Part of rear bumper fell off... help!

Dec 22, 2004 | 01:25 AM

MadDawg

Thread Starter

Member

Joined: Aug 2004

Posts: 109

Likes: 0

From: Grants Pass Oregon

2002 Mercedes Benz ML320

Part of rear bumper fell off... help!

My mom has a 2002 ML320... and a peice of the rear bumper must have fell off when we were driving through town. I'll show you a picture of what i mean...

Dec 22, 2004 | 01:27 AM

MadDawg

Thread Starter

Member

Joined: Aug 2004

Posts: 109

Likes: 0

From: Grants Pass Oregon

2002 Mercedes Benz ML320

What is this thing and how do we go about replacing it? its still under warranty and currious if it will covor it..

Dec 22, 2004 | 04:20 AM

Darkmann

Super Member

Joined: Nov 2001

Posts: 864

Likes: 1

It looks like the cover to the left rear tow hook. If you talk nice to your

service manager, it should be covered. It's not a small matter to knock that piece off. She may have hit something or someone may have nit her. Was the vehicle serviced lately? My suspicion is that it may not be as inexpensive a piece as it looks since the paint on the replacement has to match the existing body color. These kinds of trim pieces are usualy stocked already painted. Let's know how you make out.

Dec 22, 2004 | 06:47 PM

MadDawg

Thread Starter

Member

Joined: Aug 2004

Posts: 109

Likes: 0

From: Grants Pass Oregon

2002 Mercedes Benz ML320

This morning, i was leaving the house, and noticed this weird black plastic thing sitting in the ditch, i picked it up, and low and behold, its the plastic peice that broke off... its just 2 of the 3 metal clips are bent.. and my dad was trying to bend it back, but its like very tuff steel... so when my dad was backing the trailer off, when the trailer hit the bumper by accident, it must have snapped it out and broke the metal part of it...

Dec 22, 2004 | 07:01 PM

Darkmann

Super Member

Joined: Nov 2001

Posts: 864

Likes: 1

I believe they use spring steel for that part. It's extremely difficult to

deform permanently, especially a short piece. I don't see why he should even try to bend it. If it came off, it wasn't because it was bent. it's more like the plastic bymper gave. Try to reinstall it as is. if it's not firm enough, look at the plastic receiver where the clips go into. If the plastic has some permanent deformation, figure out which way to ben the clips in order to get a good firm assembly. Once you figure that out, use a pair of pliers to deform the clips and reinstall. keep deforming the clips until you get a good "grip".

Dec 22, 2004 | 07:31 PM

mihir_d

Super Member

Joined: Apr 2003

Posts: 690

Likes: 33

From: Bay area - California

2000 ML320 2006 SLK 350

Not that expensive..I had purchased a replacement one for about $29 or so..

I had a slight hit on my rear bumper 2 years back, fortunately, only that little piece took the hit...

There is nothing like color coding/matching it...mine is a brilliant silver ML. They just gave me a prepainted brilliant silver bumper cap as replacement.

This is how it could fall off..if you leave it unlatched from the bumper (which my friend did after replacing his spare tire - his was the center cap, he just forgot to latch it back in place) and drive the truck off, the wind forces will cause the latching mechanism to break, and the cap will fall off.

Fortunately, its the piece on the cap that usually breaks not the one on the bumper, so replacing it is a simply DIY.

Last edited by mihir_d; Dec 22, 2004 at 07:35 PM.

Dec 22, 2004 | 10:14 PM

MadDawg

Thread Starter

Member

Joined: Aug 2004

Posts: 109

Likes: 0

From: Grants Pass Oregon

2002 Mercedes Benz ML320

Since its under warranty, can the dealership just send me another one in alabaster white? the metal part.. is um, non existant with the plastic peice... so it wont go back on.. and it looks ugly driving this thing around with a part of the bumper not there...