So a friend of min has the same year SL550 R231 that I have (2013) but he has a different Mercedes star emblem than mine. His is the smooth flat glossy one and my was the 3D one with the 3 recesses. Did they offer 2 different grille emblems that year?

I would like to swap mine out for one like his, does anyone know what the deal is with the two versions? Where can I get one for mine?


This is mine...



This is his.....I would like to install one of these on mine.

 

Te silver one probably has adaptive cruise control etc!

 

This. The radar sits behind the star of the lower one.
On facelift models you also have a different windshield with more cameras.
Another way to see if the car has Distronic Plus.

 

This. The radar sits behind the star of the lower one.
On facelift models you also have a different windshield with more cameras.
Another way to see if the car has Distronic Plus.

That said, you can still install it if you like it better.

 

ah.... thanks everyone regarding as to why they’re different. That makes sense.

However how would I go about installing one like his though? They attach differently... mine unscrews and pops out as you know. While his does too, the locking points (tabs) don’t align with mine. We tried to put his on mine. While diameter is same, nothing lines up.

I suppose I would have to take his VIN and get the whole grille assy for his car...? Is their an aftermarket solution that works for SL550 (R231)?

 

This is just me, but I much prefer your 3-D emblem to the flat one that now appears to be standard. Yours looks much more like the rooftop ones that are spinning in Germany. It has more gravitas...more class.

 

I don't like it because it just collects road dirt etc, and I'm constantly cleaning it out. It's like having a bucket mounted on the front of my car that just catches debris and it's a PITA to clean out every time I wash the car. I'll take function over gravitas.

 

I had not thought of that aspect. I did notice that the grill mesh inside the emblem is much finer than that of the rest of the grill, which probably contributes to the dirt buildup.

 

yep.

 

If the pin/screw locations are different, then you need a different grill insert. Check Ebay first. Am not aware of 3rd party grills.

 

does anyone know the part number for the non-distronic emblem? would love to get that

 

That is one of the first things I asked the dealer when I purchased my car after I noticed my different star. A distronic identifier. I think I remember reading it in the owners manual too. I really like distrionic BTW.

 

Distronic is also recognizable by the grill star. It has a solid plastic inside the circle, where as the non-distronic does not have this. You can see the difference in the pic of both cars.

 

Do you have Distronic?

Check eBay.

 

Me too! I’ve always thought the filled in emblem cavity looked out of place on the SL.

 

You must have missed my post...

 

I just realized I completely misread the entire post smh...I was thinking the top emblem not the actual grill emblem.

 

Yet, you got it right.

 

If you do NOT have distronic, you might be able to install an illuminated star in the grille.