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Sorry to bring this back but has anyone successfully got the dealer to do something about it and actually fixed the problem for good? My SA acknowledges the issue but gave me the typical BS that they can't do anything until MB formally issues a recall, in which it is most likely not going to happen since this is not a safety issue.
1/30/17 Informed salesperson and service department ordered new seat covers.
3/1/17 Service department replaced seat covers and looks worse than original.
3/15/17 Sales person informed me that service department manager told him we need to wait 60 days for workmanship before we can Re-address the same problem.
I will wait. wait. wait.....
Meanwhile,
I did not respond to MB new car purchase survey. Twice... (I did not want to give bad marks since they can retaliate).
AND this really **** me off!
Last edited by Do the GLE350; Mar 19, 2017 at 11:45 AM.
Reason: add more
Wait 60 days? That is BS, they want to make sure that MB pays their claim and then submit another at you "wait" expense. Get a Regional Rep there now to look at your claim
Maybe it's time to move on and enjoy life. I guess some people like that back and forth aggravation. "I made MB do XYZ because ABC" It's only seats. I get it...premium product should have better quality control. Not worth the trouble and time. Drive the car, sell it/turn it in when done.
I was taking the online J. D. Power Vehicle Quality Survey when I came across this question. Here's a chance to let the whole world know and maybe light a fire under the a** of MB.
I was taking the online J. D. Power Vehicle Quality Survey when I came across this question. Here's a chance to let the whole world know and maybe light a fire under the a** of MB.
Maybe it's time to move on and enjoy life. I guess some people like that back and forth aggravation. "I made MB do XYZ because ABC" It's only seats. I get it...premium product should have better quality control. Not worth the trouble and time. Drive the car, sell it/turn it in when done.
Wow ~ Are you serious?
Do you go around reading the forum and whenever you see members having long discussions, tell them to get a life and move on?
I can't say for all other members, but I appreciate quality when I see one.
You say it's only seats? So, where do we draw a line?
I just had my replaced. The driver seat is better. The passenger seat is crooked with very poor workmanship (its crooked). I will be requiring a replacement since this one is more bothersome. It should not have even been returned to me. Its like the person who made it was drunk.
I just brought my GLE in for a map update and a fraying seat belt. I asked them to look at the drivers and passenger seat bottoms as I thought they were loose. They have agreed and ordered me two new seat covers from Germany. They thought it would take a couple weeks for them to arrive. I will post again after they are installed...
I plan on asking them who will be doing the installation. I would be much more comfortable with an interior expert instead of a technician who may never have done this.
I leased a 2017 GLE 350 in January 2017. The passenger seat MB Tex material was loose with ripples and puckering when I got the vehicle. I thought the stuffing might have been compressed and that it would puff back out. Nope! Ninety days and 250 miles later and it is still the same. This is my 4th MB with Tex seats and none of the seats in my three previous MB's looked like this! When I took it to the dealer, the advisor told me that this was "normal and the matetial would tighten in hot weather." So, my other seats got hot and tightened except for my passenger seat? I am scheduling a meeting with the Service Manager or District/Regional Rep to file a Warranty claim. This is really poor workmanship for any new car, much less a $70,000 car! I had been looking at a 2017 G Wagon for my wife, but no longer! How did this obvious production defect pass quality control? This is VERY disappointing!
My ripples are bigger than your ripples!
Permanent pucker on seat back.
UPDATE: My dealership, MB of Denver (Sonic), stepped up to the plate and ordered and installed a new bottom seat cover and a new back seat cover. I was given a new GLE loaner which had perfect seats without any ripples! This suggests that MB has now corrected the defect on later production vehicles. The new seat back is visibly much better. The bottom seat cover is improved in its appearance, but it still has some looseness and one lesser pucker. I give MB of Denver 5 out of 5 stars for their efforts and customer service. Yes, I did forgive the one service advisor's statement that "the seat material would tighten on its own over time." I give MB only 3 out of 5 stars since they should never have shipped vehicles with such an obvious cosmetic defect. It is this type of issue which can cause loyal MB customers to leave the brand!
New seat back cover.
New bottom seat cover. Better, but material is still loose and a pucker at the back corner.
Compare this to the Tex seats in my wife's 2014 ML350 with 30,000 miles.
2014 ML350 seats after 30K miles of daily use!
Last edited by MB Ted; May 28, 2017 at 03:08 PM.
Reason: Update
My GLE with 8K miles was in the dealer this week because I got the collision prevention assist plus inoperative message out of no where and squeaking noise from the from driver seat going over bumps. While there, I brought the MB Tex issue to my service advisor's attention. as my passenger side seat cover is severely loose. The SA told me that's a part of normal wear and tear. But for a 1 yr old 8K car it is unacceptable. I had a c300 loaner and the MB Tex is solid and softer than the GLE. Contacted MBUSA and they ask me to go to the dealer, which told me it is normal wear and tear. While other model's MB Tex don't have the issue. Seriously doubting the quality of MB, as this is my first MB vehicle. All these nonsense issues. I had 3 dealer visits in a year over minor issues. Here's a pic of my seat cover This is not wear and tear
I just brought my GLE in for a map update and a fraying seat belt. I asked them to look at the drivers and passenger seat bottoms as I thought they were loose. They have agreed and ordered me two new seat covers from Germany. They thought it would take a couple weeks for them to arrive. I will post again after they are installed...
I plan on asking them who will be doing the installation. I would be much more comfortable with an interior expert instead of a technician who may never have done this.
Can you tell me which map version you are on? The dealer I went to refuse to update my map so I am going to hit up another dealer soon. Thanks.
I had my leather seats experience the same issue with looseness.
My dealer ordered up two new seat bottoms and replaced them. they look good as new. Please recall that my sets are leather, not MB Tex. Thanks.
Took these photos of the GLE loaner I have. Both driver and pass side seats are wrinkled. Car was built April 2017 and has less than 4 k miles on it. Yes, I realize it's a loaner, but it's hard to imagine that would have anything to do with the wrinkling. Also driver side running board starting to show permanent spotting. Hard to see in the photo but they are there. Our CPO '14 ML350 and GL450 have lots of spots on them.
I took delivery of a 2018 GLE 550e in January and report that my front seats have the same issue. With less than 2,000 mi on the vehicle it has even developed a crease on the driver's side left thigh bolster. I really regret getting these MB-Tex seats, they make the interior look quite shabby. My initial approach to the dealer indicated this was 'Normal'. It is now in the hands of the warranty department. As others have pointed out, there is a marked difference between the back seats (which look great) and the front seats.
I have a 2017 E300 and a 2017 GLS450. Both with MB tex. The MBtex in the E300 is much better quality and looks so much better than what's in the GLS. I still love MBtex though. With 3 kids and the beating it takes, it still looks new after a wipe with a damp sponge.
The problem was never the MB-Tex material itself. It was the poor construction/quality control of the front seats. Proof of this is the fact that everyone who has had this problem with the front seats, has back seats that look fine. This was just a bad run of the seats.
I took delivery of a 2018 GLE 550e in January and report that my front seats have the same issue. With less than 2,000 mi on the vehicle it has even developed a crease on the driver's side left thigh bolster. I really regret getting these MB-Tex seats, they make the interior look quite shabby. My initial approach to the dealer indicated this was 'Normal'. It is now in the hands of the warranty department. As others have pointed out, there is a marked difference between the back seats (which look great) and the front seats.
I can further report that, after waiting several weeks for delivery of new seat covers from Germany, my seat covers were replaced under warranty. However, they look just as bad as the originals.
It's really vexing. While my GLE was in for warranty work, I had two different C-class courtesy cars and the MB-Tex upholstery in those was taut, plump and looked great.
Last edited by UniqueName; Aug 12, 2018 at 06:34 PM.
Sorry to resurrect this thread but the last post is over a year old with no mention of any resolution.
We have a 2019 350GLE, MBTex, nine months old and within a month the above mentioned sagging seat covers became noticeable. The dealer installed a new cover and the results were as bad as the original. I asked if MBUSA could exchange the entire seat cushion assembly but to no avail. I think the problem is both an ill fitting cover and lack of cushion bolstering, or simply, poor design, materials and assembly. The dealer sent the car to an upholsterer so we'll see what happens when we pickup the car tomorrow. We also wonder if this will void the warranty down the road?
We owned a '12 ML350 that had firmer seats with thicker, less pliant MBTex material and after six years exhibited no issues. When we test drove the GLE we mentioned that the newer seats felt softer, cheaper and not as supportive.
Can anyone update us with the current MBUSA policy re the seats? Thanks!
Sorry to resurrect this thread but the last post is over a year old with no mention of any resolution.
We have a 2019 350GLE, MBTex, nine months old and within a month the above mentioned sagging seat covers became noticeable. The dealer installed a new cover and the results were as bad as the original. I asked if MBUSA could exchange the entire seat cushion assembly but to no avail. I think the problem is both an ill fitting cover and lack of cushion bolstering, or simply, poor design, materials and assembly. The dealer sent the car to an upholsterer so we'll see what happens when we pickup the car tomorrow. We also wonder if this will void the warranty down the road?
We owned a '12 ML350 that had firmer seats with thicker, less pliant MBTex material and after six years exhibited no issues. When we test drove the GLE we mentioned that the newer seats felt softer, cheaper and not as supportive.
Can anyone update us with the current MBUSA policy re the seats? Thanks!
I don't have any update on policy, but I can report that in my case, after getting unsatisfactory results with replacing the seat covers, the dealer did replace the bottom seat cushions on both of the front seats and it made no difference. In fact, in some ways it's worse because the wave patterns in the left and right seats are different now. At that point, I stopped pursuing the matter.
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