Dear All,

I have a very unusual issue that I found on my new 2013 E 350 coupe and would like some feedback. Apologies ahead for the long post and many thanks for reading through this, your input is much appreciated...

Under certain lighting conditions i.e. while the car is parked in a lit parking structure, while driving through a tunnel,etc. I recently notice there are "fingerprints" on the inside of the instrument cluster glass. They appear at the top of the MPH and bottom of the RPM gauges when one is looking through. They are not very visible in direct sunlight or at night once the instrument cluster console is lit up, however, they are noticeable under the conditions described above.

My first question- is this just a very rare case of poor Quality Control on MB's part that the fingerprints were left from factory or could there be any reason for the selling dealer to have removed/tampered with the glass and left fingerprints? I purchased this from Mercedes Benz of Walnut Creek, CA and the car had 66 miles on the odometer when I bought it. The driver's door has a manufacture date of 10/12.

The next question is, how difficult would it be for a dealer to fix the issue for me and open up the cluster to wipe the finger prints off the inside of the glass? My frustration is that this is a new car and it has this issue which seems to be so small, however, knowing the fingerprints are there on my new car just bothers me. And the fact that one cannot just wipe them off is even more of a nuisance.

Would the removal of this glass to wipe the inside be more trouble than it's worth having the dealer take the console apart on my car?

So far when I reported this to the dealer above, they said their shop foreman cannot see any fingerprints. Obviously they looked at it under direct sunlight and refused to look at it under the conditions I described above which would reveal the fingerprints. Dont want to make this thread any longer than it is but the service department here was terrible btw, anyone interested PM me for more info..

Thanks again for your thoughts and reading..

 

I would assume it is a QC issue from production.

whunter@pelicanparts.com

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Thank you for the input..you guys are a great source for our P cars btw..good seeing you guys sponsor this MB forum.

 

The QC gal/gent probably found a defective lamp or a bad bezel and it had it repaired. The fingerprint makes it genuine built by someone.
It is almost impossible to replace the cluster without programming by the dealer. the milage at purchace is true.
Pelican parts is a great source for the MB enthusiast, I like to frequent the diesel forums there. The Fins have an incredible following there for making the diesel benz write world records.

Enjoy, Gator

 

Thanks Gator, that's a really good and reasonable explanation . I guess I have to decide how much the fingerprints bother me to get it fixed, whether the trouble is worth it. They don't always show under direct/ most lighting situations but knowing something like that is there on a new car bothers me..and most of all, they can't just be wiped off