[Rich807]

What does everyone use on their SensaTec interior to keep looking nice & perhaps provide a bit of UV protection?

[paquet]

I use this for leather and I imagine it should work for sensatec too:

https://www.shopbmwusa.com/PRODUCT/6...PROTECTION-KIT

so far, the harsh Florida sun hasn't won

EDIT: I tried out the chemical brothers cleaning stuff (link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQA3WW6/ ) after a year of using the BMW leather care stuff above and honestly, it made no difference. The BMW branded stuff works great

[chassis]

No protection needed. Today’s automotive vinyl is very good: Sensatec, MB-Tex and V-Tex are all nearly indestructible.

Clean with plain water and a terry towel, not microfiber.

[SpeedyATL]

Originally Posted by chassis

No protection needed. Today’s automotive vinyl is very good: Sensatec, MB-Tex and V-Tex are all nearly indestructible.

Clean with plain water and a terry towel, not microfiber.

This is exactly why I got Sensatec in my pending convertible.

I wanted something that would look nearly brand new in 4-5 years when I sell the car and I think Sensatec is the answer....even if I leave the top down regularly.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by chassis

No protection needed. Today’s automotive vinyl is very good: Sensatec, MB-Tex and V-Tex are all nearly indestructible.

Clean with plain water and a terry towel, not microfiber.

You've obviously not seen all of the "leather" interiors on our cars with the cracked side bolsters on the outside of the sport seats? The leather holds up well, it's the "partial" part (vinyl) that fails. We've had to replace vinyl seatcovers under warranty on BMWs, never had to do the same for leather. I've seen late-model E-class Mercedes with completely cracked drivers seats in a short time with MB-Tex. The newest Sensatec in BMW (like newer perforated Cognac) actually looks much better but only time will tell. Leather is a known product. Vinyl is known to fail unless you're talking about a 2002 (the model, not the year) with Skai luggage vinyl from the '70s which can still be in good shape today. I can show you a perfect original Skai interior on my '70 1600 as well as a repair in the side panel of my "leather" sport seat on my 2013 128i M-sport.

[chassis]

Yep nothing is perfect.

MB-Tex on my GLE is top notch after 5 years.

My previous vehicle V-Tex seats developed the first small crack after 200k miles, invisible to the casual observer.

E-Class MB-Tex does seem to get more complaints than other models on mbworld. Carmakers have multiple suppliers for various commodities and it's a safe bet not all suppliers have identical quality and reliability.

The latest V167/X167 GLE/GLS had quite a few complaints of low mileage cracked MB-Tex. One of the long list of launch failures on that platform.

[Socalboiler]

[SpeedyATL]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

You've obviously not seen all of the "leather" interiors on our cars with the cracked side bolsters on the outside of the sport seats? The leather holds up well, it's the "partial" part (vinyl) that fails. We've had to replace vinyl seatcovers under warranty on BMWs, never had to do the same for leather.

As long as they replace it under warranty I guess I'll stay optimistic about my future Sensatec seats should their batch not be up to snuff.

My wide's 2019 X3's leather seats are not doing well as the leather is already rather dry and much less supple than when new....but we haven't treated them they way would have had we owned the car either.

A bit off topic, but tangentially related, I took my 2019 440GC in for warranty repairs to my door trim chrome because its really getting milky and spotted looking. The service writer said it was not covered under warranty (the car had under 20k and was less than 3 years old at the time).

As long as I can remember BMW has had quality issues with the chrome on lower model cars (3 series as that is where my experience is). It gets permanent water spots and starts to get very cloudy from sun exposure (this was common when I lived in Orlando).

Is this right or was he just trying to get me to move along?

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by chassis

No protection needed. Today’s automotive vinyl is very good: Sensatec, MB-Tex and V-Tex are all nearly indestructible.

Clean with plain water and a terry towel, not microfiber.

Every single sensatec car I see that is at least 8 years old has cracked seats.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by packet

I use this for leather and I imagine it should work for sensatec too:

https://www.shopbmwusa.com/PRODUCT/6...PROTECTION-KIT

so far, the harsh Florida sun hasn't won

EDIT: I tried out the chemical brothers cleaning stuff (link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQA3WW6/ ) after a year of using the BMW leather care stuff above and honestly, it made no difference. The BMW branded stuff works great

Actually use the BMW stuff on my sensatec E90 seats. Seems to keep the plastic softish (for plastic).

[Rich807]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Every single sensatec car I see that is at least 8 years old has cracked seats.

I just sold a 2011 X5 35d that lived its whole life in the desert SW & the seats looked like brand new. I only owned it for 2 1/2 years but when I traded it, the interior was still amazing.

[Rich807]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Actually use the BMW stuff on my sensatec E90 seats. Seems to keep the plastic softish (for plastic).

The BMW stuff carries with it a warning on the product website:

"This product is not suitable for faux leather, full-grain leather, Alcantara etc."

[Rich807]

Originally Posted by chassis

Yep nothing is perfect.

MB-Tex on my GLE is top notch after 5 years.

My previous vehicle V-Tex seats developed the first small crack after 200k miles, invisible to the casual observer.

E-Class MB-Tex does seem to get more complaints than other models on mbworld. Carmakers have multiple suppliers for various commodities and it's a safe bet not all suppliers have identical quality and reliability.

I had an '08 C300 with MBtex where the driver's seat was cracking at about the 5-year point. Didn't have my GLA250 long enough before the wife & I split to see how its MBTex faired in the long run.

[BMWCCA1]

Originally Posted by SpeedyATL

As long as they replace it under warranty I guess I'll stay optimistic about my future Sensatec seats should their batch not be up to snuff.

My wide's 2019 X3's leather seats are not doing well as the leather is already rather dry and much less supple than when new....but we haven't treated them they way would have had we owned the car either.

A bit off topic, but tangentially related, I took my 2019 440GC in for warranty repairs to my door trim chrome because its really getting milky and spotted looking. The service writer said it was not covered under warranty (the car had under 20k and was less than 3 years old at the time).

As long as I can remember BMW has had quality issues with the chrome on lower model cars (3 series as that is where my experience is). It gets permanent water spots and starts to get very cloudy from sun exposure (this was common when I lived in Orlando).

Is this right or was he just trying to get me to move along?

As long as your failure occurs before the 4yr/50k-mile warranty expires. It's not covered under CPO or any extension.

BMW has been blaming Shadowline discoloration as well as "chrome" trim on carwashes for as long as I can remember. Escalate your claim to BMW NA and have a BMW factory rep tell you that to your face.

Put some product on your leather at least once per year, or don't complain about it drying out. Do you own shoes you abuse, too, and wonder why they no longer look new?

[SpeedyATL]

Originally Posted by BMWCCA1

Put some product on your leather at least once per year, or don't complain about it drying out.

Wow, tough love from CCA1....Go easy on me big man, I did acknowledge not treating it regularly, but you'd think after less than 20k miles and 30 months it would not be as dry and firm as it is....

Maybe not as long as you, but I've been a BMWCCA member for over 30 years, so I get the passion.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Rich807

I just sold a 2011 X5 35d that lived its whole life in the desert SW & the seats looked like brand new. I only owned it for 2 1/2 years but when I traded it, the interior was still amazing.

Up here, the car gets hammered by freezing temps and extremely dry air, bet that is a big reason why it fairs so badly here.

[Rich807]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Up here, the car gets hammered by freezing temps and extremely dry air, bet that is a big reason why it fairs so badly here.

Yes, thinking the brutal cold up there for months out of the year has a whole lot to do with anything like SensaTec being 'brittle' when people & things are placed on it. I can see that non-pliable state being really hard on it.

It's super dry where I live but hot for more than half the year. Thinking my geo climate's main threat to SensaTech, MBTex etc comes via UV. Just a theory / educated guess though.

I've also noticed in the desert SW unless a manufacturer uses very high quality thick leather it will shrink / crack like a bad dog. American car company leather is particularly susceptible to this in my experience. Ford's is horrible based on a # of vehicles I've owned & a # of coworkers I've seen deal with it. It shrinks so much it will pull the seat clips out of the frames of the chairs. Even with King Ranch leather vehicles where my coworker cared for it like it was his newborn baby (using Ford/King Ranch branded leather care stuff).

[paquet]

Originally Posted by Rich807

The BMW stuff carries with it a warning on the product website:

"This product is not suitable for faux leather, full-grain leather, Alcantara etc."

I just saw that too - and it doesn't make sense to me except for not putting it on Alcantara (possibly due to staining).

As an aside, a purchase of a leather / leather + vinyl couch usually comes with a courtesy bottle of some moisturizing liquid to keep the leather from drying up and cracking.

Skin / clothing contact with leather will transfer dirt and dry up the leather which will then result in cracking etc.

[Rich807]

I'm going to use as little 'product' on my SensaTec as I believe the need dictates however, when I do believe I need/want some UV protection on it it's prolly going to be 303 that gets applied.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by chassis

No protection needed. Today’s automotive vinyl is very good: Sensatec, MB-Tex and V-Tex are all nearly indestructible.

Clean with plain water and a terry towel, not microfiber.

Why not use a microfiber cloth?

[chassis]

It’s written in MB owners’ manuals. The following is based on data.

Microfiber is polyester. MB-Tex, Sensatec, etc is vinyl. Seat stitching is nylon or polyester.

The small or non-existent hardness difference between microfiber and the seating materials means over time the seat material will wear as a result of being rubbed with microfiber. Not the case when using a terry cloth.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Rich807

I'm going to use as little 'product' on my SensaTec as I believe the need dictates however, when I do believe I need/want some UV protection on it it's prolly going to be 303 that gets applied.

303 does not have any UV inhibitors.