sealflow

I have a 2000 clk430 cabrio in mint condition in and out. Silver with Blk leather only 45k miles. Just got the car last summer and i Love it. All except the steering wheel buttons . They are sticky and i tried cleaning them and just made it worse. Need to be replaced . went to the dealer and part dept told me $324.00 for the set. that is crazy , but what other choice do i have???
Also saw some CLK's with smoke tail lights , where can I get some?

MMM430

Yup the buttons are spendy! As for the tails, I went to my dealer and they had their tint guy spray them and IMO they look great. However I know guys that have made it a DIY job and done well. You can do a search in this forum for tinted tails and come up with various threads on the DIY method. Good luck.

sirswift93

I had the same problem; all button come rubberized with low lustre. Just scratch it all off and wipe down with plastic/vinyl dash cleaner and your good forever! You can use a plastic spoon or even your finger nail. Just don't use something that could scratch the actual button. It will take you about 30 mintues to scratch and wipe down.

CLKgurl

OMG my car has the same problem! I thought the previous owner put some sticker there or something. I had a detailer clean my car and they got the sticky stuff off almost completely. So take it to a car detailer and they will fix it for you.

funky102

Can those of you who had the 'sticky stuff' taken off take a pic of the button, just wanted to see the end results. I was considering shelling out $200+ to replace them with new ones but this is a more cost-effective way. thanks!

sealflow

My dealer quoted me $324 for the part alone no labor , I tried cleaning them , got worn down to the white plastic.

Chappy

Been lucky with my buttons so far. I think if you use hand lotion, this makes it worse.

My tails were custom done.

Did you tint the whole light, or just part?

MMM430

I had the whole lamp assembly tinted. It looks great and I like my car being different but truth be told I sometimes wish they were stock. I may swap em out one of these days. Sorry its not great but I've added a pic.

jbenz99

tinted tail lights doesn't look as good on a silver color car than on darker color cars .

Chappy

For some reason, I thought you were selling your ride.... If you want to switch back to stock tails, perhaps a another forum member will swap with you.

It's hard to tell from that pic how dark the tint is. Have the police ever stopped you for those?

MMM430

jbenz99 - LOL....is that opinion officially registered with MBUSA?

Chappy - Nope. Not selling. She's still under 100K and still drives great. No trouble with the police and they are pretty dark. Without direct light to reflect any red or clear color in the lenses they are very dark. With the tail lamps on, which is nearly 100% of the time I'm in the car, the tail and brake lights light up fine. The only problem is at night if I'm trying to back up in an unlighted area, the reverse lights dont illuminate my path very well.

MMM430

Back to SealFlow.... Try this link and part #. They are asking $248 and list MSRP as $310 for the part. Remember though that your color code is part of the part # and your interior color may not be same as mine (Ash). Double check your part #.
http://www.genuinemercedesparts.com/...&siteid=215306
Steering control buttons Part # 210 821 2551 9C01

CLKgurl

Ill try and get a pic up today

nicgentile

I bought my 2000 430 last June and the buttons were gummy as hell. I intended to replace them, but then I just spent the time to scratch all the gummy crap off and they are rather ok.

Its a common problem with the coating they put on them 10+ years ago.

froooot

I was comtemplating changing the buttons on my steering wheel, but as a last ditch attempt, I tried simple methylated spirit, and with a little gentle persuasion, got rid of all the sticky goo that had been bothering me for some time.

Josh K

A little googone and some patience will take all the sticky off without harming the finish underneath. Small amount of chemical and time are the key. You want to use the weakest chemical and the smallest amount that will do the job.

CJackson13

I used googone. Apply it, let it sit for a few minutes and rub the residue off with firm pressure of your thumb or some other soft device so you dont harm the plastic.