seat covers? seat cleaning?

[oldfieldcycles]

i need to clean the seats on my 2016 model. the light color cloth gets stained easily. i tried a standard soap solution scrub and a vacuum cleaner and did not do much. anyone have luck with a particular product? also, anyone find good seat covers? all i can find are generic seat covers and the ones i have found for the Kia Soul say "not for EV model" in the description.

 

[IanL]

Try a stain remover sold by pet shops for cleaning up after pet "accidents".

 

[mammlouk]

I ended up just buying some generic ones at Costco. They work well enough and only cost me $20 on sale. I think the main reason that the vehicle specific ones all say not for the EV is because it might interfere with the heating/cooling. I only have heated cloth and it's too hot for me, so I wouldn't worry about it reducing the heat transfer. I was going to order some, but decided I'm just too cheap. :lol: If you are interested in spending the money for vehicle specific covers then I would call them and ask some questions to see if you can find out why they specify them as not for EV.

 

[FLKiaEV]

Another issue is that most seat covers have a strap that connects underneath the seat, and in many EVs this space is either very small or not there at all. For example in the Soul EV I don't think there is any room for a strap under the back seat due to the battery pack.

There are seat covers that specifically say they are compatible with ventilated seats, but of the ones I've seen (from CoverKing for example), specifically say they are not compatible with the EV version of cars. Bummer, because I would really like to keep my seats in good shape if possible, and I use the ventilated seats all the time (haven't had a need for the heat setting yet).

 

[FLKiaEV]

An update to my post above is that the backseat is easily removed so that you can put on a seat cover that has a strap that goes under the seat. You don't even have to remove it completely but just pull up on the front part of the bottom section until it pops up and then run your strap and then push it back down when you're done.

By the way, I found out how to do this from a downloadable full service manual for the Soul EV from a website called tradebit (dot com). Search for your Kia Soul EV. I took a chance thinking there was a possibility that I was being ripped off but I was pleasantly surprised: The manual is over 1000 pages and goes into EXTREME detail on how to diagnose, repair, disassemble and reassemble every single part you can possibly think of. Highly recommended. I think it was about $15US. Well worth the money!

 

[IanL]

That Tradebit site seemed just the thing, so I bought a copy.

However, the download only contains the Owners Manual, and not the "full service manual" promised by the listing. The disputes guidance says take it up with the seller first, so I've done that, but no reply yet. I'll report back.

 

[FLKiaEV]

Hmm... Mine is attributed to "Pasha" and is 1362 pages long. I did see more than one version of the service manual for my vehicle so I guess I lucked out in the one I chose. Hopefully you can get your money back or something.

 

[IanL]

Nothing heard yet. Unfortunately, mine is a 2018MY, and the only offer of that is from FSM - how ironic, the one who doesn't provide the FSM is called FSM.

 

[FLKiaEV]

I sent you a PM. Hopefully it will be useful to you.

 

[IanL]

I sent you a PM. Hopefully it will be useful to you.

Thanks, I've sent a PM response.

 

[IanL]

Tradebit have given me a full refund

 

[invader166]

Well, let's just say I decided to start the year with a little car make-over.

I pulled the trigger on a complete set of universal car seat covers from a local seller/installer in my city. The result was far better than I expected.

https://ibb.co/HzNYBvM

https://ibb.co/dc8Zmpj

Almost a full color match to the OEM sky-blue trim and roof tone.