We had a similar thread in early 2018 that is too large to be useful. In an attempt to keep this useful I won’t get into the usual Floor Mat, Wheels & Tire subjects that already have threads of their own.I haven’t had my car out of the garage yet because of storms and to keep it clean for the Xpel Install to the front end. Here are some items to get started, feel free to add your own.

Tips

1. Programming Homelink Garage Door Opener- Double Tap if No Pano Roof...I did not order the Pano roof again and had trouble programming the garage door opener. The buttons are under the mirror and required a double tap to activate rather than the long press per the manual.
   
2. Lower on Entry for my GLE 53 does not appear to lower as much as my 450.
   
3. Dash Cam-adding it later is questionable-mine does not appear to have the USB C outlet next to the phone port for a thumb drive. It shows as charging like my 450. I thought that one I saw on a 2021 GLE 450 was different but???
   
4. My Fold on lock still resets itself back on after ignition restart but not each time just after a few cycles
5. The Mudflap's I ordered do not fit my 53. I need to check a 350/450 but there may be a change to the inner fender well on the 53 because the Mudflap shape looks right.
   
   Mods/Accessories
   
   Red Center caps to match my body and brakes. These are Mercedes but probably from an earlier Gen since the prongs are shaped wrong and a little too large. I shaped them with a heat gun and used clear silicone on the inside to make sure they stay fixed. I don’t recommend anyone purchase these and don’t have a link to share since I bought them 2 years ago.
   
   
   
   
   
   Blackout Rear Badges added. This required removing the Chrome badges and reapplying new ones. I will try to find a link and add it soon. I bought the Star separate from the other two and it was OEM Mercedes and shaped to fit the curvature of the hatch. I popped off the chrome star using fishing line without breaking it. To my surprise it had no adhesive like the replacement one. On the other badges I put painters tape above the originals and marked the location of letters to get them back in the same place. I removed them with heat gun, fishing line and then placed paper towel strips soaked with bug and tar remover on the goo to soften them up. Also used Goo Gone but both seemed to work the same. Don’t use a paper towel to remove because the wood fiber can scratch the paint. I used a microfiber rag and tossed it in the trash...nasty stuff. ‘I’m waiting on some 3M blackout tape to do the chrome hatch strip and also a piece of Xpel to use in place of the Mercedes chrome load sill protector.
   
   
   
   
   I saved my console storage tray purchased for my 450. These were available on Amazon or EBay, probably still are....
   
   
   
   
   

I was thinking about doing blackout on the Door handles but I’ve changed my mind. They have a body color matching strip that is going to complicate any change. I don’t plan to do any grill or front star blackout either. The wheels aren’t my favorite but I’ve been unable to find 22’s with a machined face and black with the higher offsets. Still looking.... I like the black out on Red but also want some bling from a little chrome.





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I mentioned that my Mudflaps don’t fit and can’t find a GLE with AMG body to compare. Can someone confirm the existence or lack of the bump out in my picture? I think my 450 was flat so I might have the correct product but the 2021 53 has a different shape?
Side note, I see the Dealer missed some dirt during prep.

 

The 450 w/ AMG has a similar bump, but I think slightly different, 2 1/2" in from the outside of the fender (not rocker).

 

My 2020 GLE450 seems to have a similar bump, see attached pics. Excuse the messy car, we are deep into our brutal Canadian winter, I did wash the car 3 days ago ! I have also posted a pic of my USB-C connections.... The one on the left is for Android Auto and the right is for media

 

So did Mercedes provide the tooth picks?

 

I can confirm that the wheel well on the 2021 GLE has changed. There is a round quarter sized recessed area with a plastic nut on a bolt. That area has moved inward about an inch. I was able to install my Mud Flaps by cutting off the piece that mounted there. While doing that I noticed that the lower trim piece (that is replaced when running boards are installed) is not aligned very well on the drivers side. It is out from the body and will be a dirt collector. I am going to ask that it be fixed.

The AMG key fob is all black and cool looking.

 

LUG BOLTS-We know that Mercedes changed the Lug bolts from M14 to M15 with the new Gen GLE. What I hadn’t thought much about was the thickening bulge on the bolt. My Audi has just a normal M14 bolt. As I was inspecting the GLE 53 Hub it became clear how they have designed the bulge and the hub to further strengthen the bolt. The shear point of a stud bolt will allways be greater at the threads. Mercedes has recessed the threads so that the bulge is inside of the Hub so that the thickened portion is at the point of most stress where the wheel and Hub are joined. I’m not an engineer but I’m guessing that this makes the M15 effectively stronger like maybe an M16-17 with all threads. The bolt also looks to be longer than necessary so it protrudes through the hub an 1/8” to a 1/4” at least with my wheels. As usual I was in a hurry and don’t have any calipers that fit so used a tape and guesstimate.
Here is a pic of the Black OEM Mercedes stud bolt.

 

@Ron.s It's nice that the new bolts are more robust. They always seemed a bit wimpy to me.
Is that light metal collar able to spin independently from the bolt? It looks like my old Peugeot nut!

 

Peugeot, now that’s a name you don’t hear much anymore. Yes the washer spins free. These bolts can’t be cheap to make so it would have been a way to reduce costs vs quality if that was the objective. My 450 had the same bolt but with a Convex vs Hex Head...if I have the terminology right.

 

I don't think the bulge is there for strength - I believe it is only to retain the loose ball seat piece. Never heard of issues with the old 14mm bolts. Good to see they've gone to regular hex heads instead of the "flower" heads.

 

Just curious why you think the bulge is there to hold the washer?
The location near the threads leads me to believe it’s more structural and its not cheap to make it happen.

 

If memory serves me, I believe the W166 bolts had an integral ball seat and no bulge. I've never heard of a failure or those. I'm not sure why Mercedes decided to go with the loose ball seat on these, but a way of retaining it is obviously required. The "bulge" performs that function; locating it at the root of the threads has a secondary strengthening effect.

 

Locating the bulge higher then they wouldn’t have to machine a larger hole in the hub and recess the threads. No big deal maybe it serves to do both. It looks like over kill like you said, but if they were “cheeping” everything they could have made the bolt and the Hub bore less expensive. That’s what a GM pencil pusher would do.

 

Mine came with the flowery head bolt. Is that specific to AMG wheels or?

 

I think it’s just the Black, at least for now. I just saw an AMG 53 today with the 22” silver cross spoke and silver bolts that weren’t hex.

 

I completed the “Black Out” of the GLE 53 rear to go with my Night Pkg. I added Black Emblems and 3M tape for the chrome strip in the center.
On my prior GLE 450 I purchased the Chrome Load Sill protector from the Dealer for $135 and installed it myself...they discount accessories 10% for one year. This year I had the area wrapped with Xpel protective film rather than add another chrome piece to wrap in black. The Xpel sill piece actually covers a little more area than the factory chrome piece.
Xpel Corporate bought out my local shop but held pricing at $1699 for a full front wrap & $79.99 for the hatch protection. They wrap all edges so you don’t get those wax lines over time. To my surprise they also discounted my job 10% because I am a repeat customer. Here’s a pic.

 

Tools, Materials to wrap
​​​​​I'm an amateur at wraps but have done some decals on my toys in the past. Here are some suggestions for DiY. You can do small areas with Xpel type wraps easily and can get material online or cheaper from an installer shop if they will accommodate you. Wrapping edges with Xpel is not as easy.
The same items and procedures are mostly the same for wrapping chrome blackout except that these wraps are easier to do on corners and edges than Xpel that needs to be stretched.
You can use a few drops of dish soap in water but it forms bubbles so the inexpensive cleaner and release are a better way to go.
I made a mistake and didn't check under the strip that had a small thread on the glue side...still wet so it was easy to remove and reapply. Another tip is to squeegee up and sideways on vertical pieces. Natural tendency is down and it will take longer for it to dry to wrap under the edge.
Here are some of the items used. I have a larger black rubber squeegee for Xpel not in the pic. Will upload when I have better cell service.

 

You also need a Straight Pin to pierce that stubborn bubble right in the middle of a big panel. Repeatedly squeegeeing may scuff the surface. Pierce at the bottom of the bubble.

 

Good point...with the rapid tac I haven’t had any bubbles but then I’m not doing any large pieces. I let the Dealer do my 450 and got to pay more $ for only 3 vs 4 wrapped edges on the hood, a kinked piece on the front and small bubbles on the hood and all the fenders and front pieces weren’t wrapped. Even though the no wrap covers most of the surface there will still be small edge dings and wax lines.
I made them fix most of the flaws but then I got into another 2 trips and 2 days without a car. Some is my fault because of timing a loaner wasn’t available and the pick it up schedule inconvenient.

 

I hand washed my car and waxed it today only to find that a couple of my black badges are loose. Not where they attach to the car but the badge to the glue pieces. I’ll try a heat gun but looks like my knock offs from China aren’t up to par. I’ll post a negative review and ask for replacements.
Edit-The badge letters appear to be thin ABS and the glued insert pieces might be a little too large pushing the badge loose. After gently heating them and pressing them on again they seem to be holding.

 

After 5 days my badges haven’t moved after reseating them. Also my Garage door openers were flawless programming #2 to my Vacation home garage door and the Gate code to #3. Once agin I had to finish by hitting the learn mode button on the Garage door. The Gate code is old Tech with on/off switches so I wasn’t sure it would work. Apparently Mercedes could tell it wasn’t a rolling code and after using the remote to program the light turned solid green vs flashing green waiting for the learn mode to be activated. Both are working great with long range.

 

A new surprise today plus an old one.
First I found that my trailer wire converter plug to flat pin doesn’t fit my 2021. It’s slightly larger so it might be a metric vs US size...at least on mine. Anyone else find this? Wonder if it was a mistake or a change from 2020?

Next I discovered that the hitch pin hole was pressed inward again creating a distortion so that my receiver won’t go past the hole. I don’t have a drill grinder or file at my vacation home but found an undersized receiver that will work for now.

Edit-The 7 pin looks different than the Euro model but identical to my old one except for the diameter of the new one is smaller. After years of a common size why would they change? I’ll bet the local Mercedes Dealer won’t have one in stock

 

Hello, I live in Brazil, I have a GLE 2021, the car did not come with the mercedes.me app installed, how do I install it in the car? I already have it installed on the iphone.

 

That's unfortunate. I had to use a Pollak VW adapter on my 2014 ML Diesel, and also on the 2015 Cayenne. It replaced the bolted-in socket that your trailer 7-pin connects to, which attaches to a pigtail from the car's wiring harness. I think it was Part# ZVW808007. Easy to install. M-B didn't have one, though.
Funny, though, I used my trailer wiring tester on my 2020 GLE450 and it fit just fine. Another surprise....

 

Well when I got home from driving around all day without trailer lights, I discovered a piece of plastic sleeve. With a flashlight it was obvious so long syory short there is no change just someone having fun at the factory.