Guys,

Just got the wife a new GLE 350 and she noticed immediately a knocking noise at times in the back of the car when she slows down and we discovered that it’s the rear cameras deploying at various times. This is obviously the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard and obviously a clear example of how things can go badly wrong when you let the engineers run wild, but can anything be done about this??? Thanks for your help.

Mike

 

Seems to a concern with other owners too. Check this thread below:

Rear camera pops out at every stop - MBWorld.org Forums

 

The cameras are calibrating, says Mercedes.

 

Yes I’ve read online the same thing many others are also complaining and MB says it’s the camera “calibrating”. Just so annoying how they could possibly have thought that this constant clunking noise is acceptable. Read online also that you can insulate the area with foam to help with the noise but the wife says if they can’t make it significantly better she’s not keeping the car and I can’t say I blame her it’s really annoying. She might have to go back to an X5 like she’s previously had. Crazy to have to deal with this on a car costing 80k. They need to release a software update that this camera only deploys when in reverse that would be tolerable but this is ridiculous.

Mike

 

The previous model years say pre-2024 or was it 2023 didn't do this, they changed their calibration algorithm for some reason.

 

Mike10E350 - as noted be sure to check out the link in #2 response above by cb804. It is a long post with a lot of repetition. I recommend jumping ahead to my post #213 in that thread where the sound proofing technique that I used with good success is described. Posts #220 and 223 confirm that others have also had good success with the sound proofing. Also, post #225 describes a potentially new technique that I have no personal experience with.

As noted, it's a shame that one has to spend ones own time and money to do this, but IMO it is effective and certainly less of a hassle/expense than selling/swapping the car. The sound proofing was a real game changer for me.

Good luck.

 

As I have stated before, it really doesn’t bother me. When/if it stops working I’ll complain.

 

Elvisfan0108 - totally agree that the soundproofing is a "band-aid" type of fix. Depending on how/where one is driving, the camera is still opening and closing many times per trip. All those activations would seem to lead to an earlier motor failure than if the camera only opened/closed when the car is put in reverse or a camera image is requested while parking. Time will tell how robust the mechanism/motor is - fingers crossed!

 

Well on a brand new car I’m definitely not going to be spending my time and money to fix this. The dealer needs to fix this or the car will be going back. My wife only drives around town with zero highway driving so this thing is constantly clunking around back there. No way we are taking this for the next 6-7 years. Im calling the dealer to
orrow to discuss.

 

Good luck. There is nothing wrong with the car. MB is probably not going to take the car back because you are annoyed. Let us know how that turns out.

 

I’m not saying they’re gonna take it back. I’m saying I’m not keeping it. I will trade it in and will take whatever loss I have to to get something that doesn’t have this idiotic camera, either another MB or like I said go back to the X5. Without a doubt tho this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of on a car. For the last couple of decades back-up cameras have been permanently mounted on the back of cars, and if done right they’re often tough to even find if you’re looking for it. For whatever reason they thought that even a barely noticeable camera was not acceptable, they had to create this door mechanism to make the camera completely invisible when not in use. No doubt this feature added a couple thousand to the price of the car. Just crazy.

 

My guess as to why they put the camera behind a door, was to keep the lens clean.
It doesn't take long for an exposed camera on the rear of a car to become ineffective because it's a primary target for splattered mud.

Mine is a 21 and doesn't do that.
As an aside, one of the features of the car wash mode, besides folding mirrors and raising the car, is to open the rear camera so it gets cleaned.

 

I read through this post and hadn't experienced the issue you all are, but I currently have a 2026 GLE 450 Coupe as a loaner while my 22 GLE 450 SUV is in for service and have been noticing the camera flip out at ever stop. Super annoying!