nc211

Hey all, well it's been a couple of weeks now with my 14' 350, and really do enjoy this car!

but...

I'm noticing that my butt is basically sitting on the tops of the hard seat bottom side bolsters and it's not very nice. I searched for this topic already and see that I appear to be in good company with this issue.

I dont have the leather contour seats, nor do I have the ventilation option either.

I am going to take the car to the dealership for a CPO warranty claim to check this out. But I am curious if anyone knows a trick here to fix this better, as I am getting the sense that this might be a "it is what it is" situation. Or has MB addressed this seemingly wide complaint issue already and there is a TSB out there for this already?

thanks!!!

UPDATED 9/23/2022:
This thread has popped up a few times, and I'm very happy to see that it's been helpful for some who are having the same issue. Lots of chatter on this thread, many of which is simply "thinking out loud" posts. Helpful, no doubt, but if you're looking to see the answer, then skip down to post #58 (pictures) and go from there. The good news - it is not a hard fix and you likely already have what you need to do it! If you're reading this for the first time, I posted this shortly after I bought my car over 5 years ago, and I still have it, drive it every day, and no more seat pain since.

Peachy

Might have to use some aftermarket solution like this cushion thing:

nc211

Good God I hope not! That reminds me of nearly every single taxi cab I rode in up in NYC back in the 90's! :-)

I think a new pad from the dealership via warranty claim might do the trick here for a while. When I sit in the passenger side of the car, it's not nearly as bad. I think the previous owner here might've been on the heavier side and compressed the padding down a little more than normal. Just seems like all that it needs is a little extra padding along that ridge line of the thigh bolster at the deepest part of the seat (your butt). Something to take the edge off of it. Some dense rubber that won't crush down so easily.

Darel

Let me know how this works out for you. My '14 is like sitting on a park bench. Worst seats I've ever had in any car. I bought one of the gel pads but never thought of a foam replacement under warranty. I'll be curious if they cover it.

I also have a seam opening up on the driver's seat. What are the chances of that getting repaired under CPO as well?

nc211

nc211

I'll let you know how it goes. Might take me a few days to get round to it though.

In looking at the part list chart above, the frame is #1 and the cushion is #2. The cushion can be bought for $150 for those without heated seats, $320 with heated seats.

But when looking closer at #1, I can see the springs running length wise inside the pan. Maybe needs larger gauge wire for extra strength and support?

The passenger side of my car is very comfortable (likely hardly used), which tells me it's something worn out here instead of failed design. I have to believe that Mercedes Benz didn't intend for these seats to be so damn uncomfortable when they designed them. It would be a huge miss on their part if they did. Total killer of the car from the start. I am a little surprised there isn't some kind've TSB here for this, since it seems to be widely complained about.

I don't need snug, I'd be fine with flat. Just need to get those frame edges out of my colon! There's got to be a way!

I'm not worried about the CPO covering it, I'm sure it will, but mine is still under the original warranty (14" w/ 22k miles).

Sunnyslope48

If you could put 1/4" to 1/2" of closed cell foam (backpackers sleeping pad) under the existing foam, you'd probably be very comfortable.Cost $10 or less, if you do the work. If you can get the original foam replaced by the dealer, that likely would be even better; no cost, no work for you.

nc211

Thanks, I think you're right on the foam! I'm hoping the parts guys/gals at the dealership has a frame in stock that I can actually look at to get some ideas. I think the problem here in general is in those springs that are showing in #1 in that chart above. Maybe they're not strong enough to support some of us over time and lose their integrity a bit. On my seat, it feels like the middle section just sinks too low, making the side bolsters of the frame more pronounced. I am wondering, to your point about the closed cell foam, that if someone filled that open void under those springs with the foam, that support would be fixed. But I can't tell until I can actually see the part in person.

Eitherway, I am 100% convinced this is caused by some type of failing part structure. No way would MB sell a mass produced car that sat like this from the factory. They would sell many of them, and it's such an easy fix for a manufacturer to correct if they thought it was a problem during quality control testing. Which leads me to believe that an easy fix has to exist here. Because it doesn't seem to impact everyone, but quite a few.

davidjohnbamber

Your OEM 4 yr/50k warranty should take care of you. CPO:NO

nc211

Update: Car is going in on Friday to determine which parts are needed to be ordered. Took it by the dealership earlier this week for a quick look. Service writer sat in it and could feel the problem. Did say it was a strange problem and he's never seen this before. I didn't buy that line, or he's not very experienced, but also believe that maybe it's not as wide of a problem as we may think it is, and indeed might be a failed part or two in the whole seat setup that can be fixed in general. So.....we'll see how this goes! My money is on crushed foam and failed springs in the frame box.

He did ask if it's still under original warranty (didn't care about CPO warranty)... Which thankfully it is!

nc211

Dropped the car off this morning to be looked at. Got a bit of a runaround on if the warranty will cover the seat. I made the comment that I suspect the previous owner was heavy-set and the padding and frame springs are failing. I don't know this for sure though. Comment made that it'd be considered excessive wear and not covered by warranty. Gave an example of someone burning up the tires and then complaining about excessive tire wear.

Ive got a feeling I'm going to have to argue a little bit here for this to be covered. That's fine, I can do so easily (show me where fat people are considered excessive wear items in your legal disclaimers for warranty claims, and prove the previous owners weight was the cause). But a little disappointed thus far with the commentary.

So we'll see...

jahquan3

I agree with you. There is no way that an off cuff comment can be considered as fact. So they will almost definitely have to fix that item under warranty unless they can say it's normal for the seat to feel that way. Good luck and keep us posted.

thefisch

Geez, how can they compare aggressive driving and tire wear to a seat? Aggressive sitting? It's defective.

nc211

Yeah I know! Ha!!

They're replacing both side bolsters next week via warranty. Said they'd do just the entry side, but I complained that it's both and they initially disagreed until one of the techs said to just do both. Think they realized that if it isn't right, I'll be coming back regardless. I suspect if the springs in the frame turn out to be an issue too, I'll have to do that myself. But we'll see if this fixes it first! I am confident and hopeful it will.

Got the car for roughly a $3k discount to similiar in my market. Even with just 22k miles, the front brakes are done (groaning noise and shaking car when coming to stop), even though the outer pads look ok, I'm willing to bet the inside pads are done and caliper is sticking. No big deal, have new OEM rotors and pads waiting in my garage and I'd prefer to do this myself to see first hand if anything is wrong that warrants warranty repair.

Small area of trunk spoiler is loose, double-sided tape on one corner has failed. They're replacing that too under warranty. And passenger side sun visor isn't holding in upright position firmly. Replacing that too under warranty. So overall I'm pleased so far!

Car needs a full claybar detail too, which I do anyway to my cars, and then it should be perfect!

nc211

Update: car is going in today at the dealership to have the side bottom seat bolster pads replaced. So, we'll see if that fixes the issue for me. I'll report back initial finding after I get the car back.

this is being covered by the original 4/50 warranty.

nc211

Problem solved, now it's properly OEM uncomfortable!

Joking aside, having the side bolsters of the bottom seat replaced seems to have fixed mine. Now, for how long, who knows... Hopefully for a long time. I do think increasing the strength of the box springs in the frame would be of great help on this problem as well (for those of us on the wrong side of a cholesterol exam), but it is what it is. Car is much more comfortable now. Was indeed covered by the 4/50 warranty.

They gave me a brand new C300 as a loaner with less than 300 miles on it. Nice car, but I much prefer this 3 year old E class that I've got for driving pleasure, even if it doesn't have that "newness" factor going for it. Just such a nice place to spend some time and tour around in. Kids love it too. A little off topic, but I personally think the design cues for the brand are going in the wrong direction. I personally like sharp edges and angles, not rounded and "fluid" looking. I think the pre-face lift W212 is one of the all-time beautiful cars ever made. i liked the rear fender bump-out and angular headlamps. Like the post fast-lift W212 too, but not really liking the brand new one as much. Interior is nice though, no doubt.

Driving the C for a few days, I'd say MB got the memo on the seat comfort issue. Those seats were very comfortable (especially like the BMW'ish ability to extend the length of the seat bottom).

davidjohnbamber

Don't you just love a happy ending to the OP's issue? Glad to read that M-B did the right thing for you.

nc211

Thanks! Yes I was happy to see they did it right the first time (I really hate nagging people to do things the right way).

But that being said....the other issue I has was about 2 inches on the corner of the deck lip spoiler had come undone. While they did replace it, they did a crap job installing it back on. The corners are solid, but right in the middle now, it's bowing up a little on the front edge that faces the back window (on top of the trunk). I swear, can't win for trying sometimes. I'll probably just dab a little super glue under there and call it a day. Nobody would know the difference, and won't have to screw around with loaner cars and dealership drop offs...

nc211

So, drove it today for second time since the repair. While better, I really do have to say that Mercedes Benz really blew it with these seats. What a friggin shame for what is truly a great car. I've got a 10 hour road trip coming up in a few weeks, and I'll definitely be looking to buy one of those seat cushions off Amazon for the trip.

What a miss in quality control.

Darel

Agreed. These things are horrible and after reading the work you had done I think it's pointless to try and have mine done under warranty.

I got a nice old-man-butt-pad at Wal-Mart for only $20 with both memory foam and gel. I just have to sit on it upside down, as the bottom is black but the top is teal colored. Can't have that.

nc211

Looking over the invoice from the repair, the part number that was replaced was 212-910-01-50. The notes mentioned the upholstery shop that did the work, so I called them directly this morning to get their insight to this problem, and if they had any suggestions. Couldn't care less about seat warranty issues, and willing to pay cash. Said they've had quite a few of them come through their shop for the exact same issue, and have gone into the seat and packed it with more foam padding. Said the customers have been pretty happy with the results. Cost $150. It's going to them next Wednesday. They did ask if I had the cooled seats, as I guess they can't do it if you. I don't have that option, so sounds like not a problem. He certainly agreed as well that these seats are not very comfortable, had lots of complaints about the foam padding not being thick enough and whatnot, basically everything we already know. So I'll give it shot and see if that fixes it, and will report back the results. I really want this car to be with me for 10 years or so, and willing to take great care of it. It's the perfect sedan for what I do and what I need an upscale sedan for. I know there has to be a solution for this. Given what can be done to a car these days, this has to be fixable.

Darel

Please let me know if it works. I'd gladly pay $150 to fix these seats.

nc211

I will do!

mellonc

I'l told that the discomfort is much greater with cooled seat option. the fan housing eats up the foam padding space (there is only so much space down there), thus; making the seat cushion thinner and thinner.

davidjohnbamber

My 2014 E350 M-B Tex seats were nowhere as comfortable as the leather dynamic ventilated seats in my 2013 E class. IMO