John Dietrich

They were, too, I think — originally the service manager said he suspected it would be a few weeks at best. I had the car in for an "A" service and was planning to pick it up the next day (they were really slammed so advised not waiting, especially since they wanted to look at all the dash areas carefully), but the next day they let me know that the dash panels would be in much sooner than expected. (Yes, I asked them to verify that they had ordered the leather and not MB Tex).

Well, coincidentally, while I was there, they had a 2014 SLS Black Series in the bay with the center console and dash out, so I figured if someone trusted them to do THAT, I would probably be okay with my meager SL450. But, time will tell and I'll certainly be looking it over VERY carefully.

John Dietrich

Hate to quote my own post, but now that I think about it, anyone know how many of those SLS Black Series cars there even ARE? Maybe 100-200? Talk about a unicorn sighting.

Wolfman

150. The SLS may be in the shop for the Takata airbag recall which requires removal of the dash...

Streamliner

IF the opportunity presents itself, it would be very interesting to see photos of the dash with the faulty parts removed.
Good luck with the procedure.

John Dietrich

Apologies for not closing the loop on this sooner; I'm sure everyone was waiting with bated breath to hear how it came out. :-)

​I got the car back on Monday, so it took them about three days after the parts came in (no idea the actual labor hours since, as a warranty repair, it's all zeroes on the invoice). It was actually ready on Saturday, but I forgot to ask them to adjust the driver's side headlight which was aimed low, so they had it an extra day.

But apparently everything went perfectly. They replaced every leather panel on the dash, from the windshield to the bottom of the vents, and the new panels look amazing. I was pretty nervous, but there wasn't a smudge or a scratch anywhere. I was especially worried about the adjacent Porcelain leather panels below the vents, as well as the Designo piano black trim, because it scratches really easily -- and yes the whole console has to come out. (I'll admit I almost didn't buy the car because of that trim, but it's grown on me.)

In any case, I give them full marks for an excellent job. My pleasure was only marred by having to lay out $600 for a new key fob and programming. (I somehow misplaced one, and apparently it's even more expensive if later you lose *both* keys. So, don't lose your keys!)

KennyK

Glad you ended up having a good experience. I have never had a bad experience with my MB dealers (I realize many do)

Enjoy the car

iridium18

Great News - Same with me regarding excellent Dealer Service. Not a single disappointment.

Wolfman

Great news and happy that the job was done right! Enjoy your newly perfected SL!

Dr. Manhattan

Congratulations on a great outcome!



Well Steve, that's exactly what I ended up doing...though not so much intentionally. The car that I ended up with just happens to have the $900 Porcelain/Black interior, so I went onto the configurator to see what the difference really is between the $900 and $1900 options. The only difference it shows when you click back and forth from one ($900) to the other ($1900) is that the headliner seems to switch from black tex/leather/whatever to what appears to be black Alcantara. Nothing else changes in appearance, even though the dash must be coated in leather with the $1900 option. The cheaper version (mine) may not feel or smell as good as the upgrade, but at a glance it does look pretty much the same...at least, in photos. It wouldn't surprise me if the upgrade looked noticeably better in person, though.

steve sl550

I liked the full leather dashes I had in the many Porsche's owned but, for some reason in addition to being concerned with dash delam that a number of MB owners have reported over time I just like the the texture the MB TEX dash presents (more substantial look and less light reflection to my eye).

I do like all the other leather bits in the $900 package though so when I ordered the 2015 and the 2018 I specified the $900 option.

As they say: "to each their own" but, I'm real happy with the $900 package.

Wolfman

First off I have to say I like both. We also had both in the exact same color combo. The $900 premium leather option in our 2013 and the exclusive nappa option in our 2017; porcelain white/black. We also had the cars for about the same time and mileage. Both had Magic Sky which takes care of 99% of the UV rays and both had the UV protective coating.

It lends itself for a good comparison in wear, look and feel and reflection. We had purchased both new and configured to spec. which is very different than trying to find the right spec/price pre-owned.
I love a great leather interior and the premium leather is nice, nappa seats and armrests. Never cared for the basic headliner though but the pre-facelift version didn’t have a better option unless you take a Designo interior option which I didn’t like color-wise...
The exclusive nappa is a complete no-brainer though. The same $1k difference costs over $5k when configuring a 911. With Porsche, just the Alcantara headliner costs more.
The exclusive nappa option delivers a full nappa leather everywhere; upper and lower dash, upper and lower door panels, rear interior, full center console plus the upgraded headliner.

I have posted many pictures of both cars over the years and neither had any wear or any damages on any panel or leather. The reflection on the leather dash would be an urban myth at best.
Dash reflection happens with light colored dashes. Mercedes doesn’t offer them and Porsche makes you sign a form during custom order that you understand and agree with the possible reflection.

The UV coating is quite good on the leather and these seats wear even better than other MB nappa seats. Our S-class was a bit easier to take on Jeans color. That said, I believe many owners will damage their leather seats by using overly aggressive cleaners. Plain water was all we needed for those 6 years.

Since we had the magic sky option option on all three R231 SL’s I can’t tell how the panorama roof differs in letting UV rays in..

Marina

I have the same issue and would like to know why Mercedes benz doesn't want to pay for the repairs. Although the gentleman assisting me with the cost estimate for the dashboard repair have worked efficiently the Mercedes benz warranty department doesn't want to pay for the repair. What to do for Mercedes benz to assume their responsibility?

Streamliner

If the car is out of the original, 4 year, 50,000 mile warranty, I do not believe you will get anything. IF you happen to have an amazingly good relationship with an MB dealer, who will go to bat for you with MBUSA, you might get an accommodation, but I doubt it.

crconsulting

Humidity and heat play a role in the leather dashboard bubble syndrome.
I believe Florida and Texas see the most frequent cases of this because of the high humidity. One of the ways you can sometimes repair headliners and leather padding is to "steam" them to reactivate the glue so it would also work the opposite way too. i.e. to un-glue these things.

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...017-sl450.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...sh-bubble.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...dashboard.html

I always use a Covercraft UVS100 sunshade (see amazon link at bottom) when I leave my car parked outdoors for an extended period. The most heat is generated when the car is parked with windows and top up with no airflow. If you use one of these sunshades, you will be amazed at how hot it gets when you handle it to remove from your windshield. I keep it in the trunk. Its a cheap investment. There has been some successful repairs (see links above) without replacing the dash but your mileage will vary.

Good Luck!

Swedeinfl

8000 miles always garage kept taken care off my dashboard is bubbling up from glue not holding dash

Wolfman

Very uncool. But at least completely covered by warranty. Make sure that the full upper dash is replaced under warranty and keep us posted. Do not accept anything less (like a repair, etc.)
You might want to also post in the relevant forum: https://mbworld.org/forums/coupe-roadster-245/

rmorin49

Same issue being reported by new C8 Corvette owners with 3LT interiors. I suffered through the same issue with one of my BMWs. I avoid leather dashes now.

odessit

I am having similar issue with 2019 e63 and dealer is refusing to handle the issue under warranty.
anyone from south Florida area that can recommend a good service advisor that can assist with this?
also how was this issue handled to have it done through warranty ?
thank you!

Wolfman

Best post that in the E63 forum
https://mbworld.org/forums/w213-amg-214/

They should be able to recommend another dealer. If under factory warranty dealers normally love this as it means a good amount of warranty covered service revenue.

Most important to post pics to see the damage