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S212 Facelift Folks - take a listen? (lift gate funkiness)
2016 New to me CPO S212.
Bought car on Black Friday in Houston TX and drove it back to MD where it lives now. Have been dealing with a number of issues between the selling dealer and MB Corporate but that'll all get posted in it's own thread when the dust is settled.
During its last visit to the Annapolis Mercedes Benz Service Center I showed this issue to my SA and he said this seemed to be normal operation. I find this a bit strange for a few reasons
A. My GLC had a power lift gate that operated identical to this but never made this kind of strange sound on opening.
B. If it were engineered to operate this way I would think it would make the same sound every time but it doesn't.
Can other Wagon owners take a listen (I apologize in advance for the wind noise! iPhone camera mic are super sensitive) - where the motor for the lift gate is (left side hinge) it sounds like it reaches the open limit of the hatch and then tries to continue for a moment making a clunking sound.
It's quite loud and quite startling. It always catches me off guard because it happens a moment after it stops lifting so there's motor noise... quiet... then thunk!
Anyway, ease my concerns and tell me your wagon does this too OR maybe make a quick vid of yours so I can show my SA that NO, it is NOT supposed to do this.
My new baby (I absolutely adore this car - the finest road going machine I've ever owned, although not nearly as fun as my GLC43 - so much more refined)
Thanks to the users on this forum I was able to update my car to CarPlay almost immediately - first mod. One interesting note: when I was doing my research I had found some information that users thought production of our cars stopped in 2015 - my car has a production date of 4/16 in Stuttgart so it may have been one of the very last to come off that assembly line before the 213 went into production. Anyway - video is below
Yeah, they make that noise. It's the clutch engaging/disengaging for the lift motor. You likely don't have access to Xentry or a proper bi-directional scanner, but there's a re-initialize procedure for the lift gate (in Xentry for sure). You could also try to "un-performing" the tailgate limiting [height] function, its written in the owners manual.
Yeah, they make that noise. It's the clutch engaging/disengaging for the lift motor. You likely don't have access to Xentry or a proper bi-directional scanner, but there's a re-initialize procedure for the lift gate (in Xentry for sure). You could also try to "un-performing" the tailgate limiting [height] function, its written in the owners manual.
Thank you Sir! MUCH appreciated! I don't have access to Xentry (although it sounds like I might want to?) or a scanner but I will scour the manual now for that procedure
Yeah, they make that noise. It's the clutch engaging/disengaging for the lift motor. You likely don't have access to Xentry or a proper bi-directional scanner, but there's a re-initialize procedure for the lift gate (in Xentry for sure). You could also try to "un-performing" the tailgate limiting [height] function, its written in the owners manual.
+1. Mine does that at the end as well but nowhere that loud.
Do you remember how this used to work when trunk hatches were still manual?
Gas struts were used to help lift and hold the open position, right?
After years of service, the struts would go flat and the hatch weighed a ton, right?
I think that's where you're at now!
This style of automatic control relies on both strut's help. It is emulating an operator with limited strength.
Test to confirm your struts are shot... then replace the pair to quiet the electric gears.
Good thing you know what your W212 should sound like. When careful maintenance is neglected this repair bill gets stuffed with electrical goodies and pethaps not even the root cause struts
If you have time, have a glence at the tailgate control module. See if yours has overheated pins.
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Jan 26, 2022 at 10:25 PM.
+1. Mine does that at the end as well but nowhere that loud.
This is super helpful!
Originally Posted by Left Coast Geek
mine is pretty darn quiet. 2016 E350 4matic wagon, bought as a CPO december 2020
Also incredibly helpful - this is how I suspect it should operate! My wagon only had 24,500 miles on it when I bought it in November - sounds like something isn't to spec...
Originally Posted by CaliBenzDriver
Do you remember how this used to work when trunk hatches were still manual?
Gas struts were used to help lift and hold the open position, right?
After years of service, the struts would go flat and the hatch weighed a ton, right?
I think that's where you're at now!
This style of automatic control relies on both strut's help. It is emulating an operator with limited strength.
Test to confirm your struts are shot... then replace the pair to quiet the electric gears.
Good thing you know what your W212 should sound like. When careful maintenance is neglected this repair bill gets stuffed with electrical goodies and pethaps not even the root cause struts
If you have time, have a glence at the tailgate control module. See if yours has overheated pins.
Entirely possible I assume but would be very surprised if that were the case on a car that got used so infrequently - the previous owner only put about 4700 miles a year on it since new - it was an original owner car
Mine was developing an increasingly louder clunk at the top as well as slamming near the bottom of the close. I tried helping the hatch by supporting some of the weight with my hand and noticed the clunk was reduced to a click. I installed a pair of new struts today and it is back to normal operation with a small click at the top, and even opens more quickly.
I compared the compression of the old vs new struts and the difference was very noticeable. The new struts are very difficult to compress, so much so I wasn't sure the hatch would close when installed. The old ones were mixed, one was maybe 80% as stiff as new and the other maybe 60%. I ordered them from Rockauto for about $60 / pair (Lesjofors).
Mine was developing an increasingly louder clunk at the top as well as slamming near the bottom of the close. I tried helping the hatch by supporting some of the weight with my hand and noticed the clunk was reduced to a click. I installed a pair of new struts today and it is back to normal operation with a small click at the top, and even opens more quickly.
I compared the compression of the old vs new struts and the difference was very noticeable. The new struts are very difficult to compress, so much so I wasn't sure the hatch would close when installed. The old ones were mixed, one was maybe 80% as stiff as new and the other maybe 60%. I ordered them from Rockauto for about $60 / pair (Lesjofors).
Would you happen to have a part number for these struts?
Mine was developing an increasingly louder clunk at the top as well as slamming near the bottom of the close. I tried helping the hatch by supporting some of the weight with my hand and noticed the clunk was reduced to a click. I installed a pair of new struts today and it is back to normal operation with a small click at the top, and even opens more quickly.
I compared the compression of the old vs new struts and the difference was very noticeable. The new struts are very difficult to compress, so much so I wasn't sure the hatch would close when installed. The old ones were mixed, one was maybe 80% as stiff as new and the other maybe 60%. I ordered them from Rockauto for about $60 / pair (Lesjofors).
I replaced both struts last night and the operation is smoother but I still have the click/clunk at the top when it opens. Will try not to worry about it. Thanks!
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