gdtaber

I know it's been talked about but what is consensus on the soft close door addition. The future GL450 would be used 80% of the time by just adults. Thanks!

JimBarnhart

I have the soft close doors. While it's nice, if you don't have soft close on other vehicles or have been living without them for years, you probably won't get much value from it because you already close them hard enough.

I've found sometimes when I have my hands full and can't close them hard it's convenient to have them close themselves, but rarely take advantage of it.

If you have kids, or people in your family that aren't as big of brutes as me, it's probably a handy feature.

dj128

I originally had it on my car, but removed the option for 2 reasons:
(1) Just in case my kids get their hands stuck in between, I don't want it to close shut on them. I know this is unlikely, but just in case.
(2) I've read on the forums that when it breaks down (and it seems to happen often), you cannot even close the door until you disable the function at the dealer. I would have considered it if you can at least just close the door manually, but this will require you to have the car towed to the dealership to get it fixed.

https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...h-problem.html

Please correct me if I'm wrong about this, anyone.

dj128

Just to clarify, I had it as an ordered option on my car and removed it before it went into production.

blittle

Exactly…. Feel the same way. However, they do work as advertised and are impressive to your passengers if they have not experienced such a system. If I could just train myself not to slam the doors all the time and just let the closure system to it's thing, it would probably save wear and tear on the doors. If it were a stand alone option, however, I would not order it again but would rather put the money into the active curve system, which I did not order.

gdtaber

Thank you all! Think I'll skip, the failure/tow scenario sounds crazy!

doctorG

I had this feature on my S class and the motor died on the driver door. I was still able to close the door and have the dealer fix it on an elective basis. So, I am jot sure if you really need to get the car towed to the dealer immediately for repair.

wamochi

i have it as well and it was included as part of the standard packages on the MY13 550.

would i "buy" it again as a standalone option (is it $500-$550 now)? probably not. it's cool but not necessary. i have noticed on the X166 the doors are heavier and less tinny than the X164, so closing the doors manually has been a breeze. on the X164, it was probably more than 50% of the time that the doors didn't close on the first try and it drove me nuts. but now that I know that the X166 doors are better and heavier, i don't think soft close is that important. i would say on a weekly basis, the soft close activates 2-3x? that number is between my young boys and us using the car. so really it doesn't have to be utilized too often.

cincy8

I have a US MY14 550 and just realized the other day that I had it. It's a pretty subtle close - the door has to be all the way at the frame before it sucks in. I think all it does is avoid those occasional times when there's an alert from a door not closed. If that happens to you all lot on your cars today, you might want it. But I wouldn't pay extra for it for myself.

wamochi

forgot to say -- it is pretty cool ... this is my first car with soft close and it's pretty nifty. it sort of makes me feel like yes, this $90k car has a ton of stuff.

but again, if i had to buy a GL tomorrow and it didn't have that feature, it would NOT be a deal breaker like keyless go or lighting package.

fabbrisd1

Initial production/delivery of the 1st production GL's did have a "issue" with soft-close - and the 1st units were to be held at the dealer at that time until a software fix was fanned out thru Star system..

Since that 1st/unit issue - there has been no ongoing problems with soft close that I have been made aware of.

Espcecially of use if you have snoozing kids in the car - at at the price - kindof slick really..

walt2810

Very true. Have it on the S class and its a nice to have but not got to have option. Now like the above mentioned, the lighting package & keyless go is a MUST have after having it my current vehicles.

sievers

As for kids and hands getting stuck - as mentioned here the door has to be on its latch for this feature to work, so the risk is very low from those accidents ever happening due to the soft close function. I see it more as a time saver and safety feature, having the kids locked in ready to go and then finding out one door is not locked, having to stop, walk out...

adubm3

It's a nice feature but to use it, you have to consciously close the door half shut. It's quicker to close the door softly and be on my way.

aas5

I would say get it and you will definitely enjoy it. I have it and love the feature. I think all of the concerns about it are completely overhyped. It is very convenient and enjoyable, especially if you have kids. One of my favorite options for sure.

DarthVader2

#2 is not true. I have soft close on my S-class W220 and the soft close function had failed on the driver's door. I was still able to close the door fully but I had to close it harder like a regular door without soft close function.

I took it to the dealer to possibly have them repair the soft close function and they wanted almost $1000 for the repair. I said no thanks!

I did some research and found out that the mechanism is vacuum pneumatic operated. After tearing my door panel apart and got to the soft close vacuum motor, I found a plastic cap part of the vacuum motor had broken. I was able to find this part on ebay for less than $100. I ordered it and replaced the faulty part and the soft close function works again! I can not believe the money I saved not letting the dealer do the work!

UAG1

I love this option because I have babies sleep inside the car with my wife.
And I wont wake them up if I need to get out or sway seats....etc
I also do not need to bang the door in the late quiet nights...

Walidtik

I like this point.

wamochi

that is a good point. we have purposely done that too when one of the boys was napping the car and the other one wanted to get out at our destination.

wamochi

i should also point out that we haven't had any safety issues (yet -- knock on wood) with our boys, 3 and 5. that is partially because when i brought the car home 6 months ago i showed it to them right away and told them to keep their hands away from the door. and they were fascinated and actually like to stand back and watch it in action.

the other benefit that i had not thought of at the time is that they are getting bigger now and can actually pull the weight of the door closed (which is not an easy task on the big GL), although usually the 3 year old doesn't have the strength to get it all the way and the soft close will assist so i don't have to walk around and reopen/close it again.

it's kind of nice in that regard, especially since they know how to fasten their own 5-pt harnesses too. i guess they don't need mom anymore haha

N'AWLINS

if you've been driving M-B's you already softly close the doors. I have the soft close and have to try hard to close the door slightly to allow it to work. Don't get the option, M-B doors are easy to close already.

Badbuoy

I love itHave it on my 2014 GL had it on my S class must have option for me
Wish I had it on my bimmer

sraza

have it- love it.. pretty cool feature to have- though if it was a stand alone i'd prolly not get it.. part of a package makes it more likeable- its that ' o wow thats part of the package too' feeling-

cookstar

My sales rep said it would not even come on a 350 lol

lemonspinner

I didn't even realize I had the feature, for me it is harder to consciously try to close the door almost all the way and let soft close take over, vs. just closing the door all the way myself. Haven't found it useful at all. The door is easy enough for close for my 5 year old.