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19 E53 AMG Cab, 21 Land Rover Defender 110S, 20 LR Discovery HSE, 23 Ford Bronco 2dr 7spd Manual
Because of this forum and this thread I looked at my strings and they were separated too. I wasn’t having a roof closing problem I noticed. I down loaded the incident sheet here and brought it with me.
I had my car in for regular service and with the above they replaced the strings and headliner.
It's still an issue for me. They are replacing the whole headliner, for the second time, this week. It was on backorder, so seems I'm not the only one with the issue.
This will be the 4th time in the shop for the same issue. My car has 20k miles, so every ~5k miles the cords fray. It was longer this time due to covid. Fortunately still under warranty. I'll probably sell the car after they're replaced the next time, because there will be a next time. It takes at least 3-4 full days for them to fix it each time the cords fray. It's a web of cords.
The part number is still the same for the headliner, so that's not encouraging. I tried using the part number from the guy in Shanghai for the replacement cords, but they said they can't get that part here in the US.
The instructions on fixing the issue posted upthread are complicated, so perhaps my dealer isn't doing something right? It just seems like a design issue to me. It's frustrating because I like the car otherwise.
When my 2019 required a second string / liner replacement in under twelve months, that was just too much for me, so I negotiated with the dealer and sold them the car. I really enjoyed the A238 for a number of reasons, however the soft top's associated long term maintenance costs, and the challenges associated with the repairs, left me in such a quandary that I elected to move on from the vehicle. Another friend of mine has a 2020 model and he is just now replacing the webbing and the liner; sad as this is otherwise a great automobile.
Last edited by TennesseeZ4; 04-25-2022 at 05:04 PM.
19 E53 AMG Cab, 21 Land Rover Defender 110S, 20 LR Discovery HSE, 23 Ford Bronco 2dr 7spd Manual
You have a copy of the warranty so dig that up and check. Usually CPO loses cosmetic coverage but this is mechanical. This has been a known issue so even if it’s not covered under CPO the dealer should fix it anyway.
I am so sorry for everyone having these issues. Had a CLK Cabriolet that had these exact issues. Soft tops on cabriolets are just junk I have determined. Awful design that has not changed regardless of what we are told. Same issues on the old CLK’s and now the E Cabriolets. Best to just move to a hardtop or a coupe at this point as I don’t ever see these issues being fixed.
2016 E550 conv low mileage, no abrasion seen on the cords so I guess I'm good for the meantime. I observed with the top half opened the cords are not under any tension, so I supposed they are fully tensioned at full closed position. It seems abrasion could happen as a function of the number of open/close cycles.
I have raised a complaint to the local MB service center and they managed to get me a new set of headliner with new cable, which is different from the white dot one and the original. And this time it works pretty well.
Here is the part for the headliner set:
It’s been quite some time. How are these holding up? My warranty ends in October.
Hi there i have the same problem with strings damage , MB replaced them but after approx 20-30 operations strings are fraying again , did you have your arrangement replaced with kevlar ? If so how is it now ?
Mikey
My 2018 E400 with 20K miles is going in Wednesday 7/6/22 to have its tension cords replaced as per bulletin LI77.30-P-070145 . Both #7 cords are fraying and according to the bulletin the #3,#4 & #7 cords on both sides get replaced along with 2 new bellcrank end stops. Bad thing is I just bought this from a MB dealership in NJ that Certified it on 6/8/22 so I didn't expect to have this problem. It was delivered that way. I live in FL so I wasn't able to inspect the vehicle before I flew up to drive it home. I have the CPO warranty but I guarantee it is not covered. I will reply on what the result is tomorrow.
My 2018 E400 Cabrio was covered under CPO. This is a mechanical defect, not a cosmetic or trim issue. They should fix it under CPO and in fact the CPO brochure for this model year even mentions the convertible top and mechanism as a covered item.
Just picked it up 7/8/22. All my concerns including the fraying cords were covered by CPO warranty. These are what the repair cords look like in mid 2022. The ones bound by black tape I know were replaced.
My 2018 E400 with 20K miles is going in Wednesday 7/6/22 to have its tension cords replaced as per bulletin LI77.30-P-070145 . Both #7 cords are fraying and according to the bulletin the #3,#4 & #7 cords on both sides get replaced along with 2 new bellcrank end stops. Bad thing is I just bought this from a MB dealership in NJ that Certified it on 6/8/22 so I didn't expect to have this problem. It was delivered that way. I live in FL so I wasn't able to inspect the vehicle before I flew up to drive it home. I have the CPO warranty but I guarantee it is not covered. I will reply on what the result is tomorrow.
Hey guys, have any of you done this yourself? I'd love to hear if there are special tools involved. Looking at the tip sheet, the only thing I worry about are the steps about cutting the rivets and later putting them back. This does not look like rocket science... And from what I'm hearing we have people abandoning these cars right and left to avoid the long term maintenance pain. If you've done it, please speak up and share. I'm going to attempt a self-fix and create a video so I don't forget how (will be glad to share it). Hopefully this can just be another part of regular maintenance rather than some big ordeal every 6-12 months. I'm not a fan of bleeding brake lines either but I do it. Let's come together on this one with a sustainable method!
If you own a rivet gun and a pair of side cutters or better yet a Dremel tool you can do this on your own. It's what I was going to do if they weren't covered by the CPO warranty. With a copy of the service bulletin, the MB parts and some common sense anybody can do this. I noticed some metal file shavings after the repair was done on mine so I assume the tech ground the tops of the rivets off.
I am not sure this is a DIY repair. My service advisor told me it took his MB certified body shop tech 16 hours to complete. I hope it is as plan on keeping my car for a long time and I am guessing this will happen again out of warranty.
If you own a rivet gun and a pair of side cutters or better yet a Dremel tool you can do this on your own. It's what I was going to do if they weren't covered by the CPO warranty. With a copy of the service bulletin, the MB parts and some common sense anybody can do this. I noticed some metal file shavings after the repair was done on mine so I assume the tech ground the tops of the rivets off.
I really question the “anybody can do this “ quote. Not everyone has the skills that you may or may not have.
Well if you haven't noticed I'm bound and determined to solve this, but that may be worth pause with your comments. I'm ordering something now to try and fix this (linked below). It may or may not be viable, but if the whole point here is to prevent fraying to keep the interior cord intact, I'm focused on protecting it as it goes through the eyes. I've ordered 20' of the product below after talking to their sales guy a bit. This should overlap itself more than enough to keep from coming loose and should go through the eyeholes just fine. When it starts to wear, replace it. The sales guy had never heard of this issue or concept but was very helpful. My bet, 50/50 shot it's a win, but worth trying for $30 after shipping. What do you think?
I'm going to be focused on making sure it doesn't enlarge the string enough to cause issues and be sure it can't come loose or the cord start to pop out. It should be pretty much invisible if it works.
Recently took delivery of a 2022 E450 Cab. This is my fourth Mercedes Cab. Two CLK's and now our second E-type. Have not encountered this problem with any of the four. I don't understand exactly what is happening. It would seem to me that putting a covering on whatever the cables are rubbing would be the way to prevent this. Of course as I said I really have no experience with this so my advice is free and worth the price.
Hi Just wondered if you still having issues with convertible roof ...... i have same issues not sure what to do as i am now out of warranty and cords have frayed again and not confident of lowering roof anymore , Mb want a lot of money to do another fix although i have had 2 fixes already ( under warranty )
I've ordered 3 products to see about a wrap/sleeve type protection for it so that'll be my weekend project. Will let you know how it goes and make a video just in case it works. I have no intention of paying MB for a new top every couple of years. This should be a recall..
Good news and bad news. First the bad - the wrap around the cords seemed to work really well at first, but after a few cycles, the cords started getting stuck in the eyes. The wrap just made them a little too thick. So now the good news. I went ahead and took the plunge, bought the needed parts, and did the full job this weekend. It went slowly but worked out very well. I'm pleased with the result. I took multiple videos in the process and am in the process of editing and adding notes in there for anyone else who wants to try it. All in all, this is a $100 job if I have to do it again. First time through I had to buy a couple of tools. It also took about 7 hours of garage time to complete. As suspected, this was not rocket science but was tedious and required some good basic car knowledge and experience. Not a job for a newbie or impatient person. Video to come soon!
Passenger Side before paint touch-up. Driver's side.
04-25-2022, 08:01 AM
