The driver side door of my 2015 GL63 makes 2 - 3 noticeable clicking noises when opening or closing the door. I have tried aerosol white lithium grease on all the obvious visible pivot points with no change.

Nothing changes on the visible hinge side of the door when opening or closing it and nothing feel loose.

I have read that on some models there is a small (7mm) adjustable bolt on the bottom of the lower hinge but I do not appear to have this on any of my hinges and there is no traditional check strap as in my W126.

It’s more of a loud embarrassment than a functional issue at this point but it doesn’t sound very good and with these cars than can only mean potentially expensive later on.

Any ideas?

 

Have you tried an automotive stethoscope? They are very cheap to buy, and may help you pinpoint which hinge (or cable?) is making the noise.

 

I've had this on my 2013 GL450 since new - almost like 2-3 stages of opening the door. I just got used to it.

 

I've got the same thing going on with my GL350--driver's door only. I've also lubricant sprayed hinges and slides with no apparent improvement. I'm not aware of the "small (7mm) adjustable bolt". I'll check and repost if I have it.

 

its not gonna work

 

Don't open

 

This happens on my R350 as well. I noticed it started after a gust of wind blew the door open hard once. I am guessing there is an internal piece, like a sleeve, that has malfunctioned or failed prematurely due to the trauma. But I am also searching for what the fix is.

 

Had a door hinge clicking / clunking when opening and closing.
This is remiscent of the more normal door mechanism that involves a spring and a couple of reluctant rollers.
The hinge on my E350 2014 is nothing like that arrangement as the detent and spring mechanism is housed inside a metal cylinder.
There is a bolt on the top of the larger lower hinge, the source of issue.
If you remove the plastic beauty cap and (13 mm) bolt, don't worry, noting is going to came apart, or it shouldn't, it provides an opening for lubrication access.
I drizzled some 90 W Gear Oil into it and put the bolt and cap back on.
It took a couple of days for the lube to work it's magic, but it did and the grinding is gone. Cheap fix, you will need to wipe up any oil that drips out.
I also tried squeezing some white lithium grease into the opening and used the bolt to push it through. That certainley didn't hurt the process.

 

Elwood, can you elaborate on this? My hinges have been driving me crazy (have another thread on this). This is a gold mine if it solves these 'non lubricating' hinges.
- did you feel the need to support that door at all ?
- was the bolt removed completely?
Guess I'm a bit nervous about the process. I actually just bought new lower hinges for both sides that were not too expensive - $187 including shipping. If this process works then I would save the painting and installation costs and downtime.

Thanks Elwood for any additional info you can provide.

 

Wanted to add the video of my ML350 door hinges. The sound in the video is amplified, so not that bad, but still noisy.

 

We've got the same issue on the driver's side door in our 2015 GL450. Drives me crazy. Started taking the door apart to figure it out, and my best guess is there is some kind of broken weld interior to the door near the hinge. I stopped short of taking the whole door apart to find it and now just live with it, but I am curious if anyone dug into this further.

 

Don't know about your model, but mine is a ML350 and the noise is in the hinge itself - - nothing to do with inside the door, no need to take the door apart. Really is baffling that there is no ability to lubricate the hinges as part of regular maintenance. It would be great if Elwood P would chime in and confirm how his method worked - - again, I'm a little hesitant to start loosening the bolt . . . . 50 years ago I wouldn't have thought twice about doing it, now . .

 

Resolved: I went ahead and got new lower hinges. Took them to a body shop for painting, and when done, took the car in for them to be installed.

Hinges: from MB Parts Source, best deal I found, right and left bottom hinges and shipping - $187
Paint / Install: local shop, $453
Total: $640

Now the doors open with complete silence!

 

This is the only way. I’ve owned 4 X166s and tried everything. Read that was the only fix unfortunately. I just learned to live with the sounds…