racetested

IMO it's such a small, small flaw with the spotty looking door seals that I am not stressing about it and I am pretty picky on keeping things nice.

In my case it's only noticeable close up and I am unsure it's an environmental problem as I noticed it a week after having my car which was garaged most of that time as I didn't drive it much.

I just hate to see something get blown out of proportion. We are only talking about door seals with a "slight" discoloration. Very few people would even notice the issue if not looking for it.

matt55

Try using goo gone orange cleaner It will remove wax/residue/dirt so the trim will be uniform in color

Stick Girl

I haven't noticed any problems on my door - thank goodness! I have a black interior so I don't know if that makes the difference or not.

Stick Girl

I don't know if it is environmental, but I'm in a fortunate position where my car is garaged both at home and at work. It is rarely exposed to the elements for any extended period of time. I just don't quite know what else to make of it.

jangy

A friend had their "rubber" oxidized by chemicals in the wash used at the dealership.

The black rubber is hard to maintain. You almost have to be very proactive with it or it will do exactly what StickChick's did. I used to bug on it, but then I tore worst stuff up

There is also back to black for those surfaces and plastic body panels.

dalazernet

Not really seeing much of a problem with this piece aside from maybe some poor color matching at the factory level? The material above the metal trim piece is actually a different material from that which is UNDER the trim piece... which BTW is also different from the material used for the armrest which more or less matches the seating material. It gets confusing -- but they don't "exactly" match...

From that picture, it doesn't look too bad though - can you post a "good door" picture from a front door next to it so we can compare?

- Eric

RLE

Waitaminnit. Door seals are at the top of the door, next to the roof. If all the excitement is about the seals (often referred to as window wipers) at the bottom of the window glass then I can say that mine did have some varying grayish deposits on them which I removed in about 30 seconds with a dab of Formula 303 on a cloth.

All new rubber has some kind of mold release on it which has to be cleaned off at some point. The tires are one good example of this.

baron210

Hi,
I know this is kind of an old thread, but I will just reply anyhow!
I'm from the UK (Portsmouth south coast), and we have not much Sun in the winter, but some years plenty in the Summer.
I own a lovely Mercedes Benz E320 CDI, have not had many problems to moan about, and the door rubbers produce (from time to time), a white powdery substance.
This is just a by product of the synthetic rubber I believe, and nothing to be too concerned about.
I just clean with mainly (as with all the interior), water on a damped microfibre cloth, simple, odour free, and doesnt leave a shine or residue - Autoglym fast glass on the windows, sometimes Autoglym Glass polish on the windshield (to remove traffic residue), and Mer polish (used neat once every year, slightly abrasive so use with caution), on the bodywork as a polish - regular washing with a Karcher jet wash, plenty of soap (plus a lidfull of Mer) + carwash cleaner, and low jet power except for the wheels and always use a wash mitt, not sponge.
Keeps the old girl in a generally good condition.
****Just a note of caution abouth these rubbers - they are made of a fully synthetic UV resistant material (EPDM - Wikilink = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPDM_rubber ) , and some older car rubber cleaner can cause damage, probably best to use water only, or this 303 stuff, but read up on this first to avoid damage****.

Peabody

I haven't had any problem with my rubber, and it was about a year before I started to use the highly recommended 303 Aerospace.

baron210

Hi again,
posting a pic of my baby, she'll manage 43mpg on a good run, 25 in traffic.
Not a sports car really, but 0-62mph in 6.4 secs, and 540nm torque.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12454268@N04/5085568776/

x942k6

mine have the same problem...they all look dried up...and white-ish

i am also in Seattle area...so its definetly not cause by the exposure to sun or heat

my car is almost 11month old...

another thing...something under the hood seems to be loosen
i can hear it every time i go over bumps

its a merc!!how can the quality be so disappointing?

x942k6

mine does 15mpg in city/traffic(sometimes 13mpg...)
and 24mpg highway = combined lifetime 19.2mpg

hummm had a bmw x3 before was getting average 20
thought the lighter and less powerful c300 will get better mpg

cc3111986

sorry to bring up an old thread. did anybody have good experience getting the dealer warrant the rubber trim? Mines discolored pretty badly.