Leather "worm" on door panel? See pics

[Woodbutcher]

So I picked up my new to me 2019 ram longhorn. I drove a long way since it had all the features I wanted and the dealer was very thorough on taking pictures and video to make sure I knew the blemishes before I took the trip. When I got there I hopped in the truck and I noticed right away there was a slight bubbling on the top of the driver's side interior door panel where you would rest your forearm while driving. It was raised slightly but you can tell the glue was separating from the leather and whatever padding is below. It's about 12-in long on the driver's side and maybe only three or four inches on the passenger side. The salesperson apologized emphatically but it really wasn't his fault since he was viewing the car in the cleaning bay with no natural light. It was an overcast day and the vehicle was outside so I saw it right away.
I did my research on Google and saw that a lot of people were having leather separation issues on their dashes with the upper trim models like the longhorn and the limited. My dash seems fine, but I'm thinking this might be that same same problem. we talked to a detail shop while I was at the dealer and they said it's 95% chance glue separation and not water damage since that's what I thought since it's by the windows. Has anybody had a fix for this? Unfortunately my truck was first registered in Ontario Canada and the people who I bought it from in the States bought it from a dealer in Ontario, so apparently my warranty is void now in the states? Just wondering if anybody has any insight on next steps, if any. Ill bring it to a upholstry shop but im sure im on my own.

 

[Amerinamese]

Looks like water damage to me, but I'm no upholstery expert.

 

[Ellisstrong]

Kinda looks like water damage to me too. I had both of my front door panels replaced under warranty that had some funky looking stuff going on that I think may have happened when they tinted my front windows at my purchasing dealer

 

[securityguy]

X3 on the water damage. The separation that folks have experienced look nothing like what's in your picture.

 

[Ram68]

I have the 2020 Limited Edition and have not experienced any leather separation issues to date.

As far as the warranty goes, I would be surprised if would not be honoured in the US irrespective where the truck was purchased. After all the truck is built in the US.

 

[piening2150]

Doesn't hurt to ask, but I'm pretty sure you're right: Absolutely no warranty if it was originally registered as a Canadian vehicle and then brought to the US (and you're not the original Canadian owner).

Found this on a Jeep Gladiator forum:
'To have an FCA Canada warranty transferred to the USA, you must be a Canadian citizen, you must have registered and owned the vehicle in Canada for at least six months, and you must provide proof of permanent relocation to the USA (visa, job offer, etc).'

Buying in Canada and importing to USA - big savings, no warranty

I've been doing a little research lately on the possibility of buying in Canada to take advantage of the much better pricing, then importing into the USA. If anyone else is thinking of doing the same, here's a quick and dirty synopsis of my findings so far. Since the build/price tool for JT...

www.jeepgladiatorforum.com

 

[Ram68]

This is where manufacturers that take great pride in their product and workmanship are separated from the wannabe. Any manufacturer who is using clauses as described for honouring warranty should be ashamed and consumers must demand change.
Case in point, Ram is only built in the US and as such any manufacturer defect under warranty irrespective of country the truck is sold in is solely the responsibility of the manufacturer.

 

[AtlasRam1500]

I had a simliar problem except in the Arms rest on the door and the handle it look like it was coming unglued RAM all 4 door panels were like this. the rear was a little worst then the driver and front but at $2000 a piece door panel ram only replaced 1 of the 4

 

[Woodbutcher]

Thanks for the feedback guys. ya it does stink about the warranty being void. shouldnt matter what country the truck is in. oh well. when i heard about the canada thing, I called a huge ram service place by me and talked to the service manager and he assured me that if anything goes 95% of the time its electrical related (especially with these fancy trucks), so not having the 20k miles left under the 60k drivetrain warranty was a risk i was going to take.

also, im sure the previous owner just had the windows open in his driveway and forgot to close them when it was raining, and thats how it happened. good news is it shouldnt get worse.

 

[securityguy]

Thanks for the feedback guys. ya it does stink about the warranty being void. shouldnt matter what country the truck is in. oh well. when i heard about the canada thing, I called a huge ram service place by me and talked to the service manager and he assured me that if anything goes 95% of the time its electrical related (especially with these fancy trucks), so not having the 20k miles left under the 60k drivetrain warranty was a risk i was going to take.

also, im sure the previous owner just had the windows open in his driveway and forgot to close them when it was raining, and thats how it happened. good news is it shouldnt get worse.

You can always find a local upholstery shop to redo it if you really wanted to.

 

[Ellisstrong]

You can always find a local upholstery shop to redo it if you really wanted to.

Or keep an eye out for wrecked truck and get a door panel