Roger8

I've seen the same in mine. It didn't occur to me to try and "seal" it. Do you think the wax is helping with anti-scratching? And does it have any different with respect to dust and fingerprints?

Kenyon1976

https://www.epi.com/media/1539/renwax-tech-data.pdf

It does protect against scratching, uv and general degradation over time which is why it is the wax of choice for museums. I applied it today to the vent area and the middle console, the effect was immediately noticeable.
The black seems richer, it has a repelling effect and appears to mitigate fingerprints (will have to test that more closely). Someone applied this wax to plastic chess pieces, the results were pretty startling.

I think typically applications are once a year but with the center console maybe twice is more appropriate. I've been using this wax for over ten years and never been disappointed with it.

I'll see if I can get a good camera shot tomorrow.

Addendum: There is a two minute video on youtube on how to give the shiny piano plastic a machined look (like the aluminum), only caveat is strokes have to be rigidly directional.

Roger8

Is this it? If so, what size do you suggest? And what do you use to apply it (a clothe of some sort, I assume)?

Kenyon1976

Yes, and it's great for many, many things. There is a PDF file out there on it, how you apply it, etc., it's a two minute read.


After application of Renaissance wax, car has about 1,800 miles on it. In photo you see fine detail of dust, in real life it's barely visible.


Another possibility but pretty tricky especially for the vents (youtube link above).

On cars for that kind of work I use surgical cloths (they don't leave residue behind).

Deriggs007

Welp,

more whoas for my A220 - Really starting to despite picking this up.

I went on vacation for 2 weeks, and overall the drive was pretty darn good. I went from 700~ miles to over 4500 on this trip. On the way back today, with the weather actually being pretty darn good. The sunroof EXPLODED while I was driving down the high way about 3ish hours away from home.
I called the dealer after it happened and they basically want me to make an insurance claim.

I get it, these things happen. But with the poor fit/finish in my A220, I suspect that this was also a culprit (after all, the sunshade was loose ever since I got it... the door panel squeaks like crazy, same with the windows rolling down).

What makes me mad is that after it exploded and glass rolled away, it obviously rolled on the paint and left all sorts of deep scratches. Ugh....

Roger8

Wow, that sucks. Is there a lemon law in your state that would help with this?

Kenyon1976

How is this an insurance claim? Sounds like a manufacturers defect that should be under warranty. The insurance company might push back on this.

Givmeabrek

Doesn't sound like an insurance issue to me. If the wind can blow it off this is clearly a manufacturers defect. I'm glad that I have yet to open up my roof. Afraid to even try it now.

Deriggs007

Eh, it probably would have been fine if it was open. I think it was a little 50/50. I drove from San Antonio, TX to Indiana and had rain the whole entire 10 days I was there. On the way back, I drove a good 12 hours, stopped over night and started driving again at about noon in peak of the heat until I arrived home. The sunroof was baking in the sun for quite a long time. However, my argument to the dealer is this "What kind of product is Mercedes building if the sunroof decides to explode at 85-90deg temperature"

They need to fix it without my insurance claim. I get that a rock or something could hit it, but that wasn't the cause. I already complained about the sunshade which very well could have been part of the issue with the fit/finish of the sunroof.

Does anyone know Mercedes's direct number so that maybe I can skip the dealership haggling back and forth and see if they can just open up a case for me?

Givmeabrek

Here you go: https://mercedes-benz.custhelp.com/app/call
Good luck. I have gotten results using the email option.

Deriggs007

Well, as of this moment - they're classifying this as their fault. It's such a new product that they can't dismiss the possibility that there could be a potential issue. They were kind hesitant, after all there was quite a bit of damage for the glass shattering and rolling down the vehicle, but hey... the good thing out of all of this is that I got the car in and all of the other issues that I mentioned in this thread should also be looked at.

All day today my mercedes app kept going off telling me the door was unlocked and windows open so they've already begun working on it.

Also, my loaner was a pretty decked out C300, 2019

Givmeabrek

Well that sounds promising. I had a C300 loaner for a few days. Couldn't really get used to the older tech in that car. The dealer wanted to sell me one instead of the A220. Privately told me that they can't sell the C300 as long as the A220 is in the showroom. The A220 is really a nicer car if you don't need the larger C300.

Deriggs007

Eh, honestly - outside of the older tech and the less aesthetic interior. The C300's drive quality is much much better after driving it around all day today. It feels heavier, but I hear nothing on the roads and barely feel anything at that .

Kenyon1976

Sure but some of us don’t like too much loss of road feel and sound isolation, I prefer getting feedback.

Deriggs007

That I can agree with. There has to be a bit of a balance. The C300 does practically make it once sided in comfort level.

Bad news about the sunroof. So far they can't find a 'cause' and they may try to push back as if it's an insurance claim, but that's not the problem. The sunroof is not available to order yet since it's so new..... may be stuck in the C300 for almost as long as I've had the A220 making payments :\

Givmeabrek

The cause may be a poor design.
I guess we have to wait until more roofs go flying off.
Keeping mine closed...

Roger8

So the sun roof was open about halfway? I've only opened mine briefly a couple times to try it out.

For parts availability, I think that may be a common problem for these new models. My passenger airbag "malfunctioned" (a warning message appeared and disabled the airbag) supposedly due to a faulty seat belt buckle. They ordered the buckle on June 1st. I called yesterday asking for an update. They initially said there's no ETA but then later said "mid-July". I didn't get a good feeling that this is a real date; my impression is it's just in the system somewhere and they're hoping a couple more weeks may be enough. I'm not holding my breath.

Deriggs007

No. it was completely closed. I've opened it and closed it a few times as well to also try it out. We'll see what they say, they did say it's about a $2250 damage done. We'll see what they say about updates. I wish I didn't purchase this vehicle and had my truck still at this point. This whole experience at this dealership isn't good.

They didn't pay off my lease I traded in. They also didn't pay off the truck I also traded in. So I have 2 vehicles with "past due" payments that I didn't know existed. Also, one of the vehicles has already been sold to a customer yet is still on my account. I called the bank and to let them know the situation and they told me it was on the dealer (and it is) so it will keep accruing interest until they fix it.

I get things happen, but to screw up 2 vehicle payments, and have a mirage of issues out of this new one, I'm not a happy camper and if this doesn't get resolved timely, and the experience doesn't improve. This is the last mercedes product I will ever purchase.

Givmeabrek

Wow, it was completely closed! I also thought you meant it was half open and thought that was the issue. Sad story for all of us A220 owners.

Deriggs007

Nope. Fully closed, randomly exploded. Yeah, I'm pretty sad about all of this.

Kenyon1976

Yikes, I can see why you are jaded. Judging by some of the feedback I've seen the dealerships are not as good once the vehicle is sold (surprise). I've opened the blind but am afraid now to open the glass after your experience, need to do it though.

To date at 2,126 miles I've had only a few minor issues:

- Squeak I believe on passenger door panel, have to test.
- Car wouldn't start right away (asked to put key in special place, which I didn't do), took about a minute
- Car wouldn't lock using door handle, took about 45 seconds
- Radar got disabled in rain storm, reboot fixed
- System takes a little while to wake up (connecting to server?), about 30 seconds after I start driving

We are testers on a completely new vehicle, so I expect some growing pains but so far it hasn't been too bad. I wonder if the tolerances are so tight on the roof that a small deviation caused by temperature fluctuations leads to issues. Time will tell if this pops up on other cars or it is just a one off...

Last point, check used car sales for this model there are already ones out there (frustrated buyers?).

Givmeabrek

I'll switch problems with you. Started with shorted out differential wiring harness. Took two weeks to replace it. Meanwhile 4matic was disabled. Latest problem is entire display goes completely dead when it feels like it. Took two months to fail. That lasted a day, until it worked fine the next day. Dealer couldn't find a problem. Two weeks later failed again. Came on 20 minutes later. Dealer said to bring it in when it fails again. Said they can't fix it if it is working fine. Three weeks later(today), it fails again. If it is working tomorrow, not sure what I'll do. Maybe park it outside the Dealer with a big "Lemon" sign on it...

Edit: The dealer has it now. Display still dead...
Edit 2: Entire display and control unit replaced under warranty. Working fine now.

Kenyon1976

That is worrisome, theoretically they should be trained on this system but it doesn't appear to be so. It's effectively an on board computer system, if it goes dead you lose a lot of information. Keep us posted.

Deriggs007

Well, looks like dealership pushed back and wants to put this on an insurance claim. It's whatever. I want my car back, I'm not going to lose sleep over a $100 deductible. They have my parts in and now I just have to wait for the adjuster to take a look at total damage because it still goes to body shop for that as well.

Deriggs007

Welp, I got the car back and here's an update from my first few posts with issues.

That said, here is an update:

ISSUES - FIXED

1. Loose sunshade -- it's fixed, but have glass that needs to be blown out or something as I can hear it from the glass that shattered. My sunroof exploded and insurance had to fix it.
2. Creaky door panels - They would creak at you with the slightest of touch. They added insulation between the doorpanel and the door. No more creak.
3. Screeching windows - they added a gasket or something when it rolls down. Now they are whisper quiet like in the C300.
4. They couldn't reproduce the jerky engine. I'm going to tell them to try again, but actually, drive it more than 2 miles (That's all they put on the vehicle) hell. I don't care if one of the techs take it home and go on a date downtown with it as long as they can figure out what the issue is and fix it if it is a problem.

ISSUES - PENDING

1. Glass needs blown out from sunroof still.
2. Check transmission performance with jerky engine. This may be intended, but I want more info.
3. New issue, Air Bag light came on stating "Front passenger airbag malfunction, service required" - this may be related to the door panels being taken off and them working on it. But still, gotta get it serviced
4. Paint damage from glass shattering and rolling down the car. About $750+ for pain repair.

So far, not many things left and are very minor.

QUOTES

1. They would not provide quotes for bumper replacement.
2. They gave me a quote for just illuminated star... $850ish, what a joke. I'll do it myself.
3. Did not quote diamond grill replacement.

That being said, if anyone is willing to get a tape measure out that has the AMG line Diamond grill. If you can measure the length/width of the grill from the centers and post a pic, that would help. I plan on doing it myself since you can get the same bumper direct from China for like $80ish. The star is only like $50. I'll do a write up on how to do it yourself if someone can assist me with measurements. My fear is that the dimensions may be slightly different than those without the AMG styling.

Overall, pretty decent work from the dealership. They do put some time and effort to make sure your concerns are fixed. If I were you and you have ANY issues out of your vehicle. Creaking, squeaking. Anything loose etc, just hound the crap out of them and let them make sure your "Luxury" cars fit and finish is actually luxury quality. I'm not impressed originally, but am feeling better that most of the issues are fixed.. I would have bought 2 cars with better build quality than this vehicle if these weren't addressed.

Early adopter or not, they have terrible QC. Like the door panels. I mean they creaked so loud from the slightest of touch and I have no idea how that thing got delivered in that state. Sorry for the long-winded rant. I know we're early adopters, but I've been an early adopter for years and this has been the worst experience, not just with the car, but with the dealership too.

I traded in 2 vehicles and they didn't pay either of them for a full month... they finally got around to paying them off now. Guess what, it bit them in the *** because they had to pay like $1200 extra on 1 vehicle and another $700 on another because the payouts weren't good anymore and they were generating about $8-9 of interest each day lol.



Is anyone with the AMG grill willing to get a tape measure out and measure length/height of the grill from the centers to see if it will fit my car? If so, I'll purchase the diamond grill and the illuminated star and try and do a write up on how to do it yourself.