vsnlweb

So I was reading this thread last night and it didn't even dawn on my to think if I had this issue... But woke up this morning got in the car and noticed that "ALL" my seats are discolored. It looks absolutely terrible tho... It literally looks like someone puts my seats on the outside of the car and it was salt stained from driving in the snow. Finny thing happened tho. Went to Micky D's and put the back on the seat, got a wrap, so I know thats not greasy, just hot. When I lifted the bag to take it out of the car, it looked like oil had seeped through the bag, and I was like WTF. Looked under the bag and if wasn't even wet. So I am assuming its the same thing that Stan went through. BTW this is in Canada and its a lease.

vsnlweb

You are correct, but just FYI you can use Arbitration to get things sorted out...
Heres a link I found just incase anyone in Canada would like to know.

https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/oca-bc...g/ca02324.html

StanNH

Those areas were, in fact, bleeding very badly when the car was brought in. From what I was told, those bolsters and the piece under the armrest are not part of the MB-Tex repair kit that's being sent out. The parts are not ordered as individual pieces, but are a complete package that make up the TSB ... along with tools and instructions. The technician followed the instructions to the letter, which included cleaning those areas and replacing all the covers and headrests. I have no idea why MB-USA would assume a simple cleaning of those areas would be enough to end the problem. My guess is that those sections can not be just re-covered and would have had to be replaced, and the parts were not available.

However you look at this, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that MB-USA really just made a bad situation much worse. I'd also bet that, after this debacle, those bolsters and lower armrest pieces will start showing up in the repair kits.

miketc

Did MBUSA confirmed that those pieces were not part of the kit or the dealer told you? The dealer should have told you some of the pieces were not replaced and were clean until the replacement parts are available. They are not truthful with you and put the blame on MB. In my business, always set expectation so customer will not be surprised and disappointed. What are they thinking, clean and it doesn't come back???? Troubling.

StanNH

The service manager did not know until I sent her the pictures of the seats bleeding. She thought all the MB-Tex had been replaced and called me immediately after she had a meeting with the tech who did the actual work. Mine was the first and only one they've done, so they had no experience at all dealing with this TSB. They sure know now, and will not do any more of these repairs until MB comes up with a better fix.

I really don't blame the dealer at all ... they did exactly what MB told them to do with the parts they were provided for the fix. Both I and the dealer were in touch with MB-USA through this whole process, and had no reason to suspect that they were wrong. I blame MB-USA 100% for providing what is essentially a partial fix, and then putting the dealers in the position of handling the customer complaints.

miketc

I wouldn't blame the service manager but the foreman that did the work should know better and tell his management (service manager) the cleaning of the missing pieces are not going to fly. I find it hard to believe he didn't warn his management if he's the head of the techs and knows cleaning is not going to work. To me the blame is at least 70% MBUSA and 30% Dealer.

StanNH

I think the service manager was furious that she wasn't told ... and I'm sure she wasn't. She was very upset when she called me, and apologized for not knowing that those parts were not changed out. She forwarded the pictures to MB-USA as soon as she got them. My case manager at MB-USA, who was instrumental in getting the parts kit expedited for me, also was totally unaware that not all the parts were included in the repair kit.

I agree that the shop foreman, who is the person who did the work, should have told the service manager that not all the parts were being replaced. Him not telling her put her in a position of being totally blindsided when I sent her the pictures. Still, he had no parts to install and had no way of doing anything more than what was done. The service manager, if she had known what the situation was, probably would have called MB-USA for advice. That would have left me two options: leave the car there for an even more extended period of time by refusing to take it back, or take it back in its current condition waiting for the other parts to become available.

The tech was negligent in not bringing the situation to the attention of his service manager but, still, it all falls back on the idiots at MB-USA who thought they could get away with putting together a repair kit missing key parts of the rear seat ... and not tell anyone about it.

gocal73

That was my first reaction as well. However, the tech might have 1) thought the missing pieces were made of the same material as the arm rest which does not bleed, and/or 2) MBUSA knows what they are doing. Unfortunately, neither is assumption is correct.

StanNH

The side bolsters and the lower armrest piece were covered in white when they got the car. I think option #2 is more likely ... an obviously incorrect assumption.

miketc

Hang in there buddy, we're all rooting for ya.

StanNH

Thanks, Mike. I was so upset last night that I couldn't even sleep. All I kept thinking about was those stupid seats.

I haven't heard back yet from MB-USA, but I'm hoping they'll agree that it's time for me to get a new car out of this fiasco. I'm not taking it back to the dealer again since it's running just fine ... and I intend to get at least some use out of it. Every time I drive it I remember why I bought it in the first place. It is a really, really fine ride. Great Burmester sound system, super graphics, good handling, comfortable and quiet, and lots of nice amenities. I've had no mechanical issues with the car at all .. they've all been either fit and finish problems or MB-Tex problems. There's just been enough of them .. too many of them ... to really sour me on this car, as good as it is. I'd still want to get another C300, just one that is less emotionally trying.

gocal73

Unless someone here got their car for free, I don't understand what you are trying to say. Customers should not have to go through what Stan is going through in order for MBUSA to correct the defect. If they are unwilling to correct the defect, or are too incompetent to do it right, then all customers with affected cars deserve to be made whole through some sort of compensation.


My problem with MBUSA and their dealerships is they knew of the bleeding seat problem yet continued to sell the cars anyway without any warning to the customer. There are legal and ethical issues here. This mess is far from over and nobody is getting anything for free. At the minimum, worrying about if and when your new car's seats will bleed is stressful and not reasonable for any new car, let alone a premium vehicle like Mercedes-Benz. The blame here is 100% on MBUSA and the parent company.

miketc

I hear you brother. As you know my C started production on 12/23/14 and completed built on 1/7/15 so I don't know whether the new MB-Tex made it in my car or not. So far, my ride has no issues and it is a great car but I'm holding out talking to my dealer about the seats until I know a fix is in place.

gnus

My car has been at the dealership for over a month; it's been there longer than I had it in my possession. I'm refusing to take it back until all issues are resolved, especially as it relates to the seats and what's coming out of them. Even though they say it is safe, why can't they just tell us what it is then?

Stan - Thanks for updating us all on your progress and unfortunate ongoing issues. At a minimum, I know your posts have helped me, and I assume others on the board, to ask for very specific and pointed information as it relates to the "fixes" MB is putting in place.

vic viper

Spring and warmer weather is near, it may be possible that no one can see faulty covers untill fall/winter?

djdj

I agree that defects like the MBTex problem must be corrected, and it is disconcerting that the "kit" apparently doesn't address the problem completely. I don't agree customers should go ballistic if they don't get something "extra." Would it be nice? Sure, but not expected. Threats, blah, blah, don't really help. I think most dealers take the long view and work with customers so they will buy their next car from the dealer.

As far as "ethical" issues, I doubt that MBUSA, let alone the vast majority of dealers, realized there was a defect until shortly before they announced the retrofit plan. Just my guess. I bet some on this board know more about some aspects of their cars than do the sales force, and sometimes bad stuff happens despite the best of intentions.

coladin

I think what djdj is trying to say, and forgive me if I got it wrong, to people like you, who want compensation due to the "threat" of maybe the problem happening in your car, which it isn't, is ridiculous and self-serving, piggy backing on the true misery of guys like Stan for pure personal gain.


Is that any clearer?

bwoodbmw

Stan this sucks man.... you should go drop the car off at the dealer today. No way they are getting the new pieces in and installed in 9 more business days and badda bing badda boom, lemon law. I'd be irate, I think you've handled this as well as can be expected and your dealer has been pretty fair too, unfortunately this is a much bigger issue than your typical dealer screw up. I wonder if any law firms are lining up to start the class action suit yet, there is clearly a period of time where MBUSA was knowingly selling defective cars to customers in cold weather climates and even asking dealers to wipe down the seats so it wasn't noticeable.

richardamp

I have an update on my end. I unexpectedly got a call from my dealer this morning saying that my seats were fixed and the car was ready (I was expecting it would take at least 2 more weeks). Thanks to this thread I asked him to confirm with the shop lead if they had replaced the side bolsters and the parts surrounding the rear center console. He called me back this afternoon, and sure enough, they had not replaced the parts around the rear center console (the side bolsters HAD been replaced).

The discrepancy came from a gray area in MB's instructions. It said to not replace the rear center console MBTex because it was not bleeding (which is correct). However, my dealer assumed that also meant the area right above and below the arm rest (which is not correct). So my dealer didn't order all of the correct parts. He said my question caused quite a stir in the dealer's shop today once they found out what happened and their subsequent conversations with MBUSA.

Long story short, thanks to Stan's heads up as I was able to catch this before getting my car back. They ordered the new parts and they will be in tomorrow, so I should have the car back by Friday.

StanNH

That's interesting. The kit sent to my dealer was put together for them by MB-USA, and was probably one of the first kits sent out by them. Both my MB-USA case manager and my dealer's service manager told me that, so someone at MB didn't do their job when they packaged that kit. If they had included all the parts this would have been over for me.

Please post some photos of your repair when you get your car back.

gocal73

Is that what djdj is saying? Ok, then. I didn't realize that I am piggybackingon anyone, including Stan. Thanks for giving me clarity. Stan, am Ipiggybacking you? I'm kinda heavy so if I am I'm really sorry. Can I send you abottle of California vino to compensate you for my imposition? Let’s make this right, OK?

Seriously, I also purchased a C300 - during the period that the TechnicalService Bulletin was in the hands of every MB dealer in the USA - and not oneword from anyone at the 8 dealerships I visited personally. And, I askquestions when I go car shopping. I even call service departments to ask howthe particular model I'm shopping is doing, any issues? So, I gave MB every opportunity to let me knowabout the bleeding seats problem. They did not. Let me make this real plain foryou - they concealed the defect from their customers. So, for me and whoknows how many others, this was a problem they knew about when they sold us thecars. MBUSA and the dealerships can't claim ignorance for cars sold in Decemberand later.

Since I paid for my car with real money, I expected seats that are comfortable,sound, safe and durable. Not seats that I have to wonder about constantly. Willthey bleed or won't they bleed? How ridiculous. My point is simple; the seatsdon't need to bleed for them to be defective. If the product is defective, thenI either want my money back or the product fixed to my satisfaction.

Also, I believe compensation is due for the hassle and waste of time MBUSAis putting us through. I don't know about you, but I have better ways to spendmy precious time than chasing down new car problems on the internet so I canconvince the makers of my new car to fix the defective thing. Maybe MBUSA rangyou up to share the bleeding seat information and the misaligned bumper andsent a driver over with a loaner, but that has not been the experience of most,if any. Time is money. Suffering is also money. Stan suffered. No doubt aboutit. But, who are you to say what it has been for the rest of us to discover ournew Mercedes is defective AND it was knowingly sold to us defective?

When you do this kind of stuff in the USA, you subject yourself to somethingcalled a class action suit. This is not a threat. I am just stating a fact of business life. Theway you keep this from happening is to make things right. Companies do it allthe time. Get out in front of theproblem and take your lumps. And, very importantly, give the customer somethingto help make up for the lost time and suffering imposed on customers due toyour defective product. Make them feelbetter so they won't keep visiting message boards with negative things to sayabout MB. So, they won’t bad mouth Benz to their friends, family,co-workers. Maybe even give them reasonto stay with MB, so they can talk about how great MB treated them. You know, restore the relationship and regaintrust. But, I guess it’s not goodenough to own a defective C300, we have to experience bleeding seats first, orwe just don’t count. Right?

jolt8631

Stan

Simply un-bloody-believable! MBUSA need to feel rightly embarrassed for the typical "corporate" solution they have put in place..... They KNOW what needs to be done, but they cannot resist one more "penny pinching" approach to the problem by skimping on the parts supplied.

My view? Time is that MBUSA should buy the car back and replace it with one they have built properly. End of story.

richardamp

Yeah, my dealer didn't get a kit. They ordered about 30 separate parts back in early to mid January.

JonathonK

how frustrating. we wrote about the issue on the front page to see if anyone else is experiencing the same problem.
https://mbworld.org/articles/seats-b...-ghostbusters/

Raido31

Actually it is not rebleeding (yet) since Stan later clarified with his dealer that those pieces were not replaced. The problem is an incomplete fix which is still a big goof by MBUSA.