kindafast

Hi.
There is a loud clicking sound coming from the glove box after I start the car, it lasts about a minute, minute and a half. I remember reading on this forums that it has something to do with the AC or something but can't find the thread. What is it?
Thank you.

60n5pt1

This might help. mine clicks/knocks too but rarely.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...s-happens.html

DarkXerox

Yeah stepper motor probably, there's a thread in the W203 section.

ScottW911

Yep, search for "stepper motor". There is a DIY thread because the part is cheap but labor is about $500+. It in not an easy DIY though.

Stupid cheap plastic arm breaks off of the motor. The motor is trying to change the direction of air flow in your HVAC system. Very annoying and very expensive.

Slater126

Welcome to the club!

https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...-burn-out.html

It's one of your many stepper motors and, if you can find someone to fix it for $500, go for it. I bet you can't though. Dealer quoted me around $1k for mine and after I protested (to put it mildly) agreed to lower it to $850. I counter offered with $500 but they wouldn't do it. An independent mechanic refused to even touch it. So, alas, I live with it. Problem in my mind on springing for the repair is that this is the second one that went bad on my car (1st was fixed under warranty though they tried to back out of that), and there are several in the dash. I don't want to have $4k invested in stepper motors on a $20k car.

SilverBulletAMG

I wonder what would happen if they were to just disconnect all the stepper motors instead of fixing the broken arm. Are these cheap arm things really necessary? I would rather just pull the dash once, disconnect them all and never worry about it again. Anyone have any real reason not to do this?

Slater126

No idea, I'd be interested in the answer. Somehow, I doubt it. I bet the HVAC system would be thrown into chaos and wouldn't work right. Then you'd have to pull it all apart again. I may attempt the repair myself or have an independent shop do it. Someone posted pictures and instructions on the DIY in a stepper motor thread somewhere on here, and it looks pretty scary! And if I do the job or get it done, I'm going to replace all of the arms this time around.

Donmun

actually it is a design flaw. i changed my stepper linkages myself and found that it was fixed (probably under warranty) by the previous owner. instead of changing both linkage arms they only changed the one that was broken. if u examine the new linkages they are thicker than the old ones, but man they are a pain to get to. now i could do it in about 2 hrs but it took me all day to get it apart. the instructions posted in previous threads was almost dead on. the new arms cost me $20 and my dealer was charging about $500 for the fix.

Slater126

Man, you guys must have sweetheart dealers, or someone's not being fully honest. It's a $1,000 fix, not a $500 fix.

ScottW911

Last year, my dealer invoice showed a total billed (under warranty) as $608 total. $1000 is a complete rip-off.

SilverBulletAMG

My quote, also under warranty, was closer to $1200. $500-$600 is a bargain.

ScottW911

Dang! And I thought the cost of living was high in California.....

Slater126

You got lucky -- or maybe the one which failed in yours was easier to access than the one which has failed in mine? Who knows? Totally agree it's a complete rip-off but even pushing the dealer I couldn't get them to go below $850, and I passed. I found a good independent MB mechanic so I'll get a quote from him and let you know. For $608 I'd give it serious thought -- if they'd be willing to replace all the arms while they were in there. Personally, I think that if this is a design flaw, MB should fix these for its owners free of cost, warranty or not.

SilverBulletAMG

AGREED! Same thing with the front shock bushing update they did. Still under warranty but they would only cover 1 of them and you can't just run the updated part, needed both, and wanted me to come out of pocket close to a grand. I passed....

Donmun

The dealers really are ripping you off. it is the same process to get to both arms, and once the whole thing is disassembled it takes less than 5 mins to change both arms (the one on the left is a b* to get to), but they only want to change one so when the next one breaks they can charge you the $500-$1000 again, and by then your car is no longer under warranty