twestrope

I am in the market for another car and a CLK 430 / 500 is at the top of my list. I have read several posts of people who have spilled liquid on the center console and had their electronic system fry. How big of an issue is this? Is this spills anywhere on the console or do you really have to be powering down the shift lever? Is it unique to just the CLK's? This came to mind recently as I rented a car on a recent trip and spilled some of my coffee in the cup holder area when I bumped it. My immediate thought was if this was a CLK I would be stuck with a major repair bill. Any thoughts or experience? Thanks.

Chappy

The CLK has an electronic transmission and the the shifter is really just acting as an electronic switch to select the gear as opposed to physcially changing the gears on an "old school" Mercedes, like my old 300D or 300CE. There is a computer module located in the shift console of the CLK that doesn't like moisture....

myNAMESterry

how come everyone is spilling stuff in their cars? maybe im just too careful

theine

Just drink bottled liquids, forget about open cups, the CLK cup holder although is technologically advanced in the way it opens and closes, SUCKS, anything you put in there will end up in the passenger's side floor after the first turn. I got used to keep my hand on the bottle, instead of the gear shift.

BklynBenz

after breaking that stupid cup holder like 5 times i just completely took it out. if i have something to drink, it fits in that space fine and i dont have to worry about drinks falling into the passenger side foot well. its also another place to store ****

MB AMG

Damn it, my passenger who was holding an iced drink just spilled it in the cup holder. Cleaned up as much as possible, but I wonder if you can take it out?

myNAMESterry

yes you can.. just pull it upwards and it should just come off.

i'm still waiting for someone to tell me how to take out the rear cup holders

mmgrad

the best solution is to beat yo passenger's as$ down and prohibit them from drinking in the car or they be walkin the next time around...

only water or other bottled drinks allows in my car... nothing that leaves crumbs are allowed either... or anything with sauce... unless you have a 5'x5' bib

E55Freak

How big of an issue is it? No issue if you don't drink in it.

midget fidger

yea i tend to keep my hand on any drink that i put in the larger holder

AMGfan

This happened to me back in 2001...I had a small bottle of water in the center cup holder (the part that pops up and out). Unfortunately, the bottle is a wee bit smaller than the holder and it was kind of loose. One day, I was driving along and had to break really hard to avoid a guy running a red light. The bottle of water flipped out of the cup holder and the water spilled (top was loose) all over the gear shift/transmission.

The car's transmission seemed like it was frozen in place and I couldn't get out of park. I had to call MB and they told me to bypass it by accessing a small switch near the gear box, but even then I must have been in limp mode until I got to the dealership (luckily about a mile away at the time).

They were about to lay the blame on me and charge me for it, but I raised a stink and told them that it was faulty engineering on MB's part for:

1. A bad cupholder mechanism.
2. A center console that did not have a type of covering around the gear shift area.

They finally gave in and fixed it under warranty after I made a scene in their lobby and giving them copies of threads from this board regarding people with the same issue with the cupholder.

Bottom-line, it will be an issue if the car is out of warranty and the dealership is a hardass. If you get one, I would just place any drink in the bottom cupholder. The pop-up cupholder mechanism is a joke.

mmgrad

That is why you gotta get a shift knob like mine...

Its got a leather boot covering the whole center part (like the newer models) and if anything spills, it will just go to the outside of the gear shift box...

Bagher

I spilled a slurpee and my pass. window switch is slow and sticky now...

AMGfan

I think that MB was probably getting so many warranty fixes (i.e. increasing their repair in house expense) that the boot surround was deemed fiscally necessary.

slvrstar

Hey Danny, you got any pics of your shift knob? Where did you get it done and how much did you pay for it? thanks.

slvrstar

that cup holder is a joke. yank it out! it will not only better secure drinks but it now fits a large 42 ouncer rather than a 12 ounce can of beverage.

SFBAYCLK55AMG

Hey Danny,

When you have a chance take a pic of your shift knob I want to see
what the leather surround looks like on a W208.

Thanks

mmgrad

Here's an old pic... but, you get the point...

I bought if from some guy in Florida... don't remember where tho.... had 2, but i sold the other one long time ago...

if ya'll want a newer pic, i can take it tonight...

mmgrad

this was my stock shifter...

myNAMESterry

looks good. what shifter type can be put in place? i wanna hide my shift gate tooooo

slvrstar

Danny, that's tight!!

mmgrad

the whole thing is actually one piece... my shifter plate on top actually says designo and is chrome... looks more elegante that way...

these boots are technically for the Euro CLK's with a Manual tranny... Steve might be able to get some....

patrick39

mmgrad, your shift boot is very nice!

well, I seldom drink in my CLK and I am always extra-careful when I am 'transporting' coffee.