Yidney

"@Yidney: What's the ashtray fix? Mine became really "slow" to open, so removed one of the damper mechanisms on one side, but now the other one is getting slow, too. Is there a better fix?"

Given my unscientific survey that most of them stick, I'm surprised there have never been any posts about it Probably too minor an issue for most people to care about. Mine stuck by 28K while still under warranty, but I figured a new one would go bad too, so I thought I'd try first to figure out what was wrong. I thought either the springs get weak or the damper gets stiff, but it's way dumber than that.

I may just post up a DIY with pics for those who may care, but you are the type who can figure it out easily once I tell you the problem. Under the round covers on each side is a coiled spring - the kind made of flat metal. At the center of the coil the metal is bent at a right angle to form a little tab that slips into a slot in the plastic housing so the spring doesn't just spin around. The housing snaps over a round center post around which the door mechanism rotates as it opens and closes. The problem is that the metal tab on the spring is nearly twice as long as it needs to be. All that separates the end of the metal tab from the post is a paper thin layer of plastic on the housing. Since the spring is always under tension, especially when the door is closed, it does not take long for the metal tab to cut through that thin layer and contact the post. So when the door tries to open, it has to drag metal under tension across the round post. You just need to use a dremel with a small round grinder or a round file, and remove enough of the tab so it can no longer contact the post. The hardest part, and it still isn't hard, is getting the outside hook of the spring back in place as you snap the housing back on. Just straighten a paper clip and bend a quarter inch right angle hook on one end to pull it in place just before snapping the housing closed.

Peydidy

Nice upgrade! Congrats and enjoy!

Yidney

No, I was trying to include everything. Sticker of $74,500, tax, LoJack, aftermaket parking sensors, hidden front and rear radar detector and laser jammer, gas, etc. It cost him well over $80,000 to get the car on the road the first time, then add gas and some maintnnance.

eddieo45

that is INSANE, but, if you've got the money....why not? Me, I'll keep buying 3-4 year old MBs for 50+% off!

eddieo45

Just opened the sunroof for the first time and didn't realize the sunshade was out of position, which made the gasket/guide on one side get a bit mangled. It didn't want to close without a little push but I'm hoping I can realign everything without taking it apart (having since found THIS GREAT THREAD about that). "Tunnel mode" wouldn't work after that, but I assume I'll have to do a window/roof reset now.

eddieo45

borrowed a trick I learned somewhere around here to tell my keys apart....

Frank Rizzo

WOW!

Just saw this....congrats!!

Option questions:
Power trunk closer???
it's the only option my car does not have....makes me mad. Why order EVERY other option except the trunk? Earlier I saw a 550 with NO options except the trunk closer...makes no sense.

Do you have factory bluetooth?

FWIW - there was no P3 in 2009. My car has heated/ventillated seats and the contour seats as separate options.

I drive like an a$$ and get a consistent 19mpg in all city driving. It is a small price to pay. M 2008 R32 got about the same.

eddieo45

Thanks Frank! yes...power trunk, which I thought at first was kind of silly, but it has 2 buttons, one for locking the vehicle so I now find I use it a lot.
yes indeed, yours? I'm in the wireless industry so I've had hands-free kits for years (since they came as 3-watt booster kits!) It always amazes me when I see someone in an S Class or 7 Series driving with a phone to his/her head, which I see often. I've come to believe those people are technophobes who likely have Bluetooth but don't know how to use it. I made my wife use it in hers.
yeah, someone mentioned that above. no window sticker in the car when I got it and I have yet to pull a data card but I looked at the 2009 brochure HERE and noted the options and packages.
ahhh, here's where I get a little obsessive compulsive! I assume you see 19mpg "consistently" in your "Since Start" screen on the MFD. there's a thread about "miles per tank" where most posters report readings like that and I've gone nuts about how meaningless that usually is as one likely gets only 225-250 miles on a fill-up of 15 or so gallons. at least that was my experience in my CLK350! Now I try to use the "Since Reset" screen instead. I'm only on my second tank, lol, and got 225 on the first. I try to drive like a nun to avoid guzzling but I've already had a couple of occasions where the temptation was unavoidable. an Audi TT had me boxed in through a lane restriction and at the first opportunity I changed lanes and punched it and it felt like the front wheels left the pavement! even better was the growl!!

eddieo45

hey, what about the right-side mirror parking assist on a 2009? I don't see it in the Convenience/Vehicle/Lighting options in the MFD.....

gaazmon

you know what annoys me more than that? when i see people driving and they have earbuds on and the car has AUX input

eddieo45

That's illegal here in MA. I got a ticket for it like 25 years ago and they now have warning signs on the expressway, "only one earpiece allowed."

user 823908234

"You don't understand, officer... I HAVE to use 2 for stereo". That should work.

Not fortunate to have a 550, but, fwiw, if I drive my 500 "aggressively", I get better mileage. e.g., "since start", City, granny, 17... Mario Andretti, 19+. Go figure.

Love that interior, eddio45!

Rudeney

My CLK550 get better MPG at 80 than at 45. With the 7-speed, I have to get over 50mph to get into top gear. My guess is that top MPG is probably somewhere around 65mph, but 80mph is more fun.

As for driving aggressively, as long as you are on approach to a steady highway cruising speed, you'll get better MPG with full-throttle accelerations up to the cruising speed than you will "gingerly" getting there very slowly. Basically, the engine's peak efficiency in HP delivery is at full-throttle, and the short amount of time it takes to get to highway speed uses far less fuel than the steady drain of fuel with a gradual acceleration. Of course this doesn't hold true in stop-and-go traffic - jackrabbit starts and panic stops will kill your MPG.

user 823908234

I agree, I agree, and it always was that way with every car but this CLK500. That's what makes NO sense. Same pattern 4-Days-a-week: drive one-way is about 9 miles, 5 stop signs, 6 traffic lights, mostly 45 (or 50) mph, couple miles 55 (or 60). Then factor in the tourists and it takes me 20 minutes no matter how I drive. Yeah, it's booorrring. But jackrabbiting gives me better mileage, every time! (According to the 'since start' screen) Maybe I'm missing something very basic?

So, as I see it, it's my civic duty to drive aggressively to save our precious oil supplies.

Rudeney

Jerry, I have no clue, but, hey, if it works - go for it!