420tee

Do they just unscrew? I don't want to snap one off. I want to find shorter ones that don't stick in my arm when resting on the sill.

ble2716

I think the front ones screwed on.
The rear ones pressed on.
I found it's rather uncomfortable to rest my arm there, a bit too high for me.

shotgun_banjo

is this confirmed? I also want to change those things as well....short to the point that it is almost recessed.

420tee

I'd like to hear a positive so I don't snap one off trying to unscrew it. If so are they normal right handed threads? They seem to be very tight. Anyone?

MBRedux

If you shave them down so they're level with the door when down, the dealer will replace them since it is a safety hazard... in case of a roll over and the release malfunctions.. .

shotgun_banjo

I do not think they will just replace them without you knowing. If they do replace them without charge I'll just trim them again and hope next year they won't bother.

I think the GLK has a passive safety system that in the event of a accident it will unlock the doors and turn the hazard lights and headlights on and in that case the release function of the doors will not be a issue in a accident. Someone has to double check this as I don't have the manual with me.

venchka

I've been pondering this since I first read the original post. Suppose, just for the sake of argument, that a fellow, or lady, managed to reduce the height of the manual door lock thingie to near flush with the door trim. Then suppose that the electric door locking mecahism went F.U.B.A.R. for whatever reason. These things do happen. Even in the vaunted Mercedes-Benz. How you gonna unlock the door? Hey? I suppose you could turn the GLK over and activate the emergency features. I don't think so. As you may have read elsewhere, I am not a 100% Fan Boy of the way some things work on these cars. However, rendering the door locks manually inoperative does not sound like a good thing. Besides, why drive around with the windows open? You just get the B-pillar dirty and it's a pain to clean. I know from doing that with my old Volvo. As previously noted, the window sill is quite high and uncomfortable. If that weren't reason enough, I found the door lock was sufficiently far back as to not interfere with my arm on the sill. I did try this out before rendering an opinion. The door armrest is quite comfortable as I learned in 45 hours and 33 minutes of operation in 9 days.
I believe the traditional Red Neck philosophy applies here: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Wayne

shotgun_banjo

venchka you are right but you also need to consider the placement of the seat and the size of the person seating on the seat. I always rest my arm where the door lock is whenever waiting for the red light. So I have to lean forward a little to miss that knob.

420tee

In my car my arm rests on the stupid pointy button. I do not intend to make it inoperatve, just low enough and with a flat top to be comfortable. Has the world become so insane that I can't change a stupidly designed door lock button on a car I paid a lot of money for?

MBRedux

I fully agree with everyone here, the placement of these door lock buttons couldn't be worse! I love driving around on cooler summer nights with my windows open and that freaking button is a PITA... plus it's antiquated!

Why don't they just update the damn thing... so what if it looks a little Japanese!

MKenM

Well, the Germans and Japanese don't always have the greatest engineers but sometimes the Americans do. Here is my new toy.



And here is a simulated pix of my interior, notice no door lock button just a small LED inside a nice trim ring and no door handle just a button. If everything fails there is a manual release on the floor next to the drivers seat.



I think this is what everyone might like to see.

MBRedux

Show off!

MKenM

Wayne asked so I replied.

MBRedux

Looks very nice! Please keep it away from winter salt... !

venchka

Point to Ken. Way cool 'Vette. We have similar taste in color schemes. I pondered long and hard between a Corvette and the GLK 350. For similar money, the Corvette was most appealing. In the end, I was vetoed by the Minister of Transportation and Practicallity.

While the door lock stalks may be annoying, the headlight washer activation system is criminally insane.

Wayne

420tee

Nice car. The GLK has something in common with it, plastic body panels. As a first time M-B owner I am surprised and somewhat dismayed at the number of poorly designed features of the car. Lousy door locks buttons, silly headight washers, too sensitive non-centering steering, heater controls located nearly on the floor with no tactile indicators on the buttons that require taking eyes way off the road to adjust, no small item like sunglasses storage space. I wonder what other oddities will pop up over time. It seems Mercedes has gone the way of so many other companies. Something is designed in a computer by engineering/marketing, approved by some clown sitting in an office and put into production. Gone are the days of building prototypes, giving them thorough real world testing, making changes, retesting till it's right, then going into production. Think of the time and money (profit) saved. The customer will get used to it.
Back to my newspaper.

venchka

Rest assured that every little annoying feature on a Mercedes-Benz is the best available annoying feature on the planet.

Wayne

420tee

Well engineered nonsense, eh?

MBRedux

Fully agree on the lack of ergonomic functionality following well crafted design... way too quick from CAD to CAM IMO! The steering is way under par for this type of car. It's my biggest gripe. "Plastic" body panels?

420tee

All the curved surfaces on the four corners and the entire front end are plastic.

venchka

I think you will find that to be the case industry wide and has been for quite awhile.

Wayne

MBRedux

Those are not BODY panels, they're bumpers! Body panels usually refer to front, rear, left, right quarter panels, roof panels, trunk lid or boot cover, hood panels etc etc. Like others have said, polyurethane plastic front and rear bumpers, along with other glued on stuff like lower side body sills or spoilers have been made of polyurethane for decades.... the Vettes body panels are not plastic, like the Saturn cars were... Corvettes are made of strong multi-layered fiberglass sheets topped off with a super powerful gel-coat.... very complex and expensive... a precursor to the carbon-fiber process.

ble2716

Wow... you guys are too smart.

I just took out the front one( passenger side) and yes... it is super TIGHT.
It seems like they put locktite to lock it down or something.
It is counter clockwise to unscrew it.
Please don't blame me if you break the pin.




Suggestion for 420tee, since you just want it shorter, why don't you lock the door so the pins go down, then mark the height that you want, then unlock the car so the pins go up, trim down where you marked ..... without actually taking it out.....

420tee

Semantics my man. How far around does a bumper wrap before it becomes a body panel? Every body else does it this way so we will too. That was the start of the decline of the once proud and best in the industry company I worked for for 30 years. Bean counters rule.

420tee

Thanks, I'm glad someone else had the courage to try it.