My 2012 CLS 250 CDi has had facia rattles and squeaks since delivery. These have been coming from around the speedo area and around the comand screen. When it has been to the dealer the car was totally rattle free of course (probably as the car had warmed up). The problem seems to happen when the temperature gets below 9 - 10 deg C.

Last weekend I finally managed to track these rattles down. You will need some 1mm thick black plastic strips, cut to size about 1cm deep and about 2 - 3 cms in length. You will need 4 strips for the comand unit where the black plastic fillt piece meets the "wooden" facia panel. The plastic fillet piece has a small gap and this vibrates against the (black ash) wood effect. Also two strips at the base of the speedometer where the black plastic suround meets the wood effect facia, there is a gap. One strip each side will do the trick. If neccessary use black insulation tape to adjust the gap and wrap around the new plastic strips/wedges. This takes about 10 - 15 minutes and take care cutting the pieces to size so they dont fall out or show when fitted.

I also removed the facia end caps (you will need to open the front doors to do this). I was surprised to see there are no fuse boxes behind either of these end plates. You do need to tug the plastic end plates quite hard at the bottom to remove them from the the three monting tabs. square holes. Don't do this on a freezing cold days as the plastic can be brittle and break. I tightened the T20 montining screws for the "black ash" panels which were quite loose.

I have tried this solution for the past week (with temperatures below freezing in the mornings) and I have been squeek and ratlle free, especially going down a pot holed road off the main road each day.

Not what you expect on a £50k car (!) but at least it now feels and sounds like a £50k car. My last car - an E Class (W212) 250 CDi was rock solid and rattle fee from new. MB need to use some long and thin felt strips on the backs of new CLS (W218) "wood" facia as they do on the S Class (W221) model.Other owners have complained about a creaking sound coming from the back of the roof panel. This has turned out to be the access panel in the roof for the parktronic untit. The plastic clips that hold the unit in place rattle against the headling. Some thin felt strips or tape will prevent the plastic to plastic contact.

I have seen the photos from one other CLS owner that has fitted these felt strips on the backs of the "black ash or wood" facia plates to solve the same problem.


Philip Smith
Chester UK

 

Hi, thks for the info, what about the 3 year warranty you have, they should fix it at the dealer.

I had a weekend test drive In a CLS250 sport and that had a rattle somewhere on the dash. I did a post asking if anyone else had any issues. Luckily my 2013 CLS seems to be ok, even in the recent cold weather, maybe they have fixed the issue. I also had an E Class 320 CDI (W211) before this from new for nearly 9 years and did not have one rattle in all that time.
The CLS is made on the E Class line but nowhere in the same numbers, maybe thats why it was not picked up earlier.
How do you find the 250 overall, Would be great to have a view from someone else who has the 250 like me. I have done almost 4000 miles. Would be interested to know how many miles you have done and what economy you are getting as I am only averaging 34 mpg so far which is way below the stated figures and I am not driving it anyway near aggressively.

 

Rattles are notoriously difficult to trace and in this case temeprature related. It was quicker to "do it myself" on this one rather than leave it with the dealer for 2 or 3 visits (as I have had in the past with other makes).

I have done 7k miles and am now averaging 39.8 mpg overall. I only do 5 miles to work and 5 miles back. I run in "S" mode as "E" mode is quite leasurly. I can get 50+ mpg when I go to see my daughter in Nottingham (about 90 miles each way on a good/fast dual carriageway). I'm not a fan of "Eco"/ Blue Efficiency and tend to turn it off. Good for economy but it may cost in starter motors after a few years!

I expect that after 3 - 4k miles your engine will "bed in" and the economy should improve (especially in "E" mode).

I am really surprised how well the 250 CDi engine pulls such a big car. It is smooth, fast and really very quiet. It is a real head turner and I get a lot of positive comments when I park, go to the garage for fuel etc. Mine is the Sport version so it does look the part. The one and only niggle I have is that with the Sport model they don't include the ambient lighting as standard. I had this as standard on my E Class (W212). I bought the CLS as a pre-built car so I did not get the choice. Come on Mercedes-Benz and study your target groups of customers. CLS buyers want just that bit more than the E Class market. Also if I had had the choice I would have opted for cream leather interior (as per the S Class).

The full LED headlight system/ Intelligent lights are just amazing and so powerful.

I have changed all of the interior light bulbs/ glovebox light/ door puddle lights to LED. Very simple to do and these can be bought cheaply on eBay. No canbus error warnings on these either.

The CLS is a fabulous car and stunningly good looking which the E Class is not (a plain but a very competent car that has been made by the million and for the more reserved taste).

CLS 250 CDi Sport with 19" AMG Wheels
Obsidian Black/ Black leather interior ( I would have preferred the porcelain (cream) leather interior given the choice)
Memory front /heated seats
Full Comand Navigation and DAB radio
Boot box (which also rattled until I put on a felt bump stop!)
Space saver spare wheel


Philip Smith
Chester
UK

 

Thks for taking the time Phil to feedback.

I am monitoring the mpg closely at the moment I am getting not much more than my E320 CDI and beginning to wish that I had gone for the CLS350CDI with its extra power and smooth 6 cylinders. I am using the E setting and Eco and driving sensibly. I have switched to winter tyres 2 weeks ago. Something needs to be done about car manufacturers claimed mpg, its a load of rubbish.

I picked my car up from the factory to my spec. I am really pleased with the porcelain interior colour with the poplar wood, it looks great. I did add the ambient lighting and that looks the part also, I do agree though on a car this price it should be standard and so should the heated seats, along with the folding split rear seats. On the sport demo the seats were bare underneath and you could easily see the wiring. On mine they are covered and have storage at the front which is much better.

The sound system is the best I have ever heard.

I am also amazed by the power of the engine with such a big car, i do though think it is a little noisy and as mentioned disappointing mpg so far. It seems to work well with the 7 speed gearbox. There seems to be a fair bit of road noise compared to my E320, but that had airmatic suspension.

I also agree that the styling is excellent inside and out and I have never had so many people commenting on the car. I do not like the current E Class, particularly inside as it looks so square and bland. I heard somewhere that for the facelift next year they are going to use the current CLS style inside. I hope not as that is one of the individual qualities of the CLS.

Apart from the Command cutting out once in the first couple of weeks for a few hours, I have not had one fault and I am very happy with the car. Which is just as well as at this price I keep them for about 8 years. Looks like MB have really improved their quality standards. All I need now is improved fuel economy to top it off.

 

FWIW I have 'em too........I just turn up the radio or drive faster.......

nature of the beast IMO

 

You must be a very tolerant guy, paying that much for a car and putting up with rattles.

 

well, they don't drive me bonkers that bad, they're a small part of the big picture

 

Did similar repair but took the carbon fiber panels off and added some felt tape to the backside and or dash wherever it contacted another plastic such as the instrument surround or command surround. Also tightened all the visible bolts behind the panels. All prior buzzing is now gone.

Hard to see in the photo's but you can see the long thin strips of felt tape added to a few of the parts modified.

 

Thx for the photos. I am amazed what lengths you guys will go to on a car costing so much and still under warranty.

 

Taking a car in for noise/vibration is usually frustrating. They normally come back with wasn't able to duplicate, or they attempt to fix it and not manage to do a thing. At best it's a multiple attempt process which can take days of no use.

 

13000 miles, 8 months old.
Unfortunately I have had to book my car in again for squeaks and rattles.
The drivers seat is squeaking again after being fixed a few weeks ago, the seat is rubbing against the plastic surround.
There is a creaking sound coming from the dash. It was very intermittent but is getting worse.
I think I can also hear some rattle from the rear seating area of the car.
Also you can pull the cover off the front tweeter speaker on one side.

The car is going in in a couple of weeks for 2 days so that they can identify and fix the noises.

This is the fourth MB I have had and none of the others suffered from this type of thing. To be honest I am pretty dissapointed as I thought the interior was well built in the CLS. The car has so many great things going for it but noises like this just make it feel like a cheap car.

 

You find them in your Mercedes? Personally other then my W202 and W203 that I had I have never really had much cabin noise or anything with MB. Usually its pretty solid and tight built.

 

Yes, this is my fourth MB, and never had issues before. The E Class I had 9 yrs and no rattles. I expected this one to be spot on at the price.

 

Can any one provide instruction to remove cluster bezel?
I'm trying now and stuck with removing big wood trim running from right side of speedo to end of passenger side.
I almost removed it but it doesn't come out near microphone area(just above ignition key area). It looks like something inside there holding the trime piece. Without removing the big wood trim piece, the bezel cannot be removed. Please help.

 

@Tetra 123 Did it work? What repairs did they perform?

 

My car goes in Wednesday for its' first annual service (14,000kms). I have the same ticking rattle in my instrument cluster. Hopefully they will fix it the first time.

 

Philip,

can you post pictures of where you put the velcro? I have some rattling somewhere near the steering column too.

 

Hi, new to this forum. My 12 CLS550 does not make a sound. Nothing just a pleasure. My 09 was also rattle free. Brakes sometimes squeal but I am convinced you can minimize this by braking hard as opposed to softly and by keeping free of accumulated brake dust.

 

Sorry to revive this but I bought my 12 month old CLS a couple of months ago and also noticed squeaks around the dash area, sometimes moving the steering wheel up/down helps but not always. Its dark and I am drunk now but will try this out tomorrow, thanks for the info.

 

Thanks for the info