Seat airbags have complicated the work of many auto upholstery professionals, who are concerned that if they repair seat covers and the airbags underneath don’t deploy correctly they could be held liable.
Until recently, the issue was largely limited to front-seat backrests. However, in recent years, automakers have also begun installing airbags in rear-seat base cushions.
I recently came across one of these airbags while working on a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. This particular model was equipped with airbags in the front-seat backrests and rear-seat base-cushion bolsters.
Automakers that equip seats with airbags sew their seat covers using a special “airbag seam” that is able to withstand normal wear, but still tears easily in the event of an accident, allowing the airbag underneath to quickly deploy.
The problem is that automakers have not told independent upholstery shops what processes, tools and supplies they need to correctly repair these seat covers. Instead, many automakers have instructed shops to not repair or customize seat covers at all. Some have even gone so far as to attach warning labels to their seat covers telling upholsterers to keep off.
Some auto upholstery shops don’t listen. They feel comfortable sewing seat covers with thinner gauge thread, believing that it’s weak enough for airbags to penetrate.
However, many shops do listen, passing on much needed work (and money) because they fear that if something does go wrong with the airbag, they will be held legally and financially responsible. In such cases, car owners have no other choice but to purchase an entire seat cover from the automaker or a reputable seat cover manufacturer, such as Alea Leather, that has the tools, equipment and certification to make proper “airbag seams.”
There’s no correct answer on what an auto upholstery shop should do. There’s also not much regulation or oversight on what’s being done. However, one thing is certain: Seat airbags are here to stay and we can expect to see more automakers installing them in rear seats as well.
Nadeem and Nasseem, thanks again for feeding us with useful posts.
I’ve been reading these interesting topics and till now I cannot figure out how properly sew ‘OEM new car seats’ if a customer requires it…I mean, if somebody has a car with ‘airbag systems’ on the seats/backrests and he wants to cover it with new leather. What is the ‘special thread’ some of you talked about? …Definetely, ‘the thread is the key’ …just with enough tension to reach the ‘breaking point’ and let the stitches undo while the airbag deploys.
Does anybody of the masters could instruct us about? …kind of thread, specifications, where to get it? …what is best to do the sewing a ‘lock stitch or chain sewing machine? Should the ‘special thread’ go up and down in the bobbin? Tensions should be adjusted the same up and down? ..what are the necessary recommendations to do the sewing of covers?
I really appreciate any useful information…I’m an old upholsterer still in the past…I need to update.
If Alea leather, Katzkin, Roadwire, and others have figured it all out then why don’t they tell us? Why should we wait for the auto manufacturer to give up the information and process?
Me too. Well said. It is very confusing and there should be no real trick to it. If they can do it so can I. I just need info.
From the onset I have not redone airbag seams.
Reason is I have assisted an OEM in the development of the seaming and strapping to provide designed deployment. The variations in concept were many and only slightly different.
As a result I cannot look my client in the eye and state it will function the same as original. Loss work? Yes. Peace of mind? YES.
We do offers to install OEM upholstery at a reasonable fee if the client buys the part, I tell them a proven strategy to buy it at a good price.
We are now getting reports of vehicles that are no longer supported by the OEM’s. those cars need work but there are no parts to support. Salvage yard time, but that has many issues too.
I tried to find out if there was a time when the air bags and or deployment system were considered ineffective and needed upgrading.
I had no luck. If there is a timed expiry then there will soon be a lot of cars with improper systems. This would fall back on the manufacturer as well and I have heard nothing about it. Unless they are only liable to that date. In that case I wonder what the law would be on redoing the seats.
So far, it seems that nobody knows about the ‘special thread’ (break-away threads)(weakened tear-out threads) to sew the seat covers that house air-bags…or is it top secret? BTW, I am aware, ‘air bags’ must not be touched by non-trained technicians and I agree with this warning. Just, what I would do is very carefully follow simple steps, that is disconnect the battery of the car, wait half an hour, just in case, some current inside, then unplug its connection and take off the seat in order to disassemble or unwrap the ‘old cover’. The next step would be to place on the ‘new custom cover’ the customer wants. The last step would be to plug the conection again and re-set the system with the special scanner for airbags.
Do these procedures abide by law or insurance companies?
As far as I know, it seems that OEM seat covers are ‘for life’ and ‘never’ should be touched…is this true?
I don’t know of any specific thread designated for sewing airbag seams. Although it’s probably just a thinner thread. Most new covers have the “Do not resew” tag in them. I follow the same procedure you do for installing new seat covers. The problem is in time covers won’t be available through the dealership and no aftermarket companies are making replacement cloth covers. Unfortunately it’s a bad situation and we can’t seem to get any answers from the OEMs about how to repair them other than “Don’t repair them”
Retired…As the old saying goes, if you can’t do it correctly don’t do it at all.
Serafil thread made by Amman is what I have heard to be the thread used by Faurecia, Johnson Controls, and other OEM seat makers to sew these seams. I got that information directly from an Amman sales representative.
However, just because we know what thread is used does not mean that we can feel confident about going out and sewing up air bag burstable seams. We need specific guidelines about stitch type, length, tension, etc., to assure that we are reproducing the type of seam that was engineered for this application.
You can sew up some prototype backrests, install them and fire an airbag to see if they work. For some people that’s enough. You can hire a testing company to do the same, and they might even give you some sort of certificate. For me, that still doesn’t tell show that I’ve reproduced the seam as it was originally designed.
What we need is a set of specific guidelines to follow to show that we are in compliance with Dept of Transportation guidelines on these seams. The problem is that there are no federal guidelines to comply with. This is all proprietary technology for now.
I recently sent a request in to SEMA to see if they can help us establish these guidelines (I am a SEMA member). You would hope that something as important as air bag deployment would have transparent federal standards, but this does not appear to be the case.
We need to push for clear, reproducible specifications on air bag seat seams. Write to your federal representatives – I am. We have to do something more than chat online among each other (although this is a good start). Naseem and I have said several times . . . this is perhaps he biggest challenge our industry faces at the moment.
–Jim
As far as I can see, it is somehow complicated…so, I wonder, how are car trimmers facing this ‘new challenge’, nowadays? …it means, those vehicles come with a ‘forever OEM seat covers?
It is necessary emphasize that we are talking about removing and redoing seat covers that house airbag systems…about the ‘weakened tear-out threads’ used in the partial seams ready to open a slit where the ‘airbag’ would burst through out to give the necessary protection to the occupant.
‘Airbags’ itself is an entirely different issue. I think, the same way as ‘air bags’ on steering wheels are removed aside (by the upholsterer or trained technician) to take off the wheel, we also can do with the other airbags on the seats.
As Jim says, some companies are using this ‘special thread’
I’ve been checking AMANN website on the automotive section and I could not find the ‘burstable thread’ to sew the ‘special seam part’ for a seat/backrest cover.
http://www.amann.com/en/application/automotive/airbags/
Some companies have ‘put on/take off nice covers for sale and they are placed over without removing the original…what is interesting is those covers have the ‘special thread’ to create the opening to release the OEM airbag.
http://www.clazzio-11i.com/aboutclazzio.html
You raise a good point. There are several companies making protective seat covers which go over the OEM seats that they say will not affect the deployment of the airbag. It seems to me that having a cover over a cover would do more harm than just resewing the airbag stitch. I’ be interested in hearing how they can guarantee their covers won’t affect the airbags in an accident.
Hi to all. Can u guys tell me how many cases of a trimmer held liable for improper airbag deployment you heard about? IMHO this topic is just a fake lol. The power with which an airbag deploys will tear the leather together with the seam. I just use 30th thikness thread, U may use 40 but arent u concearn that it will cut the leather with time?
I have passed on every call about this, Thankfully our area is fortunate enough for the older car popularity. However with the realization that will not be the case as more and more clients are purchasing the newer cars. I’m 67 and been in the trade all my life, I will eventually be forced to drop seat repairs entirely except for the antiques. The fear I see is if regulations do come into being it won’t stop with airbag regs, so a whole new can of worms would be followed shortly thereafter.
I have recently visited an OEM in China and witnessed Air Bag seams being sewn. The machine looks like a normal machine but has sensors that measure the stitch length and tension. There is a screen that displays stitch length and tension in the form of a graph with a baseline. If the seam is correct (falls within parameters) It will get an ok and the printer spits out a tag with a barcode that is scanned and sewn into the cover.
One of the things guys who are redoing cars the air bag has gone off
Wanting repair.
Don’t worry there’s no problem,I tell them I’m not going to jail to do it wrong.
What if someone gets killed or badly injured? It’ not worth it.
There are many things to deal with doing trim work.
Some of the cars are getting more difficult,the shops who are working to cheap are breaking the rules there bad for our trade.
The prices the mechanics,body shops,and dealers are getting we’re working for cheap. And the guys who are getting these prices want the trimmers to work cheap.
J Davis
Sewing up seats that have had airbags deployed have special tensiel strength thread and I have called many thread companies and one seat cover company told me off the record threads they use ,I had to go to Joann”s fabrics to find the light weight thread. Bobbin thread was different than the top thread. But I still don’t resew the seat covers not worth the liability .
I agree it would really be great to have automotive safety training available to all trimmers. This is important as we interact with all safety systems, seat belts, seat belt tensioners, occupancy detectors, and air bags. As cars become fully electric it would be good to have more knowledge about how to work safely with the super high power electric cables that run through the interior.
Cars have become more safe than ever before, yet there is still a lot of progress to be made. I’ve seen many air bag seams made by the OEM that fall apart, exposing the air bag and the inside of the seat. With covers no longer available, the manufacturers make zero attempt to fix these issues on older cars. It also seems like there should be an expiration date on air bags, with some of these now reaching 30 years of age. I am surprised more manufacturers haven’t switched to the style we see on the newer Corvettes, where the air bag is bolted outside of the seat. This way it has no effect on the seat cover and is easily replaced.
Also, I have a question, have you ever heard of someone being hurt because a trimmer did not properly sew a seat cover? Similarly, how many times have you heard of someone being injured from an airbag igniter sending shrapnel through the cabin? I am thankful that car safety has improved. It seems that trimmers are interested in safety, but it is on the manufacturers, not trimmers, to improve safety and safety training.
buenas noches, illustrious blog on unctuous loss. analogous helped.