The front seats are powered by a few electrical motors that drive torque cables, causing the up-and-down, forward-and-backward motion of the bottom and seatback. At first glance these German engineering marvels could look intimidating, but take your time and get familiar with the project. Start with the passenger front seat because these seat covers are usually the ones with less wear and the least distortion. Be careful not to damage the old seat covers when unstitching them, because we'll use these original seat covers as patterns.
After pulling the seat cover over the top of the seatback frame we can finish applying the rest of the hog rings. Then wrap the upholstery around the frame and fasten it to the spikes.
Alright we're ready to reassemble. This is a good time to review your notes. Remember that reassembly is pretty much like disassembly with a few differences here and there, but use your common sense and take your time. Review your notes and refer to your digital camera for areas you might have forgotten.
Alright, now that Rick is familiar with the project, he's ready to break down the front passenger seat. See how effortlessly Rick separates the bottom and seatback cushions. Remember to take plenty of notes during disassembly, because reassembly, including seat cover installation, will be in reverse-not exactly but close-trust me.
First he will remove the posterior trim panel behind the seatback and disconnect any necessary electrical plugs. Some of the plug wires are channeled from the bottom seat and enter through the seatback assembly. It will be necessary to free the plug wires out so that eventually the two seat cushions will separate easily. At this point, remove the bottom seat track assembly. Now lay the bottom seat cushion face down on the work bench. Notice the small spikes along the inside of the bottom seat frame. Unlike traditional hog rings, the Germans decided to fasten the upholstery on these spikes. The same thing goes for the seatback cover. Continue by removing the upholstery from theses spikes and once completed, flip the seat cushion over. Now pull the material upward so that the seat cover is inside out. Notice how the seat cover is fastened to the padding, usually by one or three wire rods inside the cloth listing and hog ringed to the padding. Go ahead and remove the hog rings and afterward remove the wire rods inside the cloth listing. Save these wire rods; we will need them later.
Now the real fun begins. Check out this satin black leather. Using chalk, transfer the individual bottom seat cushion patterns to the new leather. Don't forget to transfer the locator marks.