aborwick

The manual at page 368 advises when washing the car at an automatic carwash to "fold back the outside mirrors to prevent them from getting damaged." Do not try to fold the mirrors back, they do not fold. A call to MB-USA customer relations confirmed that the advice in the manual is erroneous.

MarkL

Yep, they do have a spring-type action in both directions which gives them a little "give", but they don't fold.

Mach430

Other models have folding mirrors, which may explain why that ended up in your manual.

Maverick666

Hmmm... i'll break mine off and take it to the dealer hahahaha...

BruNo

my euro spec car has power folding mirrors, i have 2 buttons above the L/R buttons on mirror adjustment, one for folding in, one for folding out. so there are 2 buttons above, and 2 buttons below the mirror arrow switch, guess this option is nt available in u.s.

BrabusCClass

Bruno... I am jealous. That sucks, why doesnt my car come with that.

Buellwinkle

Why don't they just come with a close proximity radar so you don't need to look at mirrors. Bogey at 3 o'clock, abort lane change.

BigBadDad

It had been awhile since I looked at my manual, but from what I remember, it was full of mis-information. The best thing I can say about the manual is that it is hard bound and has some pictures .

Fuzzo

I must say that it is pretty weak that the mirrors don't fold. I think it would have been something nice to have...and it's something standard in pretty much all the cars for free...isn't it? I can understand making the power folding mirrors an additional option but dang...atleast let us fold em manually....

I have seen the power mirror folding on the S classes here in the US.

MB-BOB

Folding mirrors are not provided as a consumer feature, primarilly. Folding mirrors permit cars to be packed closer together on cargo ships without damage to the mirrors. Even domestic manufacturers have found it beneficial to include folding mirrors, so that they can be driven on and off truck transporters without damage. Of course, consumers get to benefit post purchase, although I occassionally see cars in traffic with mirrors folded in... not good.

At least the C-Class mirrors are on sprung hinges...

Flashman

I think the European C-Class folding mirrors are ugly. The US non-folding version is nicer looking.

BruNo

[Flashman]...FYI: all C Class have identical looking mirrors...euro or not, less the pwr folding for U.S. bound Cs. tsktsk...

Flashman

Your right... what I meant is that the non-folding version is clean looking, no cut in the plastic for the folding mechanism.

DrX

Having driven extensively in Europe, I can tell you that folding mirrors are definitely a consumer feature and have nothing to do with packing the ship. When you parallel-park on a European street, you have to fold your driver's side mirror if possible. Otherwise it can get wiped out by a passing car. I saw many parked cars with broken mirrors because they were non-folding. I drove down one street that was so narrow I had to stop and fold my mirrors in to get through (Cordoba, Spain).

Of course, with all the open space in the US, you never need them. Nor do we in Australia.

(Do you really think they would bother to install the extra motors and switches just to get a few extra cars on the ship? Of course not - they would just have a manually foldable one.)

spindrome

sheesh!