Will Swap My Light Interior For Your Dark Interior

[kenmce]

Just got an '04 with an ivory/tan interior. It's a very light tan and will never hold up for me. I'll swap if you have a dark interior and want a light one. It's quite clean right now.

[Boo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kenmce @ Nov 11 2007, 09:20 PM) [snapback]538161[/snapback]</div>

Just got an '04 with an ivory/tan interior. It's a very light tan and will never hold up for me. I'll swap if you have a dark interior and want a light one. It's quite clean right now.
[/b]

Hi kenmce,

You should be aware that removing the original covers and installing new ones is a MAJOR task requiring disconnection of the battery, disconnection of sensors under the front seats, disassembly of the seats, hog ring pliers, new hog rings, and maybe other professional upholstering tools and parts. It's a job best left for a professional auto upholsterer. When a Toyota dealer does it, it farms it out to a professional auto upholsterer. When I asked my mechanic/body shop guy if he would do it for me, he said no. That even with his skills and knowledge he wouldn't even do it himself for his own car. That he would go to a professional auto upholsterer himself, and all dealers do the same. It's a many hours task even for the professional with the right upholstering tools and experience.

You should also be aware that I believe that the OEM head rest covers are not removable without cutting them. So if you swap different colored OEM seat covers with someone, you'll also have to swap the headrests.

All in all, I don't think it will be worth the effort and money. I understand that the OEM covers clean easily and well. However, if you're very worried about this, I would consider just getting aftermarket seat covers that go over the OEM covers.

One PriusChatter recently highly recommended the covers from this eBay seller, whose web store page for Prius covers I've linked below for you. The price is only about $50.

http://stores.ebay.com/Exact-Fit-Seat-Cove...0QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Other covers that PriusChatters seemed to have liked are GT Covers and Wet Okole Covers, but both of these cost several hundred dollars.

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Finally, if you still want OEM covers, then you should be aware that from time to time eBay sellers have them for $30 to $100 (apparently they're from Prius owners who replaced their OEM cloth covers with leather covers), but they won't include the headrest covers. I personally got a brand new (pulled off a 2008 Prius) replacement set of OEM covers from eBay for $49. I had to get OEMs because I burned a hole in my driver seat cushion cover. So I bought these OEM covers for $49 and so far only used the seat cushion cover for the driver's seat. I'm keeping the rest of the covers as backup. Maybe you might want to do the same, i.e., if and when a good set of tan OEM covers are for sale on eBay for the right price, then just buy them and keep them as back up and use them only if, when and to the extent that you need them.

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Hope the above is some help to you. Good luck.

[slrobtx]

Are you worried about the seat covers only or ALL the interior carpet/cloth? Seat covers are easy enough to replace/cover but the entire interior! I had to wait a few extra weeks so I could get the grey interior, but I knew from my 2 previous cars that the beige color just wouldn't work for me. Best of luck!!

[johnford]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SLR @ Nov 12 2007, 03:34 AM) [snapback]538293[/snapback]</div>

Are you worried about the seat covers only or ALL the interior carpet/cloth? Seat covers are easy enough to replace/cover but the entire interior! I had to wait a few extra weeks so I could get the grey interior, but I knew from my 2 previous cars that the beige color just wouldn't work for me. Best of luck!!
[/b]

I am looking for a new (used) Prius right now and hope to find one with the dark interior. I have had the light cloth interior since 2002. Only good thing is that it is easy to tell when you have them clean and they don't show Bulldog hair so much. New English Bulldog puppies due Thanksgiving day. No need to shampoo the interior for several weeks now.... jf

[judymcfarland]

Maybe I'm a little dense, but I assumed the OP was looking for someone with the same car but different interior that wanted to swap cars. Odd, but not as odd as the idea that you would actually take the upholstery off & replace. . . .

[paprius4030]

That what I thought too Judy, that he just wants to swap cars.

[Boo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Grandma Judy @ Nov 12 2007, 09:26 AM) [snapback]538349[/snapback]</div>

Maybe I'm a little dense, but I assumed the OP was looking for someone with the same car but different interior that wanted to swap cars. Odd, but not as odd as the idea that you would actually take the upholstery off & replace. . . .
[/b]

Hi Grandma Judy,

I think everyone has gaps in their knowledge, oftentimes surprising ones. E.g., they don't know a particular something that literally everyone else knows. But I don't think that the difficulty involved in installing car seat covers is common knowledge. I think that for many or most people, including me, they think it's probably just a little more difficult than removing and installing slipcovers on a sofa.

But this forum's seat covers threads are strewn with stories of smart, knowledgeble, experienced do-it-yourselfers having a hard time even with installing aftermarket seat covers that "simply" go over the OEM ones.

And most recently we had a thread from a member about the inconceivably difficult time he had removing the OEM cloth covers and replacing them with leather ones. He did a magnificent job and his new leather seat covers look great. But in the end he concludes and warns other chatters that under no circumstances whatsoever should they attempt to do it themselves.

[kenmce]

Boo, It looks like this is much harder than I had assumed. I'm not quite sure what velour is, but it looks like the exact-fit covers would fit.

SLR, I'm going for the whole thing.

John Ford, problem is the upholstery doesn't match my dog.

Grandma Judy, Looking back, my first post is ambiguous. Oops.

All,

I have pulled various parts out of the insides of various cars. My friends valient had exaust fumes coming in somewhere in the body so we took it apart to find the holes. There were the lovely velvet non-ford seats I put in my Ford van. There was the time the heater core sprang a leak and pumped all the radiator fluid into the front of my Dodge, it was not that hard to pull out everything and hose it down it in the gutter. The simplest way to clean the floorpan was to park with two wheels up on the curb, put in the hose and just fill and rinse the floor pan, let it pour out over the rocker panel 'till it ran clear. It did take a while to dry back out.

I had rather pictured that the two cars would get together some weekend, there would be manly talk about things like the advantages of 3/8 socket sets and the mysteries of planetary gear systems, we would unscrew and swap innards, and around dusk we would drive off into the sunset.

It would appear that it's just not that easy with this car, so instead I will look into the question of how much of the inside can be securely covered over with mats and seat covers and what-not.

Thanks folks!

[Boo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kenmce @ Nov 14 2007, 08:35 PM) [snapback]539741[/snapback]</div>

Boo, It looks like this is much harder than I had assumed. I'm not quite sure what velour is, but it looks like the exact-fit covers would fit.

SLR, I'm going for the whole thing.

John Ford, problem is the upholstery doesn't match my dog.

Grandma Judy, Looking back, my first post is ambiguous. Oops.

All,

I have pulled various parts out of the insides of various cars. My friends valient had exaust fumes coming in somewhere in the body so we took it apart to find the holes. There were the lovely velvet non-ford seats I put in my Ford van. There was the time the heater core sprang a leak and pumped all the radiator fluid into the front of my Dodge, it was not that hard to pull out everything and hose it down it in the gutter. The simplest way to clean the floorpan was to park with two wheels up on the curb, put in the hose and just fill and rinse the floor pan, let it pour out over the rocker panel 'till it ran clear. It did take a while to dry back out.

I had rather pictured that the two cars would get together some weekend, there would be manly talk about things like the advantages of 3/8 socket sets and the mysteries of planetary gear systems, we would unscrew and swap innards, and around dusk we would drive off into the sunset.

It would appear that it's just not that easy with this car, so instead I will look into the question of how much of the inside can be securely covered over with mats and seat covers and what-not.

Thanks folks!
[/b]

Hi Kenmce,

If you change your mind and decide to switch out the interior on your own, there are threads in this forum that may be useful. E.g., In The Force's thread about his Wet Okole seat covers, he posted a PDF file of Toyota's instructions for disassembling and assembling the Prius' seats; prius2go has a thread about his removal of the OEM cloth seat covers and his replacing of them with leather seat covers; galaxee has a thread about her husband's 30 minute dismantling of the interior and getting to the carpeting; another chatter (don't remember his name) has a thread about dismantling the door panels as necessary to reupholster the arm rests.

In any event, a search of the words "seat covers" reveals lots of useful threads for whichever way you decide to go.

Good luck again.

[slrobtx]

I suspected as much but wasn't sure. I definitely sympathize as I also have dog passengers. They shed white/blonde hair and don't wipe their paws before jumping in. Love 'em anyways!