MBWorld.org Forums - Replacing C300 W204 Torn Seat Cushion

Hi all. I had a tear in my 2009 C300 driver's seat cushion that kept getting larger and larger. I went to the dealer and he estimated around $400 so I ran away as quickly as I could. I searched online and found a used cushion on eBay for cheap ($70). It's not ideal but my seat has a tear in it and the eBay one did not. I found some guides online but none of the were comprehensive with pics so I decided to document my process for the next person.

First you need to remove the entire bottom cushion. It's clamped in with two C clamps that is held below the seat on both sides by two T30 screws. Underneath the C clamps are black plastic washer. These are east to break so be careful.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...3995d8770f.jpg
Old seat had a large tear

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...222cd12783.jpg
The two silver bots under the seat are T30, and has a C clamp under neath. There is a black plastic washer underneath that's easy to break so be careful. Afterwards simply pull the seat up and you will see the wire for the heater. I didn't get a photo but it is tied to a rod with a zip tie. The plug head (black) is mated with a white head and the two are plugged into a black hole in the front middle on the floor. You need to remove them together then split them apart after. It took me a long time trying to pull out the black plug before I realized they were mated together. Afterwards just pull the seat up and out to remove.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...cec390f86d.jpg
The one cable below is for the seat heater. The cable head is black, it mates with a white plug and together they fit into a hole on the floor. You need to remove the black trim around the cushion fabric from around the black metal seat rim. They are clipped in with the plastic trim. You start at one end and use a flat head screwdriver and pop it outward and then pull each clip out with your fingers.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...2edd4382ad.jpg
You have to peel the plastic edge off the clips. The deformity in the plastic is from pulling it off the metal clip.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...c33bb44009.jpg
These are the clips that hook into the black plastic trim.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...d040800766.jpg
These clips were a royal pain, they clip the seams of the seat which are attache to a copper rod. This pushes the seams down and taught. I used a flat head screwdriver to push the rod down and pull the clips apart. Be careful not to break them.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...c68c4077c5.jpg
Removing the copper rod from these clips one at a time took a long time and was a killer on my fingers.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...989a90d0e4.jpg
Here is the naked cushion. The clips in the back were the hardest to remove. While all the clips were blue, the two in the back were white and thicker. They seemed to be more heavy duty and took the longest to free. To install your new fabric, just reverse the order. Installing the seam clips back took a while because you had to match the copper rods back into the clip opening and push hard. The closer to the end you get the harder it got because the fabric became more taught and needed more push.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...14c69abdd5.jpg
Before and After