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A few months ago, my top would not go up. Fortunately I was able to get the dealer without rain. But obviously not a good situation. There was a stored code, b251939, right rear position sensor 1 for the power window motor has a malfunction. The signal has too few pulses. There is a known issue, li77.30-p-068840, and the repair is to perform a software update for the rear control module. Anyway, no problems with the top getting stuck since, but others might consider getting the software update to prevent a bad situation being caught in the rain with the top stuck open.
In the last few days, I noticed some of the cords that attach the headliner to the roof were fraying and loose. It appears as though the cords are not strong enough, or that the eyehooks the cords are threaded through are rough, causing the cords to fray. Anyway, there is apparently a bulletin about this issue, too, and the repair is to replace the headliner. If anyone has the details of the bulletin that would be helpful.
You might want to check your headliner cords, too, before any of them break, which I imagine might cause the headliner to not fold down into the boot.
I've had Saab and Audi convertibles previously and never had any issues with either, and it's more than a little concerning I've had these 2 issues on a brand new Mercedes less than a year old.
guess we could call it new car model problems... my 2016 has had zero issues with the top....
I suppose. But the system of cords that attaches the headliner to the roof isn't exactly high tech.,though it may be somewhat complicated. I'm curious if there have been any changes/improvements to the headliner to prevent the problem from happening again, and if so, what those changes are. From what i can feel, the eyehooks aren't exactly smooth, and to me, it's this roughness of the metal that is causing the cords to fray, and the eyehooks appear to be part of the top, and thus won't be replaced with a new headliner. So the new cords will pass through the same rough eyehooks. They're replacing it Monday so we'll see then.
My 2018 is at the dealer for the top not fully going down. I have the same "strings" damaged. I was told that they could replace the strings, as they apparently pass from one side to the other through the headliner. Replacing them won't fix the problem long term. The long term, permanent fix is to use a more robust material for the cords. A much stronger cord that is abrasion resistant, impervious to most chemicals and does not stretch. A 500 lb test Kevlar line fixes all of the shortcomings of the OEM solution. When the problem shows up again, I will replace with Kevlar. Here are the characteristics of Kevlar line:
Black Braided Kevlar line, made of 100% Dupont Black Kelvar Fiber, is of super high strength, high toughness, excellent resistance to cut / abrasion, high thermal stability, widely used in outdoor activities, rescue, survival, fishing and other general purposes.
Construction of Braid (Multi-strands interweaving process) makes kevlar line much more durable and be able to resist raveling.
Super tough in light weight! Every single yarn is able to yield high strength. It only takes a little weight for kevlar to gain high strength, an ideal choice for outdoor carry.
Cut-Resistance! One of the best advantages of Kevlar string. It helps avoid many unexpected string snaps which happen a lot in binding and fastening objects with sharp edges.
Hi jimzbenz1, how are the new cords? do they work well?
I got the same issue and got the cords replaced in May, but it seems like they still using the old cords at the time, and the issue came back 5 months later at Oct.
Hey buddy, I had that white dot cable before, it doesn't last for 5 months after replacement, even worse than the original cable ()
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:
This is how it looks today, after 9 months of replacement, still in pretty good condition:
Last edited by lizhaozhuo; 04-02-2021 at 01:14 AM.
Thanks for posting your experience with the updated part number. While I have a coupe, it's frustrating to read these repeat cable failures that 238/205 owners are experiencing.
My 2018 is at the dealer for the top not fully going down. I have the same "strings" damaged. I was told that they could replace the strings, as they apparently pass from one side to the other through the headliner. Replacing them won't fix the problem long term. The long term, permanent fix is to use a more robust material for the cords. A much stronger cord that is abrasion resistant, impervious to most chemicals and does not stretch. A 500 lb test Kevlar line fixes all of the shortcomings of the OEM solution. When the problem shows up again, I will replace with Kevlar. Here are the characteristics of Kevlar line:
Black Braided Kevlar line, made of 100% Dupont Black Kelvar Fiber, is of super high strength, high toughness, excellent resistance to cut / abrasion, high thermal stability, widely used in outdoor activities, rescue, survival, fishing and other general purposes.
Construction of Braid (Multi-strands interweaving process) makes kevlar line much more durable and be able to resist raveling.
Super tough in light weight! Every single yarn is able to yield high strength. It only takes a little weight for kevlar to gain high strength, an ideal choice for outdoor carry.
Cut-Resistance! One of the best advantages of Kevlar string. It helps avoid many unexpected string snaps which happen a lot in binding and fastening objects with sharp edges.
My 2017 A205 AMG is currently in the garage. Same problem with top not fully going down. I noticed you are mentioning Black Braided Kevlar "strings". Can you e-mail the name od the shop or web page wher I can buy/order them. Thanks in advance
My 2017 A205 AMG is currently in the garage. Same problem with top not fully going down. I noticed you are mentioning Black Braided Kevlar "strings". Can you e-mail the name od the shop or web page wher I can buy/order them. Thanks in advance
Just share my experience, that Black Braided Kevlar strings performed even worse than the original string, didn't able to hold for 5 months.
MB has a newer version of strings which works pretty well, you can check my last post.
Just experience the same problem with my 2019 E450. Took it to the dealership today. They are preparing a quote for “replacing the interior headliner”. Reading this thread, it doesn’t appear that the headliner replacement is the solution. Just replacing the cords. Should I replace the liner or just ask them to replace the cords? I will share the quote once received.
Just experience the same problem with my 2019 E450. Took it to the dealership today. They are preparing a quote for “replacing the interior headliner”. Reading this thread, it doesn’t appear that the headliner replacement is the solution. Just replacing the cords. Should I replace the liner or just ask them to replace the cords? I will share the quote once received.
My 2018 E400 had a frayed cord. Dropped it to the dealer last Monday. He replaced the headliner and cords. It seems okay, but the cords seem to be the same material. Thinking of adding chafe protection.
He mentioned the out-of-warranty price for the work. I don't recall exactly the number, but it was around $3-5k or so. He showed me a job he recently completed. They had to replace the entire soft top, both the exterior fabric and interior headliner. Warranty cost was about $10k. Out of warranty retail cost would have been $15k. Mercedes pays wholesale for warranty work.
They are replacing the headliner as a warranty issue, due to an earlier repair to the soft top with a short in the wiring. I will pick up the car next week and look at the type of cords they installed.
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.
10-08-2019, 03:44 PM
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Top not fully going down
