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My 2011 has a couple flaws in the driver's seat bottom (typical), and it's time to address it. I've been looking for replacement upholstery, and am kind of perplexed by the number of options for the "regular seats" and the lack thereof for the "sport seats" (which my 2011 has). The regular seats have two lateral seams across the inside panel, and the sport seat has only one.
All of the MB-connected OEM parts sellers (including stealerships) have websites that seem to not understand there's such a thing as a sport seat. The ones that allow a VIN to be entered still return only the "regular seat" upholstery. I haven't been able to find a part number for the sport seat bottom cover (with or without the seat heater).
There are a number of aftermarket suppliers of both leather and vinyl lower covers that appear to be reasonably good, though the price of the sport seat cover is about 3-4x the price of the "regular seat" cover. I looked for used OEM covers, but haven't found anything that makes sense (not interested in paying new prices for a cover that's probably going to grenade in the next year).
Also, I've read that the driver's and passenger's seat covers are interchangeable, and that seat covers from a C-class sedan are identical, but don't want to trust that unless someone can verify it's not an urban myth. ;-)
Anyone here ever cross this (long, complicated) bridge? ;-)
Yikes! MB SUVs with limited edition options are almost impossible to get parts for. We had an ML350SE that waited 6 months for a hood.
I “think” you may have the C63 seats. There are a lot of seat options for C Class and many of them don’t coossover to the GLK. A dealer should be able to cross reference this for you. There is no reason to pay much of a premium for the sportier seats because the MB prices are only slightly higher.
I, like you, would only believe my eyes seeing, and my hands touching, the actual replacement part.
I've seen some good words about Richmond Auto Upholstery. A bit more than the couple other options I've found, but if they're a known, high-quality supplier, it would be worth it... ($219 for the driver's side bottom sport seat cover in black leather).
I'm not sure if the C63 option is the seat itself, or refers to the "whole package"... (my 2011 has the P96 exterior sport package and the 486 sports suspension options, but I don't see a C63 reference anywhere on the build sheet).
Check out GAHH.com. They supply OEM-spec seat covers and interiors. I recently received new front seat covers and the car is currently in the upholstery shop having them installed.
Thanks - just checked, and they don't have any listings for the GLK X204, so they're not going to be able to help. I guess the GLK is not "mainstream" enough to warrant designing / producing seat cover (particularly for the apparently rare sport seat option).
I'm not sure if the C63 option is the seat itself, or refers to the "whole package"... (my 2011 has the P96 exterior sport package and the 486 sports suspension options, but I don't see a C63 reference anywhere on the build sheet).
Guess I wasn’t very clear — C63 isn’t the option code, it’s the W204 C Class that may (or may not) have the same seats you do. Some of the C63 seats have exactly the same part numbers as some of the GLK seats.
Try 204-910-64-46-9E38 Black leather seat bottom cover. I just don’t have an actual picture of it.
Got it - makes sense. The MB parts "drawings" are sooooo bad, it's impossible to say. Looking at the diagram, it does look like the upper seat is very different, though of course that doesn't preclude the lower part of the seat from sharing parts.
The one official MB site I visited that had my vehicle info said that it wouldn't fit, but the same one(s) are convinced (by my VIN) that I don't have sport seats in my vehicle, so who knows?
FWIW, I got my leather cover from an eBay vendor (believe the original was vinyl). Paid $156 plus tax.
The good news is that it seems to be a very well-made cover, and from everything I can see, matches the other (original) side very well.
The bad news is that it's a BEAR to get on. As the vendor suggested, I cut out the seat heater and the attached foam(ish) pad from the original seat, cut some appropriate slits in it to allow the new cover's clip rails to reach the seat base's clips, and laid the heater / foam under the new cover. To attach the cover, you have to torque the cover up and over the edge, fold it around and slip a plastic guide onto the steel lip on the seat base. Sounds simple enough, but WOW was that tight. I fought it for probably an hour, and finally ended up having my wife stand on the seat base (right on the edge) to provide enough extra slack to BARELY pull the cover up and into position to slide the guide onto the lip. Once I got it started, I was able to work it around inch by inch with just my own strength. I suspect it would be a LOT easier without the heater / foam, but I'm thinking it might not be quite as plump (which would be a bad thing).
But in the end it was well worth the effort, as it was really the one thing that let the car down condition-wise. I hated getting in and seeing the less than perfect patch I'd done on the seat, since everything else in the cockpit looks like new.
Personally, I've relinquished myself from eBay purchases (too many iffys out there). Anyway, interesting this one has "or best offer". And what an interesting offer difference - $17 off
Yet, looks like a good fit. Our GLK base has a slight surface scuff mark that I've temporarily fixed with "3M Leather and Vinyl Repair Kit" ($11 at Wally world). It's only on the surface now (not penetrated thru material). Fingers crossed.
The patches I did on the side bolster were on areas where only the top layer of the vinyl (or MBtex or whatever it's called) seemed to be holding up, but they were just a little too big, and a little too obvious for me to feel good about the seat. I also applied some patching material to the small (2") split in the seam, but it was failing after a month or two, so it was time for a new seat cover.
I think one reason that my patch wasn't too perfect was that the kit I was using was really old (I'm guessing 15 plus years) so I'm thinking that the materials might have been past their prime).
I think one reason that my patch wasn't too perfect was that the kit I was using was really old (I'm guessing 15 plus years) so I'm thinking that the materials might have been past their prime).
Ouch! 15 years old (?)
I can't imagine any (ready made) chemical compound lasting more than 2-3 years
But at the same time, I think when a material has been permeated, that compromise is best saved with a new covering. Especially a material that is constantly sat upon.
I would have been happy to patch the spots on the side bolsters, assuming the kit I was using would produce a reasonably invisible fix (in theory, it should have). But I knew I was just forestalling the inevitable trying to patch a tear in that seam. The side bolsters only had cosmetic damage and I could see the patch holding for a long time (assuming it was done correctly). But a seam... no chance that's going to last too long unless some extraordinary process was used (like inserting a patch under the seam and working long-lasting adhesive between the patch and the vinyl cover).
So yeah - in the end a new cover IS inevitable, so it's really better to just pull the trigger and save all the unsatisfactory interim steps.
Hello All, I recently helped a friend swap a drivers seat out on a 2012 C300. The removal of the frame was very easy just 2 T-30 torx screws and unplugging the seat heater wire. Its much easier than taking the cover of the frame.
I saw this video on Youtube that shows how to remove the frame and the cover. if anyone needs any seat bottoms we sourced a few of them in Grey, Black and Tan. Hope this is OK with the moderators.
06-04-2023, 11:03 AM
