jgarciabu

So I went to In-n-Out burger the other day with a friend and I told him don't drink or eat in my car. Against my will, he began drinking his coke and apparently the cap on the cup was loose and when we hit a bump the cap came off and some of the coke came out . Now my back and clr buttons next to my radio dial make this awful clicking noise because there's coke stuck in the button. I tried to clean it as quick as possible after it happened but it obviously got in there good. I was wondering if this has happened to any of you guys and what you did to clean it if anything... I am just so sad now

CLS63AMGGUY

but in my wife's SUV.

Need:
Wet paper towel
Dry paper towels
Shop Vac

What I did was got a very wet paper towel and some dry ones...rubbed the area down to get some H2O in there and quickly vacuumed up the H20...I did this a couple of time and it seemed to work for our small spill.(You could also substitute the H20 with some rubbing alcohol).

Good Luck.

Derspeed

2nd the alcohol. Also, have your friend switch to diet soda. No sugar, no sticky.

cjh.

Gahhhhh. Rather than you doing the things the previous two people have suggested, call up your ex-friend and have him clean it.

benggolf

Ohhh....might not be a good idea as he might mess it up even more.
Sorry this had to happen to you jgarciabu.

I strictly enforce a "no eating, no drinking" in my car rule, no exceptions!

tanktube67

Get some electric/electronics cleaner solvent from the autoparts and spray it on the buttons (ON YOUR OWN RISK)

Krytech

Sorry to hear about the incident... Something similar happened to me a few years ago with a baby bottle on a trip we were taking. I used water and a vacuum similar to the previous poster to clean it up and best I could.

chilledbenz

The problem you run into here is you can't tear apart that control knob and its surrounding buttons to get to them and clean them very easily. Don't even bother to try, after reading a post here awhile back about someone wanting to replace that part after trying to clean it and the crazy amount of money they wanted for it, your best bet is to do what one of the others above suggested. Go to Radio Shack, pick up some electronics cleaner, preferably one with a hose nozzle that you can aim down into the buttons. Push the button down, insert the hose and give it a couple quick shots and then keep pushing on them until they free up. I wouldn't go too crazy on trying to clean them though, as mentioned in that other thread, they don't like to be cleaned and you can rub the paint/plastic coloring right off if your not careful.

amdeutsch

1) You told him
2) You didn't enforce your rule
3) You went to 'In-n-Out'

$0.02

jgarciabu

You're right... Believe me, it's the first and last time it happens. But I have some good news. I brought my car to be serviced today at the Merc dealer and when I got my car back all the affected buttons were in tip top shape. It seems as if they noticed and decided to clean it up for me. That's one thing I absolutely love about Mercedes Benz...the incredible service you get. He even threw in a free nitrogen fill for my tires since I had been there once before for a scheduled tire replacement and they didn't have the part I needed. Thanks for all the suggestions guys I really appreciate it.

trial0r

rubbing alcohol and goo gone.

had the same thing happen to me in my old a4 except on the center console. could never get the air conditioning buttons back to normal though...

ffejalink

rs1985

get mercedes to do it
and tell ur friend to pay for it
as u told him not to do it
you said it got into the back button too eh

cjh.

Wow. That is why MB is superior.

trial0r

woa woa woa. what dealer is this and where????

angeloxnet

my dealer has been ****ty, i took my car in for service "noise in the hatshelf"
and when i got my car back the car was dirtier then when i brought it in.

some dirt on the seats, and also they didnt clean the brake dust very well.

cjh.

Not sure what dealer he goes to, but I go to World Wide Motors of Indianapolis, which is one of only two dealers in Indy. They treat everyone very well and do great work. Case in point: have had both my MBs delivered to and signed for at my house, my dealer has taken me home when they didn't have any rentals available, and the service department knows me by name. (not that I visit that often. Ha.)

jgarciabu

Well I am originally from Boston and bought my car at Herb Chambers in Boston. I went in for a couple things during the beginning of my ownership and was always treated very well. They are very attentive to their customers and make sure you understand everything that is going on. Now I am in Phoenix and went to the Downtown Phoenix Merc dealer and they seem to hold the same kind of customer service standards. I dread the day I take my car to a dealer that doesn't hold customer service to a higher standard. So far so good with service experiences for me.

narky

Don't come to Northern California. Garbage.

alpinweiss

It is difficult to convince friends to not drink soda in your brand new Mercedes, especially when they own a mid-1980s Toyota sedan that hasn't been cleaned in a year or so.

The technique I use: I ask passengers to finish drinking their sodas before entering the car. I do not unlock the car until they have finished. I do not transport drinks at all (other than bottled water). Food gets secured in the trunk.

Your Mercedes dealer is obviously top-notch since they cleaned it up for you. A more likely scenario is the possibility of a $100 cleaning bill after a $1.49 soda.

RLE

And if anybody spills liquid on the shift lever (which is a switch) you might end up with a box full of neutrals and a large repair bill because the dealers have seen too many of these screwups. And the warranty does not usually cover stupidity.

Knowing about this, I am very careful when I have something in the cup holder, always with a lid, naturally.