Internal Door Fabric Inserts
 

I've got a unique problem and I'm not sure how to best deal with it. I've tried searching for similar threads here, but haven't found anything like what I have....if it's been posted before, sorry for overlooking it.

I have a 2001 LS. As you know, the interior door panels have cloth/fabric inserts to match the interior seat upholstery. What I've learned apparently, is the cloth inserts have a thin foam padding between the cloth layer and the plastic of the door panels. The cloth fabric is basically glued to the foam padding, to prevent wrinkles or loose fabric getting caught and torn, I guess.

Anyhow, the problem with my Tribute is the foam padding appears to be eroding or crumbling apart over time. It's like that cheap old foam inside chair cushions that become hardened and brittle over time, then start breaking off. I first noticed that an edge of the fabric insert in mydriver's door started coming apart from the door at the end furthest from the door lock & window buttons. A bitof what looked like grit or dirt or black dust was starting tocoat the arm rest at the back of the door. Upon looking closely, I determined that the dust was actually "crumbs", or small pieces of the foam padding that was falling out of the loose end of the fabric insert. As the foam was deteriorating. the fabric was coming loose from the door.

Now it appears that this issue is common for all my doors. The back seat door on the drivers side now has half of the fabric insert hanging loosely, and edges of the inserts for both passenger-side doors are also now coming loose.

Has anyone dealt with this before? I contacted my local dealer, and they said they didn't have anything that would fix my inserts, and suggested that I call a local furniture store or re-upholsterer to see if they have some fabric glue that I could use. My question is, if I simply spread on the glue to the deteriorating foam padding, won't it too eventually fall apart as more of the foam crumbles? I'm sure the only other way to fix thiswould be to pay to have 4 new interior door panels installed, which I imagine will cost a small fortune.

Anyone else dealt with this phenomenon? If so, how did you fix it?

RE: Internal Door Fabric Inserts
 

My front passenger door is doing the peel away trick. It does not appear to be the crumbling foam issue though. I do plan on using a spray adhesive and see how that works.

Yeah, its been a couple months for me that I started noticing it. It is really annoying and also wonder how to fix it. I dont think that just putting on some super glue the way it is would be a good thing for it.

Ok, so I looked it up on YouTube, and it should be a fairly easy fix.