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First problem… Fuel Door.
Going through West Virginia with light snow, drizzle, at 28-30F. Stopped to top off gas, fuel door wouldn’t latch, kept popping open. After screwing with it for 5-6 min, locking/unlocking the car it finally latched. Then I thought the trunk better not act up.
This happened at each fuel stop on our trip with temps in the 20s to 30s. I Googled it and found a few posts on this site (thank you!) and someone said hold it 0.5-1 seconds and it’ll latch. So far this works. First try closing as normal it pops open, second time holding it, it latches.
Second problem… Trunk.
First overnight stay in Indiana. 21F in the morning and loading up. Close trunk, it pops open, will not latch. WTH! (Same problem with my previous 2015 S550 on a trip east at about 10F.) I push the green button, multiple tries but no luck. A couple times it latched for a second, the car alarm beeps to say it’s all locked, then it pops open.
Watching others load up their various cars and trucks, new and old, close trunks, hatches, clean the frost off their windshields, then drive off was rather aggravating.
I told my wife as we stood in the cold a nice new Navigator or Denali was sounding good.
Luckily I packed the bungee from my S550 shenanigans. After lots of cursing Mercedes I bungeed it down and we headed west. Stopped about 1.5 hours later, about 35F, and I got it closed with green button trick.
Second overnight in Iowa, 30F, loaded up in the morning, closed the trunk… nope. Popped open. Green button no luck. More cursing. I decided to breathe on it to warm it up. First try nothing, second try it half-way latched. Like a hood not all the way closed - didn’t know trunks did this. One more try breathing on it for a while, pushed the close button and it latched.
To say I’m disappointed in this nonsense is an understatement.
Staying positive - I know how to deal with these issues. The orange bungee is ridiculous and asinine for a temporary fix for an S Class. Think I’ll add a second one as a backup. Maybe a battery powered hair dryer to warm up the trunk mechanism to make it latch?
This has to be temperature related. At our South Dakota destination about 39F, got it cleaned up and in the garage and the trunk and fuel door work perfectly. Multiple open/close of each and they work as they should with one try.
This is so ridiculous. It’s an incredible and comfortable cross country car, yet I have to decide if we can live with these gremlins. I need a trunk that closes and locks! Fuel door too!
I had the trunk issue here in California, when it doesn’t even get that cold. Maybe low 30s when it happened. However, it’s not consistent, sometimes it works fine even in the cold. It was difficult to get it to reset and latch. Solution’s online called for a latch replacement. I tried taking apart the trunk liner and screwing the bump stops to their minimum levels, the late still doesn’t latch and stay latched. For whatever reason, perhaps resistance, triggers the latch to release.
I took the latch off (hanging by the one cable that goes to the manual key hole), inspected and tried to figure what’s wrong with the mechanism. Couldn’t figure it out, although I suspected resistance. So I sprayed a bunch of liquid wrench (lubricant used to loosen screws), worked the mechanism back and forth and wiped any excess away. On the first try, the mechanism stayed closed. The problem hasn’t returned and it’s been a few months now, with even colder weather.
My guess is the grease inside gets thick and gummy during cold weather and resistance causes the latch to release. Give that a try maybe?
I had the trunk issue here in California, when it doesn’t even get that cold. Maybe low 30s when it happened. However, it’s not consistent, sometimes it works fine even in the cold. It was difficult to get it to reset and latch. Solution’s online called for a latch replacement. I tried taking apart the trunk liner and screwing the bump stops to their minimum levels, the late still doesn’t latch and stay latched. For whatever reason, perhaps resistance, triggers the latch to release.
I took the latch off (hanging by the one cable that goes to the manual key hole), inspected and tried to figure what’s wrong with the mechanism. Couldn’t figure it out, although I suspected resistance. So I sprayed a bunch of liquid wrench (lubricant used to loosen screws), worked the mechanism back and forth and wiped any excess away. On the first try, the mechanism stayed closed. The problem hasn’t returned and it’s been a few months now, with even colder weather.
My guess is the grease inside gets thick and gummy during cold weather and resistance causes the latch to release. Give that a try maybe?
Worth a try, thanks. I’ve liked Triflow as a lubricant. I’ll compare it to liquid wrench. The cold definitely freaks out the trunk mechanism.
I had the same issue with the fuel cover, try a little spritz of dry lithium grease.. I cleaned out the latching parts on the door and car, dried it out, sprayed the parts, and worked it around. I would avoid certain lubricant sprays as some of them may speed up degradation of plastics and rubber.
I still have a small bucket of tiny bungees I got for my 2015 trunk. I was 150 miles from a dealer. It was pretty obvious that the issue was a bad latch, but no one had an available latch in the US, supposedly.
I still have a small bucket of tiny bungees I got for my 2015 trunk. I was 150 miles from a dealer. It was pretty obvious that the issue was a bad latch, but no one had an available latch in the US, supposedly.
Word to the wise… get a couple bungees for when this happens. I’ll post the bungee length after I get to the garage.
3M Wet Type silicone spray # 08877 was recommended to me by an MB dealer technician for lubricating the fuel door mechanism/switch. Whether this would be appropriate for the trunk issue I do not know.
3M Wet Type silicone spray # 08877 was recommended to me by an MB dealer technician for lubricating the fuel door mechanism/switch. Whether this would be appropriate for the trunk issue I do not know.
This stuff is hard to find and sounds like it’s discontinued after calling a few places. Thinking another quality silicone lube will work.
I found mine at a Napa store two weeks ago. I don’t know why a 3M brand would be any better than any other quality manufacturer. The “wet type”, however, was recommended since it provided greater lubrication penetration into the friction surfaces.
I found mine at a Napa store two weeks ago. I don’t know why a 3M brand would be any better than any other quality manufacturer. The “wet type”, however, was recommended since it provided greater lubrication penetration into the friction surfaces.
I called a local NAPA and they couldn’t get it from any of their WHs, so called one in Maryland and they found some in Connecticut. Thanks anyway.
So just picked up the Blaster Silicone Lube at a local hardware store, doesn’t say dry so should work fine. Done.
Also got this from Lowe’s, supposed to be good stuff. Think I have plenty to work with and hope it works. It’s -7 out now. Too cold to play with it, then test it. Plus it’s clean and the roads are a mess.
It’s -7 out now. Too cold to play with it, then test it. Plus it’s clean and the roads are a mess.
Safe drive back to Maryland OP! I learned to winter drive in Rochester NY.
Been on East Coast since before Thanksgiving. Daughter lived in Laurel but now resides in Reston after leaving DoD. Laying low now at Georgia residence until Polar Vortex clears West Texas next Wednesday/Thursday. If I-20 ices over west of Dallas, the Interstate becomes a parking lot full of stuck vehicles until higher temps melts the Ice. TxDOT not equipped for cold temperatures and most motorists in Southwest ride on slicks instead of proper A/S tires. I've recently bought Wife, Son, and Daughter fresh 3PMSF Vredestein tires for their SUVs just in case they encounter an unlikely winter storm in GA or the DMV.
Safe drive back to Maryland OP! I learned to winter drive in Rochester NY.
Been on East Coast since before Thanksgiving. Daughter lived in Laurel but now resides in Reston after leaving DoD. Laying low now at Georgia residence until Polar Vortex clears West Texas next Wednesday/Thursday. If I-20 ices over west of Dallas, the Interstate becomes a parking lot full of stuck vehicles until higher temps melts the Ice. TxDOT not equipped for cold temperatures and most motorists in Southwest ride on slicks instead of proper A/S tires. I've recently bought Wife, Son, and Daughter fresh 3PMSF Vredestein tires for their SUVs just in case they encounter an unlikely winter storm in GA or the DMV.
Go Ravens!
Love your avatar! We had a 2019 E450 wagon, magno (?) gray. Simply beautiful! I missed the S Class interior space so back to it, plus it’s incredible for eating up miles. The matte paint presented more routine care and maintenance than I ended up wanting, but it was very durable. Love wagons.
Reston is nice and I’m very familiar with locations west of there. We had a big beef cattle farm further out, where it’s more rural, yet for the past 30 years it’s been sucked up into the NOVA, west of DC nonsense.
Good call on laying low. Roads are crazy with blowing snow and these temps.
Definitely Go Ravens! Coach Harbaugh is a neighbor and other Ravens are close by.
All Cars Lost To Hurricane Isaac (W124 E420 revived - added 88 Allante 14 S550, 17 S63
Dupont MolyKote
It is a low temp (-76C / -105F) grease for metal on metal , metal on plastic contact..and is also suitable for 204C / 400F on the high side
On Dupont's website they have an extreme cold TORQUE comparison video vs a POA... there was a substantial difference in required torque at low temps... something like 80x difference.... So much less friction when moving very cold greased sliding parts....
I wonder if its compatible with what's already there?
Originally Posted by vincheung
I had the same issue with the fuel cover, try a little spritz of dry lithium grease.. I cleaned out the latching parts on the door and car, dried it out, sprayed the parts, and worked it around. I would avoid certain lubricant sprays as some of them may speed up degradation of plastics and rubber.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
