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I just got my new seat cover today, let me tell you what a pain in the *** to remove just the cover.
Well, I suggest you brace yourself... I would imagine replacing the new cover on the cushion is even a bigger pain in the axx...
I would rub some vaseline on the corners and the edges...might make it slide on a little easier... And the vaseline will help moisturize the new cover...
I purchased a 2013 C300 with a torn seat a few weeks ago, and I just replaced it this morning. I thought, "oh, this shouldn't take long to get the seat bottom out of the car"...and it didn't. What I wasn't prepared for was the ordeal of getting the cover off of the seat itself, AND putting the new cover on. Ultimately it took me a little over an hour, and I didn't need any special tools, just some strong fingers, sweat and a few curse words.
EDIT: I lied, I used a needle nose plier to twist the two long white clips that hold the cover to the seat when I took it off. In post #12 above they are the two white pieces near the bottom of the picture. I also used the pliers to twist lock them back into place once it was time to get the new cover on.
Ya lots of swearing the plastic pieces along the front and rear part of the seat.
I have 2 broken fingers and the moment so maybe that's why I can't get it off hahahaha. There's no room to fit your fingers to in clip them.
Broken fingers? THAT explains it lol. Yeah there's no way I could imagine going through that again with two broken fingers. If you were close by I would do it for ya, now that I know what it takes to get it done. I hope you recover soon.
Hahaha thanks. That's why I was hoping there was a tool I could buy.
I feel like it's going to rip again if the first one already has.
I'll let you guys know how it goes I'm going to an upholstery shop to see if I can get them to take it off for me for free. I'm hoping they do it on the house.
Took 30 minute of f bombs but now I know how easy it actually is. These tools helped a ton got them for 15$ at princess auto, upholstery clip/dash tool set
save yourself the trouble and just buy a used drivers seat bottom on eBay. I bought one for $150 shipped and it literally took 5 minutes to put in. It's 2 screws and 2 clips on the bottom and it drops right in.
save yourself the trouble and just buy a used drivers seat bottom on eBay. I bought one for $150 shipped and it literally took 5 minutes to put in. It's 2 screws and 2 clips on the bottom and it drops right in.
ya that would be the best option but good luck finding a mint one. I had trouble and just settled with the passenger side seat in mint condition.
honestly now once done its pretty easy takes 30 minutes with a lot of swearing but when i take my seat off it should only take half the time now.
I went to an upholstery shop today the guy said its the heat from the sun thats causing the tears, the heat is rotting the threads even the seat heater is contributing to this. He gets a bunch of Mercedes, Audi and BMW owners coming in with **** like this and its always that middle thread that goes first.
so i broke the clip to the heat seats LMAO in the first pull. I don't know how but I didn't even ream on them and i used my fingers( and tow of my fingers are broken!).
the job took 15 minutes to remove the seat, take the old cover off, put the new one on, solder the wires and put the seat all back together.
everything works perfectly what an ordeal! I should as as soon as the clip broke I didn't even hesitate to cut the wire hahaha. I was so mad I just went to beast mode and went to work.
ya that would be the best option but good luck finding a mint one. I had trouble and just settled with the passenger side seat in mint condition.
For future reference, and while the seat adjustment controls are on opposite sides, those controls are attached to the frame and not the seat cushion. This means that a passenger side bottom cushion will work just right for the driver side bottom cushion. The only difference is that you are going to have the "occupant sensor module" (which I circled in red in post 12 above) that you don't need for the driver side but it will not get in the way.
And since the driver side cushion is used every time the car is driven, and yet the passenger side cushion is used less often, when looking for a used seat on (for example) eBay, don't limit yourself to just those listings that are for "driver seat" bottom cushion... A passenger seat bottom cushion will work just as well for the driver side.
i have the same problem. 2011 c300 and the damn driver side seat lower is torn at the middle seem. It sounds like two bolts hold th elower to the frame. Is there anyone who could post a picture of those bolts?
Seeing as there has been no response to this thread, I went ahead and tried the repair on my own. I ordered a new seat bottom cover from the dealer ($298Cdn taxes included) and was ready to try.
1. move the seat into a position where you can remove the plastic cover over where the seatbelt bolts on to the seat frame. I was able to remove it with no tools by simply pulling the top of the piece gently towards the door opening and it will begin to unsnap.
2. Move the seat all the way forward and remove the 2 bolts holding the seat frame to the floor.
3. Move the seat all the way back and remove the 2 bolts holding the seat frame to the floor.
4. Make sure you lower the head rest all the way down and position the seat around the middle of the track. This will make it easier to remove the seat from the vehicle.
5. Un-do the battery and wait a few minutes. If the battery is left connected you may end up with "SRS Fault" and you will be making a trip to the dealer to reset this.
6. Lean the seat back against the rear seat and remove the cable connections.
7. Remove the seat.
8. Lay the seat down flat on the back and you will find 2 torx bolts holding on 2 U shaped clamps. Once these are off and the seat heater plug is removed from the holder, you can remove the entire bottom fo the seat, foam and all.
9. You dont need any tools to remove the old cover or to put on the new cover, just strong fingers.
On a side note, I did it exactly this way. I may have been able to just remove the 2 torx bolts and the U shaped clamps and taken the seat bottom off of the frame without doing all the other steps but I couldnt tell how it all came apart due to the lack of space and seeing what was under there. Im sure with the right torx socket it would be possible. It was 2 hours total but if you could just undo the 2 bolts and the U clamps, it would have been 20 minutes tops.
Im glad the seat now looks brand new and I saved myself the 3 hours the dealer quoted me on changing it for me.
Maybe add this to the "How to" section??
Which dealer in Canada. My dealer was quoting me $500?
grrrr
I have an issue where it looks like one or two of the fake leather texture bumps have flaked off. I do have a coupe, which is challenging to get in and out of compared to the sedan....but I dont understand this as I NEVER have anything in my back pockets. Frustrating
I was thinking of trying a vinyl patch kit. Remember those on TV way back when.... I am sure they are much better now but has anyone tried them?
My '05 320CLK has the same problem. The driver side stitching broke. The stitch holes are fine. Had an upholsterer look at it, $300 to restitch. But he later declined to pull the seat as he says he's had issues with the seat electronics in the past (see above about NOT turning the car on for this job)
and the local dealer wants $800 for a new lower skin install & claims < 1 hour worth of work.
So it's on my 'todo' list for today. the original upholsterer said he'd restitch the seat if I pulled the skin.
I also want to tinker with whatever microswitch is down there that registers the seat in a locked position as I'm tired of slamming it down to get the seat to move again.
and as mentioned above...time to clean out below the seat with a carpet extractor.
The passenger side is starting this same problem, but the upholsterer said "Leave it alone for now"
Last edited by clydem; 06-05-2019 at 02:28 PM.
Reason: wrong forum
Just an FYI- If your car is still under warranty, Mercedes will cover this. I recently had the driver's side replaced by the dealership. Even if it is not under warranty, it may be worth checking with the dealership as they are very aware of the issue. The fact that they keep the seat covers in stock tells me it's a fairly widespread problem.
I wish I could say that was true. I was told that this is a normal wear and tare item not covered by the MB warranty. That was over a year ago before my warranty ran out. The radio controls on the steering wheel peeling, the aluminum trim around the cup holder cracking is again normal wear and tare that is not covered... oh and the corrosion on the wheel caps. I wish that for the price of the car, Mercedes cared a bit more about their reputation and warranted these items or made them of a quality that would last.
Thanks to this thread I just got this done. Seat cost $224 plus tax and had to pick it up. The hardest part was unclipping all the blue and white clips off. As far as getting the cover on, once everything is clipped back in place is to pre fold the edges. Put the seat right side up on carpet and push down on the metal frame so you can get the edged right over the lip of the metal frame. Once you have the edges on 60% or more just pound it down in place. Either with your palm or rubber mallet and it should clip in place.
I prefolded the edges so it's already facing down towards the metal rim/ edges. Then I put my foot on the back of the metal and pushed down on it to give me more slack. That made it easier to put the edges on.
05-23-2018, 11:54 PM
