CliveJameson

I have been looking through the forums for a few maddening problems with my otherwise wonderful SL600 ('05).

I bought my car used about a year ago and would like to touch up the interior. The center vent is missing one handle / knob. The driver side (left) vent knob is also missing.

From what I understand reading the forum , the only viable alternative is to replace the entire vent. Is that correct? there is no way to purchase just a knob?

Thank you for any help you can give.

kbob999

This is a common failure point on the R230. I see a lot of used cars with this. Mine had it too.

I was able to buy a vent on eBay, and replace just the vane with the 'handle' on the vent. Once you have a donor vent, you can see how they operate, and how the lever attaches to the vane with hinge pins at each end.

I removed the center vane (with lever) and swapped the new part in while the vent was in the dash. Pry the hinge from one end of the vent vane and pull it out, releasing the opposite hinge pin.

It is a little fiddly, as the center lever vane is 'geared' to the other vent vanes, so they all move/rotate together. For reassembly, you must get the gear aligned so it operates with the correct timing on the vent. If you don't get it right, the handle will not be centered, but it will still work.

Good luck and PM if you need help.

CliveJameson

Thank you, KBob. I spent a good amount of time searching the forums and was vainly hoping that someone had found another solution.

A follow-up question, if I go the eBay route to get a used donor vent, are the side and center handles interchangeable?

kbob999

I don't believe the side and center are interchangeable, but I could be wrong. Measure yours in the dash to confirm they are the same size. At work right now, so I can't tell from my desk