I live near Washington, DC where I fully expected to be affected by the MB-Tex problem due to our weather patterns. It has been in the single digits here for days at a time and then warmed up to over 40. From all I have read, this is the the right combination of temperature changes to cause the seats to "bleed". The only part of the equation I am not sure of is the humidity possibly needed to set off the bleeding.

Anyway, I can happily say I have not been affected by bleeding seats (yet). And that's my point.

After reading some more recent threads, I am slightly concerned my seats, though unaffected for now, will not hold up as long as expected because of a bad bad batch of some chemical(s) in the seat covers - or whatever is causing the problem.

I am 6'1" and 250 lbs and when I get into my car it is not pretty. I typically slide myself into the car rubbing the top left side of the seat bottom cushion. Every car I have had, including my GL450, had slight signs of wear on the left side of the seat bottom cushion from getting into and out of the car over time. I had a 2003 Acura MDX for 8 years and the wear wasn't horrible. Granted, some used cars I have looked at also exhibited this issue - making me feel slightly better it is not just me.

Anyway, that slight wear was to seats that were "up to standard". What about these seats? Will I end up tearing seams? Will the seat bottom eventually dry up and crack over time?

It appears MB is only replacing seats that exhibit the bleeding issue, correct? This is not a complete recall of all seats is it? If it is not, should I be concerned about the reliability of my unaffected seat covers?

Does anyone plan on requesting seat cover replacements even though your seats have not bled yet? At this point I am on the fence.

I will say this....my tail lights and rear bumper have the "bad fitment" issue as discussed in other threads. However, as I stated in one of those threads, I am not confident the dealer would not do more damage trying to fix the problem so at this point I plan on leaving the problem alone - unless a lot of other owners have the problem fixed and they all turn out well.

I feel the same way about the seats. I don't have the problem (for now). If it ain't broke, don't fix it, eh? Except for the possible long term effects........

 

I haven't had the MB problem either (I'm in Maryland). I'm not going to fix it unless it shows up or there is a universal recall.

 

I'm in Annapolis and so far my MB-Tex seats have been just fine. Only had the car for 3 weeks though. Will post if I notice anything.

 

If your seats ever develop the problem, the seat covers will be replaced. If you don't have an issue, why would you even think about having that done? It would be at your expense, since it would not meet the terms of the TSB.

There has been no indication that anything else is going on, including premature wear of the seating surfaces. Anything else is nothing but pure speculation.

 

The only reason I brought this up was due to reading posts where people have referenced a chemical called a plasticizer that supposedly helps keep the mb-tex seats pliable (referenced by you in your poll specifically). I acknowledge the degree of opinion vs fact in the posts is sometimes great - but I have no clue what these chemical are.

So, even though my seats are not bleeding, is it possible a bad batch of chemicals was still used in my seats? Absolutely. Is it also possible that bad batch of chemicals will cause my seats to become less pliable in a few years? Yepper.

Less pliable means my seats may start showing wear and tear after 3-4 years whereas they would normally last 7-8 before showing any significant wear. I plan on keeping my car for 5-8 years. If the seats start showing unreasonable wear after 3 the resale/trade-in value will drop significantly (IMO). While there is no indication from MB that this is a possibility, I still need to consider it.

I wanted to know if others were also worried about this possibility?

 

Glynn will be able to offer a more definitive answer, but plasticizers are routinely used to soften plastics and vinyl. MB has assured us that there is no health hazard with the plasticizers used on the seats. MB-Tex has a very good track record regarding its wear characteristics, so I doubt this will have any effect on the longevity of the seat covers.

 

I agree with everything you say here. MB needs to make it very clear to everyone what the stuff is, which cars are affected, and who is eligible for the repair. What if my car starts bleeding 2 years from now?

 

I assume MB would treat it like any similar TSB or recall. In other words, you can get it fixed when the problem arises. It is not like there is a limited period in which to take advantage of the TSB/recall.

 

Stan, are you saying that if I still have the car 10 years from now and I move to a cold weather state and the seats start bleeding, MBUSA will cover it? That is my concern. I live in Northern California so the weather is pretty mild here, not many extreme highs or lows, so bleeding seats is unlikely for my car. But, I want peace of mind that if they do start bleeding MB will replace them and the cost will not come out of my own pocket. If MB made this position clear, this issue would go away.

 

I'm not sure if I didn't have the problem, and otherwise love the car and it's problem free, I wouldn't wait it out a little bit to repair.

Eventually if keeping the car anywhere near warranty limit, I'd have it fixed.

 

It's my understanding that the plasticizer eventually leaches out over time, so it's unlikely that this would happen. If something like that was possible, the answer depends on the terms of the current and future TSB's that deal with this issue. Most TSB's have a time limit of some sort, but the only answer to a question like this would have to come from MB-USA. If it's a concern, give them a call and ask. All 2015 MB-Tex C-Class cars produced through January 5th, 2015 are potentially affected by this, so I would hope this is an open ended TSB.

 

Two distinct problems. One seat! Just because the plasticizers are not up to the environmental conditions subjected, and a portion may leach out, it doesn't mean they are not doing their job.

In other words, if it doesn't leach its "plasticizing" the seat. If it leaches, replace it!

Ps: the amount that is coming out is probably no where near the amount in the seat. Also, because it's environmental, it suggests an equilibrium equation is present as part of the bond process. I would hazard a guess that to drive this to completion, ie. Get rid of all the plasticizer, would be impossible.