Chedeng_05

Here's an observation:

2 weeks ago when i had my car for service, they gave me a brand new (only 700 miles on it) 2005 C230K which was EXACTLY just like what i have. WRONG... the first thing i noticed was that the console looked a bit different. Which i thought was weird considering i just bought mine a couple of months ago.

Here's what's different: the location of the LOCK & UNLOCK button where in the wrong place as mine. Mine had the LOCK button on top and directly on the bottom was the UNLOCK button. So i said okay...then i noticed the A/C, front and rear defogger buttons were also diffrerent. THIS REALLY PISSED ME OFF NOW CAUSE WHY WOULD THEY CHANGED THEIR DESIGN RIGHT AWAY?

So when i got home i was reading the manual and sure enough MB had 2 designs for the console depending on production date. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT? Does this mean that in such a short time that MB already detected a design flaw? WOW, whatever happend to R&D before releasing products to the public. This is really unheard of.

Just wanna let you guys know what i experienced.

revstriker

So let me see if I understand this. You're pissed off because the lock/unlock and AC buttons, which you had no complaint about before, were in different positions on the loaner car you got?

jedcred

Actually, it's probably not a design change by choice. More than likely its simply a result of manufacturing supply, or perhaps a mistake in ordering parts. Since the consoles between MBs are similar, I guess they just figured that they'll use up their current stock and switch to the new design later on in the production schedule. However, what's really important is that it does not take away from the functionality of the car.

If you really want a problem to complain about, listen to this. On my '89 BMW 535, for some reason, during production the ABS brake fluid resevoir was changed to a completely different design. If you go to any BMW dealer and ask for the part, they give you the previous incarnation of the part, not the later model. Thus, twice during that car's lifetime I had to go to a Jaguar dealership to track down the rubber grommits for the brake fluid resevoir, as it was leaking. That's something you really should take offense to; something that really makes owning/maintaining the car a hassle.

Steve Clark

cars evolve and change during production runs.If this really pisses you off,you had better not look any harder for changes.

The R&D that you insist DBZ neglected was not ignored.

Deutscher_Wagen

it's actualy rather common for manufacturers to run out of parts and retrofit other parts that are simply in stock.

One of my GF's cars is a 86 VW Jetta Coupe, during that year they ran out of clutch cables... so they started using clutch cables from the diesel motor. Took us three trial and error orders from parts dept to figure that out.

Outland

You are clearly not an engineer. Its very common for minor items to change mid year, or during the year. Suppliers change...one is cheaper, or has fewer problems. He puts the lock on top, the other on bottom. Same with the climate control. Sometimes changes planned for start of model year get pulled ahead or run behind due to availability, cost, or lead time. Deal with it. Lamest complaint Ive heard this year.

inFiniTE LooP

can you take a picture of what yours looks like? i wanna compare it to mine now , i'm sucker for this kinda stuff too i think it's the OCD in me

Sailorlite

The Owner's Manual for my '05 C230 sedan describes both versions of this control panel area, but as far as I can tell neither one is cited as an "improved" or "updated" version. It is odd, I agree, but the two versions seem equally good.