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All of a sudden I have a bubble in the leather dash in front of the instrument cluster. Car is always garaged but this is Florida. I'm assuming this is heat related but am hesitant to take this one to the dealership. Anyone else had this issue?
If so, what was the fix and the cost?
Mercedes replaces dashboards when under warranty, which is a large and expensive undertaking. You seem to be out of warranty. Your dash is covered with MB-Tex, not leather, which in this case maybe beneficial as MB-Tex doesn't shrink.The glue has just separated.
I probably wouldn't touch it for the risk of causing further damage but one option may be to use a heat gun (safe distance) to soften the glue/straighten the surface.
My 2019 developed bubbles in the same spot in your picture and a larger one in the dome over the instrument cluster. Mercedes replaced the whole leather dash under warranty so I do not know the cost. Mine is the higher end leather.
2019 SL450, 2019 E450 Luxury Trim Wagon, 2024 BMW I7 xDrive60
I would take that to a high end trim shop and ask them about it. I’ve seen them inject adhesive below the raised areas with a hypodermic needle and then roll the material flat again. There may be other options, but short of a new, factory dash pad, there are not many things they can do. Please let us know what you end up doing. Also, you might post your question on the R230 site, where the cars are older and more prone to these types of problems. Lots of R230’s in FL, TX, AZ and other areas where bubbles are a problem. Good luck!
If you don't want to mess with it, for about $40 it could be completely covered up by a dash cover, which in Florida's hot weather would probably keep the sun from cracking it. They're the first item I get when buying a car over here in Arizona.
My wife laughs when I put the windshield cover in our cars when we park in the sun. I'm glad I have a garage. I hope you can find a trim shop that can fix it for you.
Car is going to Palm Park Upholstery in West Palm Beach Friday. They said they can use a heat gun to steam the bubble away. I saw a video of someone doing that on YouTube. I'll post results.
I know. Stated that already in the beginning of the thread. I was responding to Utopia question/comment. I expect Crobb's dash to come out perfectly...
I wonder if that process works on Nappa Leather also as Mercedes replaced my whole dash.
Not sure but it didn't work on mine. The upholstery shop, Palm Park Auto Upholstery in West Palm Beach worked on it for a couple of hours but could not make the bubble go away. They gave it a shot but said the way to do it properly is to remove the windshield first, but that's not something they do. So, the options are, live with it, try injecting glue via hypodermic needles or go the the dealership for a new dash.
FYI, as it turns out, the car is fitted with Napa leather. Not sure it the dash is also Napa, but it is leather. That's one of the complications why Palm Park Upholstery was unable to solve the problem. To their credit, they refused to charge me for their time since they couldn't solve the problem. Hence, if anyone needs upholstery work in the West Palm Beach area, check them out.
FYI, as it turns out, the car is fitted with Napa leather. Not sure it the dash is also Napa, but it is leather. That's one of the complications why Palm Park Upholstery was unable to solve the problem. To their credit, they refused to charge me for their time since they couldn't solve the problem. Hence, if anyone needs upholstery work in the West Palm Beach area, check them out.
Your car has MB-Tex dash. It’s apparent on the picture but more important, any pre-facelift SL has that, Nappa or not.
The only exclusion if the car was fitted with a Designo interior.
Just FYI:
Leather interior: MB-Tex dash, door and rear panels
Nappa interior: MB-Tex dash, door and rear panels
Exclusive Nappa (2017+ option) and Designo: Nappa leather everywhere
Not sure but it didn't work on mine. The upholstery shop, Palm Park Auto Upholstery in West Palm Beach worked on it for a couple of hours but could not make the bubble go away. They gave it a shot but said the way to do it properly is to remove the windshield first, but that's not something they do. So, the options are, live with it, try injecting glue via hypodermic needles or go the the dealership for a new dash.
A new dash with a dealership will likely cost around $8k installed
How does one determine which type of interior is in their car?
Besides looking up the build details on the window sticker or datamb.com, etc. a quick look at the car will tell you.
If the car has a Designo interior, you will have plaques on each seat and/or on the center console (ashtray cover).
All leather will be smooth (no grain). The leather on exclusive Nappa will be the same but no plaques. This was only introduced with the facelift model though (MY17)
The leather interior will have grain everywhere; easiest to see on the headrest. The leather and MB-Tex have similar grain.
On the Nappa leather, the seats/headrest/armrest and center console leather will be smooth, the dash & door panels will have grain.
Not sure if anyone had any luck with dash bubble repair but I tried the "steam method" the other day. Basically took a smooth wet/damp sponge, wet the area that has the bubble, let it sit there for a minute, blotted it dry with a towel, than took a hair dryer to it on high heat going back and forth around the area. Also smoothed it out with my hand and roller while it was hot. It's been a couple days and is holding well. I'll update in a couple weeks,.
Not sure if anyone had any luck with dash bubble repair but I tried the "steam method" the other day. Basically took a smooth wet/damp sponge, wet the area that has the bubble, let it sit there for a minute, blotted it dry with a towel, than took a hair dryer to it on high heat going back and forth around the area. Also smoothed it out with my hand and roller while it was hot. It's been a couple days and is holding well. I'll update in a couple weeks,.
Just trying to understand how this could happen. Is it possible that cleaning/conditioning products could have seeped through the leather and loosened the glue underneath?
I used mink oil paste yesterday and applied it as recommended on warm leather. It immediately turned liquid and seeped deep into the pores of the leather.
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My concern would be shrinking leather with heat...
