My 2016 E400 wagon has a spare tire under the floor in the luggage compartment, as is typical for this model. There is a styrofoam insert that sits inside the rim of the spare and has cutouts for various tools, all original equipment from the factory.

However, there is nothing that holds the spare tire in place in its fitted compartment under the folding luggage compartment floor. The spare can shift around a bit or bounce up and down on rough roads - and in fact I think I can hear it moving around sometimes.

The owner's manual does not show any type of retainer, but I think I remember the spare tire previously had some sort of clamp that held it down inside its compartment. Last year my daughter was driving the car alone and hit a huge pothole on the right side at high speed, which blew the front tire and bent the wheel. A Good Samaritan stopped to help her and unloaded the spare tire from the luggage compartment. In the confusion that followed, I think whatever device retained the spare tire in its compartment might have been removed and was left by the side of the road - but I can't be sure of this.

I took the car in for service at the local Mercedes Benz dealer and asked about this missing part. The dealer special ordered what it said was the necessary part and asked me to pay for it. Several months later, the dealer now says: "The pin for the spare tire is here, however there is no fastener on that vehicle and we don't see one on the parts diagram".

The part numbers on the dealer invoice for the special order (and which the dealer now says are not the correct parts) are as follows:

169-898-00-65 (screw)
212-898-08-145-9051 (bracket) - note this appears to be the styrofoam insert that fits into the spare tire rim, I don't need this part as it is not missing on my car
124-898-07-65 (screw)

I am losing confidence with the dealer, for this and other more serious issues. Can anyone with a S212 comment on how their spare tire is retained in place in the luggage compartment?

Is there a parts diagram that would clearly show all the parts that go with the spare tire?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

That' weird, I have a 2011 S212 and went out to take a look and noticed that mine is the same as yours. Absolutely nothing holding the spare down...

 

Just went out to my 2011 S212 and poked around the spare tire area and here are the results....

Contents of foam insert.

Latch that secures the aluminum top brace.

The top brace (mounted on underside of rear facing seat cushion) that secures the tire and foam insert when in the down position.

 

Thanks for the replies. My car has the same aluminum brace shown in Raj's photos, and it does latch in the closed position as he states. I suppose this is what is supposed to hold the spare tire in place.

Even so, the spare tire can still move around inside its compartment vertically and horizontally a half inch or more in any direction, even with the brace in the latched position. I wish it was held more firmly in place.

 

Just a thought...you could possibly place extra foam pieces between the aluminum brace and the top of the spare tire as well as on the sides of the spare tire to compensate for the half inch movement. A Home Depot or Lowe's trip for foam might be in your future...