Air Vents falling apart - R class, M class GL class - repairs?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 84
Likes: 2
2004 Mercedes E320 Wagon
Air Vents falling apart - R class, M class GL class - repairs?
So,
Defnitely not happy about the build quality of W251. Aside from having some major mechanical issues, intake manifold, transmission servo, etc., now the interior is giving up the ghost too.
It started with the headrests (quite floppy now from the busted brittle internal plastics). But I'm not here about that today.
Nope, today I was wondering if anyone here has started to experience the air vent controls basically brittling and subsequently splitting apart. I'm referring specifically to the part that you touch to either shift the dash vents to the left/right or up/down for air circulation. This part appears to be a clamshell type design with a chrome center and plastic upper and lower piece that is basically clipped together.
Anyway, I've researched a bit and see that this issue is coming up on the M class and GL class as well. So, are there any repair suggestions for it?
Can it be repaired insitu (in place)? if not, any directions on how to remove the center vent and the left/right vents? remarkably, I actually still have the broken pieces and the left vent is still intact for now, so hoping I can use some kind of epoxy to glue it all back in place.
thanks!
Defnitely not happy about the build quality of W251. Aside from having some major mechanical issues, intake manifold, transmission servo, etc., now the interior is giving up the ghost too.
It started with the headrests (quite floppy now from the busted brittle internal plastics). But I'm not here about that today.
Nope, today I was wondering if anyone here has started to experience the air vent controls basically brittling and subsequently splitting apart. I'm referring specifically to the part that you touch to either shift the dash vents to the left/right or up/down for air circulation. This part appears to be a clamshell type design with a chrome center and plastic upper and lower piece that is basically clipped together.
Anyway, I've researched a bit and see that this issue is coming up on the M class and GL class as well. So, are there any repair suggestions for it?
Can it be repaired insitu (in place)? if not, any directions on how to remove the center vent and the left/right vents? remarkably, I actually still have the broken pieces and the left vent is still intact for now, so hoping I can use some kind of epoxy to glue it all back in place.
thanks!
Last edited by aa240sx; Jul 18, 2016 at 04:40 PM.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 84
Likes: 2
2004 Mercedes E320 Wagon
UPdate -Decided to just 'go for it'. Sorry no pictures, but I'll be as descriptive as I can about what will likely be considered a 'ghetto' process, but seriously I make zero apologies given the poor manufacturing quality 'baked into' every facet of this 'car'.
So, I attacked the center vent first. There has been some DIY's telling you that there are screws behind that vent you have to loosen, etc. Wrong. There are zero bolts. Remove the center vent by simply putting your fingers beneath the lower portion of the vent and pulling up. That will remove the lower tabs, then pull the vent out firmly, but not forcefully. This step required no tools, just some finesse and strength.
Once removed, the center vent itself is made up of a black snorkel and the decorative and flimsy vent itself. These two are held to each other by 4 tabs. You'll need a flathead head screwdriver but basically just release the tabs and the two come apart.
Now, once you've done this, you'll have access to the vertical vents and the horizontal vents controlled by the broken slider tab. In my case, the vertical vents were completely shot. The weak plastic used in these made them pretty much useless, so I removed them. Then, I attached the busted slider using epoxy and one zip tie back on the horizontal vents. It's in fact the clamshell type slider that caused this issue in the first place.
Reassemble everything, wait a few days for the epoxy to cure, remove the zip tie and everything, with the exception of the vertical vents will be fixed. Good enough for me.
So, I attacked the center vent first. There has been some DIY's telling you that there are screws behind that vent you have to loosen, etc. Wrong. There are zero bolts. Remove the center vent by simply putting your fingers beneath the lower portion of the vent and pulling up. That will remove the lower tabs, then pull the vent out firmly, but not forcefully. This step required no tools, just some finesse and strength.
Once removed, the center vent itself is made up of a black snorkel and the decorative and flimsy vent itself. These two are held to each other by 4 tabs. You'll need a flathead head screwdriver but basically just release the tabs and the two come apart.
Now, once you've done this, you'll have access to the vertical vents and the horizontal vents controlled by the broken slider tab. In my case, the vertical vents were completely shot. The weak plastic used in these made them pretty much useless, so I removed them. Then, I attached the busted slider using epoxy and one zip tie back on the horizontal vents. It's in fact the clamshell type slider that caused this issue in the first place.
Reassemble everything, wait a few days for the epoxy to cure, remove the zip tie and everything, with the exception of the vertical vents will be fixed. Good enough for me.
