2010 E350 Base - I have that common driver seat lower cover split. Interior color is 108A Grey.

Ebay has aftermarket sellers (who all look like they sell from the same exact source) for $150-200.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...gray%2Cgrey%29

Dealer seat is $270.

Did Mercedes fix this common cosmetic problem in their replacement seats? I'll spend the extra ~$120 for it if they're not expected to fail the same way.

Has anyone here bought the aftermarket cover? How is the color match? I'd be less concerned if it was a black interior.

 

There are older threads on here about people who bought them and they didn't quite fit. As for the Mercedes ones, that's hit or miss. Some claim they fail again later. At least the MB one offers a 2 year warranty when buying from the dealer. The key might be how much junk you have in the trunk, there's not much material there so the more you weigh the more likely it is to go. Both the driver and the passenger seat goes, but usually the driver first because that gets way more usage than the passenger.

 

Try this thread
- - Where to buy new leather seat cover for bottom driver, and heater (https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...er-heater.html)

 

I'll hate it if it fits like crap, so saving the money won't be worth the risk.

Let's hope the OEM cover matches the original interior.

 

I bought one of these aftermarket covers from a popular supplier on eBay. Although this subject had been covered elsewhere, here are my observations with this particular cover and installation;

1. This video:


is ABSOLUTELY invaluable. However, keep in mind that he or she is installing what I believe to be an OEM replacement and has probably done this 20+ times, and actually can do it in their sleep.

2. We in the US have a "box", not a fire extinguisher in front, so the mounting is slightly different.

3. Carefully note the position and orientation of the plastic bearing shells for the seat mounting when removing the seat cover.

4. I had to cut a ty-wrap and remove an additional plastic wire management clip before removing the seat.

5. For the life of me, I could not remove the "combo" seat connector, which he/she pops off in the video faster than Fonzie popped the bra off of a mannequin. No, pushing down on the releases did not help. I wound up cutting the wires, adding four inches for convenience, and resoldering. I hated to do this, but i did a very neat job with shrink tubing and OEM-like fabric cabling tape. I observed the wiring colors although it doesn't SEEM like this is important. I didn't do this but you might consider installing your own high-current connector set here in-line after cutting in the event that you need to do this again.

6. This supplier's fastening and skirting is different than MB OEM. The outside skirting is a flexible and somewhat soft vinyl, not a hard plastic, and the inside flaps for the center don’t use sewn-in rods, they use very hard plastic bonded to some type of fabric. Note that there are no holes/slots for the seat clips to pass through. You MAY not need them except for the white clips. Be very careful when cutting the holes (accurately and as small as possible).

7. Be very careful (VERY) when removing the seat heaters and reinstalling them. They are delicate. Because I am an idiot, I looked under the flap. Don't do this. It's taped/glued/sewn-in BARE COPPER WIRE. I reset everything with contact cement, but would not have needed to do this had I not done SOMETHING STUPID. Reinstalling them was very difficult because there is barely enough room to fit the piece in, but go slowly and don't pull too hard on the FOAM BASED HEATERS and keep your progress "even" at all times. Don't "stuff", pull from the other side as needed and center them. I checked to see if I broke or shorted anything. My set read 6.5 ohms, which I believe is correct. If you read zero or infinite ohms, you have a problem. Don't forget to observe the orientation of the heaters (take a pic with your phone of the old seat before removing the heater just to be sure).

8. I would do the back, left (from sitting drivers position) side, and the front first when connecting the skirt. Do not do the right "white" inside clips until just before the lower skirt with the aftermarket cover. The lower/outside "skirt clips" made of soft vinyl are much more difficult to work with on the aftermarket piece. Going around the corners was awful and if you are older (I'm 64) and/or worked in an office all your life, it may tax your hand strength. I used a pair of slip pliers just to be sure of locking. Still, the "locking" mechanism of the vinyl pieces is less sure-fire. This skirting is the biggest difference between the aftermarket piece and the OEM (the aftermarket skirt fabric is also a little different, I actually like it more, and you can't see 95% of it anyway).

9. This may have just been me, but I had a surprisingly hard time getting the recovered seat back "in" far enough to mount the seat to the bar. Again, in the video, zero problem.

10. Mounting the rear foot well light may be easier if you do it just before you do the final tightening down of the seat clamps and bearings.

So, in short, although the covers I bought look great and the only real difference between it and the other is that no butts have polished up the vinyl yet. However, they were considerably more difficult to install than the OE covers probably would be. Consider the price difference between the two and choose accordingly. If you have a lot more time and strength than money, go aftermarket. Otherwise,stick with OEM.

I would give this job my Mercedes Repair "Torture of the Damned" score of 3/10 devils for an OEM cover, but I would increase that to 4/10 devils for the aftermarket piece. Note that I don't have "complex" seats like air bladders, massage, etc., and no doubt, other options would increase both numbers. If possible, wear gloves. I lost only a small amount of blood on this job and that was slipping and cutting myself on the front box brackets while fitting the skirts. The OE part would probably not have cost blood.

I have installed a few sets of R107 (SL) seat covers, which are very "old school" (hog rings, etc) and this is MUCH easier than that was. A trick that upholsterers use is silicone spray when fitting tight covers and I used this on the 107's. I considered using this on the heaters but the smell of silicone does linger, and I'm glad that I didn't do that here.

PS: Someone wondered if driver weight has something to do with these failures. I don't know what the PO weighed, but mine started to fail at 9 years and 33,000 miles, of which 7000 miles my 160 pound butt was in the seat!