afkcsco

Hi All,
I just bought a new e350 and there is a seam in the wood dash above the glove box.

What should I do?

Thank you,
A

ghstudio

You could either ask mercedes if they could replace your real wood veneer with a plastic piece that doesn't have the reality of real wood veneer.....or, you should just enjoy the fact that you don't have plastic....

Alternatively, you could buy a rolls where they meticulously match grain....of course at a price.

WEBSRFR

That would really bother me and I would not consider it acceptable. Are you sure this is not the sunlight discoloration issue because of the fault UV treatment on some W212 wood pieces? That is one fine seam if it is actually a seam...

In any case I think you are entitled to wood in the car that does not look like it was glued together. I'd ask for a replacement.

hx_guy

That would bother me as well. I would go to the dealership and see if they could replace it.

dcjwlee

Lol, that is crazy if that isn't light reflection/shadow... That looks like one of those things that are supposed to help you adjust the brightness and have boxes that get gradually darker.

I think the sarcastic guy in the second post totally missed what everyone else is seeing.

vei1side

i just had a car come in for fading wood trim, mbusa won't replace all the wood trim pieces anymore, just the affected wood.

Busta Riles

They will replace cracked trim, but you might have a tough time getting that one replaced. I agree though...i wouldn't be happy about that wood.

RNBRAD

It's not a change of grain issue. Looks like a fade issue. Has anyone ever tried a polish on this to see how that works? Not a wood polish but a car paint polish.

mnje350

It looks suspiciously like the same problem I had. It is also exactly in the location where there was once a sticker warning you that the car is equipped with a passenger side airbag. The dealer removes that sticker when they prep the car for delivery to the original owner. I think you are seeing where part of the wood was protected from the sun for a while.

MB replaced all of my wood. But, mine is a 2010. Don't know if their rules have changed.

newyorktoLA

All the wood fading issues are limited only to Burl Walnut Wood Trim. Mercedes has NEVER published a bulletin (to my knowledge) regarding the Black Ash trim. Try asking your dealer about it, but I'm pretty sure Black Ash doesn't fade

ImInPA

I can't speak for your dealer, but, I am certain that mine would replace that piece without asking any questions. They just installed a complete wood replacement kit in mine for fading. I hope your dealer is as good as mine because that would bother me.

K-A

That's totally unacceptable that now that people are returning defected items in a seemingly large enough mass (faded wood), they're not honoring the appropriate way to truly resolve it. Customer Service becomes a lost art and slowly but surely, customers will fade away. An M-B buyer expects lifelong wood, as M-B's have always seemed to have. If there's a fading issue, it should be replaced and mended to the point where ALL wood still perfectly matches.

Live Oak

I guess I can't see what everybody else is seeing here. I don't see "fade."

Just to the left of a bluish triangle reflection, I see what appears to be a "join," two pieces of wood joined together. The grain looks like it is a join match, i.e., the same grain from one layer of veneer above or below. The resulting wood on the left of the join looks either lighter, or because of the difference in grain it reflects differently, something you might see in furniture veneer.

Now, I don't know if "joins" are allowed or acceptable in E Class wood --- I sure don't see any in my car. But I can't see sun fade in this image . . .

(In other parts of the wood I see reflections of what appear to be the driver's arms and the steering wheel, etc.)

sharpxia

I totally agree with you, I think a car like MB should not have such joined wood piece in their car, they should get replaced. Talk to your dealer and get it replaced.

ghstudio

I agree...this is not sun fade, it is standard veneering procedure to match pieces. There are all types of quality....of course in the highest quality work, you see no seam. In lower quality pieces, you see the seam. In this case, the piece was probably not inspected and probably would not have passed inspection although it is still real wood and subject to the natural variations of wood.

The question here is mercedes standing behind their quality, not an issue of fading.

sharpxia

I think there are only one person reported this issue here, so which mean this many be miss checked during quality check, therefore, MB should replace it, if there many people have the same issue, which mean it qualifies the passing QC, then MB may not replace it. But it is still depends on which dealer you go to, and your relationship with the dealer, if you buy one MB every year from them, they will do everything for you to make you happy.

Arrie

There is a very obvious "butt seam" on the wood. I don't think this is accoirding to MB quality standard at all. Take your cat to the dealer and have them replace it. If MB says they will not then advertice this as MB quality.

There seems to be too many stupid quality issues with the Mb cars that cost money for a small house. Where in the well are they going to with all this?

dcjwlee

I like that idea. If MB feels that this is not necessary to replace, then create a thread advertising the said piece of wood trim (youtube/blog/forums), and state that according to so and so at a certain dealership there is no problem and that they think it's normal.

Then forward all created threads to the general managers, service directors, and MBUSA. Make sure to mention that you do not plan on recommending this dealership or the Mercedes brand in the future. Answering no to that question (would you recommend...) got me two calls from MBUSA and one from the dealership itself.

WEBSRFR

My dad actually used this strategy quite well with a TOYOTA. he bought a RAV 4 and there was an issue with the grill and when he pressed the dealer to fix it they dragged their feet at first and then said that it is normal. My dad said, very well, I'm going to write a letter to Toyota with a photo and tell them that though he was looking forward to a quality car according to the dealer this is the shoddy level of workmanship that a customer can expect from Toyota... the dealer changed their tune immediately. They reserved a loaner car for him and ordered the part right away...

I can't believe they expect a customer to drive a new car with such badly put together wood trim. Let us know how this turns out.

dcjwlee

I disagree with you a bit there, I think all cars are susceptible to stupid problems and we only weigh it more heavily depending on what we expect (reasonable or otherwise), but with that said I think this car shouldn't have left the factory with that wood trim on it. Where is the QC?!