Hello, can someone please tell me how to remove the door panel on my 2012 cls 63? i have looked everywhere and cant find anything. I really need help. Thank You

Hello Arisnajarian

Mercedes CLS W218 Door Trim removal

I will assume that the AMG 63 has the same basic type of door panels as the (W218) 250 and 350 CLS. I have just installed additional sound deadening pads on my 2012 CLS 250 CDi and the process is fairly straightforward.

Tools needed

Three plastic/ wooden wedges
1 x T15 screwdriver
1 x T30 screwdriver
I x tub to retain all of the screws and parts
1 x tub of Vaseline
3 or 4 x spare plastic door clips
1 x good car inspection lamp
1 x LED torch (small)
1 x hairdryer if the metal and plastic on the car is cold or to heat up the sound deadening pads.
1 x garage heater if the day is cold
1 x mirror to see inside of the door
1 x tin of spray grease
2 x pairs of thin rubber gloves
1 x piece of carpet to lay the door trim on (or use the back seat of the car)
1 x cleaning cloth to wipe down the trim.
3 x small but "fat" self-tapping screws and 3 x green speed clips to replace the speaker rivets (per door)
6 x medium sized black cable ties (2 per door)
1 x mains soldering iron (rear doors only) - plastic cutting blade fitted to access the blind rivets on the rear door speakers

Do this work on a warm day inside a garage. You will need some two or three plastic / wooden wedges. The 8 x orange plastic door button/clips are quite fragile and you are likely to break couple. Have some (generic) ones handy. Also have some Vaseline to coat the clips and the entry holes in the door skins to aid re-assembly. Don't lose the small rubber grommets as they prevent squeaks and rattles. Use the Vaseline to hold these black rubber grommets in place on the clips.

There are two x T30 bolts under the door pull. Also remove the stainless steel chrome cover at the end of the top of the front doors (2 x T15 screws). Then at the forward end of the top of the door remove the oval shaped blanking plate the covers the wiring/ door control module. You will need a thin plastic wedge and then starting in the bottom corner carefully use one/ two wedges to pull the (approx. 8) clips out of the holes. You will need to pull quite hard and take care not to scratch the door paintwork. They will make a loud pop but don't be put off. When you have 3 clips loose the rest will come out more easily. When all of the clips are free disconnect the two/ three coloured ribbon cables from the module. These are also colour coded on the door module for easy re-fitting. You will need a small thin flat screwdriver to press in the coloured tangs and then slide the connectors out (towards you). These connectors are very fragile so do not let the door hang on them or they will break. Have someone help you first time you do this to hold the door at about 30 degrees (bottom of the door trim away from the bottom edge of the door). Then pull down the door lock button (black). This will then hang loose. Then you will need to disconnect the horizontal door handle pull cable. Pull the Bowden cable back and then out of the guide channel. Then pull the grey metal pin up and out the white capstan in the interior door handle. You can then pull the top of the door horizontally out and the door will come completely away. Use Vaseline to smear along the thin black plastic edge that goes into the horizontal rubber guide along the top of the door. This makes reassembly very much easier. Make sure you have a piece of carpet to lie the door trim on and to prevent marks or scratches. If you need to access the inside of the door you will need to remove the circular black door speaker which is held by three aluminium rivets. Disconnect the wiring plug and then (carefully) drill out the rivets and then gently pull the speaker away from the door panel. It is held in place with a rubber seal so gently lever it away. Be gentle or the speaker will be easily damaged (as I found out - use the wedge carefully around the circular edges). You will need to use small self-tapping screws and three small green self-tapping "speed nuts" held in palace with glue or black insulation tape. The speaker access holes have right angled edges so using captive "nuts" is not possible.

The first door will take about 40 to 60 mins. and about 40 mins for the second door etc. The rear doors take a bit longer as you have to find the hidden rivets.

The rear doors are similar except that the speakers have concealed rivets for the speakers. You will need to use a soldering iron flat blade to cut away the outer black plastic skin. The hidden rivets are at about "9.30 and 2.30 and 6.00 o'clock" as you look at the round door speaker. Do not try and lever out the speaker to find the three rivets. The speaker will distort and the unit will have to be replaced. For the rear doors I used three x medium sized black cable ties to hold the speaker back into place. I threaded the cable ties through the holes on the speaker and the metal door panel. Pull them tight and trim to fit.

It is worth applying (sparingly) some spray grease on the door winding cable and pivot wheels. This will double the life of the cable. Spray the grease onto a brush or your finger. Do not spray if directly onto the cable or mechanism or you will get this on the glass and this will take ages to clean.

I applied sound deadening pads inside the door which has some basic ones (but not very much) already in place. Make sure the surfaces are clean, dry and warm to aid bonding of the glue. The inside of the doors will often have condensation (well here in the UK they will!) so dry the door skins carefully. Double and treble check the pads have stuck in place or they will jam the window winding mechanism. Take an extra 5 minutes to do this and use the hairdryer to keep the pads warm (they will stick much better when slightly warm (but not hot) to the touch).

Re-assembly is a reverse of the above procedures but take your time and double check everything works before you snap the trim cover back into place. Use a cloth and your clenched hand to snap the door trim back in place. Make sure that you have lined up the door clips and the holes or they will break. The Vaseline will make reassembly much easier. Again make sure they all have the thin black rubber grommets in place to prevent rattles. Make sure you have not left any parts or tools/ torch inside the door before you replace the speaker.

My doors now have a lovely "thud" when they shut - just like the S Class.

Regards


Philip Smith
Chester UK

I can't tell if this dude is serious or insane.

Great write up. We will get an owners DIY community yet. Thanks Philip.

My wife would probably agree with you!


However, if you take the trouble it is well worth it. Definitely not for the faint hearted or for those that are happy with just the "average". It makes me happy so it just depends on your point of view, I suppose. The world would be a dull place if we all drove round in Toyota Corollas (the worlds most popular car for nearly 30 years).


Philip Smith
Chester UK

@Philipgsmith
WOW!!!! That's quite a step by step description. I don't plan on doing this but I admire your attention to detail and taking the time to document this process so thoroughly.

Mel

Excellent DIY!

Do you know the part number of these OEM plastic door clips and rubber grommets?

Tks.

I have been plagued by a plastic rattle from the inside of one of my doors since I bought it 18 months ago, dealers tried to fix but were useless (yes sir, the reflector was loose on the door!). Every time I shut it or go over a bump it sounds like a pea in a can.
Anyway, thank you, I will try now and sort it myself !

Thank you.