KLF

Hi everyone.

I got my 2015 C-300 on November 28, 2014. Right after Christmas, it got really cold here in Philadelphia. We dropped to about 5 degrees. When this happened, my seats started bleeding and leaking an oily liquid/substance that was disgusting. In the real cold it was like someone rubbed baby oil all over the seats. They were so slick that I couldn't put anything on them. And if I sat on them (which I did do), this oil rubbed off on my clothes and stained them.

When the temp went up to say 30 degrees, that oily dried into a white chalky substance. Then when it got cold again (at night) the oil would leak back out and make a new design. One day I opened my car and was shocked and upset to see that my black seats where now dusty and chalky

white. It looked awful!

These marks that are appearing look like an alien came in and finger painted the seats. See the pics below.

This is what happens to the oily substance when it drys. This was taken in the day time.





This is what the alien-like design looks like.





A close up.





This was taken at night time. You can see how oily and greasy it is.







As you can see this is pretty bad right?

My car is currently at my MB dealership. I told them I need to know how this will be fixed longterm or I want to discuss my out options of the $50k car.

Thoughts?

DerekACS

If those pictures were from my car, I would refuse to take it back from the MB dealer. I would be requesting either an exchange for a C300 with leather, offering to pay the difference in cost or I would request a full refund.

If those photos are published widely , the effects would be very detrimental to MB C Class sales.

richardamp

Wow, horrible. I think you just surpassed StanNH on having the worst bleeding seats on the forum.

Are you sure you clothes were stained? If they were, how? Many people on this forum are experiencing this issue with their seats but so far no one has reported any staining of clothes, myself included.

DBOC205

Wow indeed! Absolutely horrible. That's sure going to put off some buyers.. guaranteed.

StanNH

There have been no reports of clothing being affected by this. Also, no dusty or chalky feel to the white residue. The pictures look like what many of us have seen, but the report of clothing damage and the feel is not typical.

KLF

Yes, I agree that if the photos of my seats are published widely it would be very damaging to the MB C Class.

PS - I work in public relations. My professional experience allows me to to very easily reach out to any member of the news media with this (or any) story... I have not done that. But I could if this experience does not go positively for me.

KLF

Yes, here is my jacket. Its full of duck down and nylon. At night in the very cold temps (like 5 to 15 degrees fahrenheit) this is when my seats are super wet and oily. This is when the seats are at their very worst. In the day, or when temps heat up, all this wetness and oil diminishes. Today was 40 this morning. There was a little oily residue but nothing like it is when temps are really low.

synaptik

absolutely terrible, worst that i've seen.

you need to straight up ask for compensation or buy-back.

BenzC400

You should also take a look at this thread about poor taillight/bumper fit. You probably have this issue too.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...t-fitment.html

There is some discussion that the tail light not fitting flush and the bumper pushed in about 1/8 inch is normal. I suspect it's normal because most Alabama C Class cars were built that way. It may be normal, but it's not right and it wasn't designed that way.

My C400 has been in for service since yesterday for the taillight issue, screeching breaks, and a drivers door handle LED light malfunction. Both the salesman and the service writer agreed that the taillight/bumper alignment looked off. They also noticed that their other C Class cars have the same issue. They're dicussing how to handle it. They took pictures to send to MB. Hopefully they'll be able to correct it.

Also, they gave me a new C300 as a loaner. It was cold and iced over. When I opened the drivers door I got to see the bleeding seat issue first hand. The seats look similar to yours, not quite as bad though. I didn't even sit in the car. I ended up with an GLK350. They seemed surprised I didn't want the car with the oily stained seats.

KLF

Are they stupid?

I am being told I am getting new seats. Thats all I have been told right now. Are the new seats and material any different than the current seats?

I did tell them I wanted to discuss my options of getting out of the car and into another one. I have not received a reply yet.

BTW - who runs this MBWOrld Forum? Does MB or someone private?

gocal73

I just called MBUSA. They claim no knowledge of document you posted! That's the one with the Q&A regarding the bleeding seat issue. The one that says MBUSA will only fix your seat if it's bleeding now. In fact, they gave me totally different information. They claim that MBUSA will replace the seat covers of ANY W205 built prior to 1/5/2015. The customer service person I spoke with checked with her supervisor and claimed they have an "internal document that cannot be shared with the public" that states this policy.

Of course, I asked if she was sure. She said that MBUSA understands that the bleeding problem could happen anytime so they do not require that your car seats be actually bleeding for them to be replaced. The car just has to be a W205 built prior to 1/5/15. I asked what I should do if my dealer turns me down. She said call MBUSA back and they would get someone on it right away.

Wow! What to believe?

Of course I had to ask about the rear bumper/taillight issue. The customer service rep claimed that there is no issue because it has not been documented as an issue. I asked what needs to happen for this non-issue to become an issue. The dealers have to identify it has an issue, she says. She goes on to say that MBUSA relies on it's dealers to identify issues. I ask what happens if I disagree with the dealer, who thinks there is no issue. Then I call back and talk to a case manager. I asked if MBUSA has "Factory Reps" who work with dealers/owners to try to work out differences of opinion. Nope. Just a case manager who will talk to the dealer and the owner. However, she adds that "MBUSA fully supports our dealers." That was reassuring, not. So, I keep going. What if many W205 owners call to complain about misaligned bumper/taillights, would this help make the situation into an issue? She said that could help.

I asked her to document our conversation in my file. She said she already did. This is getting really weird. MB Land is a strange place.

gocal73

Keep us posted. If you really have access to mainstream media outlets, you might need to use them. The discussion I just had with MBUSA has me convinced they need to get their act together regarding W205 issues. The bumper/taillight discussion has my heading spinning. The explanation I got makes me think there is no QC in Alabama. MBUSA uses the dealers for QC. Maybe a cost cutting initiative?

bwoodbmw

Yikes... worse than Stan's and stained clothes... bad bad news. I wanted this car so bad, but early issues need to be worked out before I'll buy.... I still want to know if the C450 is being produced in Germany only...

KLF

I have access to EVERY media outlet and all the reporters / editors in United States. I am a PR professional with 21 years experience and knowing how to reach the news media is exactly what I do for a living. I could call 60 Minutes, NBC Nightly News, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Automobile Magazine, Road & Track, in seconds, etc. etc. BUT, I haven't gone that route yet. If I ever did reach out to news media, I would ask all of you to sign a letter and support my words. Would you do that?

My 2015 C-300 got picked up this past Monday. I got a call today from the Service Dept at my dealership. My new seats will be in around February 20. I am being told that this entire issue is "a mess" - which it is. So in the mean time I have a loaner car.

As for the oil that got on my clothes, MB is paying me for the clothes damage. Yeah!

djdj

It sounds like they are taking care of you.

richardamp

Sounds like contacting the media is not necessary at this point. As long as MB resolves this quickly and makes things right with people affected by this with some sort of tangible good will gesture I think most people will be satisfied by their response.

BlackjackM

I sincerely doubt the "media" is going to care about a batch of faulty synthetic leather that MB is bending over backwards to make right.

Jazzdad

Another important issue: what is this stuff?? What type of chemical reaction occurs when the ambient temperature gets below freezing? Isn't that pretty much the opposite of most reactions?

And if this is a "plasticizer' to soften up the mb tex, is anyone else concerned about the fumes that are released into the air in the car as a result of this odd chemical reaction? Do the fumes settle into the carpet, headliner, floor mats, and (most importantly) air vents?

I've asked the MB rep, who says she is a "Customer Advocate Liaison." Is this a real title, or something they made up to placate a generation of ticked-off C300 owners? I informed her that I wouldn't take the car back (which I had for a total of 3 weeks!) without complete answers to my questions. I also want to see the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) of this chemical, and be 100% advised of the nature of the chemical reaction and what it releases into the atmosphere.

Sorry, MB--but the bald statement that "it's not toxic and no injuries have been reported" doesn't fly--and the fact that I requested this info several weeks ago and still have no response makes me more concerned, not less. If this is truly non-toxic, tell me (and all of us) what it is, full disclosure. It certainly can't be a proprietary MB secret, you'll obviously never use this chemical again.

But don't tell me the fact that chemical exposures haven't caused any reported injuries in the 4-6 weeks this has been occurring means there is no safety hazard--cigarettes, Asbestos exposure, fungal exposures--all into the lungs, all take years to develop into disease. It's insulting to what is a fairly educated group of consumers.

MB--please come clean on this. The longer you try to "deep 6" the information, the worse it gets. Bad or good info.

miketc

Jazzdad,


Agreed, MSDS of the plasticizer would help in analyze this 'stuff'. Share it with us if you somehow get a hold of it.

Jazzdad

Everyone should request this info, and in particular the MSDS. The more people demanding this info, the better.

We also want to know if there was a change in the mb tex for the 2015 models, as mb tex has been used successfully by MB for years; and if this "plasticizer was new also, or if is was changed or was MB provided an adulterated batch.

MB obviously knows the answers. Please share them with those of us who trusted the MB reputation and purchased a nearly $50,000 car, only to not see it just days after giving you our money.

cidtek

Clear they had no idea what it was since it doesn't belong there. I'm sure they know by now however.

Jaxwired

Ironically I only got a car with MB-tex because the inventory for c400s was so small I had no choice. I wanted the grey leather interior but could not find one in texas at the time. Wish I had held out for leather.

Wolfgang

Googled a bit and found this info about MB-Tex in the new C-class.

http://www.benecke-kaliko.com/pages/...klasse_en.html

Glyn M Ruck

This is an enthusiasts board owned by Internet Brands. It is effectively run by it's members. The staff that runs the board is voluntary & unpaid. We do it for the love of the Brand.

MB watches this board, however.

KLF

So here is my update.

My dealer took back my car. Its been sitting in the dealership parking lot for about 2 1/1 weeks now. It will remain there until the new seats come in. I refuse to get in the car. Its disgusting.

MB Corprate is paying me back for the clothes that got damaged from the stuff. This one really nice and helpful service manager at my dealership is making sure that happens. I had about $700 worth of clothes and dog hammock get damaged. 2 down jackets, women's suit pants, and I had a dog hammock in the back seat and since all the crap got on the dog hammock, I threw it out too.

My dealer, as a nice gesture, offered to pay for my families lift tickets at Killington Ski Resort which are about $600. In short, when I asked for a loaner car, they gave me a small CLA coupe. I told them it was too small b/c I was going on a ski trip. They then gave me a pick between the M-Class and A GLK. They then asked me if I was staying in a hotel in Killington. I told them "no we rented a home. This same service manager said, "well we would like to pick up all your lift tickets then as a way of an apology for the inconvenience." I told him this was a nice gesture. And I accepted.

I went back to the dealer to pick up the GLK, and I saw my car sitting there in the parking lot. This same service manager and I went over to the car and low and behold the seats were bleeding again. This time in dots/spots. I thanked him for understanding my concerns and seeing it all through. He then quietly told me that some of the people in the service dept at my dealership wanted to to "wash the seats and get it in good condition for me to take to Killington." I looked at him and said, "don't these guys understand that washing this isn't going to solve the problem?" He then said he probably shouldn't have told me that... I was a bit pissed and baffled. The only person I really had on my side was this one service manager who truly seemed to understand.

I'm being told my seats will be coming in around February 20. Have any of you heard of anything about these new seats?

I really don't want the car back to be honest. If they can all the sudden make seats without the crap bleeding out of them, they why can't they give an answer as to what this crap is?

I spoke to a lemon law attorney here in PA and he told me, if this happens three times, its considered a lemon. He also told me Mercedes Benz is a very hard litigator.

Please update me with where you all are in your bleeding seats issue.