seat's side cover where the seat adjustment levers protrude. The knobs pull off with care. There is an electrical connector as well. The inner cover near the seat belt stalk is straight forward from memory.
Dismantle and disconnect the rear and lower seat assemblies. Put the rear of the seat aside. Now is the time to replace the foam or the back parcel pocket.
Lower seat assembly. There were two locking strips which had to be unclipped - front and rear of the seat assembly. They lock the seat cover fabric in place after it has been aligned and fitted neatly. The cloth cover is secured with a hook/loop type press on fastening system. pretty neat. Removed the seat cover, then the foam can be removed and replaced.
The original foam had lost memory, was split, sticky, "perished" and reduced in height compared to the new foam cushion.
Replaced the foam, refitted the cloth seat cover carefully, fitted the two retaining strips and reassembled the complete seat. I was working on my own, so I set up a rope support which held the back of the seat upright and allowed easier alignment of the various seat components.
When finished, the new cushion foam did keep the cloth cover very lightly stretched, whereas the old cushion foam had the seat fabric wrinkled and loose. I felt that I could have replaced the upper and lower seat cover material. However the wear and tear on the front seat materials would have made it a very expensive exercise. Each seat cover panel was expensive (4 of) and I would have replaced the passenger side lower cushion as well. Probably not much change out of $600 - $700 or more. (4 covers, 2 base foams, maybe headrests as well).
Took about 2-3 hours of steady working. Hope the images help.
