Just took delivery of a new 2008 CLK550 Cabriolet this past weekend. I previously had a 2005 CLK500 Cabriolet, and really loved the car. But I've found a couple things with the 2008 that have disappointed me, so figured I'd share for whatever that may be worth to someone already familiar with an older model.

1) A feature I found very helpful in parallel parking is no longer available to me - specifically, in my prior car, you could set the right rear-view mirror to automatically move down (to a view of your choosing) when you shifted into reverse. This simply isn't there anymore, and I can't figure out why. Other new cars have this feature, so I don't imagine it was discontinued for some sort of safety/liability reason. Does anyone know why this feature isn't on my 2008???

2) The center console is completely worthless for storage now. I new in getting this model that the center console had changed and gotten smaller. What I didn't know is that the second cupholder inside that console cannot be removed, and that, along with an installed bluetooth phone module, you barely have enough room for a pack of gum.

Perhaps I should've done better homework, but having owned a prior-year model of the same issue (W209), I didn't expect little comforts like this to get worse rather than better.

Again, just an FYI so no one else is unpleasantly suprised.

On a positive note (and definitely far more important), the car drives much quieter and smoother than my prior model, and the newer engine is great (albeit a slightly bigger gas guzzler).

I'll bet the mirror feature is still there, but it is in a really obscure place in the manual. I forget how to set it, but it is a slightly weird procedure, and you have to leave the mirror button in the R setting I think...

he is right..

I have a 2006 CLK 350 that has the same dash and center console layout. There is very little storage space in the console and it will get even smaller for me when I get the bluetooth module installed. What I don't understand is why they had to stick that other cupholder in the console: there is another cupholder in the dash so I have three cupholders for the two front seats.

I don't know about the 2008 but the 2006 manual has instructions on steps to be followed for the side mirror in two different places.

OMG, you have THREE cupholders? My 04 CLK500 cab only has the one.

Unless you count the one that my little girl's child seat has in the rear... but seriously, it's not big enough for a beers so it doesn't count.

I am familiar with the procedure to set the rear-view mirror auto-tilt-down (if that's what it's called). However, when I tried it on the new one, it didn't work, so I therefore assumed it's not there anymore. I'll try one more time, but I'm certain I got it right, because I did it several times on my old car. And I have left the right-hand mirror button depressed.

Oh, and archnony, I think the "cupholder" in the dash to which you refer is actually now the smaller drawer for sunglasses (or whatever). At least that's what I used mine for. That location used to have a cupholder in the '05, but they switched it to a smaller drawer when they added the cupholders to the center console. So my guess is that you only have two cupholders in the front. But I agree - I wish there were a way to remove the second one underneath the sliding cover to provide more storage space. Oh well...

The Right outside tilt function was removed on the late 209s..

I version coded it present via the SDS aka Star on our 2007 209

Go back to the dealer and have them version code it Present via the star...Its There...It can be done!

MY CLK is an early 2006 model and it does in fact have three cupholders. I assume that later on the engineers figured it was overkill and they converted the dashboard cupholder to a sunglass holder. I am sure that my car will be worth tens of thousands more on the future resale market for triple-caffeinated drivers!

Thanks Mark C - I will ask the dealer to do exactly that when I bring the car in next week for them to properly re-install my Bluetooth kit (whatever they did resulted in my sliding console cover rubbing/getting caught on wiring behind the panel the bluetooth puck sits on - very annoying). I hope my dealer will understand and honor the request for the mirror tilt feature.

Why did they just remove that function if, in fact, it's there and only requires a programming change?

And Archony - definitely market that 3rd cupholder when you sell your current car and get a premium as a result! Sorry for my incorrect assumption.

Mark:

Went back to the dealer and asked them to version code the passenger mirror tilt down Present using the SDS. When I left the car, my service advisor seemed to know exactly what I was talking about. However, when I picked up the car this evening, he said they couldn't do it, stating they couldn't find it. A total drag - I scraped one of my rims this past weekend because I've come to rely on that tilt-down feature and it wasn't there when I parallel parked. I guess I just need to re-learn to parallel park.

I also asked them to a) check and/or replace the pneumatic jacks on the trunk lid because when I pop the trunk, it just opens and sits there, while on my last car it completely popped up, which was a huge help when my hands were full with stuff. They tell me that on convertibles the trunk works that way. I'm so tired of them telling me this all the time - I had the exact same convertible before, albeit an earlier year - and its trunk popped completely open (and my passenger mirror tilted down in reverse).

Finally, I told them there's a very prominent wind leak from the right passenger door seal, and they gave the car back to me stating its normal noise from wind passing over the rear view mirror housing. Give me a break...I about ripped my service advisor's head off.

I have to say, I absolutely loved my '05 CLK500 cabrio, and other than a weird rattle that got fixed early on, never had a single problem with it, and everything worked great. This new one has been a real disappointment and, if anything, I would've expected improvements, not degradations.

I'm sorry, but a faster engine alone does not a better car make!!!

If your car doesn't nave the tilt down right mirror, just set one of your three memory positions to lower the mirror (leave the other settings the same.) Am I explaining this correctly? In my last Volvo S60R, I'd set my seat to memory one, and then I set memory two to be the same except the right mirror is tilted down.

That's clever. My tilt-down feature has decided to stop working again (for the third time) so I'll likely do that until it goes back to the dealer for service.