cyberglk350

My GLK was built 5/09 sat at the dealer lot till last week. It had 50 miles on it when I bought it. Should the lugnuts look this bad so quickly? I just picked this car up last week!

Are yours like this? If somebody tells me "its normal" then I say:

FAIL

MBRedux

I fully agree FAIL....

However, these lug bolts have been used by MB and VW/AUDI and Porsche for decades. Except VW/Audi and Porsche have used black and/or silver caps that push over the lugs to hide any unsightly mess. They never lasted because they became very hard to remove after a while... the heat generated by the brakes would shrink these caps over the bolt heads... not worth it. )

These lug bolts are made of hardened galvanized steel, then lightly painted in silver. Our lug bolts were also messy, BUT NOT THAT MESSY... someone at the dealer no doubt pulled a switch while the car was on the lot....

So you have two choices... you can remove them one by one and repaint (making sure not to get any paint on the threads or on the back side of the seating area), or you can have your dealer install new ones.... all around. (But I would inspect your wheels for any finish damage around the lug pattern.)

Good luck

ftttubrgcm

Mine aren't quite that bad but I can't understand whey they are as bad as they are after just one tire rotation. It appears that the socket they're using needs to go.

JT01

Hmmm... I should take a look at my nuts.

Sorry... it was just sitting there!

cyberglk350

My car only has 250 miles on it. No rotation has been done. This came from the factory like this.

I gotta say, I bought a Mercedes to get away from this kind of crap. I hate going back to a dealer right after buying a car!

I am not painting anything. In fact, I am not touching this at all. Mercedes Benz is going to do it. TODAY

This and a couple of other things have me wondering if I made a bad purchasing decision.

I'm still very pissed about the Cargo Cover! What a Joke. Canada gets it standard but America does not.

TXGLK

I have about 5,000 miles on mine and mine don't look like that.

JT01

Sounds like the dealership may be the issue here.. just raise a ruckus and you will propbably get what you want. I agree though... sucks to have to go there to get results.

Also, when you look at the differences between the Canada and US base prices and packages... they are completely different. Ignoring FX, the base price in the US is $9K less than it is in Canada. If you compare two fully loaded GLKs (including accessories) the prices are the same (again ignoring FX, taxes and freight). So there is your answer! Disagree with the marketing strategies if you want... but we aren't getting anything here in Canada that you aren't getting.

The only difference when it comes to the cargo cover, is that you, in the States, have the option to purchase it or not.

MBRedux

I'm in Maryland USA.... we have the car now a little over a month... love it... (had to do a few things to make it just right... no big deal... which included painting my lug bolts (it's a bolt and not a "nut" by the way)... silver met. with clear coat... came out sweet! Total time 35 min.)

However, our GLK came STANDARD with the cargo cover... my dealer has about 15 on their lot... and ALL have the cargo cover as standard equipment.... I don't know why you all are not getting this.

I think you WERE TAKEN FOR A !

lkchris

In the past decade or so Germany has outlawed whatever anticorrosion process was previously used on nuts and bolts (these are bolts). BMW motorcycle guys complain also that these fasteners don't hold their appearance like they used to. Ain't it nice to be green?

MBRedux

You’re right; Galvanization using Hexavalent Chrome has been banned in Germany since 2003. However, our 2010 Benz has a galvanized coated steel body beneath the paint. So how can this be?

Enter Trivalent Chrome… which is way less toxic to the planet and it also exceeds the anticorrosive properties of what it replaces….

So someone gave you a total story. MB is simply not using enough galvanizing paint on these bolts as they should be. (Galvanizing paint is not the same as electro-galvanizing steel body panels.) These bolts do have a thin coat of galvanizing paint but that wears off easily and the steel starts to rust, as we can see above… MB simply needs to use more, not less.. Cheap!

mac911

My C Class bolts about 2 years old still look "ok."

However my SLK brand new from dealer bolts looked TERRIBLE.

I think an employee swapped them!

PIETROD

Buy these - they are well worth the money.

Cheers

http://www.radusadirect.com/product/...lt_Covers.html

cyberglk350

Thanks, this seems like a pretty simple solution. We had a Grand Cherokee Overland and it had these caps. Do our GLK's have the 17mm or the 19mm?

PIETROD

17mm and they look great on the 19" wheels

MB_Owner

The last time I washed my GLK (now 3 mo old), I noticed the lug bolts were starting to discolor slightly. Not nearly as bad as yours, Cyber, but I can see it's coming unless I do something to head off the deterioration before the real winter season hits. As it is, we've had a week of light rain and morning fog.

MBRedux

They're nice, just like old VW's and Audi's, but they are real hard to get off in the winter and it is possible to mess up the wheels if you slip with the pliers that are needed sometimes.

PS I have about 100 or so of Audi bolt caps (same size) in a box... I tried them on the GLK and couldn't get them off without messing up the finish on the wheel because I need a needle nose pliers and a a small screw driver.... not worth it.... the bore for the bolts on these 20" MB wheels are too tight to use your fingers to get these caps off... you must use a metallic tool of some kind...

You have been warned..... see my warning in the second post of this thread above.

Have fun.

PIETROD

The lug nut covers come with a special tool - works great - I keep it in my glove box.

Cheers

yualfred

It will look very good on the wheel. Not for me thou, I already have lug locks.

JT01

Am I the only one that lives in a climate which guarantees my wheels will be somewhat dirty most of the time anyways?

Seem like a lot of fuss over a tiny little thing...

Getting corroded bolts on a brand new vehicle is one thing, but the whole bolt cover thing??? What's next? How to detail the inside of the tailpipes??

NYCGLK

+1

Jeff'sC300

2008 C300 Sport--These cheap lug nuts that MB uses are ridiculous for the amount of money we spend on these cars! I've replaced mine all around twice already because they rust every 6 mths. I want to replace them with lug nuts that won't rust but I can't seem to get the correct size. I asked at the dealership and, at first, they told me there was no way they could find out the size. Then I spoke with my service advisor and he told me 14x1.5. I bought some this size from Gorilla and had them installed at a local garage. They were TOO LONG! When I tried to back out of the garage they were scraping against the brake shields. I immediately had them taken back off. I still want to get these off and put some good ones on. I was recently told, by the dealership again, that the proper size was M14x30,7. I don't know if that's right nor how to find the proper size lug nuts. HELP???

HotRodW

I would check with Otis/RAD USA. They recently helped me with a unique fitment. 855-otisinc.

http://otisincla.com/

Gt. Dane

On my 2013 GLK look like this. these are the standard lugnuts as far as i know. Canadian car.

erlomd

interesting...mine look like the ones on the first response...they look more galvanized then anything...the ones on your canadian benz look way nice

Rascally Wabbit

Both VW & Saab utilise 17MM lug nuts. Aftermarket suppliers offer the black caps with a tool to remove them. The Saab tool is a better quality, made of stainless steel. Never had any problems with these caps & the provided tool makes their removal easy. I remove the caps whenever the car goes in for a tyre rotation.