I need to try and clean the seats, but am wary about ANYTHING caking up in the perforated holes. I bought a steam cleaner which I may use lightly, but conditioning wise I am wondering what is best ? A rag barely 'damp' with leather oil ?
thanks

 

Definitely do NOT use a steam cleaner on leather seats. The leather is sealed, so just wipe with a clean shaming and pass a vacuum over the seats. If you want to condition the seats, there are many threads on this forum recommending various premium brands. Real easy to keep clean.

 

Thanks, I wouldn't think to steam clean the seats, but my wife smells something in the car that I can't, but it is offensive enough she has to ride with her window open even in winter and I therefore have to sell the car since she sometimes rides in it if I don't pull out all the stops to 'clean' it..I think I am doomed.

 

Are you sure she smells something or is this just her way of hinting she wants a different / new car? When is the last time you had the cabin air filter replaced?

if you really want to make sure there are no odors, have the car interior professionally cleaned and detailed. Tell them about the odor and most places will spend an extra effort on all the air vents in the car in addition to cleaning the floor carpet.
​​

 

It may be manipulative, but she was the one that said, 'why don't you get a real car instead of your playschool Fiat 500e (electric) and get an E class'. I am serious, I just bought a steam cleaner for the carpets, and will rent a carpet cleaner as well, then I also bought a dehumidifier and will rent an ozone generator. I will spend hours trying to 'fix' it, since I have mega hours rebuilding this car and like it a lot, but it isn't the first time I've been made to part with a car I really like. The other 2 I had to rid of were a 1964 220SE Coupe and an Audi S2 (german market). I know, logically, what the solution is, but I just try to make the best of it. the cabin filter is 200 miles old.....

 

My wife made the mistake of taking one of our cats to the vet in her old Lexus and put the cat carrier on the passenger seat. The cat must have peed in the carrier and some of it leaked out onto the seat because the car forever smelled faintly of cat pee after that despite having the interior professionally cleaned twice. We were leasing it so we just turned it back in but I could always detect a hint of cat pee in that car after that event.

 

just mild soap and warm water using a damp terry cloth or microfiber towel. I had silk beige leather interior and my jeans would always rub off on the leather.

If yours has the auto stop/start engine function, that smell might be due to the condensation when the a/c compressor shuts off and air is still blowing. You can try opening the recirculating vent. But, if that doesn't help I'd suggest to just keep that feature off. good luck!

 

http://www.leatherique.com

I use this stuff, best leather cleaner/conditioner I've ever used. And unlike most other products this stuff isn't pasty so wont clog up the perforations. Also doesn't leave any nasty shiny residue. I've not had to get rid of any smells...but the rejuvinator oil does a really good job of bringing any nasty stuff deep in the leather to the surface for easy cleaning...perhaps the it would do the same to the offending particles...

​​

 

In short, the steps you need to take are as follows:
Get rid of all the loose dirt, dust, and debris with a vacuum
Wipe the seats to make sure that all the surface filth is gone
Take out your chosen leather cleaner and do a patch test
Apply the cleaner onto a fresh microfiber towel and scrub
Continue to scrub carefully with enough moderate force
Wipe the seats down with another microfiber towel
Condition the leather to protect and rehydrate it
Wipe and dry the just cleaned leather seats
Buff and polish with a new microfiber towel

 

great necro bump fella

 

I've never had cleaner clog my seat holes, but you have to be real careful with the leather conditioner. Don't go heavy or they will gunk up the holes. You have to get them all cleared out before it dries or it's a real pain. Also, I'll second the comment about checking the vents. This model is known to have vent smells if you let it sit a few days between drives. GL!

 

Kinda off-topic, but a good cigar will take care of those smells...

 

I usually get a few holes clogged over several months so I use a small shop vac to suck them out. If they don't budge, and they usually don't, I smack the vac nozzle down on it to kinda pop it out. If that fails I use a needle or something to pop it out. If there is white residue left around the hole I use a toothpick to break it up. In the needle or toothpick cases I have the shop vac there sucking from one side to pull out the crap as I break it free.
It isn't the protectant that gets in there, but I don't know what it is. Sometimes it's little seeds, but mostly I can't identify it. Maybe it's like a shower drain where a little bit of something means there's more for whatever to cling to, and so on until it clogs?

For smell, with a wife complaining: She bought an SUV where the previous owner smoked. The seller had it detailed with some odor remover treatment, but you can't really fix smoke over in one shot. As we men know, women have bionic hearing and smell, so while I could only barely smell it after it sat all day, it was buggin her bad. I tried several different things that have always worked for various things, but a day or two later she'd say the smell is back. In the end what worked was a mesh bag filled with what appeared to be whitish lava rocks. I got it at Home Depot and I believe it's called Gonzo Odor Eliminator. At least the picture online of Gonzo looks the same, same rocks, same bag, same size. One bag worked, but I bought a second one to increase my luck. One under each seat, never heard another word about it for the two years she had it.
The only other thing I know of that lasts anywhere near that long is an ionizer. They work on most smells, but they need power. The plus side is they last until the little guy gives up the ghost. I've used 120V versions at home before, and they've never died on me. I have a couple 12V versions but haven't had a need to use them yet so I never installed one. They are super small and I guess I'd put it in the intake duct or some misc spot under the dash. They do generate high voltage, and while I can't imagine it could hurt anything, I'd mount it away from electronics and wires. I got mine at Electronic Goldmine:
https://goldmine-elec-products.com/p...?number=G23270
https://goldmine-elec-products.com/p...?number=G21544
Super cheap and they barely use any power so you can have it running 24/7, which is all important imo because smells seem to build up when the car sits, especially in the heat.

 

I used Leatherique products on my 2014 E63S and they came out great and nothing got clogged up
Just make sure use the product as directed

 

Most who get their cars detailed to get rid of smells often overlook the headliner, especially with cigarette smells. Had a used car I purchased and it had a smoke smell. I used one of those home carpet cleaner machines that uses warm water with a hand wand. After that dried, it completely removed the cigarette smell.

 

You likely need to clean the evaporator in the A/C system with a product like Kool-It. You canfind a youTube video..