Hi...hoping someone can help. The door panel (Black Ash) on my 2018 e300 began peeling around the edges (see photo). Really strange as it happened in several spots, exposing a metallic substance underneath. Almost like the Black was spray painted on. So I bring it to the dealer to replace (under warranty) and the replacement part looks nothing like the previous part or any other wood in the car (see photo). They ordered another and not much better. I don’t expect an exact match but at least the same ballpark. Dealer insists there’s nothing else he can do. Is this normal? Do I have any recourse? Really appreciate any advice. Thank you.

 

Here are some additional photos of the original panel so you can get a better sense of the damage as well as the grain of the wood. It was very muted with some vertical lines. Both replacements very dark, like shoe polish with many even horizontal lines.

 

iirc there was a thread on these trims: it seems that the wood patterns are unique to individual cars (or at least enough varieties that we hardly see any repetition), which means that if you are replacing a trim piece, it's unlikely that you end up with an exact or even a close match with the other pieces.

 

That looks bad. I'll never look at my black ash the same way again. I pictured it with more depth. I'd ask for a full matching set .

 

How the hell did it peel like that in the first place? It does not look like black ash at all... it actually looks like plaster painted black

 

Contact MBUSA to see if they will approve replacement of all trim under factory warranty so it matches. Reasoning, dealer confirmed manufacturer defect by replacing under warranty since replacement does not match remaining trim may also be defective just not as bad yet. Dealer should back you up witnessing new trim did not match – twice.

 

Thanks to all who took the time to reply.
Koni...a great suggestion and one I will try. Would you suggest bypassing the dealer and just calling mbusa or asking the dealer first? I think the dealer is in denial to a certain degree so not sure they would even entertain that request. Thoughts?

 

The car is under warranty and you should not have to accept that under any circumstances. Take it back to the dealer and tell them to settle it with MB. If all has to be replaced then that’s what they will need to do. If you settle and aren’t assertive they will try and get away with whatever they can. Good luck

 

Yes - at a minimum they should replace all of the wood panels in the front of the car: doors, center console, and dash. At the factory these pieces are matched for grain and color, using matching book end veneers. You can't swap out a single panel and expect it to match; it's impossible. A bigger question is why this damage is occurring; how thick is the wood veneer; and what is underneath.

Good luck - keep us posted.

 

Again, thanks for the great feedback, very much appreciated. For those questioning why this type of damage would occur in the first place, I’ve asked and all I get a shoulder shrug and an eye roll, as if to say “because it’s not real wood”, but those words are never spoken. It’s all a mystery. Let me further explain what I’m experiencing at this dealership, located in NY. Stay with me because this is a great story (if you’re not me). So a few weeks ago I hit my 2 year mark and make an appointment at my local dealership (not where I purchased the car) for the infamous Service B, aka the $700 oil change. While there I pointed out the damaged panel, they confirmed warranty and said they would call me in a few days when the part arrives. Get a call the very next morning, the part arrived, so I bring the car in. When I go to pick up the car I immediately notice a scratch on the drivers side door (size of a quarter). Naturally my guy denies it without having any possible clue what happened...just dishonest as the day is long. Luckily, I remembered that when I brought the car in, someone literally walked around the car with an iPhone taking video to ensure they don’t get scammed by guys like me. So I told the guy to get some popcorn because we were going to
go watch a movie. Sure as **** it showed zero damage when it was brought it in. They owned up to it and said to return it the next day, so I did. Two days later when I was supposed to pick it up they told me the paint didn’t match so they had to do it over, another two days. I asked all the obvious questions, like how exactly does the paint not match if this is a MB dealership and it’s a basic silver color? No sensible answer. Eventually it got done and looks fine. During all this is when I pointed out that the wood panel isn’t even remotely similar. He said they order by part number and whatever they get they get. Back and forth a hundred times but all I could get was they’ll
order it again and hope for the best. That’s where we are right now. The 2nd part arrived, they sent me a photo of it, and it still looks way off. I told them I was busy the next few days to buy time until I could decide what to do. So while I really don’t want to accept their lousy and incompetent service, I have to admit,
there’s a small part of me that just wants to head for the hills and not bring my car there ever again. So that’s the whole story, thanks for reading.

 

so was your left panel damaged before you got there or after?

 

The wood panel was damaged prior, they had nothing to do with that. I showed it to them when I brought the car in for the oil change...thought I’d kill two birds with one stone. So they ordered the replacement part and the story continues...

 

how did it get damaged? i think thats what everybody is curious about =)

are you the first owner of the vehicle?

 

I have no idea how it got damaged. There is nothing I consciously did or saw being done that could have caused this. I first noticed it in one spot several months ago, and over time I noticed it in other spots. If you look at the photos, it happened in around 5 spots on that panel, all a distance apart from one another. Completely random and bizarre. I certainly have no explanation.

 

...and yes, I am the original owner.

 

Take the time and go to MB in Manhattan. They are the only MB owned dealership. They can BS you.

 

Totally agree, take it to the best dealership and avoid PIA dealers like the one you're dealing with now. It's not worth the hassle and frustration. Good luck.

 

Thank you for your input fleuger, I appreciate it.

 

Throwing myself in here as well, I had similar issue as well on the same car with same trim and same spots of concern. However it was not to this degree by any means, it suddenly peeling in the same place right near the very bottom - very minor.

I first noticed this on the passenger door and opened the work order under the peeling on the driver side door. After opening the sevice request I decided to inspect all panels and confirmed all were ok — however there was a very minor peel starting on the driver side under the speaker grill near the bottom of the panel - it was not noticeable unless inspected up very close.

I dropped the vehicle to the dealer and left sticky notes pointing out the 2 places of concern (in fear they may even miss the spot on the driver door). I was told later on by my advisor via phone call that they needed to submit pictures to Mercedes warranty for approval and The vehicle was ready for pickup. Sure no problem.

I picked up the vehicle in the evening, the next morning in daylight on my way to work I realized they had scratched off the peeling part on the passenger door and made the driver side door far worse than what it was when I dropped it off. Remaining calm I awaited to hear back from the dealer on the status of the warranty claim. Later that day I was informed that the warranty claim was denied due to a “foreign substance” being used on the panels. The dear denies making it worse and claims they “only took pictures”.

I called and opened a case with MB Canada and received a call back today informing me that they will not be covering it due to the “foreign substance” and it will not be covered.

The case manager did not want to hear anything I had to say or referencing this post and told me if I believed that the dealer damaged my car I should take them to small claims court. She was not interested in hearing anything and told me they build these cars and “they don’t do that”.

Do I have any recourse? Any suggestions? Car is only a year old. Peeling is exactly the same as the OP directly beneath the speaker grill. It came out of no where, and has got worse over the pay few months.

The dealer says they need to have warranty claims like this approved otherwise they will not be paid from MB Canada — which I confirmed with a friend at another dealership is true.

Each panel costs $670 and I can confirm it is some sort of plastic under the top coat it is definitely not wood of any kind.

input anyone ?