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It doesn't say not to use it on leather. Anyhow, it really worked.
I tried several high end leather cleaning products, not Tanners, and nothing touched the sweaty grime embedded in the leather. The Tuff Stuff and a soft brush brought it out easily, and you could see it float to the top and wipe away.
Now to condition it. Tanners? I have several conditioners too, but am not sure which is best. I used Leather Masters on my new Audi, but it has a lot more porous leather, so not sure it is appropriate. I don't like slippery, oily, seats.
I also ordered some Leatherique, but it has not arrived yet.
C (comfort mode) starts in second gear. You will not damage the trans by switching in motion. This is explained in the owners manual. It basically says that the sudden change in driving dynamic could cause you to lose control.
Honestly, my seats were in pretty good condition to begin with.
But I just prayed the cleaner directly on the seats, let soak a little, and then rub with a microfiber cloth. Did the same on the steering wheel and it felt a lot cleaner.
I just ordered the pictured conditioner today, so I'm not quite sure about the quality yet but figured I'll stay with the brand.
My leather is the tobacco brown color, which might make it harder to show dirt.
I received the WeatherTech floor mats today. They are a light brown, and fit pretty well. For $99 I am happy with them. They will protect the factory carpets, which are still in great shape. A few photos:
As you can see, the driver's side isn't perfect, which I expected based on comments from this site, but still pretty nice.
For a good cleaning of your leather, use a boar's hard brush. Dampen it, and then use it to brush your favorite cleaner into a soapy foam. Then wipe dry with a microfiber cloth. I have done this for years, and except on crappy leather (i.e. that used buy most Asian makes), you get a finish like new.
No it isn't normal. If you open the door and look up from below, you should see some rubber caps. These when removed allow access to a couple of nuts, which over time can work their way loose. You may find that it is these loose nuts that create the rattle.
No it isn't normal. If you open the door and look up from below, you should see some rubber caps. These when removed allow access to a couple of nuts, which over time can work their way loose. You may find that it is these loose nuts that create the rattle.
Good info. I assume the door panel needs to come off, or at least be pulled partly off to get these back together?
Good info. I assume the door panel needs to come off, or at least be pulled partly off to get these back together?
Incorrect, you can tighten them up through the inspection holes. Mercedes designed their cars for the long run. Knew the nuts could work loose after 8 years and incorporated that into the design.
Getting the door panel off can be quite a task. Clips are very strong, have to put quite a bit of force through it to get it off. Not difficult, just fiddly.
Ben nailed it. When I popped the little cover off the nut came out with it. Put it back on, lined it up with the scratch makes where it was originally tightened down, and bingo. The other side was loose, but not all the way off.
When I had the rattle, it was when I was closing the door. I put it down to people slamming the door, since they aren't used to such nice weighted but balanced doors. Really doesn't require much effort to shut the doors or boot on these, but people really do insist on slamming them shut! I don't think that helped the matter on my last car where I had the issue.
But when I first had the rattle, I took the whole door panel off, and it was only when I had put it all back together I saw the inspection covers! Ahahaha
+1 on tanner's preserve. Best product i used. Though as Rodney said using a soft but firm brush will do wonders. much faster then rubbing until your hands are numb for the same result. about using Non-leather cleaner. as long as its not too strong theres no harm, almost all leather in cars today have a plastic coating and can be treats as such. Though on some parts of the leather where its a bit worn out using strong cleaners will make the area worse.. and thats from experience. For some reason the previous owner of my previous CLK had thought it would be a good idea to paint the leather in the car instead of clean it and when i finally removed his deteriorated, discolored, dirty paint i realized i also removed that plastic coat with it and i could never use strong cleaners without discoloring my leather. Never was able to get supple clean seats in that car.. really sucks how people treat their cars..
I took a really close look under the hood yesterday. The hood, from bumper cover, rad mount, radiator, AC condenser and associated parts are all so clean I am betting they are new. Despite a clean Carfax, I suspect this was in an accident at some point in the recent past. All of the mounts for the front fenders, and everything I could see was factory straight, no corrosion on the bolt heads, perfect paint on all the painted surfaces, despite what looks to be unrepainted original front fenders, so I am betting it was not a bad accident. Probably a moron backed into the car, or the driver moron, hit an extended trailer hitch.
Doesn't bother me as the repairs were done top notch. I would not have noticed had I not been cleaning the gallon of Armorall off the underside of the hood from the seller.
I also popped the cover off the motor to poke around. The air filters are built in, so I checked them out, full of leaves, but the filters kept the junk out of the motor.
The Valve cover gaskets have been replaced, and it looks like the idler pulley on the belt as well. Maybe part of the accident, but it all looked good. Overall everything looked good for a 60K mile car.
When I bought mine, it was spotless too! I guess it depends on how much time the dealer spends on cleaning the car.
But like you said, even if it had a small accident, it couldn't have hurt too much.
Your aluminum pieces look good too, mine have a lot of oxidation.
How do you like the V8? Did you drive a V6 as well to get a comparison?
Oh, and on the floor mats, I got the ones from Mercedes, and they don't fit the greatest either on the drivers side. I guess it's just tough to form it around that foot rest.
All the AC components, except the compressor, look literally like new. A couple bugs from the 300 miles I have on it, and that is all. Radiator, fan, and everything related to the nose, where something like a trailer hitch would have hit, looks new, even the hood with the insulation, and shiny heat shield, looks new. The headlights also look new, no dings or discoloration.
I'm not overly worried about it. The car drives great, no odd noises or pulling to the side.
As for the V8 versus the V6, I can't say. The motor pulls hard and smooth, and often I do not realize how fast I am going. It is smoother, though not faster, than my Saturn Sky Redline with similar HP, but the Sky is 1000 pounds less, so no surprise it is faster, even with half the cylinders and less than half the displacement. That little 2.0 Turbo Four moves!
Haha! I've read from a bunch of people, that if you test drive both the V8 and the V6, you'll notice a big difference. I can't say either, because I only drove my V6 before I bought it.
And I'm happy with it, so whatever... At least there is another step up on my next Benz
Haha! I've read from a bunch of people, that if you test drive both the V8 and the V6, you'll notice a big difference. I can't say either, because I only drove my V6 before I bought it.
And I'm happy with it, so whatever... At least there is another step up on my next Benz
Same with the Audi Q5. The 4 cylinder turbo is fine, unless you drive the 6 cylinder supercharged version. Guess which one we bought?
Switched between c and s while moving many times. Nothing happened. Didn't feel a thing. I have 190k on my tranny. Like rudeney said the warning is for the extra special drivers. Can't even figure our how it would be harmful mechanically since the shifts are controled.
Applied the Leatherique today. It will sit a week while I am in Vegas for my daughter's college graduation, so it should be well ready to wipe with the Pristine Clean solution.
I also swapped out my windshield wipers with the Bosch units, 22 versus 24 inches. Finally they work without the passenger side popping all the time. Easy install and seem very secure.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
