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Key, I'd say apparently not, as the w212 forum would have been abuzz by now with this issue. It's been quiet here. When I was following it, it was one after another coming forward with those types of pics. 15 pages in a month...
This MBtaxi and leather discussion has been going on here for years. Those who can't afford leather always make the same claims.Only leather for me. Even my daughter's new 2015 Honda Fit is leather.
wow, you're gonna slag on MBTex as an affordability issue then boast about a honda fit? wait, is that irony?
I have two MB's in leather, my wife's E is Tex, I doubt she knows the difference(she never identified the difference in her first ML). It looks as good as the day she bought it, and requires no maintenance(which she wouldn't do anyway). The leather in my ML and CLK looks good, but do tend to clean it every few weeks.
Flipping lame mine ripped today. Right in the middle in the seam. It looks like it just disintegrated rather than tearing. It reminds me of an old rubber band, you start to pull on it and it falls apart. If I feel around the edge of the rip it is just falling apart.
Sghokie- you're right, it looks more like disintegration than tear. Seat cover finally arrived at dealership from Germany. I will post clearer before and after pictures.
I don't mind mbtex at all since I'm leasing but I do like leather more. Also, I really don't think it's more durable than leather. I've seen leather in MB, Honda, BMW, and Acura that wears much better than Mb Tex.
Well, add me to the club. My driver seat bottom just tore at the seam. The tear in the MBTex is dead center of the seam in the middle of the seat. Since I have to have a bent wheel fixed this week (thank you New England winter/roads), they'll take a look at the seat and no doubt make it right.
Side note, my dealer, Prime MB of Hanover MA, is so good that I don't mind going there for the variety of things I need - inspections, maintenance, repairs, etc. I can chill in a comfortable lounge or get a loaner in 5 minutes and my car always comes back clean as a whistle. The most notable part of their service is the customer advocates are great. If they say they'll call you in ten minutes, the phone will ring in ten minutes (or less).
My Driver's seat ripped open last week. I bought the car back in Oct.2014 and I am glad I bought the extended CPO Warranty! The Service Man first said, "I'll have to check to see if they will cover it". I said, "they should, a car with less than 48,000 miles and a Warranty", "I never had any of my seats rip open in the seams on any cars I have ever owned"! He called back next day to tell me they will cover it and a new seat cover is on order. I take it in this week for a replacement! MB should have a recall on all these MB-Tex Seats to check for bad seams. But, don't beat your head against a wall..............
if they don't try and wiggle out of it!
Just got my car back on Saturday after they replaced the driver's seat bottom cushion ... similar problem as the OP. The dealership (Corporate Store) would only cover the part (extended warranty) and charged me 2.0 hours for labour. Based on the success of the posters, I'm going to write to head office about getting MB to cover the whole mess.
This is EXACTLY how my driver's seat looks right now - ripped at the seam. I called MB Canada and they agreed to cover the part but I will have to pay for labour.
2010 E350
It seems like everyone's seats is ripped at the same place. It took 3 weeks for seat cover to arrive from Germany and one day to replace it. Glad it was under warranty.
As far as oe tires(continental procontact 245/40r18 97v xl ), every time I hit a pothole pretty hard, I get a bugle. I have replaced 4 tires so far in two years. The 18" amg wheels are very well made, no crack or bent.
Update: Seat cover was in stock and the clips that hold it in place will be in tomorrow. One day turnaround is great. Also, they are fixing a bent wheel ($150), which takes 24 hours to go out to the 3rd party shop and make its way back.
I asked if this is something they see regularly and their answer was "Yes, especially on the E350". I also asked if MB has made any improvements to the problem material and the answer was also, "Yes, I haven't seen a single repaired seat return". We'll see.
Update: Seat cover was in stock and the clips that hold it in place will be in tomorrow. One day turnaround is great. Also, they are fixing a bent wheel ($150), which takes 24 hours to go out to the 3rd party shop and make its way back.
I asked if this is something they see regularly and their answer was "Yes, especially on the E350". I also asked if MB has made any improvements to the problem material and the answer was also, "Yes, I haven't seen a single repaired seat return". We'll see.
That would only be reassuring if replacements were done at least a few years ago, since that's how long it seems to take to rip apart.
The stitching in the middle of my drivers seat ripped. It's a 2014 e350 with mb tex, I thought MB tex are supposed to be durable. I took it to the dealership and they're telling me, it could be that I used cleaning chemical when cleaning the interior. I have never used any leather cleaning chemical before. Luckily, it's covered under warranty but I have to wait for it to be shipped from Germany. They're not sure when it will come in.
I was very surprised that the seat ripped!
This has occurred 3 times in the driver's seat and once in backseat of my glk 350. I never experienced this with my previous automobiles. This is unacceptable and poor quality. Especially being a luxury automobile.
Had the same thing happen to me. MB replaced under extended warranty no questions asked. I believe this is a common problem.
Lucky you, I was told by the dealership service department. He had to run it by his manager, because it was my fault. However they replaced it because it was under warranty. He told me not to expect replacement, if it happens again. Poor customer service as well as defective seat covers. Nevertheless, it has happened again.
I guess I should have protested more at my dealership. I had the same problem - seam tear in the MBtex driver's seat cushion at the middle seam. I bought my 2011 model CPO in January 2015 - my first major MB purchase. I am outside the original warranty but within the CPO warranty period. The service writer said that they entered the seat cover part number into the MB warranty database, and it rejected the part number - meaning no warranty coverage. I sent them links to the two threads on MBtex rips in the w212 forum here, but it got me nowhere. It cost me just over $800 to repair. Merry Christmas to me!
I rolled over on the seat repair because I had bigger customer service problems involving them not having registered the CPO sales event prepaid maintenance contract that came with the car. I only had so much energy to fight. There are other dealerships in my area, so I'll be taking my business elsewhere from now on.
It does seem like the replacement seat cover is a bit more supple than my other seats. Not sure if that's just age-related or if it's actually improved material. The stitching is a little different color as well - it matches the material color.
Hi, I have a 2010 MB E350 4matic and both seats have the same issue. This should be a MB recall issue especially after spending this amount of money!
Same thing happened to me.
I was just out of mileage range but have extended warranty, and I have done all services at same dealership so after talking to MBUSA they agreed to cover it
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Originally Posted by VINBENZO
The stitching in the middle of my drivers seat ripped. It's a 2014 e350 with mb tex, I thought MB tex are supposed to be durable. I took it to the dealership and they're telling me, it could be that I used cleaning chemical when cleaning the interior. I have never used any leather cleaning chemical before. Luckily, it's covered under warranty but I have to wait for it to be shipped from Germany. They're not sure when it will come in.
I was very surprised that the seat ripped!
I sought out MB-Tex on my W211 after seeing the immortality bestowed upon my multiple MB-Tex equipped W126s over the years. To my surprise, about a year ago, I noticed a tear in my driver's side seat. I actually internally blamed a relative I lent the car to for wearing hipster jeans with protruding buttons. When I posted on the W211 forum seeking advice on how to repair, a number of other people chimed in and said it had happened the exact same way to their W211.
Long story short... add it to the long list of things that aren't like they used to be with MB.
I was hoping that my 211 was just about the bottom when it came to early 2000's mercedes cost cutting, but it looks like it's another thing that they didn't bother to fix with the 212 (along with the forever rattling panoramic roof).
IMO, leather is superior to MBTex, and apparently Mercedes thinks so also. They charge a nifty premium for it. Off the top of my head I can't think of another "luxury" brand where leather isn't standard. It should be on MB.
For those of us who buy CPO cars, it's not so easy to find (along with fancy lighting packages), at least in my area. My current E has neither. My previous had lights but no leather. So that's the trade-off for buying a lease return with low, low mileage and a huge price discount. If I ever buy new again (the W213 might tempt me) I will insist on both leather and lights.
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 M113k, W126 M117, W126 OM617, W211 OM642 ; R107 M117 X2, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Originally Posted by Cao Black
IMO, leather is superior to MBTex, and apparently Mercedes thinks so also. They charge a nifty premium for it. Off the top of my head I can't think of another "luxury" brand where leather isn't standard. It should be on MB.
For those of us who buy CPO cars, it's not so easy to find (along with fancy lighting packages), at least in my area. My current E has neither. My previous had lights but no leather. So that's the trade-off for buying a lease return with low, low mileage and a huge price discount. If I ever buy new again (the W213 might tempt me) I will insist on both leather and lights.
Neither BMW nor Audi come standard with leather on anything but the top of the line models. BMW is so cheap they'll upcharge you for different types of switchgear (ceramic vs plastic).
Even on the leather interiors that MB offers, unless it's designio or nappa, you're just getting leather inserts on certain seating surfaces and tex everywhere else.
As I stated earlier, I wanted MB-Tex based off of my previous experience with it. It's just a shame that mercedes has decided to reduce the quality of even their vinyl.
Neither BMW nor Audi come standard with leather on anything but the top of the line models. BMW is so cheap they'll upcharge you for different types of switchgear (ceramic vs plastic).
Even on the leather interiors that MB offers, unless it's designio or nappa, you're just getting leather inserts on certain seating surfaces and tex everywhere else.
As I stated earlier, I wanted MB-Tex based off of my previous experience with it. It's just a shame that mercedes has decided to reduce the quality of even their vinyl.
Yup, not all leathers are the same and neither does all vinyls.
Like the leather on a Honda Fit is not going to be as good as the one on an E class,
and the one on an E class is not going to be as good as the Nappa leather on a S.
With that being said, I have seen what age and lack of care can do to E class' leather in just 3 years/30K miles.
So I prefer top grade vinyl over some base grade leather. After 5 years and 50K it still looks like the day when I pick it up,
I love it and everyone that ride in my car love it too.
Unless I'm buying a S, then Exclusive Nappa/designo leather would be a no brainier.
Why someone takes so much pride over some average grade leather is beyond my understanding.
The average grade leather in my 100,000 mile E500 looked like new when I traded it in and the brown average grade leather in my 2010 E550 still looks like new at 55,000 miles. I will take average grade leather all day over a plastic seat. My experience with more exotic leathers in other cars and furniture is they do not wear as well. They may have a better comfort factor and that is it.
MB's base grade leather comes with vinyl coating. If you apply the wrong cleaner, it will peel like the MB Tex too,
So yeah, you're literally sitting on plastic.
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The Service Man first said, "I'll have to check to see if they will cover it". I said, "they should, a car with less than 48,000 miles and a Warranty", "I never had any of my seats rip open in the seams on any cars I have ever owned"! He called back next day to tell me they will cover it and a new seat cover is on order. I take it in this week for a replacement! MB should have a recall on all these MB-Tex Seats to check for bad seams. But, don't beat your head against a wall..............
