Found this video on youtube, and I noticed that the hood pad fits as bad as on my car. I even took mine off and it seems a proper 221 number. I wonder if the hood was different in the long vs short wheel base? Or could it be a CL hood pad, but using a 221 part number?

Look how the clips locations don't match the holes on the pad. And how towards the bottom it doesn't tuck into the channels in the plastic cowl.

 

it gets old and tired then sags a bit - same idea for all cars

but yours look worse than usual - someone probably took it off and fitted it worse then the std

no trim on any car was designed to come off... fit at the factory then scrap it

 

I took it off completely as I too thought it's just installed incorrectly. It definitely is too small. The material can't sag, it has no give at all before it tears.

Agreed on build quality. Just spent half a day dismantling the whole hood and fixing the broken plastic trim pieces, which were all of them. Now it's solid and quiet, but something is most definitely wrong with the pad.

 

at the bit nearest the screen there is no fixing (left of your arrow) - its just meant to be new stiff and stays put - add 17 years and it sags... don't drill into the plastic is a drain bucket from the grilles on the bonnet and is supposed to drain via the circle near your arrow - this is meant to have a drain grommet - costs $25 or $10 on aliexpress, but should be $1 as that all its worth and how badly its made

 

Try FCP Euro for https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...des-2216820026 and
there are also two sets of associated clips you will want. Very hot environment over an engine along with age as BOTUS cites has substantial impact.

 

That central area should tuck between the rubber seal and the hood. There's even a moulded ridge where the three should meet. It doesn't because of the poor pad fit, so it hangs freely and bends down with time.

Thanks for the tip. Mine has them and they are in a good condition, miraculously. Always wondered how benz customers like to be fleeced on such things. Ah, I've been there too probably.

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As I said, the material does not stretch. If stretched it will tear, so sagging is not a concern. The more I think about this, the more I believe the issue is actually the pad shrinking with heat cycles. If I assume that all w221 I looked at could not have possibly been delivered with misnatched/defective pads, so at least some of them would have displayed proper fitment. Then what I have left as a theory is that the fibrous material shrinks, puts pressure on the fastenings, and finally tears. My next move is to order a new pad with the option to return it.

Looking at more videos around youtube, all w221s have the same issue, including MercedesSource's w221, pictured below. Kent Bergsma is **** about his hood pads. This sort of kind of confirms my unified theory of Hood Pad Shrinkage.

 

a person driven about in or the Driver of an S class is not meant to understand what’s under the bonnet let alone ever open it - all they are meant to be doing is assisting in the global banking destruction of the world