thekurgan

I made a new thread, the old rattle thread was necro by now. This one has been driving me nuts, finally found it. It is that crummy rheostat that controls the instrument panel dimming. It's just loose, so this may only apply to me. I really didn't "see" it, as it's behind the wheel, and I just fiddled with it and it duplicated the rattle IMMEDIATELY. The solution for me, was to cut a very small piece of 3M's anti-squeak tape, I didn't peel the adhesive side at all, I just made it into a circle, wrapped the rheostat knob and slid it in (I know, I know, TWSS) ... the photo shows the white "tape" surrounding the knob.

I hope this helps folks out, the sounds in this E class bounce around, so pinpointing some sounds is difficult, this one sounded like it was from the wood trim on the door panel.

Excuse the dust, makes the bokeh look bad, I usually wash and detail her on Sunday. If anyone needs a closer crop, let me know.

hofb99

So, just wondering (forgive my ignorance)...are M-Bs just as vulnerable to rattles and squeaks and moans, just as other "run-of-the-mill" cars? Or is it just the W212? Did the older E-class models (W211 and so on) "creak" just as much? I must say, I REALLY didn't expect a thread like this for a M-B!!! I mean, REALLY??? M-B??? I don't know..."pride in engineering"? Or is it just the few of you that have this problem?

BM2BZ

great job! i have some rattling sounds coming from the glove box over bumpy roads. i only have the manual and couple dvds inside and they are so tight that i even have hard time to take them out so i guess not because of they are moving around. haven't tried to remove everything and go over bumpy roads yet.

ImInPA

It is always great to find that one annoying rattle. Congratulations!!! I am sure your find will help many others with this annoyance. Now that you have identified it, I would have the dealer either replace the dimmer knob or provide you with a more elegant solution.

BenzV12

Good job, I am happy for you . Normally, you don't take that little button into consider to the point of rattles but you found and fixed it

K-A

It's just one of those things that you can't really avoid. The W211 was quite plagued by rattles "for an M-B" (which is still less than casual cars who you don't scrutinize as much due to having a higher "rattle threshold"), and the W221, W210, etc. have all had their Threads of rattle inquiries.

I hate rattles as well, and my 2011 E acts as it it's literally alive, i.e sometimes there's a sound from an area, then it goes away, then another one, then it goes away, etc. In other cars, I don't care so much. In my E, I hear one sound and I want to start banging all around the car is raging anger.

thekurgan

If I remember to let the dealer check it, that may be ok, but if I forget, I won't shed a tear, this isn't visible except for the camera and I don't want them taking the dash apart for fear new rattles will be "born". FWIW, the material for this knob is the same as the door lock pins.

hofb99

Well, I have to say that since owning this vehicle, I'm pretty impressed w/ how quiet it is. 1.5K miles and not one rattle/shimmy/shake as of yet (just blessed I guess). My wife says that it's really smoooooth... And for those w/ pano, I can only imagine that it's a real challenge for designers to perfect this type of structure, let alone keeping it "quiet". Aren't convertibles plagued w/ similar flaws/deficiencies?

tjkaz

I'm on my third MB in 12 yrs; SL500 and two E class (211 and 212) and haven't had any noticeable/annoying rattles in any of them. And, I'm one of those that senses that stuff and it would drive me nuts. Perhaps a luck of the draw for some of the others.

avanthomme

I haven't had any creaks or rattles from my 2012 e350, 2004 clk320 or 2002 s500. My only MY that had issues was the 2000 clk320. The long strip of wood trim across the top of the dash would creak over slight bumps in the road. It would also blind you with glare in direct sun. But that car had so many mechanical and electric issues.

avanthomme

I have the panoramic SF and haven't had any issues with creaks, rattles. *fingers crossed* I'm the type that would go mad with little rattles. I've driven the car for a few months in New Orleans, which is notorious for poor street maintenance.
Pot holes galore. No issues.