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!

 

No problems with the leather ripping, though i do start to get "dents" in the driver's seat. (after 5 month) Not very noticeable in the picture, but it's clear to see with the naked eye...

 

It's a defective seatcover. Nothing you did, just as likely all the hot air coming out the service adviser made the seam fail.

 

I can't really tell from the pic if it's a rip in the seam or in the middle of the fabric. If it is indeed a rip in the seam, then what you have there is a "short-seam" in the manufacturing process. I know all about this b/c my wife and I bought two custom couches for our family room last year, and already they were just sent back to the manufacturer and re-upholstered. We were getting seam-tears everywhere on each piece, and we were told that this happens when there isn't enough extra fabric on the other end of the seam in the sewing process. IOW, there has to be enough extra material to allow for stretching when the seam is pulled when one sits down and moves around. You didn't do anything wrong, you just got a bad seat cover. What is wrong is the dumba$$ SA who has no idea what he's talking about. Had you been using a really poor product when cleaning the seat, you would have most likely witnessed some fade in the coloring, hence the wearing down of the material before it tearing.

 

Had the same thing happen to me. MB replaced under extended warranty no questions asked. I believe this is a common problem.

 

I spent my life making PVC materials for seating when it was on the surfaces, then as bolster material with cloth and now mostly as bolsters with leather.
What you have there is a failure along a perforation line which has weakened the fabric backing and it has torn from the loading on the seat. I am also wondering what that cord is across the opening where it has torn. I am suspicious that it should not be there and it has added to the the problem wearing on the fabric backing. Before any new cover goes on I would suggest a qualified auto upholstery shop look at the failure and look at the seat without the cover. Something just strikes me as odd.
If I received a complaint from GM. Ford. Chrysler, Toyota, Honda or Nissan about this failure I would have spent a lot of time figuring it out because I am not sure it is a cover stock issue.
I have the Artico in my car which is a PU skin. Tough, solid colour through out so I won't have to have it coated in a few years as is the case with leather and much stronger than the PVC of MBTex.

 

Could the OP please explain precisely where on the seat cushion it tore? That's not obvious to me from the pic.

 

It's right in the middle of the seat bottom.

egonvdv- that's a weird dent. Have you ever taken it to the dealership to get it checked out?

Rediesel, I think the SA just came up with some bs excuse.

articE and Alex.currie44: I'm just happy it's covered under warranty.

 

Yup! Good thing because they will charge you and arm and both legs for one if it isn't.
Worst case would be to get an upholster to order the fabric and make a new cover.
I had some damage to the armrest in my 2003 W211 from ink. MBC wanted me to replace the whole arm rest cover at a cost of something like $150 10 yr ago.
I got a piece of the leather from East Coast Leather. I took the pad off and gave it to an upholster to re do it. Cost me about $35.

 

Since it is MB Tex, I use Vinylex by Lexol on my car. No problems at all in over five years. Probably should not use leather treatments on MB Tex as it is vinyl. Works great on dash, door panels and all those other vinyl parts of cars.
Regardless, this is obviously a failure in the manufacturing process.
You might want to ask to see the new seat covers before they put them on. Years ago I was surprised to find out they actually are just covers that fit over the seats.

 

I agree. While a lot of leather treatments are emulsions in water, the oils the are expected to nourish the leather will not penetrate into the matrix of the PVC film that coats the fabric and could, depending on what they are, add to extraction of the plasticizers and stabilizers and create conditions for premature failure. Keep in mind a PVC sheet without plasticizer is a brittle as glass.
All seats start out with a frame to which motors, controls. air pumps, heating coils and lumbar bags are attached before the sock that is the cover is pulled down over the foam buns. Most "leather" seats are only leather where they touch your bum or back unless you get some high end stuff. The rest is either vinyl, PU or thermoplastic olefin.

 

Yeah mb-tex is not as tough as they say it is. My 08 e350 was only 2 years old when the bottom side ripped.

 

The seat manufactures at that time were working out of China for cover stocks. Artico "leather" is a Polyurethane product and so far so good after 4 yr. It softened up a bit as the yeas have come and gone, there is not typical side bolster wear on the outside of the seats particularly the driver's side and it is easy to keep clean.
We get sucked into the leather thing but in reality the Atrico looks every bit as good, is as comfortable and wears well so why buy leather?

 

+1

 

I agree, just went from mbtex to leather. Am not going back ever! Leather in my 07CLK is also still in great condition too, as was my 99 SLK when I sold it last spring with 135k miles....

 

Same thing happen to my 2011 E350 2 months ago. I havent looked into what its going to cost...

 

Leather only for me at any cost. I hate that plastic crap. It will just rip again.

 

The Artico is not vinyl and so far after 4 yr I have no wear marks (good top coat), it cleans really well and is supple now as any of the leathers I have had in the other 6 cars.
IF I ever do get wear marks on the side bolsters they will be surface colour and not the underlying colour of the base hide which of course is coated with a surface coating to provide finished colour and wear protection.

 

 

Ok, then what is it?

 

Is there really a difference between MBTex and Artico or is it just a name change for other geographies?

 

MBTex is vinyl.
As noted in my posts above my information is Artico is a polyurethane skin contrary to the beliefs of some bloggers.
There was a drive in Europe 15-20 yr ago to eliminate chlorine from automotive interiors because over there they burn a lot of waste to generate electricity and PVC when burned generates dioxins. Accordingly, alternative synthetic leathers were developed. My understanding is that Artico is one of these non-PVC based products.
In our company we did not cast products so we we were unable to adopt PU as an alternative and opted to address this issue for our NA customers using Thermoplastic olefins.
As part of my responsibilities I signed a technology agreement with Japanese company that included an additive for both PVC and Olefinic materials that, when coupled with the same ingredient in the clear-coat, made these products capable of absorbing and releasing body moisture at 80-85% of the levels of leather. This of course resulted in a product with the same look and soft touch feel at significantly less cost than leather, with similar functionality and about a 30% premium over PVC.
Keep in mind that the vast majority of leathers except in super cars, Rolls Royce etc and not MB or BMW are leather hides that are coated with a synthetic coating material (paint is not a good word because they are more technical than house paint). The leather is tanned in a limited range of colours so they can be sprayed to an exact colour. e.g black hides are used for black, very dark blues etc. Light grays fit with a range of colours, cream with beiges.
As noted above, typically in a seating application, a leather option only includes the surfaces your body touches. The side bolsters, head rests, seat backs are typically PVC or its alternatives. In many companies if you order leather only the front seats are leather. The rear seat is the alternative synthetic leather.

 

You clearly know you alternative leathers.... much better than I do... The bolsters in my CLK550 are no doubt leather.. The bolsters in my E are also leather as they are attached/part of the main seat piece, not a separate piece like I recall in my mbtex E. Not 100% sure on the back seat, maybe someone else can chime in. How's the leather in your 01 SLK? Wish it was 15 y/o mbtex? come on now be honest...as mentioned mine was nearly 100% perfect in my 99, also well cared for Zaino etc...btw those are great cars, I miss mine...next convertible for me will be the SLK55. Cheers

 

The leather in my SLK is OK. Not fresh and some minor cracking but OK.
I got the car in April 2013 with 61000km on the odometer.
What amazed me about this car is that I am the fifth owner so the opportunities for it to be a mess were really high. It had the original plugs in it along with all the original belts as far as we could see. It is really clean all around. Minor roof issues and some minor cosmetics to be done. A blast to drive!
My W124s (1986 and 1993) were 100% leather seat coverings. My2001 SLK has leather on the outside of the seats on the bolsters but the side of the seat cushion along the tunnel is fabric as was the case in my2001 CLK320, 2003 W211 and the 2009 W211. The 2011 W212 also has fabric on the tunnel side of the front seats.
I would love to get my car and and a car of the same year together which has the leather option just to compare the bolsters. Check yours.
Fun with cars eh?

 

Same exact thing happened to me earlier this year. I own a 2010 E350 4Matic and bought it last year on Thanksgiving and bought it CPO. However, after I bought my car, the seat ripped a few months later. The dealer replaced the seat cover under warranty. Not a real big issue but I was grateful the dealer replaced it under warranty.