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Brand new 2020 C63s coupe side skirt insert coming loose
I purchased brand new 2020 C63s coupe from local MB dealer about a week ago.
Coming from 2015 F80 M3, I feel like C63s is huge upgrade with v8 engine and much nicer interior.
It still has less than 250 miles right now, so I am following break-in procedure. I cannot wait to accumulate some more miles to experience the full power!
Anyway, my car was with detailer past 2 days getting Llumar IRX 30% tinting all around with ceramic Air 80 on front windshiled, Llumar Premier PPF on front bumper/hood, and Modesta ceramic coating.
While my detailer was working on my car, he noticed that glue bonding on front portion of side sill was loose.
It is hard to tell when looking from top unless you specifically look for that spot. There is little gap there.
Defect is pretty obvious when you look at it from the bottom or at eye level with car on the lift.
I took some pictures of the car before delivery, and while it is hard to see this from full side picture, I can confirm that this issue was present on dealer lot before taking delivery.
I guess I should take this to dealer service department and let them fix under warranty (this should be covered, right?).
But I need to wait about week or so for the Modesta coating to fully cure.
Did anyone experience similar issue with your coupe side skirt insert and was MB able to fix this under warranty?
Yep this happened to me 2 times. I wouldn't bother asking the dealer to fix it as it will come loose again. So what I did was removed it and cleaned it up. Then got me some 3M VHB tape and it hasn't come off since.
I can't quite tell, but that looks like you have the aero package with the wider sills. Yes, unfortunately those suckers come off easily. Both of mine were about to fall off. I was told that the adhesive used at the factory is crap and I would have expected that they fixed that for 2020. It was quite a headache to get it fixed. It's a job for the body shop, but they had to order new rocker panels, because they couldn't get all the adhesive residue off for a proper fit and they had trouble fitting the passenger side. Had to bring my car in multiple times until they found that the replacement part was warped. Supposedly they used better adhesive, but I noticed one is already slightly loose again in the back. I'll have to keep an eye on it. They look great, but are poorly engineered and cheaply made unfortunately.
I can't quite tell, but that looks like you have the aero package with the wider sills. Yes, unfortunately those suckers come off easily. Both of mine were about to fall off. I was told that the adhesive used at the factory is crap and I would have expected that they fixed that for 2020. It was quite a headache to get it fixed. It's a job for the body shop, but they had to order new rocker panels, because they couldn't get all the adhesive residue off for a proper fit and they had trouble fitting the passenger side. Had to bring my car in multiple times until they found that the replacement part was warped. Supposedly they used better adhesive, but I noticed one is already slightly loose again in the back. I'll have to keep an eye on it. They look great, but are poorly engineered and cheaply made unfortunately.
Yes, this is aero package wide sill. That's sad to hear that MB did not use good adhesive to attach this. BMW uses betalink to attach external parts such as CF pieces and those pieces are pretty much stuck there for the life.
Since this is brand new car, I will take it to dealer so that they have this in their system... if it keeps happening, I guess I will look for alternative solution.
Thankfully, my MB dealer is only few miles away from home.
Originally Posted by amg8
Yep this happened to me 2 times. I wouldn't bother asking the dealer to fix it as it will come loose again. So what I did was removed it and cleaned it up. Then got me some 3M VHB tape and it hasn't come off since.
How did you clean up all the glue residue from paint?
Exact same thing happened on mine about 8 months from new. Dealer replaced it under warranty here in Australia but took 6 weeks to order a new black trim piece in. It's been good for the last 6 months.
Watch the actual side skirt section too mate, they are known to start shifting and creating a gap.
Exact same thing happened on mine about 8 months from new. Dealer replaced it under warranty here in Australia but took 6 weeks to order a new black trim piece in. It's been good for the last 6 months.
Watch the actual side skirt section too mate, they are known to start shifting and creating a gap.
Terrible quality I must say.
Same on my sedan, came loose twice, dealer replaced twice...it now seems to stick.
I know this happened a lot on the PFL cars, happened to me on the 2017 I had. Dealer fixed it under warranty and it held for the remaining time I had the car. Now I have the FL 2020 and things look ok so far. I thought they would have fixed the adhesive problem for the FL since it happened so much on the earlier cars.
I took the car in to have dealer fix it under warranty.
They ordered new side sill (took about week to arrive), removed old one, cleaned glue residue and installed new one.
When I went back to dealer to pick up the car, I noticed that dealer installed new side sill without using glue to attach the sill... So now both front and rear sections of the sill loose and not attached to body.
They are going to order another side sill. When that arrives, they are going to send my car to certified body shop to do the install.
I am just shocked that dealer installed this without using any glue. Official instruction should clearly mention to use glue to properly install side sill.
Mine came loose, also (2016 Sedan w/night pkg). I pulled them off, cleaned off the 2-sided adhesive, re-applied 2-sided 3M tape and re-installed. They came loose, again. Repeated the process with 2-wide/2-deep 2-sided 3M tape applications ... came loose, again <grrrrr>.
Went looking for a thicker/stickier 2-sided tape product and found some Gorilla 2-sided tape -- it's clear and about 3/32" (about 2.4 mm) thick and "sticks like crazy" ... as do all other Gorilla glue/tape products I've used. It's been over a year and the skirt/inserts are still in place.
Found this video on the product ... the one I used was the clear/15 lb version and it looks like there's also an even stronger-bond version:
Had the same issue with my 2015 ED1 sedan with night package on my passenger side and I used 3M body tape. It’s not as perfectly flush as I’d like it to be, but it is way better. I broke a clip or two in the process getting it off for the first time, so that is probably why. It’s a shame so many had issues with this!
UPDATE: My car has been in the shop for the ESP recall and AMG Drive Unit campaign and some other things, new windshield and bent wheel. While it is in, I had them take another look at the passenger side skirt as it wasn't sitting flush after the repair and is starting to come loose again. Turns out AMG just released an official fix for this. There's a repair kit now with a solvent to clean off all the adhesive and updated side skirts with mounting holes for screws, so they've given up on making them stick with adhesive and came out with a better quality solution. Unfortunately, the new side skirts have to come from Germany with an ETA in December, so I'll have to go back once they are here, but I'm glad they stepped up and redesigned these ****ty quality side skirts. Just thought I'd let everyone know. I'm supposed to get the car back today and I'll post any details that might be on the invoice. They had already ordered the repair kit and were trying to source the updated side skirts in the USA, but there are none here yet.
UPDATE: My car has been in the shop for the ESP recall and AMG Drive Unit campaign and some other things, new windshield and bent wheel. While it is in, I had them take another look at the passenger side skirt as it wasn't sitting flush after the repair and is starting to come loose again. Turns out AMG just released an official fix for this. There's a repair kit now with a solvent to clean off all the adhesive and updated side skirts with mounting holes for screws, so they've given up on making them stick with adhesive and came out with a better quality solution. Unfortunately, the new side skirts have to come from Germany with an ETA in December, so I'll have to go back once they are here, but I'm glad they stepped up and redesigned these ****ty quality side skirts. Just thought I'd let everyone know. I'm supposed to get the car back today and I'll post any details that might be on the invoice. They had already ordered the repair kit and were trying to source the updated side skirts in the USA, but there are none here yet.
That’s good to know.
My dealer initially tried to install replacement side sill, but obviously these techs are not familiar with working on exterior body parts.
They ended up putting couple of deep scratches on rocker panel and did not even install new side sill properly.
After few emails, they decided to replace both rocker panel and side sill and have authorized body shop to install these new parts.
My issue is fixed now and looks as good as other non-damaged side.
UPDATE: My car has been in the shop for the ESP recall and AMG Drive Unit campaign and some other things, new windshield and bent wheel. While it is in, I had them take another look at the passenger side skirt as it wasn't sitting flush after the repair and is starting to come loose again. Turns out AMG just released an official fix for this. There's a repair kit now with a solvent to clean off all the adhesive and updated side skirts with mounting holes for screws, so they've given up on making them stick with adhesive and came out with a better quality solution. Unfortunately, the new side skirts have to come from Germany with an ETA in December, so I'll have to go back once they are here, but I'm glad they stepped up and redesigned these ****ty quality side skirts. Just thought I'd let everyone know. I'm supposed to get the car back today and I'll post any details that might be on the invoice. They had already ordered the repair kit and were trying to source the updated side skirts in the USA, but there are none here yet.
good to know, I am in my third set and it just came loose again a few days ago ;-(
good to know, I am in my third set and it just came loose again a few days ago ;-(
Just to be clear, this is for the aero package side skirts (coupe only). Not sure if there's similar fix for the standard sedan and coupe side skirts, which I understand also have issues with staying on.
Perfect! My 16's are coming off but they were painted at some point before I got her. So I have no idea if they were ever updated. If screwed on does the entire rocker have to come off?
I have been searching for videos but nothing.
Perfect! My 16's are coming off but they were painted at some point before I got her. So I have no idea if they were ever updated. If screwed on does the entire rocker have to come off?
I have been searching for videos but nothing.
thanks for your assistance.
The updated parts are only for the 2019+ coupes with the aero package.
07-30-2020, 12:58 AM
