agoswick

Has anyone had an issue with window trim oxidation on a newer Mercedes. I’ve seen it to be common on older but I had my Edition 1 for 3 months before the oxidation came...

Mandarin

Usually, it happens in countries that using chemicals on roads but yes it common for cars over there. I have some water spots on my night package trims but only when it's wet, after drying no problems.

HBerman

Are we talking about the black trim on the windows turning from jet black to sort of purple black tone? I'm seeing this on both sides of my 2018 E63S. Older Mercedes used to do this over time. I thought MB had corrected the process. Not worth replacing the window trim as all off it would need to be changed out to get things to match.

Mandarin

Correct, those contaminations are happening because water (carwash water) is too hard (not PH balanced etc) and if you let water to dry itself you will get those water spots ( purple black etc), the best way to avoid it to make sure it's completely dry and don't have water on it after carwash. The same thing can happen with mirrors and glasses.

You can try to polish it out but there is no guarantee it's going to help. BTW it's can be covered by factory warranty in case if the clear coat is going to peel off of the trim pieces but I have not seen it's happening across the US since there is not a lot of cold states whos using extremely aggressive chemicals on the roads during the winter.

A random picture from google:

HBerman

No water spots on the trim. There is a uniform discoloration on all the window trim pieces except the verticals which have different coating. The only way to correct is to replace all of the trim or wrap it all. This happened on one of my older Mercedes which had black trim. Next car is not going to have night package if MB hasn't changed the coating process.

agoswick

Thanks for responding guys! Yes, the black trim. Not sure if my pic does it justice.

[img]blob:https://mbworld.org/ac27cbca-6545-40ed-84b4-f270a0b9e9da

Mandarin

I can assure you they won't lol. BMW has that problem for 10 or even more years and doesn't want to fix it, I bet MB not going to work on it either.

Mandarin

This is exactly what I'm talking about.

agoswick

Yeah, kinda hideous 😬

Wolfman

Our ED1 is our winter car in MN. Plenty of salt and other harsh chemicals everywhere but there is no discoloration.
Car is hand wash only, including winters and we use Dr. Beasley matte wash.
Sounds like a car wash could be the issue...

HBerman

My next car will be without the night package! $130K car with crappy trim. I'm changing out the car next year. I should have remembered the oxidation color changes from one of my other cars. Never again.

E63Wsantini

I have the same issue, but its been there from day one. Just thought it was greasy finger prints and easy to clean.

Mandarin

Same here, hand washes from the day 1st, not letting the dealer wash my car at all, no issue.

Seem like you just not familiar with chrome trim oxidation

agoswick

Horrible for the brand. I’m gonna look into getting covered with something. I’ve tried two “buffing” type liquids.

Mandarin

I agree it's frustrating but, I would not blame make on this. There are a few factors that can cause this issue but as an owner of the car, you can prevent them. Wash car properly. Dry it properly. Take care of it properly.

Many car owners think they can buy a car and fill it up and wash it only, but to be a car owner is a bit more than just drive it around and wash it time-by-time not properly

Find good detailing service shop around and they will take care of it for a couple of hundred $.

agoswick

I totally baby my babies. E63 garaged, washed bi weekly by me, detailed once a quarter (C63 sleeps outside cuz it’s a rugged beastly b*tch). Oxidation happened after a slight rain shower. Guys that detail it couldn’t do anything for it.

HBerman

I hand wash my car! The issue is air pollution and strong sunshine. There are no water spots on my trim nor are there any oxidation issues like in the pictures. The trim had been waxed since day one like the rest of the car. No swirl marks on the black paint either. This is purely UV action on the annodized finish. Years ago I have to have my burl Walnut interior trim changed out two times because MB didn't have sufficient UV block on the clear coat.

BACnMercedes

Try using a good quatlity soap that is pH neutral. That has seemed to help me on my older GLE and I haven't had too much of a problem but I have also had that car ceramic coated. After I did that I always hand wash using Meguiar's Hyper wash D110 and immediately dry it with a blower followed with a microfiber to wipe everything down.
Good luck!

E634Me

I use the CR Spotless water filtration system to rinse the car off. I think that helps. I'll have to look closely when I get home from this trip and see, but I don't think I have this issue on my trim.

Carac

I also highly recommend clear protection film on all night trim pieces and anything else that oxidizes. Not only does it prevent swirl marks on the black plastic, it keeps hard water spots/chemical staining.