ejenner

Just about to buy an e-class with Artico seats.

Anyone have any idea on a couple of questions:

1. Did my older E-class 2010 have Artico - was Avantgarde. I was a bit suspicious of the feel of the leather but it held up fine all the time I owned it and had no signs of wear up to 100k when I sold it.

2. Did Mercedes acknowledge / deal with the splitting problem that's been reported a lot? If so, is there a year of car when it stopped being a worry?

rapidoxidation

Not sure what artico seats are. Do you mean MBTex? If the front seat pleats run side to side, they're MB-Tex. If the pleats run front to back the material is leather. My sister's 2013 had MB-Tex seats and had the seams split. Benz took care of it but not willingly. I'm glad I have leather.

ejenner

If you search for Artico you'll see it's the replacement for MBTex.

What mileage did the seats split on your sisters car?

bmwpowere36m3

It seems like a common problem for earlier W212s with MB-Tex (or Artico, basically vinyl)... my '11 E350 with 115k is just starting to show signs of cracking at the stitching. New covers are ~$300-400 from dealer and can be DIY'd. Personally it wouldn't be a deal breaker if overall the car in question is what I desire, in good shape and price.

As far as acknowledging, if the car was under warranty and it wasn't deemed damaged by the owner... MB would replace the cushion. I know for my car, the cover has a new P/N... so maybe MB did "correct" the issue.

ejenner

A new P/N is usually a give-away that they've changed something. Also.. if it's in stock or at least short delivery then you know they're selling loads of them.

I once found a bent fuel tank on a MINI Clubman which was still under warranty and it took about a month for the replacement to come from Germany... because basically they never failed so were not easy to get.

DFWdude

Actually, MB-Tex and Artico are different terms used for the same thing... Imitation leather. On one of my data sheets, both terms are listed interchangeably.

The MB-Tex/Artico seats in my 5-year old W212 look brand new. For that matter, the MB-Tex/Artico bolsters in the seats on my 20-year old W212 look brand new, while the genuine leather inserts are now in tatters. I prefer MB-Tex over leather for longevity.

ejenner

It's the sort of material which is made from reconstituted leather fibres isn't it? A lot of people unkindly call it plastic or vinyl but it's not quite as bad as that?

DFWdude

I don't now where you get that description, as I have never heard of it. I'm inclined to say no.

I've had vinyl seats in several cars from the 70's forward. Many of those looked and felt like plastic. In comparison, the MB-Tex looks and feels quite like leather.

Others will dispute this. But as my C320 has BOTH materials in the same seat, I can state from experience that each component looks and feels complementary to each other, much more like leather than plastic... although one is, and one isn't.

It would not be a deal breaker to me.

KEY08

It has no leather content whatsoever. That is a funny story.

ejenner

Mercedes had been describing it as leather for a while. I think there was a court case.

ejenner

Been reading some more. There is a process for creating artificial leather using reconstituted leather fibres but that's not what Mercedes do. Artico is just plastic of some sort.

I guess what makes it so similar looking and feeling will be something to do with the fact that genuine leather seats are usually coated with some kind of coloured paint and whatever they put on Artico must be similar.

KEY08

All leather is dyed for use in furnishings, including automotive uses. Faux leather is very realistic these days, but it is all vinyl with no leather content at all. If you buy the cheapest "leather" sofa or chair on the market it may be touted as real leather, but it does not come from hides. It is reconstituted leather particles of who knows what and wears out within a very short period of time. Basically, crap.

rapidoxidation

The MB-Tex in my '85 300D looked as good as new when the car was 30 years old. Except for where the sun had faded the tops of the back seat backs. It's pretty good stuff and is far better than most car manufacturer's vinyl seats. They did blow it on the W212 stitching though. Way less than 100K miles on my sister's car and the seam of the driver's seat middle split open. That was years ago though, and the dealer fixed it.

Left Coast Geek

there's the old school MBTex which in Germany was called Taxi-Leather, and was basically a vinyl 'naugahyde' style material, and there's the new style MBTex which is this Artico. I have had both. the new stuff 'feels' nicer, but the old stuff was undoubtedly more durable, seats on my wife's 280,000 mile 1994 E320 still look good and show almost no signs of wear. BTW, I read somewhere (can't find it now) that Artico is NOT PVC, but rather some form of PPE

pb39374

For me, the drivers seat on my 2010 e350 started splitting at about 52,000 miles (about 5 months ago). I bought a new cover for $300 and had a local upholstery shop install it last month for $190. Looks as good as new.

MBNUT1

Mine split at 115,000 miles. I replaced mine with a new cover from Mercedes.

pierrejoliat

I just found a company in Houston who makes a replacement seat cover in the US, I remain worried about Quality and color match, but the price is enticing at 146.00 including shipping for black.
As far as I can find out, it's six bolts, one seat heater plug and removal of the rear footwell light from under the seat, I may attempt this myself.

USseatcover.com

pb39374

if it were for free I would see give it a try, but only for another $125 bucks you can get the OEM to ensure 100% match.

DFWdude

Possibly, but you get just another MB seat with the same stitching weakness.

Most upholstery shops I've used do excellent work. I wouldn't hesitate to try one. They have vast networks of available materials for color and texture matching. They color-matched the tan roof liner in my C320 perfectly.

Recognizing the stitching weakness in the OEM seat (when you present them a torn one), maybe they will use a more durable solution than OEM.

pierrejoliat

Well, you're Both right, I can order the cover and assess the quality and color match and can always return it if needed and order the OEM. I do worry about quality, but I also worry I will get another cover prone to tear exactly like the first one.

MBNUT1

I found removing the electrical connector to be a real ***** and I don't think that my seat heater works anymore after the struggle. It is also possible that I put the heating pad back in upside down. I ended up having to use a hose clamp crimping tool to get the plug out.

pierrejoliat

Good input, I will take pictures of the heating elements to avoid that and I will make sure I disconnect the plug with great care. Regardless of which cover I purchase. And thank you.