Hello Everyone! New to this forum after just picking up a 2014 SL550. Its a beautiful car and we love it so far. The interior has a few issues where the leather is coming off and one area that is really bad is the panel under the glove box. Someone who owned it before tried to glue it back on and really messed it up so it looks like a replacement has to happen. I'm told that the entire glove box unit needs to be replaced to be able to replace this one area. If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know. Anyhow, does anyone know, or can point me to, the directions for how to remove the glove box? I've searched everywhere and can't find anything for the R231. Here is what I'm dealing with.

If you open the glove box, you should find either tabs on its sidewalls or maybe a small cable that limit how far the box opens. Press the sidewalls toward each other or disconnect the cable, and the box should drop further and then lift out. There should be fasteners - either screws, plastic rivets or snap tabs - that hold the lower piece in place. This is only general information - a flashlight and a telescoping mirror can be helpful.

Thanks. This gives me a glimmer of hope! I have found where it looks like the R230 had a cable, but mine has circular guides on the side that seem to stop the door from opening further. I've pressed very hard inwards, upwards, and outwards and can't get it to drop down. One guy told me the whole frame needs to be removed and and airbag as well to get to the screws. Do you have any other information that might help me? I was hoping for this to be a simpler project when I bought the car!

MB Dealership told me the entire dashboard would have to be replaced. The Dealership also refused to remove just the glove box, so I could properly glue the loose covering back down. I have a 2017 SL550

So I think I'm making progress on deciding what needs to be done to get this panel off. It appears that the glove box area has changed a bit between R230 an R231 models. Based on other discussions I have been having, I'm beginning to believe that not only does the glove box assembly need to be removed, but the screws that hold it in are behind the airbag, that comes out with the assembly. Remove the assembly, remove the airbag, and then the panel can be removed. The glove box door does not release as there is a stopper at the end that keeps that from happening. You can see from the attached picture on an old one for that there is a white stopper and no dropping that door. But even if you could, it seems like the screws still wouldn't be accessible. Still digging into that but it seems my options are being narrowed down and getting more difficult.

My notes were based on a couple cars I have with cabin filters mounted under and/or behind the glove box that needs removal to access. I'm too scared to mess with anything airbag related, although this is probably unwarranted since airbags are a common theft item.

This may help,
See attached WIS section below
(edit you may have to download the file to display properly)
Good Luck!

Thank you SO much! This is exactly what I was looking for! The good news is that I had mostly figured out all of the bolts and steps. This gives me confidence that I'm not missing anything. It wasn't clear to me if the airbag had a separate connector I would need to look for.

Because I will be working on the airbag it says I need to disconnect the battery. Does that mean only the main battery in the trunk? Then when I reconnect, what do I need to do to educate the computer again? Like Windows etc...

I've earned a reputation for weirdly variable comfort level with DIYs, e.g. I won't disconnect the battery. I replaced the phone and volume buttons in the steering wheel and saw a similar warning about working near an airbag. I just kept the key far away from the car and handled the airbag delicately. YMMV....If you do disconnect the battery the windows should reset with a good five seconds of holding the buttons in the up and down positions.

Thanks. I see you had a C32, so did I! I'm pretty comfortable with most DIY projects and have removed/disconnected batteries dozens of times before with other cars. In more recent years I rely very heavily on forums like this to help me avoid surprises before I start a project and this car is totally new to me. I've learned that surprises delay, cost, and frustrate. In this case, it isn't that the airbag is only near, but it is actually disconnected and removed in the process. Theoretically the power is off to it if the ignition is off, but the worry is a capacitor holding a charge that results in a discharge as the airbag is unplugged. Seems like a small probability but the pain is pretty high if it happens! Sadly, this mean I will need to close the top to be able to reach the battery. Likely I'll get most of the disassembly completed before I have to do that so I can have the best lighting possible.

So am I correct that the battery I need to disconnect is only the one in the trunk?

Removing the negative terminal should be sufficient. I always treat airbags like a loaded gun.

Good Luck

I picked up the replacement glovebox assembly yesterday and did the project this morning. I found a good replacement on eBay for $300 but decided to buy a new one so I could put my glove compartment lock back in there and have a better chance of the new leather staying in place. That cost me $700.

It really wasn’t bad and the hardest part was getting the alignment of the new one perfect so it would slide in properly. Took me about 1.5 hours for the glove box but an issue with a cross threaded bolt on the battery terminal cost me an extra hour. I’m glad I found that because the negative terminal was not tight.

The pdf above was absolutely correct and saved me a lot of time. I did 90% with the top down and battery connected and then when it was time to pull out the old assembly, I closed the top and disconnected the battery due to working on the airbag. I’d say one of the hardest parts was getting that fool lower panel, where the cabin air filter is behind, back in place.

Now it looks like a new car now and my wife is happy!

Man, I would love to talk to you and pick your brain a little bit.. I just ordered the new glove box housing from MB also. Getting ready to start this project soon.

It’s fairly straightforward, just take your time and follow the WIS .pdf above

Good Luck