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We just purchased 2017 GLE 350 1/25 and I've noticed couple days ago that Passenger's seat was little wrinkled.
Now, I've noticed Driver side too. Not bad as Passenger side, but never the less.
I thought it was odd and now, I know it's on going problem
.
We are going to visit the Dealer tomorrow and file a report for sure.
I'll update the outcome.
GLE350- Thanks for posting these pics, sorry you are experiencing the same problem. Not sure if you have owned or do own any other MB's but this is not how their seats typically look so don't let the dealer tell you differently. See my comments in the above threads relative to your dealer visit. Interestingly, my GLE350 W4 has the same build date of 12/16 & ours look particularly bad. I am supposed to hear back today from MB USA & will advise. Feel free to PM me if you need any addtl. tips, pics, etc. for your dealer visit. My guess is that if MB USA doesn't act swiftly on this to provide a "The Best or Nothing" solution, they will experience decreased sales on the GLE's. Customers in this category are more discerning and will not purchase a new Mercedes GLE that already looks used!
Last edited by Boston; Jan 30, 2017 at 07:56 AM.
Reason: Typo
You are right Boston.
It is not suppose to look like that, especially for the brand spanking new car. Mercedes Benz?
I've owned many different brands before including MB C300 4matic, but this is 1st time I've run into this kind of problem.
Every time I think about quality of car, makes me upset.
They (dealer/MBUSA) better not tell me, because it's not a real leather.
I know MB-Tex is not a real leather, but it does not matter. It should not look like that.
I've paid good $ for name brand car (SUV) and things looks like that?!
I'll be posting updates.
Thank you Boston for starting the thread.
So, I went to the dealer and talked with my sales person.
He acknowledged and he went to the service department.
He came back and said,
"O.K. 2 new seat covers are on order!"
"Should be here couple of days or so"
So far so GOOD!
More to come in a few days.
GLE350- Great to hear... would be curious if they have changed the Mfg. of fhe seat covers so they fit better. If you can take some before & after pics & post them that would be awesome!
Have the same issue, 2017 GLE with 2K on the odometer. More pronounced on the passenger side then the driver side, took delivery in Dec/2016.
Yomibro- Thanks for posting the pic... I hate to say it but you may win the prize for the worst seat! Your seat looks worse than my passenger seat in my 12 YO SUV! It seems to be more pronounced on the passenger seats of these cars! GLE350 just posted that he/she is gettinng new seat covers through his/her dealer on warranty. I am still waiting to connect with MB corporate to seen how they will resolve mine. You should definately get your to dealer & document the issue at the very least!
OK folks- I finally received my response from MB USA corporate last night. As partially expected, it was lame & unacceptable! Here are the highlights:
1. They acknowledged that this loose seat surface problem is an issue they are seeing with 2017 GLE's. (My guess is GLS as well!)
2. Many dealers have tried to rectify the poor seat fit and finish under warranty by either ordering & putting new seat covers on or by "stuffing" the seats.... neither approach has been successful at rectifying the problem.
3. The only way MB will take further action (they say) is if enough people complain & they are forced to issue a TSB/recall. I WOULD encourage all on this forum that have this issue to complain loudly! Additionally, I wrote back to them letting them know their response to me is unacceptable and I am now considering legal action. At worst, I'm pretty confident that I would prevail in a small claims case to the tune of about 7K. Again, that alone would not move MB USA to action, apparently they are no longer concerned about their brand quality which is what got them to where they are!
4. Their lame "courtesy" offer was for two free services (oil changes) to which I responded that I want my seats fixed... I bought a luxury car so that I could have luxurious seats not so I could have crappy seats and a free oil change or two!
I will let everyone following this thread know when and how MB USA responds. Good luck to those who are having their seat covers replaced! Please let us know (in words & pics) if this rectifies your seat problem!
Last edited by Boston; Feb 1, 2017 at 09:56 AM.
Reason: Typo
Yomibro- Thanks for posting the pic... I hate to say it but you may win the prize for the worst seat! Your seat looks worse than my passenger seat in my 12 YO SUV! It seems to be more pronounced on the passenger seats of these cars! GLE350 just posted that he/she is gettinng new seat covers through his/her dealer on warranty. I am still waiting to connect with MB corporate to seen how they will resolve mine. You should definately get your to dealer & document the issue at the very least!
Took the vehicle to the dealer and they are ordering me a new replacement seat cover, they said the driver side was normal so what I'll do is just wait and when I am due for my first scheduled service I'll see how it has worn and bug them at that time if it gets worse.
Does anybody have an idea if replacing the seat cover is easy or a lot of stuff should be removed. I have minor problems with leather wrincles/compared to the posts here/, still they are not as 70 grand vehicle seats should be. My experience with changing/replacing something to a new car's interior is that the more details are removed and then fixed again, the more rattles, cracking and all other kind of noises appear, and nobody can fix them like before. The point is I wonder whether to try convince my dealer change the seats under warranty or just live with them.
Does anybody have an idea if replacing the seat cover is easy or a lot of stuff should be removed. I have minor problems with leather wrincles/compared to the posts here/, still they are not as 70 grand vehicle seats should be. My experience with changing/replacing something to a new car's interior is that the more details are removed and then fixed again, the more rattles, cracking and all other kind of noises appear, and nobody can fix them like before. The point is I wonder whether to try convince my dealer change the seats under warranty or just live with them.
I had a similar problem (not an M-B). Car not in warranty so asked dealer who they outsourced their upholstery work to. Turned out to be a mom and pop shop that had been in business 25 years.
The shop owner took a look and said no problem. He removed the seats and simply tightened the covers. Although the work took place several years ago, today, the seat upholstery is still snug.
2017 GLE 350 W4, 2016 C 300, 2012 E 350 W4 Lux, 2006 ML 350
Originally Posted by yavor
Does anybody have an idea if replacing the seat cover is easy or a lot of stuff should be removed. I have minor problems with leather wrincles/compared to the posts here/, still they are not as 70 grand vehicle seats should be. My experience with changing/replacing something to a new car's interior is that the more details are removed and then fixed again, the more rattles, cracking and all other kind of noises appear, and nobody can fix them like before. The point is I wonder whether to try convince my dealer change the seats under warranty or just live with them.
I agree. The less time these cars spend at the dealership the better. I don,t think a new cover is going to improve anything. We will just get a new defective cover. Not sure why more people are not complaining and that is precisely what MB is hoping for.
by350- Thanks for posting your passenger seat pic; looks terrible for a Yugo... I mean Mercedes. Does the driver's side look better/ worse than this one?
So, I went to the dealer and talked with my sales person.
He acknowledged and he went to the service department.
He came back and said,
"O.K. 2 new seat covers are on order!"
"Should be here couple of days or so"
So far so GOOD!
More to come in a few days.
Any results/ pictures yet? I just got off phone for 2nd time with MB USA & the representative is saying that replacing seat covers will not rectify the issue. If you could prove them wrong, that would be great & all the GLE owners here would have a potential solution!
OK- Just got off phone with MB USA "customer service" (not) for the 2nd time after a pointed email letting them know that their offer to not fix the seats but provide a couple of oil changes was unacceptable. The rep claimed she reached out to the GLE product manager as well as the GLE engineer in Germany. She stated that the problem is "on their radar" however they will not offer a solution. It appears that the only way to get action on this is to file either a Class Action lawsuit against Mercedes Benz USA or if each owner sues directly in small claims court for the maximum amount to "cover seats" (pun intended). I am mystified that they would not attempt to resolve this.... it seems to me to be out of step with what MB used to represent but now only provides lip service to.... QUALITY NO LONGER IMPORTANT TO MERCEDES BENZ!
I wouldn't hold out much hope for a factory fix anytime soon. They replaced the bottom seat panels twice on our C55 AMG for defective seat heaters and never did fix the root problem. In their defense the work done at the dealer to replace the entire Nappa leather panel was first rate.
Boston - I have looked at my 2017 GLE (6400mi since Sept '16) and I see no lumpiness like you show in your pictures. Attached (I hope...) are some pictures of my upholstery. Notably, however, mine is the MB-Tex, which I decided on after having leather for nearly 20 years. I always liked the smell of the leather, and the softness, but I think this latest vinyl is almost as attractive and comfy as the leather, and a whole lot less money. Lastly, for me it will require less care in the long run too.
That said, I'm not certain what you have is a defect. Perhaps what you have is a by-product of that soft-stretchy leather. As you already know, there is always going to be some variability/tolerance in fabrics and fit. But, who knows, maybe MZ will agree that it is out of bounds as well. Cheers!
Boston - I have looked at my 2017 GLE (6400mi since Sept '16) and I see no lumpiness like you show in your pictures. Attached (I hope...) are some pictures of my upholstery. Notably, however, mine is the MB-Tex, which I decided on after having leather for nearly 20 years. I always liked the smell of the leather, and the softness, but I think this latest vinyl is almost as attractive and comfy as the leather, and a whole lot less money. Lastly, for me it will require less care in the long run too.
That said, I'm not certain what you have is a defect. Perhaps what you have is a by-product of that soft-stretchy leather. As you already know, there is always going to be some variability/tolerance in fabrics and fit. But, who knows, maybe MZ will agree that it is out of bounds as well. Cheers!
"Hi Bob"- Thanks for the feedback & pics. They are a bit blurry but it appears that you may have loose covers towards the back on the seat surface... hard to tell due to pic quality. I also have MB Tex and oddly (or not) the issue is relegated to the front seats only. I also have a GL 450 & the seats look light years better despite being 3.5 years old! I brought the GLE to a high end upholstery shop yesterday & met with the owner with 20+ years experience. He has been dealing with Mercedes (exclusively for about 7 years) Ferrari & Aston Martin's. He definately thought this was terrible & indicated that the stitching on the MB Tex did not go into the cushion thus giving the loose appearance. He indicated that the seats as constructed now will wear out very quickly (despite the fact that the MB Tex is typically more durable) due to this problem.
For whatever it's worth, this phenomenon doesn't seem to be present in the sport seats. I took delivery of my GLE43 Coupe today. The sport seats have a completely different stitching pattern. The leather is taut, as it should be. No wrinkles or waves whatsoever. I don't know if the sport seats are constructed in a different plant, or if this is because the seat bottoms have stitching that consists of close, parallel strips.
For whatever it's worth, this phenomenon doesn't seem to be present in the sport seats. I took delivery of my GLE43 Coupe today. The sport seats have a completely different stitching pattern. The leather is taut, as it should be. No wrinkles or waves whatsoever. I don't know if the sport seats are constructed in a different plant, or if this is because the seat bottoms have stitching that consists of close, parallel strips.
"Sube" -Congrats on the new coupe! Glad to hear your seats are as they should be!! Please, please post pics of your front seats so others can see what our seats should look like! Enjoy the new ride!
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So far so GOOD!
