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You should be able to replace it without doing all that. I've never tried to do it on a BMW seat but I've done it before on some Audi seats from the early 2000s. On those you have to release a tab(s) that's accessible with the head rest removed and located on the inside (center) of the trim in question.

@@derrickg5612 Thank you for your response! I have ordered a new trim piece to see how it installs.

@@E39Source Thanks for the content you produce. I've been watching E39Source for years.

@@derrickg5612 Thank you for your support and kind words!

Glad you liked the video. I don't have seat covers anymore. Sold them a couple of years ago.

It's great for removing C-pillar trim.

Thanks for watching and for the tip.

Glad you found it helpful. As you can see I'm not someone who posts videos all the time, so I don't have stands and equipment I can setup to make for a better how to video. Just doing what I can with my phone. Hope it helped you out anyway.

@@derrickg5612 You did good , And this is a very important video because I have searched and search for something like it and yours was the best so far, but all you had to do was put the phone on the chair or ladder or move the seat for the camera angle and show us what to do only because interpretation can be confusing remember " A picture is worth a thousand words" and your word like push,pull,yank, move or anything like that can be different for anyone else. ie.... push= up,down,left,right,in,out,forward, back depending on the angle of perspective, if I'm in front ,side,back of you. And that is the point of showing us.. We are the dumb ones...Try to explain a math equation to me if I don't know what you mean would be pretty hard . Not trying to be a jerk at all, Have a good day man. AND YES IT WAS HELPFUL.-Thanks again!

That's hard to say without looking at the seat, but I would take the seat back panel off like I did just before I explained how to separate the two halfs. Then see if those levers have come loose somehow. Some of these seats also have bolts instead of levers. They're in the same location just make sure you identify which setup you have. Also. If it just came loose, and nothing else is wrong, you should be able to push it back into place until you hear it click. Then you know it's seated in place.

@@derrickg5612 thanks man, I was gonna follow your video procedure and figure out what the problem was. I just wish your video showed the lever in the seat back. But thanks again

Thanks for watching. I never took the seat back leather off, but I would imagine the most difficult part is removing the head rest. The leather attaches to the seat frame by hooking into the metal tabs on the back and by hog rings, similar to the seat bottom leather. Before you attempt to remove it completely, try to detach it just enough to get the heating element in place and secure. This leather is old and easy to work with, so that might give you just enough wiggle room.

Good idea, might save me some time and aggravation.

Your welcome

Thanks for watching. I remember this job taking me about 2-3hrs just for one seat. I don't know for sure how much it would cost but the labor rate for most shops is around $50 per hour. I'm sure you could call up a place for an estimate so you know what to expect.

I haven't tried that oil treatment you mentioned, but I actually ended up switching oils again after Liqui Moly. I'm now using Amsoil. I did a good amount of research and decided to go with Amsoil because it's 100% synthetic, as opposed to fully synthetic oil. That gives it longer life and better anti-friction properties. My 540 still has Vanos knock. That's just how it is unless I rebuild or replace them. There is a channel called "Projectfarm" who did a lot of oil testing, so you may want to check him out if you haven't already.

@@derrickg5612 Ooh! Thanks yeah I def have to look into that then esp since my cars already got 140K on it. Yeah I've seen that channel before, it seems like some videos do have some controversies though.

I'm really considering replacing the vanos units with a dr. vanos rebuild. I don't have a service engine light on but I'm still thinking about replacing them. I'll do a video on that if/when I do the job.

@@derrickg5612 i yut upload video of mine v8,look at my chanel

@@jkay4085 I've heard mixed reviews on rebuilt vanos units. I heard one person say it didn't do much but most say it really quieted it down. I'm still trying to decide weather or not to do it, but I'm leaning towards doing it.

Ever heard of a hobby?

@@derrickg5612 yeah, ever heard of wasting time and money? I'm just messing with you. You actually did a great job. How many times have you done a project like this?

@@rickleece6220 Oh my bad. Thanks, this is the first time doing an interior project of my own, but I used to work as an auto technician so I have some experience with this. It can be a pain sometimes.

Good luck buying a new e39

Probably not, but I've never tried so I don't know for sure. A possible problem I could see would be moving the seat bottom around and trying to put it in different positions, so if the back is still on it would make the job that much more difficult. It's really not difficult to take off.

Kosan Stanojevic, No problem, good luck with the repair/project.

Yes you can buy them. Another reason why I swapped the leather was because the electrical connector for the original beige seat didn't work with my car. The connector with the black seat did, so I swapped the leather.

@@derrickg5612 And what about heat connector? It works in both ways?

@@gettorque The heat connector was NOT interchangeable between the two seat harnesses with different car to seat electrical connectors. But it's easy to splice the harnesses with some male/female spade connectors. There's no risk to doing that, as it's not a sensitive airbag circuit.