White Stitching on California Special Headrest?

[ay1820]

I used this in orange to make my white stitching orange. Worked like a charm. Here is the same one in red.

https://www.amazon.com/Uchida-722-C-2-Marvy-Fabric-Marker/dp/B0017628HO/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=1IPHFW7BWSXAI&keywords=uchida+fabric+marker+red&qid=1654384669&sprefix=uchida+fabric+,aps,92&sr=8-3

Thanks for the tip, but I probably will leave them be. I kind of like that my car is unique

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[ay1820]

Mine is red. But my stripes don't match...lol.

Now that is unique. I do kind of like the gray though.

 

[Bobn57]

Now I want to go check mine lol

Me too

 

[Bobn57]

Mine is red stitching. It was built on August 4 2021

 

[YankeeVol]

Mine are red.

 

[Cobra Jet]

I would definitely take it back to your Dealer and ask them to get the correct headrests in there. Sometimes the longer the wait, the more difficult it is to get done by a Dealer or eventually will end up being out of pocket costs.

 

[Bikeman315]

I would definitely take it back to your Dealer and ask them to get the correct headrests in there. Sometimes the longer the wait, the more difficult it is to get done by a Dealer or eventually will end up being out of pocket costs.

CJ, the car was bought used. The likely scenario is that the original owner swapped them out. Unless the dealer is incredibly generous it’s unlikely they are going to do anything. I would love to be wrong.

 

[ay1820]

CJ, the car was bought used. The likely scenario is that the original owner swapped them out. Unless the dealer is incredibly generous it’s unlikely they are going to do anything. I would love to be wrong.

I can't quite figure out why the original owner would swap them, though. Especially given that the original owner had the car for less than 8 months and only put 965 miles on it. He obviously didn't have some strong attachment, so why go to the bother/expense of such a strange mod. I still think that given its late manufacture date and supply chain challenges that Ford simply ran out of the correct part.

HOWEVER, I do agree that getting any satisfaction from my local dealer will be very, very unlikely.

 

[Bikeman315]

I can't quite figure out why the original owner would swap them, though. Especially given that the original owner had the car for less than 8 months and only put 965 miles on it. He obviously didn't have some strong attachment, so why go to the bother/expense of such a strange mod. I still think that given its late manufacture date and supply chain challenges that Ford simply ran out of the correct part.

HOWEVER, I do agree that getting any satisfaction from my local dealer will be very, very unlikely.

I can’t figure it out either but I can certainly see Ford screwing up it. Just make sure to push them on the fact that since you didn’t change them they sold you a car with the wrong parts.

 

[ay1820]

I can’t figure it out either but I can certainly see Ford screwing up it. Just make sure to push them on the fact that since you didn’t change them they sold you a car with the wrong parts.

I didn't buy from a Ford dealer, so I think that will be the rub. I'll give it shot though. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[Mustangmatty]

I didn't buy from a Ford dealer, so I think that will be the rub. I'll give it shot though. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Maybe go in for an oil change (I know I know, but pay a little for something you might need), then be like oh hey by the way this is kinda interesting….. A little tit for tat. Never know till you ask like you said.

 

[ay1820]

Maybe go in for an oil change (I know I know, but pay a little for something you might need), then be like oh hey by the way this is kinda interesting….. A little tit for tat. Never know till you ask like you said.

You read my mind. Already made the appointment for the oil change

 

[ay1820]

So I spoke with my local dealer today, and as expected, they were unable to hep. I totally understand as they had nothing to do with the sale of this vehicle. They suggested that I contact the Ford Customer Care center and open a case with them, which I did, but no surprise, they were unable to help too. The put me in touch with Ford Marketing customer service who said that the most they could do was give me the phone number for Greenfield, which is Ford's 3rd party parts supplier for "obsolete" parts.

In truth, none of this surprises me. I did not really expect Ford to just hand over a set of new headrests after all this time. But I was hoping for some way of getting the parts from them at a reduced price. But, they were adamant that there was nothing they could do.

Oh well ... I may try one of those red dye pens on a few stiches on the underside of the headrest and see how close the color matches.

On a related but separate note, I was really pleased with my overall experience with the service department at Lombard Ford in Winsted, CT (for any fellow Nutmeggers out there). This was my first time dealing with them, but it won't be the last.

 

[ay1820]

I took the plunge and died the stitching with a fabric pen today.

I ended up with a bunch of pens that I tested on an old white t-shirt. I took the closest match and gave it a try on the passenger side, but it was a bit too orange (you can see the driver side with the white still).

I tried a slightly redder pen on the driver's side, but it was still too bright so I followed up with light touch from another even darker red (I tested it on the underside first and this pen would have been too purple to use on its own, but as light touch over the red, it provided an almost exact match).

I tried to lightly darken the passenger side, but did not want to go too far. It's better but not perfect. The camera flash really emphasizes the difference, both sides look much closer in natural light and way better than the white. I will let them set for a few days and maybe take another light pass on the passenger side to try to tone down the orange a bit more, but I don't want to do too much.

Thanks to Gnatsum21 for the suggestion!

 

[Bikeman315]

I took the plunge and died the stitching with a fabric pen today.

I ended up with a bunch of pens that I tested on an old white t-shirt. I took the closest match and gave it a try on the passenger side, but it was a bit too orange (you can see the driver side with the white still).

I tried a slightly redder pen on the driver's side, but it was still too bright so I followed up with light touch from another even darker red (I tested it on the underside first and this pen would have been too purple to use on its own, but as light touch over the red, it provided an almost exact match).

I tried to lightly darken the passenger side, but did not want to go too far. It's better but not perfect. The camera flash really emphasizes the difference, both sides look much closer in natural light and way better than the white. I will let them set for a few days and maybe take another light pass on the passenger side to try to tone down the orange a bit more, but I don't want to do too much.

Thanks to Gnatsum21 for the suggestion!

From the pics it looks great. Good job!

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