jules2000

Hi guys,

I have a 2009 C300 sport and the driver's seat is tearing in one of the stitches. It gets worse and worse. I have asked a local car upholstery for a quote and they told me it would cost $800 to fix (replacing the whole bottom). The can also patch it for about $400 but won't guarantee it to last. I think $800 is too much to spend considering the value of the car.

I can imagine other people have gone through the same considerations. Should I just get a seat cover for both front seats? Does that look OK? What are the best ones?

Thanks.

MB Marko

Id say get more quotes and never ever sit in the w204 seats with anything in your rear pockets again. also the car still has value I mean its only a 2009 I personally wouldn't go with a seat cover and I don't think anyone ever goes that route people just get them fixed. your still sitting on the rip thats just going to get worse. the 400$ patch job just seems like a cope out to take 400$ from you with no guarantee.

I've read in a thread before that you can go to MB dealer and buy the upholstery for the bottom part and just go do it yourself or get a shop to do it that could be a possibility depending on cost. Ive read that its about $300 for a cover plus what ever install is probably another 300$ depending on the place you go to. So call your dealer and see what they can do for you.

If this ever happens to me knock on wood it doesn't I'm going to get the whole damn car re upholster in some sweet red leather hahaha. I clean take care of my MB tex every 2 months or so depending on how dirty the car is just so this doesn't happen but will see if it does the trick.

jules2000

Thank you very much for your thoughts on this. I'll ask the dealer about new upholstery for the bottom part. Maybe I'm even able to do it myself if I can find some instructions online.

yojaywuzup

Hello jules2000, did you ever get your seat cover replaced? I'm dealing with the same issue with my 2008 C350 and just saw a DIY video on youtube which made it seem like a quick 15 minute swap. Lemme know how things turned out for you. Also, if you did, how much did you pay for the seat cover? Thanks.

jules2000

My OP was posted today. But I'm going to the dealer next week for the airbag recall and then I'm going to ask them about the seat cover. I'll let you know what they say.

Carsy

Hello Jules,

I had the same problem with an older vehicle. I had the seat swab roughly & strongly repaired ie with vinyl & glue them bought sheep skin covers for both the front seats.They may not be fashionable but practical & comfortable.
http://www.woollen-products.com.au/C...-products.html

shotgun_banjo

$800 WTF! Just buy the cover from the dealer ($298 CAD to be exact) and do it yourself. The seat bottom is only held up with 2 screws and will lift up easily then unplug the heating elements of the seats (This procedure will take only 2 minutes MAX!) Then just unclip the cover from the seat bottom and reinstall the new cover (should only be 10-15 minutes MAX). I just did my seat last week and have received the passenger side seat cover this morning. The dealer is asking for $300 for installation and they reasoned they need to remove the ENTIRE seat. Just imaging the sarcastic laugh I had in front of the service person (which is a good body of mine-can't blame him as he just looks at the computer and there is a indicated work hours supplied by corporate MB on almost all repairs in the system). I told him how long it took me to do the driver seat and he just blushed for looking stupid.

timlippold

I had a similar issue with my 2008 C300 a couple of years ago. My tear was in the seat bottom bolster. I ended up having a local upholstery shop (Dr Vinyl) replace the seat cushion with a MB replacement he bought at the local dealer. Total cost was $500 vs the dealer quote of over $800 installed. The seat bottom comes with a new seat heater (if you have that option) and is the only way to go compared to trying a repair. The only thing to be aware of is that the seat will initially look new and different but over time it will break in.

dadangman

i had the same issue on my c350 2009, it was under warranty so i had it replaced by the dealer... but after a year i had the same tear... so i'm just going to live with it =P

chazzz

Do you have a part number for the seat cover (the bottom part)? I have a tear in my 2009 C350 (with heating elements). I'd love to have a cover and fix it myself. Before I'll replace the cover, I would check the new cover (underside) and maybe use a duct tape or something like that to prevent from future possible tearing.

chazzz

Never mind, I found that part in geniune mercedes part website. The "lower cover" part is $548 (USD). I'll look elsewhere to find cheaper than $548. I have part number for it.

JohnnyC300

Does anyobe have advice on how to care for these "MB-tex" (imitation leather) seating to avoid this? I have not used any product on them in a few years and they are getting veiny.

MB Marko

I use Aerospace 303 Absolutely love it you can clean the whole interior with it its not greasy once it dries makes your car look like it came off the lot.

a lot of people use this I tried it the first time a while back and i will never use anything else .

Carsy

I cover mine with a sheep skin. Warm in winter , cool in summer. Protects the seats. I have vinyl seats covered in my 36 year old Peugeot & they are in perfect condition.

See attachment, Henry was used for my wife's coloured wool spinning. When a hogget ( 2 years old) I killed & the family ate him . I had the skin tanned professionally. This was about 30 years ago & he is still going strong protecting my car seat ( drivers).

MB Marko

ahahaha!!

centfl-c300spt

My driver's seat is tearing badly and now the backrest is starting to tear. I went to an upholstery shop and was quoted $300 for the seat bottom and back, each, from the dealer and $500 to put them on.
My indy shop told me to just find a seat at a salvage yard, but finding a gray one in good shape is next to impossible, esp since the majority of seats are black or tan. But, I finally did on ebay for $270 and $41 shipping for a total of $311. It doesn't have heaters, but its in great shape. It came from a 2011 with 30,000 miles. I'm gonna do what shotgun_banjo says and just take the heaters from my old ones and put them in the new ones and install by myself for just my time.

njlarry

Thanks for posting the information.
Could I use your technique to somehow soften the hard seats in my ml350?

JohnnyC300

Thanks! The reviews seem great. Like everything, there seems to be ten versions of this product. Do you reccomend a type if applicator? Like the wipes or a spray?

shotgun_banjo

That is expensive. I got mine from a local dealer here for only $298 plus taxes and that is in Canadian funds. I can get that part and ship it to you and make money at the same time and it will still be cheaper than that. Call your local parts department and ask them for a price.

shotgun_banjo

You might have a problem with this as the seat elements are stitched/glued on a secondary liner which is stitched to the MB text. might be possible to do a retrofit but it might move around. I am not sure how hard to do the upper seat but should not be a problem. The only thing I think will be an extra step is removing the headrest as you cannot just pull it out.

shotgun_banjo

Not sure. I have not tried removing the seats on my ML350 but the seats on the ML350 are way more softer and plush than the W204 seats so I don't see why you need to soften it up more.

jules2000

I just asked the MB dealer in Buckhead, Atlanta. They want $330 for the lower cover and $400 for installing it + tax (round numbers - I can't remember the exact price they said). You make it sound very easy to do. Maybe I should give it a go even though I have never done anything like it before.

shotgun_banjo

It is easy. Just make sure before you do it you have these tools with you:

1. Plastic or hard rubber mallet (to hit your head in case you screw-up - Joke)
2. gloves (latex or vinyl) - optional if you don't want your hand to get dirty or touch dust lingering under your seat.
3. flashlight (if you don't have proper lighting)
4. Appropriate torx screw head to remove the seat.
5. A hard pointed steel (like a small screw driver) for the harness plug removal.

Where the gloves then just need to remove 2 screws at the bottom of the front seat, recline the back rest backwards, turn off your ignition, remove key, yank carefully the bottom pad upwards, carefully unplug the heating element on the harness that is zip-tied on the seat frame, pry-out the old seat cover from the bottom seat foam assembly, wiggle the wires out from the assembly then do the reverse using the new seat cover then secure the clips of the seat cover with the mallet....done! Again, this should not take more than 10-15 minutes.

One of the things I will do when I have time is to remove the old heating element of the seat cover and transfer it to the back rest of the front driver seat. That will be really nice for my weather here in Canada.

jules2000

WOW! Thank you for the great walk-through! I buy the seat cover from the dealer next week and install it myself. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Great idea to transfer the old heat element to back, when living in a cold climate.

Devinb27

does anyone know if this can be covered under warranty. i have a 2012 still under CPO warranty. my driver seat is ripping at the stitches.