Ok so I drop my car off at my local dealer for standard warranty work and to perform the fuel related recall work on my 05 E55. The next day I get a call saying there is some issues with connectors in my steering column. I come to find out that they had to remove my air bag and steering wheel to replace a sensor in the steering column for some of the warranty related work.

So now the bad news, during the process of performing that work they broke the plastic connectors on the air bag used to connect to the clock spring. They originally were going to cover it but come to find out because I do not have a stock steering wheel that they have no means to replace the air bag. A few months ago, I did swap out my stock steering wheel for a CLK BS wheel and airbag. Furthermore they indicated the installation was faulty and the the plugs were somehow glued together causing them to break, so they are not at fault. Since it is a safety item they cannot perform any maintenance work on the air bag and I need a new one. A new air bag is going to cost me 650+ dollars. So, I'm not sure what to think at this point since I have had great service thus far at this dealership. I had the airbag installed by a very well respected independent shop in the area and I remember them doing the work in 15 minutes or so. It was just a plug-in-play install as indicated on the forum. I went ahead and had my car taken to the independent shop to review the matter since they were the ones to install the wheel. They indicated that in no way did they apply and glues or adhesives during the install process. To be honest, I believe them. With such a sensative safety item why would anybody doing anything out of spec in terms of installing this item because of the liability issues. I remember the install being a piece of cake since the installer actually called me back to review what he was doing and to confirm that he felt comfortable with swapping the wheel due to the potiental liablity issues.

So now I have been in discussions with the service manager at the dealer and they refuse to perform any further work unless I buy a new air bag since they claim that the work was faulty when the car arrived. I'm thinking that if the work was really faulty as they claim and the connectors would truly not come apart they should have called me first either way. It's not my fault the tech didn't realize i have a CLK BS steering wheel. From the sounds of it, they broke the conectors then thought they could just order a new one but when they found out after the fact I didn't have the stock air bag, meaning they can't replace it since it is not the default part on the car. Bottom line, if something was wrong with the car, I never gave any authorization to break anything in the vehicle. I should have been called before proceeding with the work. I could have taken the car to the independent shop for review if need be. Once they took it upon themselves to break the connectors to remove the air bag, the responsibility falls on them in restoring my car back to normal.

This has been a pain in the a$$ already with multiple trips to both the dealer and independent shop without resolution and I currently have the original wheel on the car and a very expensive BS wheel that is unusable. Out of principle since I feel like I'm getting screwed so I don't want to let this go.


Any comments and/or advice is appreciated.

 

So, did you put the stock wheel on and get the service taken care of? I would do that for sure. A mod is a mod, no matter where you got the part from. I'm not saying not to push, but sometimes you should back off and make sure you don't get the car flagged.

Then, you can take the airbag issue up with the dealership. i don't see why they wouldn't sell you a new bag for cheaper, since they get a break.

What about the uninstall/reinstall process is different that made the tabs brake? If they are different, then you are a bit SOL.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't think the install was "plug and play" type and modifications were needed to get the Black steering wheel to work with the paddle shifter buttons? I don't want to muddy the waters but that seem to stick in my head...

 

E55 with newer electronics is definitely plug-in-play based on what I saw the tech do upon the initial installation.

After reviewing the issue in more detail I'm starting to question the story I'm getting from the independent shop. They reviewed the issue and their only response was that there was no glue and it is a dealer issue. I took the time to review the facts that I have with the service adviser and tech at the dealer. The parts clearly show the traces of super glue and see how they were stuck together. The response from the independent shop is definitely not concise. I'm going to escalate to their management to at least get a response that is appropriate for the issue at hand. For the dealer to apply glue upon repair doesn't make any sense since they admitted they broke it when they called me and I can clearly see some parts stuck together from what I can gather.

 

I have an 05 E55 as well and I can tell you the electronics are NOT the same as an 06.

 

I'm sure you have seen the previous post on the subject. If you have an 05 with the newer center console the electronics are identical to an 06. If you have an older 05, then your correct the electronics are different. My wheel installation was definitely only 15 minutes. Secondly, the dealer has no problem with supporting this wheel on my car since the electronics are a match. They are just refusing to replace the air bag since it was incorrectly glued to the clock spring connectors by an outside shop. They did replace the clock spring in good faith and get me running on my original wheel and air bag. The only question now is who/what/why applied the glue to the connectors when plugging the clock spring into the upgraded air bag. Seems like it may have been applied in good faith to be extra safe but now that we had to remove it again they couldn't get it apart.

-Greg

 

I must be the only one with a newer console and the older electronics.

 

I guess I stand corrected if the newer console is not a correct determining factor in all cases but it is a indicator that you may have the ability to perform the switch. I'm definitely not the first to do the swap and there have been many other swaps on 05s. Either way, we are definitely off topic. The fact that I have a BS wheel is not the issue because the dealer is willing to put it back on the car if I just pay to replace the air bag. They are just unwilling to cover the cost due to the improper previous installation performed. The BS wheel does complicate the issue but not because any electronics have been modified/updated.

Thanks for the comments.

-Greg

 

How much longer do you have on your warranty? If I was in your shoes and the dealer wasn't going to make the repair under warranty...I'd take it to an independent ASE MB mechanic and try to get the airbag from an independent source. I'm not sure if you can do it with an airbag, but most parts I try to source myself I find are a lot less expensive than going through the dealer (i.e. crazy dealer markup).

I will never get non-warranty work done at the stealership. I get just as good service at my independent at a lower labor cost...that's my experience.