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I recently replaced the seat bottom in my 2013 350GLK and I am delighted with the color match and fit. The company is Richmond Upholstery and there website is https://leather-auto-seats.com/ The location I worked with is located in Texas.
Please be sure to provide your VIN so they may verify the color of your interior. I did have to wait a bit for the product but as I have the gray interior I was amazed at the color match. Also, the Mercedes seat bottom uses a wire that engages little clamps in the seat base. Richmond has designed a system that takes advantage of the OEM clamps and makes installation easier.
Our 2014 GLK350 Base is experiencing a slight flaking on the driver's seat, lower cushion (big surprise!) ... so, will need to be replaced.
You chose Richmond Upholstery. Yes, they are in Sugar Land, TX. And I've read other folks in the past recommend them. (as below). It would take me 45 minutes to drive there (using toll highway). There is another place I've read about, about 1/2 the distance). I'd probably ask them to install, if we choose them.
Question:
Rumor has it, the side bolsters on the lower cover from Richmond are leather??
(side note: Native Texan here ... Sugar Land history? it's the home of Imperial Sugar company. Grew up about 15 minutes away.
Richmond TX is about 10 minutes away from Sugar Land )
2006 Alfa Romeo Brera, 2010 GLK350, 2018 BMW 640i GT, 1997 Subaru SVX, 2012 Moto Guzzi Norge GT8V
No, just the side bolsters.
Mine had to be replaced under warranty as the center part with the perforations started to connect the dots. It took some time and many emails to get the replacement sent. They look great and match perfectly but their durability is questionable.
Last edited by Silver Shadow; Aug 26, 2025 at 06:38 PM.
2014 GLK350 base model (active) ; 2001 E320 base (retired); 2001 Wrangler soft-top
Originally Posted by Silver Shadow
Mine had to be replaced under warranty as the center part with the perforations started to connect the dots. It took some time and many emails to get the replacement sent. They look great and match perfectly but their durability is questionable.
Ouch!! A shame to read you had quality issues. And it took a bit of effort to resolve. My wild guess is you originally bought them 2022 timeframe (?).
Our 2014 has gone about 11 years with original covers (I think they're a vinyl hybrid material). Heck, the 2001 Jeep still has original, though they are cloth type.
Last edited by calder-cay; Aug 26, 2025 at 08:07 PM.
2006 Alfa Romeo Brera, 2010 GLK350, 2018 BMW 640i GT, 1997 Subaru SVX, 2012 Moto Guzzi Norge GT8V
Genuine leather side bolsters only, not the perforated stuff in the middle. Unless they changed in the last year but then the price would have gone up.
I find their website a little misleading frankly. They make it seem that the covers are all leather. I took apart the old one that failed and only the sides are leather.
Last edited by Silver Shadow; Aug 28, 2025 at 03:35 PM.
The GLK covers shares many part #'s with the W204 covers. Probably the same at least in the US. Part #'s list Fabric, leather and Twin Leather. Im guessing the fabric is the MB Tex. W204 has an additional "Sport" Fabric, "Sport" Leather, "Elegance" Fabric and "Avantegard" Fabric. Just some useless info.
My 2010 W204 Imitation Leather- Gray 118A, which is Alpaca. I always wondered if its the same color as the later 2012+ which changed to 128 interior color code.
2014 GLK350 base model (active) ; 2001 E320 base (retired); 2001 Wrangler soft-top
Originally Posted by TimC300
The GLK covers shares many part #'s with the W204 covers. Probably the same at least in the US. Part #'s list Fabric, leather and Twin Leather. Im guessing the fabric is the MB Tex.
No doubt we have MB Tex ... per one description:
"MB-Tex is not genuine leather but a high-quality vinyl material designed to resemble it."
Ours looks like leather, but not (and no cloth anywhere). It has a bad habit where the thin outer "fake skin" peels away, even though there are no tears or separations.
"MB-Tex is not genuine leather but a high-quality vinyl material designed to resemble it."
It has a bad habit where the thin outer "fake skin" peels away, even though there are no tears or separations.
How high the quality is may be debated. But in our experience there seems to be a durability difference between the lighter colors of MBTex and black. The tan seats have been especially bad about peeling. The black MBTex seats are holding up much better over time. One of the vehicles with black hauls kids, pets, equipment, and makes deliveries. The same age driver only with tan has peeled badly. We have one dark brown, but it’s a 2025 so too new to tell.
2014 GLK350 base model (active) ; 2001 E320 base (retired); 2001 Wrangler soft-top
Originally Posted by John CC
Apparently AS code 120A is "imitation leather." There is a second code for color, in my case, 125A - Beige.
I opened my VIN Decoded PDF and copied all the entries labeled black. Oddly, there is no exact wording for "seat" (bottom, backrest, headrest), so I assume I copied the proper entries
Vehicle Overview
------------------
Interior IMITATION LEATHER - BLACK /ANTHRACITE (121A)
Code Description
--------------------
040U BLACK (<--- apparently exterior paint color)
120A IMITATION LEATHER ( material type only? )
121A IMITATION LEATHER - BLACK /ANTHRACITE
280 LEATHER STEERING WHEEL AND LEATHER GEAR SHIFT KNOB ( no G.S.K here )
Last edited by calder-cay; Sep 1, 2025 at 12:14 AM.
I was researching W204 Alpaca Gray covers but when I just looked up a GLK 350 204.956 its showing the same part#. I copied some of the common colors below. Confusing because the parts diagram says Twin Leather while the website description says w/o leather.
I opened my VIN Decoded PDF and copied all the entries labeled black. Oddly, there is no exact wording for "seat" (bottom, backrest, headrest), so I assume I copied the proper entries
Vehicle Overview
------------------
Interior IMITATION LEATHER - BLACK /ANTHRACITE (121A)
Code Description
--------------------
040U BLACK (<--- apparently exterior paint color)
120A IMITATION LEATHER ( material type only? )
121A IMITATION LEATHER - BLACK /ANTHRACITE
280 LEATHER STEERING WHEEL AND LEATHER GEAR SHIFT KNOB ( no G.S.K here )
This is a very interesting thread since my wife's GLK has the black seats and they are starting the flake. The car is 10 years old and the only major repair was the shocks as they were rusted but nothing else..it runs and drive perfectly.
My drivers side seat was perfect until this past winter then it quickly ripped in a few areas. I really dont care since it is only cosmetic so far, not like its ruining my clothes sitting on it. Def not worth spending over $300 on in my opinion. If I can find a good deal then sure.
Rust has been the cause of many repairs on my 2010 W204. Replaced the struts, springs and shocks. The rear passenger brake line was severely rusted where it runs over the rear axles, it started leaking just from touching it as I was working on replacing that section. Also replaced the transmission pan it was so rusted and falling apart.
Some of the metal nuts that hold the heat shielding up above the muffler have rusted away and the shielding was flopping around. Replacements are very expensive so I used the plastic nuts used to hold the wheel well liners on. Bought them in bulk cheap from AliExpress. They have been holding up fine so far.
Last fall I started spraying corrosion inhibitor like surface shield and CorrosionX all under the car on everything metal. Wish I did it when I first got the car 5yrs ago.
For me, then I'm doing anything on my car or my wife's car, I sway the underneath with rust protector and inheritor. I also spray wax on the bolts that are underneath as per the MB workbook. I go further and sway inside to rear corner panel as well do that not rust can start anywhere. So far, so good and the rust is very minimal compared to those times when I didn't do such steps.
My next big job is to remove my lights and seal the underneath module as this is fail point for LED lights. IF you don't have LED, like in the GLK, then you don't have to worry about this part.
Just a warning about this place. Communication from this vendor is horrible. It is also taking a long time to receive the cover. Wish I had just gone with regular Mercedes OEM.
Ordered on 10/11/2025 with my vin and a pic of my existing seat cover. I also provided the exact Mercedes seat cover part number, since I had replaced my cover once before. They still came back after days after ordering with some questions that were already answered in my order notes.
I tried calling after a week because I was expecting them to just ship it. I was expecting that they just had stock of covers but I guess they need to make them. I didn't realize that and there is nothing on the website that talks about how long it would take. Not a huge deal. Totally understand. They told me about 1-2 business weeks from when the order is placed. So I was good.
Called back again today (2 weeks later) after trying to check with them via email and no response. The person on the phone said it should be another 5-7 business days, but that web orders generally take 5-7 weeks.
Also, if you try calling they never answer the existing orders phone line and don't reply to voicemails on that line. You have to press option 1 for sales to reach anyone.
I'm not saying they are a bad company or the product is bad. I haven't received it yet. I'm just saying communication is pretty bad and you should know that they have to make every cover and it will take time. I'll wait to see how the product is... Hoping it comes next week.
Welp. They shipped it today. Not sure if calling helped, or if they might have been stalking this forum. Hope the quality is great! Looking forward to install it.
Got my seat cover today. Little bit of a hassle putting it in, but it was hard the last time I did it also. New covers come with plastic pieces that hold the seat down, rather than reusing the metal rods from my old seat. Not sure if it's as strong or durable as the metal rods but seems to hold well. Looks great actually. Was about $200-300 cheaper than OEM. Might be a little less tight than OEM.
I broke one of the clips on my seat while I was clipping the new seat in. No biggie but maybe be more careful than me.
Also, one of my screw that hold the seat cushion the the front seat was stripped. Probably from the last time I did this replacement. Ended up using locking plyers to get it unscrewed and replaced with an M6 1.0 - 12 hex screw from the hardware store. Attached a pic.
Last edited by mogulman; Oct 29, 2025 at 05:03 PM.
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Fantastic seat cover replacement source
