white_glass_top

dont no if anyone else seen these, so i figured i would post link.

carbon fiber paddle shifters on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/W204-...mZ360101913787

white46

really interesting.....
who is going to bite the bullet first?

BENZ LIFER

I posted it on 10-24-08 under PADDLE , but didn't get very positive responses. ????

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w204/266566-paddle-shift.html

white46

honestly, i thought this was carbonfiber replacement for the cars already came with paddle shifters.

Now I read it over, looks like this is DIY kit since no factory paddle shifter for 4spoke steering wheel.

it's little too expensive tho...

PolePosition

That's cool! But I'm curious if by doing this the airbag warning symbol would come on ( In the pictures the warning symbol is displayed ) because then you would have to go to the dealer to have it reset = $$$ and maybe questions about how it came on.

white46

disconnect the battery before you take airbag out.

PolePosition

I did the paddle retrofit on my BMW 5 series E60 and it has a cable that connected to the paddles and I had to replace the clock spring with one that had a cable soldered to it that would run to the shift knob for it to work.

In these pictures it only shows the cables from the paddles. So if i would get the C63 steering wheel and plug it in would it work?

I wonder if there are more parts that are included with these to make them work beside the paddles with cables shown.

Ron Jr

I e-mailed the seller, it is a replacement for w204's that already have the paddle shifter.

Petje

Strange, because if you have the 4 spoke steering wheel, you dont have the paddle shifters. here in EU if you order the AMG package, you always get the 3 spoke steering wheel and not the 4 spoke.

Petje

Quote from the seller:


HI,

Actually, we discovered that, this shifter can use in E55, SLK and CLK as well. For all the Benz with sockert in air bag as shown on photos. All of them can use it without re-programing. All triptonic gear with common signal wire with this socket.
My car W204 C280 is 4 stoke steering wheel as well. When I bought it from Dealer. It's no shifter as well. After I open steerng wheel. I noted that a socket beside the Air bag. It's common signal with Triptronic Signal. And I ask my firend and he work in M.Benz in Hong Kong as technical Manager. He told me that all W204 standard Series had that socket. Customer can choose shifter optionally.

Ron Jr

Reread the sellers response. It was in broken english and I must have read it quickly. Seems it will work but I won't be the first to try it out.

JohnnyBenz2008

who wants to be the first to take the dive....i would like to find out if our us spec cars have the socket...how can i remove the air bag to check.this is a really nice function to add

JohnnyBenz2008

then again its prob only europe and the rest of the world usa always gets left out

Petje

aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

Dont think the US versions has other Airbag units than the EU ones...
Unscrew your airbag and you will see if you can plug it in.

And BTW dont say you always gets left out, look at your cars invoice and see what we pay here in EU for the same car...

JohnnyBenz2008

i think i'm gonna order this and give it a shot am gonna try to order this by next week

Bokx_350

Even if you are able to fit the paddles to your current steering wheel, the wires for the paddles shifters are just not there. You will have to hardwire the paddles to the +/- on the tranny. While I don’t know this for a fact (since I haven’t opened my steering wheel and don’t plan to), take it from this seller, which appears to be much more reliable:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merce...mZ330277488893

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mercedes-C-Cla...d=p3286.c0.m14

“Please note that if your are planning to put this wheel into a non-AMG vehicle the paddles shifters won't work. They can however be programmed to work on cars equipped with the smaller type od shifters. For more info please contact your local MB-technician.”

I know that it is not the same product, but it is the same concept. If you look closely at the picture of the steering wheel without the airbag (on the second listing) you can see that the paddles sold by the Japanese guy are very much like the OEM (just a tapping switch). What makes you think you will find a plug behind the steering wheel when the seller (the steering wheel seller) clearly states that you wont?

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see someone install paddle shifters for $300, I just think you should do some more research before you dive in.

And if you still want to go for it, I would rather sink $1,270 (minus whatever you can sell your current wheel and airbag for) and get the genuine Mercedes C63 wheel that comes with the paddles than pay $260 for a Made-in-China part that will require drilling to your current wheel. Just my 2 cents.

JohnnyBenz2008

i can see your point but in the revised listing he shows the socket behind the airbag for the paddle shifters on i believe a c280. and so he says it will work on all w204's plug and play without hardwiring it to the tranny. but he could be a nut job just trying to sell his product... lol

who8888

Did you ordered it?

AMGTestDriverNJ

not to rain the parade here or anything but I've looked into this extensively. You will def need a new hub for your elongated wiring that you are trying to install. Additionally, this will absolutely void your warranty regarding the transmission and any other electrical malfunctions they can manage to blame on your wiring of these paddles. Its unfortunate, but very true. At one point I tried to buy a Schatz made steering wheel for the 204 with paddles built in. After I recieved it and went to the shop with it this is the information I recieved. I then called MB corp (here in NJ) and thats what they told me regarding the warranty. Will it work? Yea, most likely, but is it worth voiding the warranty on one of the most important parts of your car? In a little bit better light, if I was to ever reconsider doing this, I would definatly contact a professional like Steve at MBenzNL. If anybody can do this the right way and flawlessly as to not have ANY problems in the future he would be the man for the job. With that being said, be ready to shell out for a mod like that done the right way.

Bobby204

The two airbag bolts in the back need a 3" long T-30 bit (anti-theft.) There's a thread about this.

RLE

Aside from the fact that MBUSA scared you off, where was that cable supposed to connect? That is the real question. And would the paddle shift option have to be enabled by the dealer laptop?

This would have been answered in the printed instructions.

paladiumonblack

Has anyone verified if this will work or not?