E-Class (W211) 2003-2009

Problem with the sun visors?

Old Jul 20, 2009 | 04:38 PM
  #1  
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05 E320
Unhappy Problem with the sun visors?

My sun visor does not want to spring back against the roof. It leave about an one inch gap between the roof and where the visor stops. I think in the past, the visor actually feels like it's spring loaded and pop back against the roof.

The visor is also very difficult to flip up and down. I had to use some pretty serious force to move it.

what is wrong?? do i need to oil it somewhere? If i replace the visor, would it pop back up against the roof? would it stay up against the roof in the future???

thanks
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Old Jul 20, 2009 | 08:34 PM
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I've actually never experienced spring-loaded sun visors in the current generation of MB's. My 2009 has "cheap" sun visors where it takes some pretty significant force to move it, but it sits flush to the roof if you push it up all the way. My 2002-2003 C-classes also didn't have spring-loaded sun visors (but ironically their sun visors were thicker, felt more solild, were easier to move/position, and were covered in a more "luxurious" vinyl/plastic rather than the "cheaper" carpet-like material the 2009 E-Class roof is made of).
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Old Jul 21, 2009 | 01:08 AM
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2003 E55 AMG; 2013 GL550 4Matic; 2003 CL600
I just got done dealing with this same issue. There is a clip inside, and it is supposed to snap against a flat section when it rotates into position next to the roof. It grinds material in there and deposits it until there is just too much friction to move smoothly.

I bought a sunvisor from a e350 and transplanted it's internals into the body of my e55's sunvisor. It worked great, like new now. If you do this, just make sure you let the glue set for a while so that the seam is tight.

If you just replace it, then yeah it will go away. I did the surgery because it was difficult/expensive to find a sunvisor with the same fabric that my car has. If its your passenger side visor thats bad, I have a spare grey one from my purchase.
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Old Jul 21, 2009 | 01:43 AM
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hi mekantor, that sounds about right. It feels like a built up or something that it no longer sit flush against the roof. kinda feels like a design flaw... even if i get the new one.. eventually same thing will happen?
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Old Jul 21, 2009 | 08:08 AM
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I had the exact same problem with my 03....One was replaced under MB factory warranty, I had to do the second one on my own dime.

I tried to clean/repair it myself, but without luck. After messing with it for a couple hours, I picked a new one up at the dealer....I recall it waslike $180 or so.

JM
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Old Jul 21, 2009 | 10:34 AM
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Originally Posted by blke320
hi mekantor, that sounds about right. It feels like a built up or something that it no longer sit flush against the roof. kinda feels like a design flaw... even if i get the new one.. eventually same thing will happen?
Probably, becuase its a wear & tear issue, unless there is just a batch of them that were poorly lubricated. You could try to ration how often you move it.

Cleaning it is just about impossible because the clip cant really be removed. It is bent into shape and it is fairly thick, ironically this was probably done so that it keeps its shape for a long time and maintains a crisp snap. I saw no way to get it off without destroying it.
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Old Jul 21, 2009 | 10:37 AM
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Originally Posted by jmorgis
I had the exact same problem with my 03....One was replaced under MB factory warranty, I had to do the second one on my own dime.

I tried to clean/repair it myself, but without luck. After messing with it for a couple hours, I picked a new one up at the dealer....I recall it waslike $180 or so.

JM
When you get a new one from the dealer, does it have the warning decals on it?
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Old Jul 21, 2009 | 12:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Barry45RPM
When you get a new one from the dealer, does it have the warning decals on it?
Barry, if you're looking for new visors to be rid of the ugly stickers, I removed mine as soon as I got the car. I used a blow dryer and a towel soaked with Goo Gone. I rubbed with the grain on the fabric, and also kept a towel on my lap to catch the bits of the sticker as they fell. It takes some patience to get them off, but it's not that hard.
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Old Jul 21, 2009 | 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Barry45RPM
When you get a new one from the dealer, does it have the warning decals on it?
Negative, i had to purchase the decals separate...

John
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Old Jul 21, 2009 | 09:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Oggie (on L.I.)
Barry, if you're looking for new visors to be rid of the ugly stickers, I removed mine as soon as I got the car. I used a blow dryer and a towel soaked with Goo Gone. I rubbed with the grain on the fabric, and also kept a towel on my lap to catch the bits of the sticker as they fell. It takes some patience to get them off, but it's not that hard.
Mine fell off on their own in the heat of a Central Florida summer .
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Old Jul 22, 2009 | 12:07 PM
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Originally Posted by GGM
Mine fell off on their own in the heat of a Central Florida summer .

Lucky you!
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Old Jul 25, 2009 | 04:40 PM
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On my 03 E320 when the sun visors stopped snapping all the way flush, I removed them and sprayed some lithium grease into the mechanism. Moving it back and forth it seems like the mechanism started working properly again and I haven't had a problem since. So it probably is worth a try to lubricate the mechanism before spending the money on a new one.
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Old Jul 25, 2009 | 06:50 PM
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Can u b a lil more specific on which mechanism did u lubricate? Just the external? Or internal? If internal, how did u get the lubricant in? Can u show it on pic??
Thanks!!!
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Old Jul 26, 2009 | 04:16 PM
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blke320, all I did was remove the 2 screws that hold the sun visor to the ceiling. If it is the driver's side visor, the 2 screws are at the end of the sun visor closest to the driver's side window. The other end of the visor (near the rear view mirror) just unclips like when you swing the visor over towards the driver's side window. With the visor in your hands, you can then spray a lubricant down into where the plastic elbow enters the visor.

I used lithium grease. Perhaps WD-40 or something like that would be better. I then sprayed the grease into where the visor rotates (between the plastic elbow and the fabric of the visor; where the visor rotates). Upon rotating the visor back and forth (rotating the plastic part of the visor that was attached to the ceiling), I defintiely felt the mechanism inside start working properly. I stained the fabric a little bit with grease, but I can live with that.
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Old Jul 26, 2009 | 04:21 PM
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blke320, my passenger side visor was still snapping tightly to the roof, but I took it off and lubricated it as well. I think that it did improve the way it operates. I don't know if this will work in your case, but it probably is worth a try.
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Old Jan 9, 2013 | 11:32 AM
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sun visor

I had the same problem on my 06 E350, I removed the visor off the ceiling by removing the 2 screws, pulled the chrome rod out of the visor as far as it would go and sprayed WD40 on the chrome rod letting it run down the rod into the visor, trying not to get any on the fabric. Not as good as new but a lot better and a lot cheaper that the dealer wanted for a new one. $280.
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Old Jan 10, 2013 | 02:39 PM
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Too many german broads
I'm having the same issue , it's hard to pull down and hangs an inch when closing.
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Old Aug 17, 2014 | 11:22 AM
  #18  
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Smile Sun Visor Fix

As posted by others, my sun visor would not "pop" back into place and hung down about an inch. So annoying!
My companion removed the two screws attaching the visor with a T-20 Star bit. He then squirted some W-D 40 in the rotating arm until the visor loosened up.
Worked like a charm. Actually "pops" back into place and sits flush with the roof.
Thanks for all the original suggestions. Gave me the courage to at least try a fix myself!
According to my service rep at Mercedes Benz, visor replacement would have cost $425.00.
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Old Sep 24, 2017 | 01:01 PM
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2005 E320
w211 sun visor fix

Looking through the various threads, it didn't: appear that there was a fix for a sagging sun visor. If the sun visor spring was still good, then lubrication was a fix. If it was bad, you had to buy a $200 new one.

With that in mind, I decided to see if I could fix it. With a razor knife, a drill and a screw with a nylon lock nut, I did fix it. Looks a little rough, but this could save you $200. Here is a picture.
Attached Thumbnails Problem with the sun visors?-20170923_160432_002.jpg  
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Old Sep 24, 2017 | 02:50 PM
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From: McLean, VA
2003 E500 Benz & 2015 BMW M235ix
Replacement Sun Visors

Originally Posted by blke320
My sun visor does not want to spring back against the roof. It leave about an one inch gap between the roof and where the visor stops. I think in the past, the visor actually feels like it's spring loaded and pop back against the roof.

The visor is also very difficult to flip up and down. I had to use some pretty serious force to move it.

what is wrong?? do i need to oil it somewhere? If i replace the visor, would it pop back up against the roof? would it stay up against the roof in the future???

thanks
I recall one being replaced free under my warranty. But about three years ago I had the passenger side do the same thing as your visors, so I decided to replace both of them. You can order them Genuine MB Parts for your vehicle and interior color at one of the MB Dealer's online discount parts shops (saves a lot instead of ordering from your local MB Dealer): www.parts.mercedesbenzof Durham.com or www.getmercedesparts.com) These sites are the MB Dealer in Durham NC and Annapolis MD.
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Old Jan 7, 2018 | 06:21 AM
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Mercedes-Benz C200K
Just wondering if a sun visor from a W211 will fit in a W203 or vice versa!?
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Old Jan 12, 2018 | 12:41 AM
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2005 E320 CDI, 2015 GLA 250
Sun visor fix

I went through the same things and considered replacements and rebuilds; however, the fix wasn't that bad. I took the sun visor off and lubricated where the (cam) shaft fits into the visor as well as I could with white silicone lube and now it works fine. Not perfect, but fine. It moves smoothly and sits flush.

good luck,
Peter
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Old Jan 13, 2018 | 12:59 AM
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Originally Posted by ptkacik
I went through the same things and considered replacements and rebuilds; however, the fix wasn't that bad. I took the sun visor off and lubricated where the (cam) shaft fits into the visor as well as I could with white silicone lube and now it works fine. Not perfect, but fine. It moves smoothly and sits flush.

good luck,
Peter
I tried to repair mine but the plastic frame inside is very difficult to glue. I didn't open the whole thing, just sliced the cover at the seam half length just to get a proper view of what was inside. Saw the broken piece and tried to glue it with a piece of flat inox. I then filled that part with white silicone. Let it dry but still it broke again when i tested it. Finally gave up and started looking for a second hand one.
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Old Dec 2, 2022 | 09:29 AM
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20' RCF, 18' NX, 09' E350, 07' Solara, 05' STi, 01' Ranger
Glad I found this thread. My visors are doing this where when I push them back up there is an inch gap and they don't sit flush to the ceiling. I attribute it to using a sunshade and having the visors hold it in place. I am going to try what's in this thread and hope they go back up to normal. What a silly design by MB. I've never heard of visors wearing out. Heck my 22 year old truck's visors still work fine and even my 15 year old Toyota's visors never once experienced this issue..lol

-Nigel
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