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Well after much research and a ton of stress trying to rectify the problem I thought I'd reach out to the community here.
I have a 2013 C63 P31 sedan with approx 26,000 miles on the clock, which I use as a second vehicle. I've owned the car about 2.5 years, approx. 8,000 miles, and is detailed monthly by the best guys in my area. About 6 months ago I started to see some slight white staining in the Dinamica inserts on my passenger seat. Thinking it was possibly just residue let over from something the fiance was wearing on her legs at some point, I had my detail guys treat it as they saw fit. Once they corrected the issue, or so I thought, the problem started showing itself again about 3-4 days after the initial treatment.
After living with it for a month until my next monthly scheduled detail I had my guys attack the issue again, using different methods this time, with the same results. To make a long story short, in the coming months the issue has gotten even worse and has spread to the remaining inserts in the car. The extremely frustrating thing is that nothing my detail guys do seems to help the situation.
Realizing that this can't just be some type of staining I started to do some digging. I searched to my hearts desire here and found nothing similar to my issue. I did however find the exact same issue occurring to some gentlemen on a UK forum, however it seems limited. The result was that this staining is caused by the adhesive used to attach the Dinamica material inserts to the cushioning of the seat itself. I'm not sure if I can attach the link here but if I can I will be more than happy to.
Reading through the thread on the UK forum I came across this TSB number associated with this issue:
LI91.18-P-058808 - Staining on Dinamica Seat Cover in Equipment Packages 611/711/741/901/911/921
Whether this is a legit Technical Service Bulletin number is unknown to me since I have no way of verifying, and believe me I have scoured the internet trying to do just that.
With all this said, I suppose my question is has anyone else ran across this issue and what is my next course of action? I will be making a service appointment at my local MB dealer (Mercedes-Benz Melbourne) to take care of some recall issues (steering column grounding & Takata airbags) and will more than likely have them take a look at it then. Being my car is just out of warranty (still covered by 3rd party coverage) I'm very much doubting that the dealership will be willing to help me out at all. Should I go ahead and ask the service manager to submit a goodwill repair to MB referencing the TSB number I found, or is there some other course of action I should be taking?
Sorry for the long winded explanation, but I'm just trying to do my research and cover all my bases so I can come armed with as much info as possible when I approach MB with this, from what I can tell, known issue. Attached are some photos of my seat inserts in various states of disrepair for reference.
12 C63BS Magno Alanite Grey, 22 X3M Brooklyn Grey, 08 BMW E93, 22 Ducati Desert Sled, John Deere 3R
Well that might be the craziest thing I have seen - I have have these seats in 2 c63's and never seen something like that - I used to get the odd minor sweat stain, but no real color do it just could see it and cleaned up easy - that looks like huge salt stains everywhere.
What climate do you live in - is it high humidy, near the ocean anything like that. Does anyone even sit in the back ever or is that happening even on a basically unused seat? Some of the patterns almost look like the way mildew forms and it is somehow coming from the inside maybe?
Judging by the fact that it keeps coming back, just cleaning suggestions will not help, I think you have to find the root cause, possibly remove a seat cover or somehow figure out what it actually is, if it is some type of mildew forming, maybe a good cleaning and mould mildew preventative.
I remember seeing something about this a long time ago. If you havn't seen this one already, maybe this might help. Not sure if similar or if it could be relatable. https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...x-problem.html
I’d say that’s organic material (mildew or the like) and especially how it spread to other seats. I imagine from the detailer using the same cleaning brush on all seats.
I don’t think your dealer will be able to do anything for you, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. You can also reach out to Dr Beasley’s via email and ask them for their opinion. They’re very knowledgeable when it comes to alcantara treatment/maintenance. I use their products on the Dinamica in my car with great results.
Holy, that looks crazy. Does it have any odor or smell to it at all? Maybe try to clean a tiny part of the stain with some kind of disinfectant and see it that removes it. Of course you will have to be careful not to damage the dinamica, color or otherwise.
This is a property of the flame retardant that is mandated in certain types of interior material (non leather). It is very common in Previous generation Civics. This occurs in my Girlfriends SI all the time. Humid climates will bring it out. From what I read there is nothing that can be done about it.
@roadkillrob I do live in Central Florida a few miles from the ocean, however the vehicle stays in a climate controlled and ventilated garage and I have never done any beach days in this car. Also, the rear seat has maybe seen a total of 2-3 people max throughout its time with me. I initially thought mildew/mold but it just doesn't seem plausible with the care that is taken on this car and the storage situation.
@INS1GNIA I did see this issue when I was researching my situation but totally different material all together. Thanks for the link though.
@SuckaGDog Again, its just hard to believe about the organic material cause. My detailer did however use the Dr Beasley’s microsuede alcantara cleaner the first time he tried to combat the issue. They have a good rapport with most of the cleaning product companies they use so I'll possibly have them reach out to some them.
@m a x i m u s No odor or smell at all. I know, I'm as baffled as you and probably everyone else here. I'll look into a disinfectant of some sort in a inconspicuous area of the seats if worse comes to worse. I just purchased a bottle of the Sonax Upholstery and Alcantara Cleaner of Amazon with their suggested application sponge/brush, I may give that a try if all else fails. It pains me to use some of these cleaners that I'm not totally familiar with and I'm trying not to ruin the material any worse than it already is but I guess it really doesn't matter much at this point.
@Jasonoff That is the UK sourced thread I was speaking of in my initial post (wasn't sure of the link posting rules here), though info on this issue is very hard to come by. I am convinced that this is absolutely the same issue that I am having! The staining is the exact same color, pattern and is happening to almost the exact same year/model of vehicle.
With all that being said, is there anything that you all think the dealer could/would do for me? Should I have them try and take a few pictures and send to corporate equipped with the TSB number that I found or is it a fruitless venture? Or should I possibly email corporate myself and see if I can get anywhere there? If so, does anyone have a contact email that would get my foot in the door?
If all else fails I'm looking into decent upholstery shops in the Central Florida area, if anyone has any experience with any. I will probably opt to have the Dinamica inserts recovered in actual Alcantara material, though it is hard to find suppliers of the material around these parts. It seems as Hydes Leather is the only legit supplier of the material in the states (based on my research) so I am trying to find a dealer/installer that is recommended by them.
I have the same style interior and I'm also in central FL and have no issues with my interior. My car is a 2012 w/ 53k miles. With your car being newer and with less miles, you definitely shouldn't be having these issues. Looks like dried chemical residue. I've used the Sonax Upholstery and Alcantara Cleaner on my seats and its a good product so no worries there. Removed the minor sweat stains I had on my seat bottoms too.
Another comment, If you having your car detailed once every month its very possible that your adding too much moisture to the seats creating your issue. Try using a mild dish soap with distilled water. Its free and may help you out.
@quaalude Yeah, its beyond me as well. I'd almost get it if I used it as a daily, ate in it, etc... but that's just not the case. At first I thought it was sweat stains or a lotion residue showing from where the fiance sit on the passenger seat but quickly ruled that out right when it showed up on the driver and rear seats. I'll give the Sonax a shot, what do I have to loose at this point.
@Dtorre1240 I'd agree with you but the only time I had my detail guys touch the seats with any serious moisture was the second or third time I had them attempt to get the stains out. The stains where already spreading to the others seats at that point. My regular monthly detail does not consist of steaming or topically cleaning the seats in any way. All they usually do is vacuum and brush the seats flat with a medium bristled brush to even out the Dinamica material. The first time I had them really touch it with a moisture type treatment is when I had them hit it with the Dr. Beasely's Microsuede Cleanser (following the recommended directions of course). I didn't even attempt to do it myself since I know they had prior experience with that method before.
I'll give the mild dish soap and distilled water a try before I use the Sonax I think. Do you just use a Dial-type soap and a damp cloth with the warm water/soap solution?
Anyways, its looking more and more like I'll have to get these things reupholstered at some point. It pisses me off every time I get in the damn car now. Anyone have any experience with reupholstering C63 seats? Any recommendations or things I should be looking out for?
Thanks all for your input btw... Since the inside looks ****, here is a decent one of the outside. Just cuz...
@AdrnlnRush Good call, I didn't even think about that. I'll give the upholstery shop a call and see if that is even an option. I'm just worried that the damn staining would seep through the dye as well, but its definitely worth looking into.
10-31-2018, 03:49 PM
