SLK55 (R171) 2004 - 2010: SLK200K, SLK280, SLK350, SLK55, SLK55 Black Series

SLK55 Fog Lamp Defect

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Old 06-08-2005, 04:12 PM
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man...it doesn't make sense that they would use glass so close to the road. My fog lights are plastic on my CLK....why change it for the SLK?
Old 06-08-2005, 08:27 PM
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Originally Posted by bloflin
Fred, mine are intact (so far), but only have 1000 miles. But it seems almost inevitable, so I'm very interested in the reason.

It might help to narrow the potential causes if people could comment on 3 things.

1. How much they are using the fogs (if at all) and for how long at a time.

2. Crawl under the front bumper to see if ANY indication of "curb rash", even if they think they haven't (perhaps a significant other that occasionally drives).

3. Look closely at and around fog light lens and chrome surround, to see if any indication of rock impact.
1)intially, i used mine frequently
2)i have scraped a couple of times
3)no rock chips or debris damage what so ever

it would be interesting to see more feedback on these points.
Old 06-10-2005, 01:06 AM
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I bought two plastic measuring cups (about 3.5" in diameter) at WalMart for 94 cents each. I cut the bottom off and used JB Weld to epoxy the piece of plastic directly onto the chrome bezel of the foglight. You have to look closely to see that they didn't come with the car.
Old 06-10-2005, 09:38 AM
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'05 SLK55, Obsidian, black/red, light and premium pkg., COMAND with nav, airscarf, Sirius
Originally Posted by CP1
I bought two plastic measuring cups (about 3.5" in diameter) at WalMart for 94 cents each. I cut the bottom off and used JB Weld to epoxy the piece of plastic directly onto the chrome bezel of the foglight. You have to look closely to see that they didn't come with the car.
CP1, was the functionality of the lights (when it's foggy) affected at all?
Old 06-10-2005, 11:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Shark
CP1, was the functionality of the lights (when it's foggy) affected at all?
The measuring cups are clear plastic so there is no downside. I don't use the foglights anyway because I keep my lights on auto and there is no way to get them on in that mode. I have pics but don't know how to post them on this forum.
Old 09-05-2005, 09:20 PM
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'05 SLK55, Obsidian, black/red, light and premium pkg., COMAND with nav, airscarf, Sirius
Looks like there has been no further discussion regarding this in about 3 months. Have people with more recently delivered cars not been experiencing this? If yes, perhaps there was a "bad batch" of lights on cars delivered earlier this year (or perhaps MB quietly corrected the problem?). To those that have replaced their broken lights...did the replacement unit break also? I never replaced my broken light, because I was assuming the replacement would break also, and I very rarely use the fog lights anyway. Perhaps it now makes sense to go ahead and replace the broken light if the replacements seem to be problem free.

Last edited by Shark; 09-05-2005 at 10:41 PM.
Old 09-05-2005, 11:08 PM
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Have had my 55 for a little over a month without a problem (knock on wood).
Old 09-06-2005, 05:12 AM
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My fog lamps are still intact...

This reminds me of a friends Miata. He had the Miata fog lamps which resemble the AMG's lamps. I think they too are made of glass, and once while washing our cars, we realised that one of the lamps was broken.

At the time, we thought it might have been someone trying to vandalise his car...

On hindsight, I think it might have been a rock that did it.

Those lamps as well were very low to the ground and seemed quite vulnerable.
Old 09-20-2005, 01:44 PM
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'05 SLK55, Obsidian, black/red, light and premium pkg., COMAND with nav, airscarf, Sirius
Repeated Broken Fog Lamp Lenses

CP1/Blkslk55/FredfromNY/SLK55er/05slkmadmax/SLKK55NEWB/PocketRrocket/AMGgirl: Each one of you had a broken fog lamp lense (or two). Did you replace the light(s)? Did they ever break again? Did you install anything to protect the lense? I have yet to replace my broken lense as I didn't want to spend the $ only to have it break again. Thanks in advance for your response.
Old 09-20-2005, 02:41 PM
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I had the same issue on my M3 as they both broke within a few weeks. I put some 3M plastic coating on them that the dealer had, and they are still in tact 2 years later. The nice part of the 3M plastic is it doesn't color due to weather. This peice of plastic is about 1/4 inch thick and seems to do the job. Unfortunatley, my front bumper shows the result of how much debris is on our roads...
Old 09-20-2005, 02:56 PM
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Originally Posted by bloflin
2. Crawl under the front bumper to see if ANY indication of "curb rash", even if they think they haven't (perhaps a significant other that occasionally drives).
HAHA I laughed about that...My fiance took my SL out one day and the next time I washed it, I noticed a nice scrape under the front bumper!!!
Old 11-23-2005, 12:39 PM
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'05 SLK55, Obsidian, black/red, light and premium pkg., COMAND with nav, airscarf, Sirius
I ordered a new fog light from my dealer today. They quoted only $125.05, seems too inexpensive compared to what everyone else here paid, wonder if it's the correct part. Also, the parts guy said the microfiche showed a different part number for a Xenon versus non-Xenon equipped car. This makes no sense, and he agreed with me. Guess we will see next week if he got it right :-)
Old 06-21-2006, 06:01 PM
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'05 SLK55, Obsidian, black/red, light and premium pkg., COMAND with nav, airscarf, Sirius
The lense on my other fog light has broken, and given that I have not used the fog lights in a long time I assume a rock or other debris was the cause, rather than a defect in the light such as a heat problem. I'm ready to install something over the glass to keep this from happening again, and as I recall last year several members offered potential solutions, but I can no longer find that thread. What have you done to protect your fog lights from breaking, and have you been successful? Thanks.
Old 06-21-2006, 06:44 PM
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mine are fine

over 8000 miles and counting so far.
Old 06-22-2006, 09:25 AM
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32,000km's (20,000miles) and still intact over here. I've scraped my front bumper underbelly a few times. I don't think scraping the bumper is the cause of this "fault". Must be a bad batch of lenses.
Old 06-22-2006, 03:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Shark
The lense on my other fog light has broken, and given that I have not used the fog lights in a long time I assume a rock or other debris was the cause, rather than a defect in the light such as a heat problem. I'm ready to install something over the glass to keep this from happening again, and as I recall last year several members offered potential solutions, but I can no longer find that thread. What have you done to protect your fog lights from breaking, and have you been successful? Thanks.
I put the 3M Headlight Film, during the clear bra installation. It is a thicker film then what goes on the painted car.

CP1 cut the bottom out of $0.99 plastic measuring cups from Walmart (or somewhere) and glued them on.
Old 06-22-2006, 04:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Shark
The lense on my other fog light has broken, and given that I have not used the fog lights in a long time I assume a rock or other debris was the cause, rather than a defect in the light such as a heat problem. I'm ready to install something over the glass to keep this from happening again, and as I recall last year several members offered potential solutions, but I can no longer find that thread. What have you done to protect your fog lights from breaking, and have you been successful? Thanks.
I used a coffee cup to stencil a cutout of the 3M clear film and applied it over a year ago with good results. Worth the $15!
http://www.autopaintguard.com/bulk.asp
Old 06-23-2006, 03:42 PM
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Guys get on http://www.mercedes-amg.com/privatelounge/ and fill in my poll on this.. It seemed so many slk55 had this problem yet on the AMG forum, where the AMG guys are listening only 10 have people bothered posting.. Get on there show the figures and something may happen as this is only a AMG car specific part.
Old 06-24-2006, 09:27 AM
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Include me in this list. I just noticed today......driver's side!
Old 06-26-2006, 03:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Easty
Guys get on http://www.mercedes-amg.com/privatelounge/ and fill in my poll on this.. It seemed so many slk55 had this problem yet on the AMG forum, where the AMG guys are listening only 10 have people bothered posting.. Get on there show the figures and something may happen as this is only a AMG car specific part.
Well it's still 3 for and 10 against, get on over to http://www.mercedes-amg.com/privatelounge/
Old 06-26-2006, 04:52 PM
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Have had the SLK55 for two months with no foglight issues. But, after reading this thread, I suspect it is just a matter of time.
Old 12-10-2006, 03:08 PM
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My passenger's fog len is gone. Everything around the glass is fine but the len is busted. Look very strange.
Attached Thumbnails SLK55 Fog Lamp Defect-dsc07506.jpg   SLK55 Fog Lamp Defect-dsc07507.jpg  
Old 12-10-2006, 04:49 PM
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1 x Driver's side replaced at 17,000miles. They are now coated in a plastic covering

J
Old 12-21-2006, 06:51 AM
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my left one has blown out as well...we pay good money for our cars the least they can do is make sure the fog lights wont blow out...is this a warrenty thing, or do I have to buy a new lamp....
Old 12-21-2006, 04:44 PM
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2005 SLK 55 AMG
I had a right fog lamp go out twice. I have sold mine ,a big mistake, got a Z06, but I'm ready for an 08


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