Sportstick

Wow....this is a tough crowd! I thought this was a touch of humor for an otherwise somber thread. For those not familiar, "Live Free or Die" is the NH state slogan and on all the license plates.

miketc

It's the raw material and I bet Johnson Controls sub that out; that's why we have the million dollar toilet for Space flights as you test the crap out of them. All it takes is one part or one material to bring down the pooper; in this case a C Class.

vols1

I think the MB tex seat covers are made by a company called Inteva, which is a sub of Johnson Controls and located in Cottondale Alabama.

sblvro

So this affects only Alabama made MB tex? I'm glad the GLK is still made in Germany!

ddeliber

Maybe I missed it earlier, but are there any reports of bleeding on any model other than the w205?

DerekACS

Bleeding/oozing MBTex seats are occurring only in W205 built in Alabama before Jan.5, 2015. No similar reports with any German built cars with MBTex.

This chemical reaction occurring in the seat covers needs certain environmental conditions: sub-zero temps plus warming up and cooling down.

ddeliber

I have been following things so I am up to date on what is going on. It is just that now that we have heard that it is the same MBTex manufacturer that the Alabama plant has been using all along, I was wondering why would the issue be limited to the w205? They still make MLs and GLs there right?

edit: I am sure that there are several possible explanations, but I think that the question should be asked again.

cidtek

They still would be different production runs so whatever went wrong happened to the W205 production only.

spyked

So, to avoid this problem, all a buyer needs to do is look at the production date of the car (can get using door stamp or VIN I think) and make sure it's AFTER January 5, 2015? Is that safe to say?

richardamp

I'm glad many here, especially Stan, have gotten great customer service from MB due to the MB Tex issue, etc. I must say that to date, I have been very underwhelmed by their customer service. I talked to my dealer about getting a loaner 2.5 weeks ago...they said they'd look into it but never called me back. I then talked to my case manager at MBUSA for the first time two weeks ago. He said he'd coordinate with my dealer on things like getting me a loaner, updating me on when the new seat covers would be available to install, etc. But both my dealer and MBUSA have gone dark since then. Despite a couple voice mails into my case manager asking for an update, I've heard nothing back.

It's one thing to have issues with the car, but it's another thing to get non-responsive customer service from MBUSA and my dealer. From the sounds of others, I may (hopefully) just be the anomaly.

BoboPolo12

Just to add to this information, I noticed that my seats (leather, car production date of 1/8/15) were made by Lear Corporation, a relatively smaller (but still big) company than Johnson. If nothing else, it indicates that the leather seats and MB-Tex seats are made by separate entities.

PeteInGilroy

If the car is equipped with leather, is the dash also leather or is that MB-Tex?

BoboPolo12

Dash is MB Tex, but there have been no reports of the dash, door panels, or the fold down rear armrest to be affected to-date.

Glyn M Ruck

Just to complete the message. Their are no MBTex issues on SA production.

gnus

Has anyone gotten their cars back with the replacement seats?

StanNH

Mine's been at the dealer since January 20th and still not ready. I did get a call on the 23rd saying the repair was taking longer than expected.

TorontoBenz

Ahh someone with leather! What is the quality of leather? Is it like beautiful, soft, supple, made-in-Italy leather or a cheap looking leather that has a vinyl coating and you really can't tell the leather from the vinyl? I did not consider leather when I made my purchase and now wish I had.
Thanks

BoboPolo12

My personal opinion on it is this:

I would say that it's in between the two extremes you mention, but much more towards vinyl than "supple Italian leather." This is partially a compliment to how good MB Tex is at imitating real leather. I was at a car show recently and sat in many cars across all classes one after another. The difference between C Class leather and something like S Class, Audi A8, even BMW 5er is obvious and noticeable.

That said, I think it pretty much falls in line with the feel and quality of some others in the segment (3er, A4). I don't know about the current Japanese rivals in the segment, but I know that I thought the older 2nd generation Lexus IS had better-than-expected leather seats (it was about the only thing I liked about that car). I also forget how the leather feels like in the ATS so I can't comment on that.

Overall, I'm not sure if I would call it "cheap".. it certainly looks nice, feels as expected, and I've seen worse.. but it doesn't rival those above its class.

TorontoBenz

Thanks for your comprehensive response !

SirC250

Geez, I hope they didn't mess up the repair job and that is why its taking that long to fix.

Best of luck Stan.

Let us know how this goes.

StanNH

I think they're also waiting for the just released passenger seat bottom replacement. They did tell me the work was very labor intensive.

They also have to figure out how to tighten up the loose sunroof screen, fix the door handle light, do the emissions campaign, and see if they can align the rear bumper cover. I think they have their hands full.

I'm driving their C300 Luxury loaner, so I'm okay with that. Only problem is the lack of snow tires on the loaner, especially with all the snow we've gotten lately. Huge difference in braking and traction compared to my C300 with snow tires.

ddeliber

Just out of curiosity what do you think of the luxury suspension as compared to yours? I had a lux as a loaner for this past weekend and I found it to be quite responsive and of course comfortable. Much better than I expected. I mentioned this in another thread in a bit more detail and I was hoping for an opinion from someone that owns a base or sport suspension as I only had a couple relatively short test drives.

If you prefer to keep this thread on point since this is off topic feel free to reply here: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...pressions.html

richardamp

Well after 2+ weeks I finally heard back from MBUSA and my dealer (after repeated calls). My dealer said all but four parts are in (2 head rests, 2 side bolsters) and those aren't available until February 20. I was first told I could not have a loaner because of the length of time is was needed, but after pushing back the service manager said I could get one. So looks like I'll be without my brand new car for the next month while we wait for parts to come in. If that timeline holds, then it'll be almost two months from first detecting the issue until it gets fixed. On the plus side, I can put miles on someone else's car (small consolation).

MBUSA also told me an independent lab had run tests on the substance and determined there was no health risk, but he still didn't know exactly what the substance was.

StanNH

I test drove a Sport, own the base, and have the Luxury as a loaner for over a week now. The Sport is obviously stiffer, although not uncomfortable, but neither the base nor Comfort suspensions are particularly soft rides. I'm actually surprised at how little difference there is between the base and the Comfort tunes.

After a few days in the C300 Luxury, it may seem a bit more muted over road imperfections, but it's a difference I really have to look for. There is certainly no dramatic change in going from the base into the Luxury model. Handling is about the same too, so I guess I'm just missing the point of the whole Comfort tuned thing. The other changes ... stitched interior trim and the classic grill ... are obvious, but the changes in suspension tuning must be very subtle.

The Sport, based on my lone test drive, can be a bit harsh over bad pavement ... which is why I didn't get it ... since bad pavement, frost heaves, and pot holes are the norm up here. My base suspension is not really a soft setup at all, and seems to keep the car well controlled through tight curves. It can also feel harsh over bad roads, but is more compliant than the Sport I drove. Again, the Luxury I'm driving feels essentially the same as my base suspension car.

gnus

It seems like the parts are all shipping out piecemeal, as opposed to a full "kit". My car's been in just over three weeks...I really hope I get my car back before 2/20, but I'd rather have them get it right, then do it fast.


Interesting MBUSA had an independant lab test it, but still can't/won't say what the substance actually is?