plastic front fenders cracking!!!
10-16-2010, 12:06 PM
#1
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plastic front fenders cracking!!!
i have a 2004 cl600. it's never had body work. i just noticed a crack around 2 bolts on each fender and on 2 of them tghe crack has spread up to and just passed the top crease on the fender. anyone else have this problem? is it common? should there be a courtesy fix? anything i can do to help prevent further cracking? i thought this car was carbon fiber, apparently a large part of it is plastic. anyone familiar with after market fender like sarona? they state they are fiberglass.
thanks
thanks
10-18-2010, 11:49 PM
#2
i have a 2004 cl600. it's never had body work. i just noticed a crack around 2 bolts on each fender and on 2 of them tghe crack has spread up to and just passed the top crease on the fender. anyone else have this problem? is it common? should there be a courtesy fix? anything i can do to help prevent further cracking? i thought this car was carbon fiber, apparently a large part of it is plastic. anyone familiar with after market fender like sarona? they state they are fiberglass.
thanks
thanks
10-19-2010, 07:37 PM
#5
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i'm concerned that i will have the same problem if i purchase oem again. any suggestions on fenders and is there any way to epoxy these cracks succesfully?
thanks
thanks
10-20-2010, 09:06 AM
#6
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I personally would try to find out why they are cracking by discussing the problem with your stealer before taking a chance on aftermarket parts. Did you buy the car new? I would think that over torquing the fasteners could cause
this problem.
this problem.
10-22-2010, 04:14 PM
#7
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i've been with the factory rep and he has no explanation. said he would send pictures to engineering.
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11-01-2010, 04:38 PM
#8
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'00 RENNtech CL60, '96 850Ci, '92 850i '01 Discovery II
my fender as the same hairline crack on the driver side on the OEM part never been in a accident or had work done either, the front fenders are made out of Plastic not carbon fiber. Hence why it's cracking at all. Mine is still underneath the hood's lip so i havent really cared to do anything about it. Let me know what you find out
11-20-2015, 09:55 PM
#10
Senior Member
Same problem on my 2001 CL500. My bodyman drilled a very small hole at the end of the crack, to prevent it from cracking any further....Looks terrible, but I am not going to buy a new fender...Paint will never match on a 15 year old car..
11-24-2015, 12:22 PM
#11
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Well known issue on these cars, IMO the car needs a torque limiter on the holes in the fender to prevent this, like the ones used on plastic valve covers and such to prevent cracks. MB doesn't really seem to care though.
11-24-2015, 02:24 PM
#12
These cars are past any warranty or even a goodwill repair in this cosmetic issue
Maybe if you just spent $5000 on other repairs the dealer will help with the cost of fenders but corporate certainly doesn't care at this age
Maybe if you just spent $5000 on other repairs the dealer will help with the cost of fenders but corporate certainly doesn't care at this age
11-24-2015, 06:22 PM
#14
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what i did was put some rubber washers under all the bolts for the front fenders. hopefully this will help with the torque and cracking.
09-19-2018, 11:05 AM
#15
Junior Member
Confirmation that this has affected my 04 CL600. Passenger front fender and two cracks. What a disappointing experience as I never expected plastic fenders. This car was flawless and the cracks continue to grow. I also worry about paint matching and fender cost $500 to start off. So disappointed in MB for doing this as it’s a poorly designed mount point for the bolts.
09-19-2018, 11:27 AM
#16
Super Member
Confirmation that this has affected my 04 CL600. Passenger front fender and two cracks. What a disappointing experience as I never expected plastic fenders. This car was flawless and the cracks continue to grow. I also worry about paint matching and fender cost $500 to start off. So disappointed in MB for doing this as it’s a poorly designed mount point for the bolts.
And, yes, my left side wing (or fender if you guys prefer) has a crack as described in post#1.
09-19-2018, 12:32 PM
#17
Search GM bumper fillers to understand what’s going to happen to all old CL after 25-30 years
the plastic breaks down and essentially crumbles , especially cars parked outside exposed to uv light
the plastic breaks down and essentially crumbles , especially cars parked outside exposed to uv light
09-27-2018, 10:37 PM
#18
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SL55 CL600 and 335D (rip flood) 325ci
My 2003 CL600 is also cracking. Both front fenders.I was wondering if some kind of repair from the inside of the panel would at least stop further spread?
10-08-2018, 06:00 PM
#19
Junior Member
Have checked with body shop and there’s nothing to stop the process. I understand the situation and this car wasn’t exposed to sunlight for long periods of time. Always a garage child. Have ordered new fender and will spend time understanding paint matching. Lost a lot of trust in Mercedes after learning about this.
10-08-2018, 07:46 PM
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SL55 CL600 and 335D (rip flood) 325ci
Say whut?
Well at least they didn't rust 
There are a number of things that resonate that sentiment with me as well. I have a BMW 335D that would rather daily drive than the cl600. But the dam thing looks so cool. It's just a deluge of overkill in decadence. I'll see to what point my love affair takes me. For the same amount of outlay as I have in the CL I could be into an absolutely stunning 2011 E90 sport with 38 mpg. AND I haven't addressed the, leaking at the intake, turbo oil feed line which will require an engine out
Feeling grateful that I'm grateful I want to add how spending wheel time behind such a fabulous machine is privilege. Maybe this is a sign to go widebody black edition :p BEFORE the all electric conversion....
There are a number of things that resonate that sentiment with me as well. I have a BMW 335D that would rather daily drive than the cl600. But the dam thing looks so cool. It's just a deluge of overkill in decadence. I'll see to what point my love affair takes me. For the same amount of outlay as I have in the CL I could be into an absolutely stunning 2011 E90 sport with 38 mpg. AND I haven't addressed the, leaking at the intake, turbo oil feed line which will require an engine out Feeling grateful that I'm grateful I want to add how spending wheel time behind such a fabulous machine is privilege. Maybe this is a sign to go widebody black edition :p BEFORE the all electric conversion....
10-16-2018, 07:17 PM
#21
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SL55 CL600 and 335D (rip flood) 325ci
I FIGURED IT OUT TODAY! The fenders crack right where you put pressure on them when you work on the engine bay! They are a little supple right there. I leaned over today to pull out my coil pack and sure enough it gave way a little. It wasn't my fat thighs that broke it originally but someone else. Oh well. They just don't start to crack on their own. It's humans.... again.
10-19-2018, 05:56 PM
#22
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SL55, Opel GT, 70 LT-1, BMW 745 turbo, MRoadster, 49 Stude truck, 69 Z/28, Ferrari project
Some will crack on their own. If any of the fender bolts were over tightened, you will get a stress crack.
Anyone know if the R230 has plastic fenders?
Other discussions about this: https://mbworld.org/forums/cl55-amg-...nder-poll.html
Anyone know if the R230 has plastic fenders?
Other discussions about this: https://mbworld.org/forums/cl55-amg-...nder-poll.html
Last edited by LynnBilodeau; 10-19-2018 at 05:58 PM.
11-03-2018, 09:24 PM
#23
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yea i ordered a set of lorsinser front fenders from ebay, they have lots and lots of cracks that the seller never bothered sharing. no one notices but me, but I know they are there and that's enough to bother me
03-25-2022, 07:51 AM
#24
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2003 Mercedes’ cl55 amg
Help
So this is a legit known problem? I own a mechanic shop and my tech is always very careful with vehicles. But I have a gentleman trying to say we cracked his fender, when I know we didn’t. We weren’t even on that side of the vehicle.
03-25-2022, 07:59 AM
#25
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its just the nature of the plastic lightweight components on this car, that is otherwise really heavy
