Hello everyone,

I have been a silent member here for a little bit, and I have owned a Mercedes GL since 2015 and now a 2017 GLS (as well as 2 generations of E classes). The ownership experience has been fantastic except for my GLS which has been nothing but problem after problem.

I've come to just accept it as is as it's mostly brakes screeching, engine sometimes being not smooth and very jerky, vibration issues (went in seven times to the dealership for this issue; still happening), tailgate failing to open, ESP failure... Things I can ignore and pretend nothing is wrong.

But the steering wheel problem is impossible to ignore. The leather on it seems to be peeling off where my hands touch the wheel. It first happened approximately one year after I got the car, and now it's happening again (another year has passed). I'm not a person who uses lotion, oils, perfume, etc on my hands. And I read that DEET can cause issues in another thread here, so I have even stopped using bug spray or cleaning products on it as a precaution. Nevertheless it happened and now I am stuck with Mercedes trying to get this resolved.

I have been trying to resolve this for like 2 months now. Warranty replacement gets denied almost immediately after the dealership submits the claim, and the regional manager gets called in. He takes a look and denies the claim. I have called the MB USA customer care hotline and talked with a person who identified herself as Andrea of MB USA LLC Executive Referral Management team. She claims to represent Christian Treiber, the VP of customer service. She relayed that MB USA LLC position is clear and that they believe the issue to be due to outside influence and will not cover it. Instead I was offered a 1500 dollar incentive towards the next Mercedes lease. Clearly if this is from my "naturally occuring skin oils" then this is a design defect that will appear in all Mercedes I buy so I should switch to a different manufacturer.

So any advice from anyone on what to do? It seems I have exhausted my appeals and I can't take it any further with MB USA. So I guess my only choice is to pay $3,511.22 to replace the steering wheel. I just wanted to see if anyone found themselves in the same boat as I have and figured out a way.

Thanks for listening to my rant. Appreciate any input you can provide.

Thanks.

PS Car's at the dealership right now trying to resolve the vibration issues. I will post a picture of the steering wheel once I get the car back.

 

Sucks MB denied. Take to a shop that specializes in steering wheel leather replacement. They can use a higher grade leather and replace. There are also vendors who will sell you a new steering wheel that's already been recovered and in many cases and most definitely yours it is much higher quality than OE.

 

I didn't even realize there were shops that just replace the leather. That sounds like the perfect solution. And I like the sound of higher quality.

Thank you for your advice!

 

You are welcome. A good automotive trim shop can remove the old leather cover, make a template from the OE one, punch the holes in the right location, and lace it all back up. Will be better than new.

 

Make sure you follow up and post before and after pics. Share the experience with your trim shop for others too.

 

Definitely will do!

I am still waiting for the dealership to return my GLS. It's been in shop since Tuesday for a vibration issue. Apparently it's difficult to figure out what's causing it considering it's been there that long. I haven't even received a single update either...

 

I stopped by the dealership today to check on my car. And to my surprise, they had actually gone ahead and fixed the leather issue for me! After hearing of the decision by corporate, the dealership brought in a leather specialist who proceeded to do exactly what you had suggested!

I'll provide pictures of the fixed steering wheel tomorrow when I get the car back. But since they fixed it before I could get a picture of the damaged state, I don't think I can provide that picture unfortunately. They also found out that one tire has 2 nails in it and another tire has damage that requires replacement. I need to drive more carefully I think.

 

I have an 2018 GLS450 with 17xxx miles and also had premature wear in the steering wheel. Took it to dealer for some other warranty work and asked about the abnormal wear on the steering wheel while I was there. They ordered me a new steering wheel no questions asked.

 

Yeah first time they do that. Problem is when you get it the second time, they'll order it, but Mercedes will cancel the order and require a regional manager to evaluate. That regional manager will then deny it as it costs them too much.

Mine was replaced without a hassle the first time as well.