Originally Posted by Rudeney

Uh, yes. In a bad accident, any of those parts can become crush devices. Last night, we watched the current episode of Dateline NBC where a woman and her two daughters were left pinned inside their BMW 3 series, when a truck pushed them against and then onto a bride railing. Unless they had told us the car was a BMW, it would have been impossible to tell.


http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/entertainmen...-bridge-rescue


When you see that, you realize how important it is for car parts not to be hard and secure. Both safety and the need to save weight for government-mandated fuel economy have manufacturers using lighter and more easily shed parts. It's why we have chrome-plated plastic grilles instead of metal and plastic clips holding bumpers and trim on instead of nice bit thick bolts. It's why a 5mpg "bumper kiss" ends up costing $2K to repair.


I know you mentioned in another thread with a Toyota you owned, that you had no problems like this with plastic trim and clips. I've owned a few Toyota and Lexus vehicles and they have been quite reliable for the two or three years we kept s them, but the one I had that was about 10 years old started rusting and losing plastic trim pieces and even bolts on body panels were coming loose. On the Lexus, that we had (from new) for only two years, the door checks kept breaking and the rearview mirror would vibrate and eventually fall off the windshield.


The engine bay and the road are harsh conditions. Back to the early days of electronic fuel injection ECUs (on all makes) were failing every couple of years because manufacturers didn't know how to better protect them from the elements. Belts and radiator hoses had to be replaced every few years. If you AC system lasted five years, you were on borrowed time. It's almost impossible to build a great car and make it last trouble-free through the years. It's very easy to build a simple car and make it last, and of course it's very easy to build anything without the intention of longevity. I believe MBZ does a fantastic job of building great vehicles, that with proper attention, will last a long time. I believe Toyota/Lexus does a fantastic job of building very simple, basic cars that also will last a good while. Other makes, well, many of them are building really nice things that have no intention of longevity.

Originally Posted by egalt

I just completed this with great results.

I filled a small bowl with mild detergent (Palmolive Orange colored) and set the vent panel on to soak for a few minutes..

I then used a microfiber cloth and started wiping at the goo, rinsing the cloth frequently. All the goo came off without issue. Took a little bit of wiping and rinsing, but its all off now.

Mild dish soap works perfectly, don't bother with anything else.