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1966 Mercedes 250S/ 1993 Mercedes 300E 2.8/ 1987 Buick Grand National/ 2019 Ford Ranger FX4 Lariat
Headlamp lens replacement?
Has anyone had any luck replacing the headlamp lenses on their w212? I ask, because I'm looking at a 2011 e550 4matic sedan, and there seems to be some etching caused by the hid lights on each side, in a bit of a triangular pattern. I see there are lens replacements available at a decent price. A quick search on this forum and Google revealed that folks have asked about it, and some say it isn't worth the hassle, but I wasn't able to find a testimonial from someone who has completed the job on this chassis. I.E. difficulty, post-install leaks, etc. Thanks in advance.
You may want to ask Oda112 - he's done some extensive repairs on his headlights. If I remember right, he had to Dremel the old lens off - the original factory sealant is much more difficult to remove than standard butyl sealant. I've solved some minor condensation issues, but have not pulled any lenses.
1966 Mercedes 250S/ 1993 Mercedes 300E 2.8/ 1987 Buick Grand National/ 2019 Ford Ranger FX4 Lariat
Originally Posted by Mud
You may want to ask Oda112 - he's done some extensive repairs on his headlights. If I remember right, he had to Dremel the old lens off - the original factory sealant is much more difficult to remove than standard butyl sealant. I've solved some minor condensation issues, but have not pulled any lenses.
That V pattern is a known issue and is difficult to remove. MB had a special cleaner for it, but it will come right back. I had it on my 2010 E550 and just lived with it.
1966 Mercedes 250S/ 1993 Mercedes 300E 2.8/ 1987 Buick Grand National/ 2019 Ford Ranger FX4 Lariat
Originally Posted by KEY08
That V pattern is a known issue and is difficult to remove. MB had a special cleaner for it, but it will come right back. I had it on my 2010 E550 and just lived with it.
Gotcha. I did run into threads in which members had been going back and forth with dealers and trying to have the issue resolved. Most cases appeared to be unsuccessful, so I wondered if anyone had taken matters into their own hands and replaced the lens. By the comment above, it doesn't sound like a very reasonable fix, so living with it sounds like the way to go, unfortunately.
I got mine replaced by the dealer, and it came back immediately. I live with it now, and it doesn't effect the lighting capabilities as far as I can tell.
There were several threads in the W211 forum when people were able to replace their covers. For the W212, it's newer and not that common. I think at one point there was a vendor in China that sold the covers and you could try swapping them out, but it was an involved project. I also have the V notch on my Bixenons and I just leave it alone. Rockauto sells the complete assembly for $618 each, but it's probably not worth the cost.
I have a pair of genuine original Mercedes (Hella) lenses for sale that I never ended up using because my headlights were not as bad of a shape as I though and were able to be cleaned with solvent.
I paid $300 for the pair shipped from Germany. I'm willing to sell them for $150 shipped to the US.
1966 Mercedes 250S/ 1993 Mercedes 300E 2.8/ 1987 Buick Grand National/ 2019 Ford Ranger FX4 Lariat
Thanks everyone.
Ungarisch, that's a great price on those lenses, but, if the problem is that common and it will return almost immediately, I'll probably just leave it alone.
I have a pair of genuine original Mercedes (Hella) lenses for sale that I never ended up using because my headlights were not as bad of a shape as I though and were able to be cleaned with solvent.
I paid $300 for the pair shipped from Germany. I'm willing to sell them for $150 shipped to the US.
If you're in the US, you can just use paypal and say it's a vendor purchase. Then you have some recourse. However they do charge more for this. No need to trust anyone, you just pay a little more. It's probably worse for the seller because paypal typically sides with the buyer.
But maybe it's just as well, I use paypal all the time and this sounds like the setup of a scam. Seller should probably video the whole process of mailing it out in case of a paypal chargeback attempt.
So just go ahead and buy the cheap stuff on Aliexpress, then you can just get one side.
04-07-2019, 04:52 PM
