biker349

hey guys. i posted about 11/2 years ago about a problem with both front fenders cracking around the third bolt from the front and spreading up the wall of the fender. i tried fixing it by using epoxy over the cracks to stop the cracks. well 11/2 years later one of the fenders continued the crack over the top of the fender to the outside. i don't know if it was a poor epoxy job, or just the constant change of temperature and vibration that caused the epoxy to fail. in any case i would like to know how many folks either have experienced these cracks on their fenders, or know of anyone who has had this problem. i am having the fenders replaced. they are flimsy plastic and weigh less than 3 lbs. my car was never in an accident. i would like to know how common this is. i'm a bit paranoid that the new fenders may crack also. the shop in putting rubber washers under each bolt to try and stop the cracking. this was discussed with the tech and he felt it was a good idea.
so what is your experience with this and how common is this problem?
the car is a 2004 cl. i believe the cl is the only mercedes with plastic fenders and body work.
thanks for your input

alx

never seen it. your original fender were removed and then reinstalled twisted and under torsional pressure. knowing how they hinge with the front fender - this is very easy to do.

awiner

I have seen this happen. I thought it started from mechanics that lean over the fender when working in the engine compartment putting excess pressure against those areas.

djrabbi

Mine is cracked from the bottom cause I am low

biker349

guys, this crack started under the third bolt from the front on both fenders. i don't believe those fenders were ever off the car. i'm thinking either stress from vibration, or something caught in the front under body while backing out, although it never happened to me. i know you can crack the fender on the top by putting minimal pressure on it cause i did this when i first got the car.

TMC M5

My driver side fender cracked on my old CL65. I assumed I must have leaned on it when doing something with the wheels. My car was never lowered with a module or anything.

biker349

just spoke to a mercedes body man and he said this cracking is a common problem on the cl. he said mercedes has reinforced the the inside of the fender in the newer replacement fenders. evidently mercedes knows about this problem, but won't admit it.

Benzbias

Just caught this thread - I am not alone!
I paid $4265 (CDN) to replace two cracked front fenders (see attach)
Car has never been in an accident.
After the usual service run-a-round "we have never encountered this before" - I wrote the President of MB Canada - the company refused any participation in the cost to correct a disappointment as I view this defect as a design/assembly flaw. There was nothing that I might've done or not done to have prevented these structural cracks.

I am interested in forming a group who might be interested in taking an action against MB for at the very least, fender repair cost recovery plus the cost of the action. contact me if you have an interest. 416 464 5422

This is the 2nd major repair (hidden door to dash wire harness - $1200)
for which there was nothing that I could have or should not have done to prevent this failure for which MB left me out in the cold with a bill for the full amount.

Can anyone say TESLA?

desired_speeds

wow i cant believe fenders would crack like that!

AndreNY

Plastic will crack

Dr Matt

Wow, I had no idea this was an issue. Mine are fine, hope they stay that way...

AndreNY

How and why you paid so much is beyond me the Fenders list for $750 each which means $1500 for the pair plus paint and installation another $600?

biker349

imo this is not isolated. i had the same exact cracks in the same exact areas. i was able to get about 2 years because i caught the cracks before they reached the top of the fender by epoxying over the cracks. many body shops told me that they believed that this was a design flaw. a mercedes body man confidentially confided that this was fairly common. i'd love to see something done about this because i recently had to have both fenders replaced as well as the epoxy patch gave out. when i had mine fixed i provided rubber washers to put under the bolts hoping this would cushion the stress on the plastic and stop this from happening again. i feel you pain, but i think it would be extremely hard and expensive to file and win a suit. many believe that our cars have other short comings for instance abc failures and i don't believe anything has been done about that except for a hydraulic line recall on one line.
btw, i was told that mercedes has reinforced the replacement fenders to prevent this problem, but can't substantiate that.

t3flondon

I have the same crack forming now on my driver side fender on the outside, i thought it was from hitting one of those stupid DWP sink holes here in LA, getting a new Merc soon so have not worried about it. I will post a pic soon.

Benzbias

Fenders in USA $750 but with my VIN (Canada registration) American MB dealership only allowed to sell me EITHER fender but not both! With shipping duty etc came to $1000+. Fenders (2) here about $2500, plus labour and tax - there were a couple of noticeable paint chips in the hood - so it was repaired and repainted in the process which eliminated concerns about paint match. A perfect job but a price to match.

Ironically the car is now in storage in perfect showroom condition (and available for sale) as a result of it being designated "irreparable" and therefore cannot be licensed in Ontario. If anyone out there can license the car elsewhere this will be a real steal at $5,800 (CDN) The carpet on only the passenger side got soaked (NOT flood damage) and the underlying electronics were replaced, but the insurance company adjuster without my knowledge had the car re-designated. The insurance company paid me $35,000 (which attests to its superb condition) and I bought the car back in disbelief. So a real opportunity for someone. I wish I were still driving it. Now have CL550 and not even nearly as good a car.

The ABC pump mentioned by Biker 349 is another good example as is the hidden wire harness as is the "freezing" of the transmission shifter in Park. Each a costly repair and little to do with "roughness".
The dissimilarity that may make a difference in thinking as to whether or not to look into this further is that the fender failures unlike the other failures mentioned, appear to have little to do with miles/kilometers driven or the style of driving. Over time this cracking likely would have occurred just sitting in your garage. I would guess that virtually all the fender failures became noticeable/visible (it starts under the hood) only after the warranty expired, which in their view weakens our position but in the alternative it could be argued from the opposite viewpoint - namely that this is a defect that was hidden and existed from the time of manufacture and that it became progressively worse. The point being that we were sold a defective product that was represented to be otherwise. Name another car with a similar defect? None I know about.
What are your collective thoughts? Sorry for the wordy submission.

desired_speeds

cl's have plastic fenders? wtf

benz_addict

My friend's CL500 has cracked fenders, both sides.

awiner

Yes... Plastic trunk lid too.

Hood is aluminum and parts of the inner door structure is magnesium.

This is how they kept curb weight down.

MagCL

Both my fenders have a 1" crack at the top of the wheel well. My car is black so its not really noticeable. It does bother me though so I will probably fix it this winter (or at least do something to prevent it from getting worse). I was thinking of putting some drywall taping mesh on it from inside the wheelwell and then putting some epoxy on it. Anyone know what kind of epoxy would work best??

As for fighting MB for this, I would not bother. MB has used many defective parts and never had to do anything about it. They just make us fix it and pay for it ourselves. They will always tell you that your car is the first they have ever seen with this problem, i've been down that road before!

BlownV8

The rest of the CL is carved from a neutron star.

AndreNY

yes and surprisingly this car is still as heavy as a G wagon LoL

PorscheBob

[QUOTE=Benzbias;5825594]Just caught this thread - I am not alone!
I paid $4265 (CDN) to replace two cracked front fenders (see attach)
Car has never been in an accident.
After the usual service run-a-round "we have never encountered this before" - I wrote the President of MB Canada - the company refused any participation in the cost to correct a disappointment as I view this defect as a design/assembly flaw. There was nothing that I might've done or not done to have prevented these structural cracks.

I am interested in forming a group who might be interested in taking an action against MB for at the very least, fender repair cost recovery plus the cost of the action. contact me if you have an interest. 416 464 5422

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Count me in on the lawsuit if it ever gets off the ground.
My 2003 CL600 has had a crack on the left front fender for several years
and is slowly getting larger. I talked to my mechanic about trying JB Weld
epoxy but he said it probably needs a flexible type of glue, so I purchased
"E6000" and will try it as soon as the weather gets warmer.
I think German plastic auto parts are not very good. I'm on my third
windshield sprinkler reservoir cap, and our Audi A6 has broken plastic also.

Also, if a lawsuit ever gets started on the ABC bull****, count me in.
I spent almost $6000 last year on that crappy system. I should have put
struts in.

This car has been my most unreliable machine ever. Wish I would have
kept my Porsche 928s4, Boss 429 or Shelby GT500.

BlownV8

[QUOTE=PorscheBob;5869452]The ABC system is the Achilles heel of the CL.

Benzbias

Amen to that - and to add insult to injury the MB pricing sucks

ABC pump $USD $1750
ABC pump $CDN $2626 (tax)
plus the labour - not a quick fix

I believe MB calculates the "useful life" of the CL to include revenue from the replacement ABC pump

AND

the replacement plugs to repair the oil leak from the top back of the engine (fortunately inexpensive but inconvenient repair)

AND

Idler pulley

I have been driving MB big coupes since 1984 - when I think back the 380SEC issues were timing chain (sloppy), cam shafts (metal too soft) and the mono valve for the heater system - so if it is not one thing it is another - can you say command centre.

The accompanying issue is the deterioration in the quality of service at the service advisor level. I am not a confrontational personality but my patience is sorely tested dealing with these guys. They no longer have my trust/confidence.

Wifey Infinity (G35) Lexus (E 350) now lobbying for G50 - have had no issues whatsoever - so it begs the question why do I continue to drive these pigs. Guaranteed it is not for the star up front - at one time it was for the discernible difference - no longer.

If GM can sell the Vette for $70K what do we get for the additional $70+

If I get too many more inconvenient costly issues - TESLA here I come.

AndreNY

^^^ Enjoy your "Fire Car"