Floor Mats & Liners

What are floor mats and liners and where are they located?

You may have noticed the small pieces of carpet material that lay underneath you and your passengers’ feet in your car or truck. These are your vehicle’s floor mats or liners, which are the buffers between your shoes and your interior carpeting in the front and rear. They protect the carpet underneath them and make it easier to clean the floor. The dirt, mud, sand, road salt, snow, water, autumn leaves, and other debris from your shoes that would otherwise seep and grind into your carpet, is absorbed or channeled away from your feet by floor mats or liners instead. They also protect your carpet from spills of food and drink, as well as other things like chemicals, which could stain and ruin your interior. You can then take out your floor mats or liners and shake, beat, hose off, dump, or vacuum the accumulated dirt and filth out of them, which is a lot easier than cleaning your whole automotive carpet. Floor mats and liners also help to prevent wear, snags, and rips in your vehicle's carpet caused by foot friction when you enter, exit, or shift about in your seat.

While floor mats and liners serve as a practical purpose, they also serve as a cosmetic one. Clean, stylish looking floor mats help to enhance the overall appearance of your car or truck’s interior. After all, nobody really wants to look at ratty, tattered, or stained carpeting.

What is the difference between a floor mat and floor liner?

While floor mats and liners are similar in the fact that they are both protective automotive carpet coverings, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. There is actually a minor, yet fundamental difference between the two that most may not realize. Floor mats are almost always flat and because of that, they more or less are a direct fit. Carpeted mats would fall into the floor mat category. There are also other, more protective mats out there, made out of various materials like rubber, which have high ridges and deep wells or channels between the ridges that are designed to trap things like water, sand, mud, etc. from getting all over your carpeting. These types of floor mats fall under the all-weather category, which we will discuss in greater detail below.

Floor liners, on the other hand, are more rigid and are molded, also with a more or less perfect fit, to the shape of the floorboards of the particular vehicle to provide complete coverage. They are designed with raised lips that run up alongside the perimeters of the automobile’s foot-wells, creating a basin that contains spills and whatever mess the soles of your shoes bring into the vehicle so that they never touch your automotive carpet. They usually also feature a channel/ridge surface pattern that carry fluid and debris elsewhere on the liner and minimize its movement, which also helps keep your feet dry while you drive. Floor liners also fall under the all-weather category.

Regardless if it is a floor mat or liner, they both will have something on the back/bottom to keep them in place. This can range from rubber cleated backing, to nibs, or some type of anti-skid bottom that creates friction with the carpet underneath to keep them from sliding around.

Types of floor mats and floor liners

There are many different designs and materials of floor mats and liners that are available for cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs. However, they can really be boiled down into two major categories: all-weather mats and liners, and carpet floor mats.

Carpet floor mats, which are almost always flat, provide a combination of classic style and protection to your car or truck's interior. They are perfect for that restoration project you might be working on, or if you are just looking for an alternative replacement. Carpeted floor mats are made out of materials like nylon and come in an array of different colors, so you can either match the shade of your old factory carpet floor mats or add your own touch of style with something completely different. Due to the fact that they are carpeted, these types of floor mats are thick, durable, and provide a softer feel than liners made out of rubber or thermoplastic, for example. In addition to the many different colors that are available, you can further customize carpeted floor mats with embroidery options such as adding a logo. Unfortunately, while carpeted floor mats provide style and a high degree of customization, they are just as susceptible to the elements as the automotive carpet they are meant to protect. If you live in a mild to moderate climate, where sunny skies are the norm, then this is not as much of a concern. However, if you live in the Northeast for example, those carpeted floor mats are going to take a beating come winter time, and you are going to have your work cut out for you in terms of keeping them clean.

That's where all-weather floor mats and liners come in. These types of mats and liners are constructed from heavy-duty materials like molded thermoplastic, and provide the utmost protection for your vehicle's interior against mud, snow, water, spills, grime, foot friction, etc. The big advantage that they provide over carpeted floor mats is that they are incredibly easy to clean. Basically, you just need to wash them off, or give them a good, hearty shake, and they will be as good as new. They can also  take a lot more abuse than carpet floor mats can. If you live in a wet or snowy area, frequently go off-roading or hiking in the outdoors, or haul dirty tools and equipment around all day in your work truck, these types of floor mats and liners offer superior protection and durability.

How do I know if my floor mats or liners need to be replaced?

New floor mats aren’t a lifesaving device and they won’t add more horsepower or improve fuel economy, but what they will do is improve the interior appearance of your car. Your interior floor mats and liners take a lot of abuse. After all, you step on them with your dirty shoes all the time. Over time they can fade, stain, or wear and tear depending on what type of mat or liner you have. A common reason for replacing carpeted floor mats is wear from the heels of shoes, as people tend to wear a hole in front of the accelerator pedal. These things can be a real eyesore, but these problems are easy to fix, especially here at 1A Auto.

The choice of automotive floor mat or liner really depends on a number of factors and your particular needs or preferences, such as the place you live in and the weather conditions, if you are restoring an old vehicle, whether or not you’re an off-roader, or if you are looking for customized embroidered logos, to name a few. The sky is really the limit when it comes to selecting floor mats and liners, and 1A Auto has what you need.

At 1A Auto, we carry an incredibly large selection of floor mats and liners, for both the front and rear of the vehicle, for many makes and models. If you are simply looking to replace your factory floor mats or liners, or just want to upgrade what you have now, 1A Auto is the place to shop to make the inside of your car, truck, van or SUV look like new!

Can I replace the floor mats or liners in my vehicle myself?

Replacing floor mats and liners is about the easiest thing you can do to spruce up your car’s interior. Just pull out the old mats, toss them in the trash where they belong, and put in the new mats or liners once you have purchased them. Our floor mats and liners are designed to fit your specific model just like the originals, so no cutting or alteration is necessary. They should fit right out of the box. 

Need replacement floor mats or liners for your car or truck?

Our carpet floor mats are made from 100% nylon cut pile material, are chemically treated to reduce humidity fading and lightfastness, and are available in exact-cut shapes and original styles. We also have a large selection of colors available if you are looking to customize, and we also carry embroidered logo floor mats, too! For those who are in need of a more rugged carpet protector, we also have all-weather floor mats and liners made from heavy-duty materials like moldable thermoplastic as well as durable rubber.