KCSam

Does anyone know for certain if the bumper needs to be removed in order to take out the star? I've seen some say that you just turn the star counter-clockwise and it pops out easily, and then other say on the '20's that you have to remove the entire bumper. I tried turning mine slightly, and it didn't budge. I was afraid to try and harder in fear of breaking it. I'm thinking about plasti-dipping the front star in Smoke to remove some of the chrome sheen. It'd be must easier if the star came out, but if I have to remove the entire bumper to do so, I'll just mask off the area really well to avoid over-spray.

1SickGLC

On my 18' GLC 43. It was a 1/4 turn counter clockwise to unlock it. I will say it needed some "encouragement" to make it happen Good luck!

KCSam

Yeah, that is what I read from some others. I'm afraid that beginning in '19 they may have changed the configuration of the star to not be so easily removable. I know the folks in the GLB forum said that you have to remove the bumper to dislodge the star, but I just wanted to see if anyone here with a '20 knows for certain. The last thing I want to do is try and force it counter-clockwise and break a clip or something.

1SickGLC

Maybe this will help....

wesram

This is for older versions. The OP was referring to 2020 model which differ from the one u shared.

KCSam

Agreed. I ran across that video a couple of days ago and I don't think it pertains to my 2020.

I tried again last night with a little more force to turn it counter clockwise, and it didn't budge. I'm beginning to believe that the only option for removing is to take down the bumper. Too bad.

KCSam

I talked to my rep at the dealership and he checked with the service guy and he said that it does indeed come off by turning counter clockwise. He said it's tricky and feels like it doesn't want to, but that is how it comes off. I guess I'll just need to put some more muscle behind it and not fear that I am snapping a clip or anything else in there.

Eric Baum

I have a 2020 glc 300 that I put in a factory led star
it turns counter clock wise it is in the tightly but it does turn. Used a small piece of wood against the chrome star and tap with a mallet.

the boxes behind the star remain in place attached to a bracket behaving the star

reinstall by twisting clockwise

KCSam

Man, that thing is in there tight. I tried with a small block of wood and tapped with a hammer as you suggested,, and it still didn't budge. I'll keep trying tonight and see if I can somehow dislodge.

1SickGLC

Take a look at the back of the new star and see where the part "locks into" the grill. This may help you and where you put "force". I agree my 18' gave me some grief and was certain my entire grill was going to come off Good luck!

KCSam

I'm not replacing the star, so unfortunately I don't have another one to reference. I want to take it out to paint it. I'm trying to come up with some other means to apply pressure to jar it loose.

wesram

i am surprised as you are the first one in several threads that said was able to remove. i guess ill wait for the OP to come back and say whether it worked for him, it did not for me.

thanks.

KCSam

I tried a few more times last night and it just isn't coming loose. The service guy at my shop insists that it just twists off and that nothing is blocking it from doing so. If true, then I have no idea what it's going to take to get it to turn. I've gone from using a little force to ALL my force and it just won't move.

KCSam

I finally got it off a short time ago. I used a block of wood and gently tapped against the top bar of the star until it finally jarred loose. A very small piece of one of the two clips broke off, but when I reattached it was still so tight that I couldn't remove by hand. So, it looks like the tiny broken clip is fine when reassembling. Now I just need to figure out how the actual star itself disassembles from the illuminating base so I can paint the chrome and not the light.

wesram

wow, that's great to know. What do u mean piece of wood? Any pictures of the tool u used? Also, did u try the illuminated star? Did it work?

KCSam

I used a piece of scrap 2x4 as a block to place against the top bar of the star and gently tapped. The only tools was the block, hammer and my hands. The Illuminated Star was already. I was trying to remove it in order to smoke the chrome.

wesram

ohhhh, so u had the OEM illuminated star already? Do u have the sensor box also and no issues at all? I wanted to install one from aliexpress but was told by the dealer that even OEM won't work. Would u mind snapping a picture if the way the star is installed and wired?

KCSam

Yeah, I already had the star. I'm sorry, I am just seeing this and put it all back together before getting any pictures. That star and housing are VERY fragile! I broke a small piece of the clip when removing the star from the grill. Then as I was trying to remove the star itself from the illuminating housing, I broke a plastic piece and one of the silver clips that holds the star in place. All in all, I smoked the star and ended up not liking it all, so I peeled it all off and put it back to normal. I reinstalled and everything is fine. Good luck removing the star. It's definitely a pain, but can be done. Just be careful!