Changing window trim on 2021 E63S Wagon

Hopefully, I can save others a lot of time and energy by sharing some details. I'm a total novice. If I can do it anyone can do it. Just need some patience and time. There's a total of 6 pieces per side. Several thoughts in no particular order.
-All the molding just pops off as you would suspect. The 3 pieces along the bottom of each side come with the rubber molding. It is this molding that holds these trim in place as the rubber molding slides into metal frames on the doors. Super easy. -Top driver's and passenger doors have no molding nor clips.
-Bottom and top rear pieces have clips. These clips may or may not pop off when you pull the trim. Either way you must take them off. They easily bend but don't break just be careful. Straighten them out and attach to the car. You will see where they belong. Took me forever to figure out that they slide into place. Put on about the notches about 2/3 the way then slide the rest onto the clips. Then the molding just snaps into these clips.
-The worst part of the job is the driver's door pieces, particularly the lower piece. It is possible to actually slide the piece off and slide it on but the problem is it can't be perfectly done as there's a clip at the very front of the trim that must slide over a piece of metal in the door frame. See picture below. I did it all without removing the mirrors but it was driving me crazy that they weren't sitting flush so I embarked on journey of removing door card. I tried for a long time trying to remove only speaker but couldn't get at one of the T20s. Ultimately wound up loosening door card to gain access to this one T20. Good news is you don't need to remove the entire door card, just loosen it to gain some room to access T20.
-First remove one T30 bolt under door handle as pictured below. Next pull door card away from door with a sharp tug. (Don't worry you won't break anything as it's well put together.) There are three T20s that hold the mirror in place. You'll need to remove mirror in order to install bottom driver's door trim properly. Pop tweeter so it's out of the way. Easier to pull door card away and then tweeter. You'll need to take these steps in order to access 2 of the 3 T20s. One of the T20s is simply behind some loose molding. Be careful when pulling molding as it only goes the length of the mirror housing. No reason to remove further than mirror housing and can be damaged if you try to pull it all the way off. One T20 is behind the tweeter. And one T20 is behind this rubber molding. Just pull it until T20 is revealed then stop pulling it or you'll be in a world of trouble.
-Needed to enlist the help of my daughter to hold mirror while I removed/installed bottom molding on driver's door. You don't want to remove any wires so someone will need to hold mirror while you remove/install trim. There's a clip on the very front of both driver's door pieces that must be put into place or the front driver's door molding will not sit properly. See pic below.
-Make certain the last piece of molding you install is the top driver's door per side. The front top part edge (closest to hood) must slide UNDER the bottom molding. You have to be very careful or you can easily scratch the bottom molding (ask me how I know) as the top molding has very sharp edge and will overlap bottom piece unless you tuck it under first.
Other than the driver's door this was an easy and satisfying project. Nobody could tell me how to do this so I took the leap of faith. Amazingly, I didn't destroy anything along the way and all pieces fit perfectly. If they aren't fitting perfectly you are doing something wrong. Take your time. These are high quality parts. No plastic junk and this minimizes breaks.
Now I'm left with what I think is the perfect balance. The trim around the windows was driving me nuts as it's a different finish from everything else plus I didn't like the shape of the outline against the black exterior. (This doesn't bother me on sedan only wagon.) The finish on the window trim is not nearly as nice as the Nike swoops, roof rails, and front/rear lower elements as those are all a gorgeous matte aluminum finish. The window trim is the same stuff used on all other cars and to my eyes looks a lot like plastic (but it's not, of course). Then there's a third finish--door handles and rear belt line. Wagon is filthy and only was once over past couple months but here's the before and after.
213-690-97-04 Upper Molding $79.20 1 $79.20
213-720-95-04-28 Belt Molding $78.00 1 $78.00
213-690-98-04 Upper Molding $79.20 1 $79.20
213-720-96-04 Belt Molding $74.40 1 $74.40
213-730-25-05 Belt Molding $67.20 1 $67.20
213-730-26-05 Belt Molding $69.60 1 $69.60
213-690-24-03 Upper Molding $55.80 1 $55.80
213-690-23-03 Upper Molding $53.40 1 $53.40
213-670-23-01 Upper Molding $66.00 1 $66.00
213-670-24-01 Upper Molding $66.00 1 $66.00
213-670-25-01 Lower Molding $62.40 1 $62.40
213-670-26-01 Lower Molding $62.40 1 $62.40
2138802906 Trim Strip $74.40 1 $74.40
2138803006 Trim Strip $74.40 1 $74.40
Subtotal: $962.40 Total: $962.40 + Shipping
Last edited by ocdbroker; Dec 4, 2021 at 06:10 PM.




Last edited by HBerman; Dec 4, 2021 at 09:53 PM.
Hopefully, I can save others a lot of time and energy by sharing some details. I'm a total novice. If I can do it anyone can do it. Just need some patience and time. There's a total of 6 pieces per side. Several thoughts in no particular order.
-All the molding just pops off as you would suspect. The 3 pieces along the bottom of each side come with the rubber molding. It is this molding that holds these trim in place as the rubber molding slides into metal frames on the doors. Super easy. -Top driver's and passenger doors have no molding nor clips.
-Bottom and top rear pieces have clips. These clips may or may not pop off when you pull the trim. Either way you must take them off. They easily bend but don't break just be careful. Straighten them out and attach to the car. You will see where they belong. Took me forever to figure out that they slide into place. Put on about the notches about 2/3 the way then slide the rest onto the clips. Then the molding just snaps into these clips.
-The worst part of the job is the driver's door pieces, particularly the lower piece. It is possible to actually slide the piece off and slide it on but the problem is it can't be perfectly done as there's a clip at the very front of the trim that must slide over a piece of metal in the door frame. See picture below. I did it all without removing the mirrors but it was driving me crazy that they weren't sitting flush so I embarked on journey of removing door card. I tried for a long time trying to remove only speaker but couldn't get at one of the T20s. Ultimately wound up loosening door card to gain access to this one T20. Good news is you don't need to remove the entire door card, just loosen it to gain some room to access T20.
-First remove one T30 bolt under door handle as pictured below. Next pull door card away from door with a sharp tug. (Don't worry you won't break anything as it's well put together.) There are three T20s that hold the mirror in place. You'll need to remove mirror in order to install bottom driver's door trim properly. Pop tweeter so it's out of the way. Easier to pull door card away and then tweeter. You'll need to take these steps in order to access 2 of the 3 T20s. One of the T20s is simply behind some loose molding. Be careful when pulling molding as it only goes the length of the mirror housing. No reason to remove further than mirror housing and can be damaged if you try to pull it all the way off. One T20 is behind the tweeter. And one T20 is behind this rubber molding. Just pull it until T20 is revealed then stop pulling it or you'll be in a world of trouble.
-Needed to enlist the help of my daughter to hold mirror while I removed/installed bottom molding on driver's door. You don't want to remove any wires so someone will need to hold mirror while you remove/install trim. There's a clip on the very front of both driver's door pieces that must be put into place or the front driver's door molding will not sit properly. See pic below.
-Make certain the last piece of molding you install is the top driver's door per side. The front top part edge (closest to hood) must slide UNDER the bottom molding. You have to be very careful or you can easily scratch the bottom molding (ask me how I know) as the top molding has very sharp edge and will overlap bottom piece unless you tuck it under first.
Other than the driver's door this was an easy and satisfying project. Nobody could tell me how to do this so I took the leap of faith. Amazingly, I didn't destroy anything along the way and all pieces fit perfectly. If they aren't fitting perfectly you are doing something wrong. Take your time. These are high quality parts. No plastic junk and this minimizes breaks.
Now I'm left with what I think is the perfect balance. The trim around the windows was driving me nuts as it's a different finish from everything else plus I didn't like the shape of the outline against the black exterior. (This doesn't bother me on sedan only wagon.) The finish on the window trim is not nearly as nice as the Nike swoops, roof rails, and front/rear lower elements as those are all a gorgeous matte aluminum finish. The window trim is the same stuff used on all other cars and to my eyes looks a lot like plastic (but it's not, of course). Then there's a third finish--door handles and rear belt line. Wagon is filthy and only was once over past couple months but here's the before and after.
213-690-97-04 Upper Molding $79.20 1 $79.20
213-720-95-04-28 Belt Molding $78.00 1 $78.00
213-690-98-04 Upper Molding $79.20 1 $79.20
213-720-96-04 Belt Molding $74.40 1 $74.40
213-730-25-05 Belt Molding $67.20 1 $67.20
213-730-26-05 Belt Molding $69.60 1 $69.60
213-690-24-03 Upper Molding $55.80 1 $55.80
213-690-23-03 Upper Molding $53.40 1 $53.40
213-670-23-01 Upper Molding $66.00 1 $66.00
213-670-24-01 Upper Molding $66.00 1 $66.00
213-670-25-01 Lower Molding $62.40 1 $62.40
213-670-26-01 Lower Molding $62.40 1 $62.40
2138802906 Trim Strip $74.40 1 $74.40
2138803006 Trim Strip $74.40 1 $74.40
Subtotal: $962.40 Total: $962.40 + Shipping
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Last edited by ocdbroker; Dec 5, 2021 at 11:45 AM.
The Best of Mercedes & AMG





Loving the 2020 wheels. Feel like they make the whole car. They scream AMG. Classic design and understated. Love seeing the calipers a little more too. If we all had the same taste the world would be a really dull place. Don't mind if my car is dirty but get uneasy about dirty wheels. Really missing the ceramics.




Loving the 2020 wheels. Feel like they make the whole car. They scream AMG. Classic design and understated. Love seeing the calipers a little more too. If we all had the same taste the world would be a really dull place. Don't mind if my car is dirty but get uneasy about dirty wheels. Really missing the ceramics.
Hopefully, I can save others a lot of time and energy by sharing some details. I'm a total novice. If I can do it anyone can do it. Just need some patience and time. There's a total of 6 pieces per side. Several thoughts in no particular order.
-All the molding just pops off as you would suspect. The 3 pieces along the bottom of each side come with the rubber molding. It is this molding that holds these trim in place as the rubber molding slides into metal frames on the doors. Super easy. -Top driver's and passenger doors have no molding nor clips.
-Bottom and top rear pieces have clips. These clips may or may not pop off when you pull the trim. Either way you must take them off. They easily bend but don't break just be careful. Straighten them out and attach to the car. You will see where they belong. Took me forever to figure out that they slide into place. Put on about the notches about 2/3 the way then slide the rest onto the clips. Then the molding just snaps into these clips.
-The worst part of the job is the driver's door pieces, particularly the lower piece. It is possible to actually slide the piece off and slide it on but the problem is it can't be perfectly done as there's a clip at the very front of the trim that must slide over a piece of metal in the door frame. See picture below. I did it all without removing the mirrors but it was driving me crazy that they weren't sitting flush so I embarked on journey of removing door card. I tried for a long time trying to remove only speaker but couldn't get at one of the T20s. Ultimately wound up loosening door card to gain access to this one T20. Good news is you don't need to remove the entire door card, just loosen it to gain some room to access T20.
-First remove one T30 bolt under door handle as pictured below. Next pull door card away from door with a sharp tug. (Don't worry you won't break anything as it's well put together.) There are three T20s that hold the mirror in place. You'll need to remove mirror in order to install bottom driver's door trim properly. Pop tweeter so it's out of the way. Easier to pull door card away and then tweeter. You'll need to take these steps in order to access 2 of the 3 T20s. One of the T20s is simply behind some loose molding. Be careful when pulling molding as it only goes the length of the mirror housing. No reason to remove further than mirror housing and can be damaged if you try to pull it all the way off. One T20 is behind the tweeter. And one T20 is behind this rubber molding. Just pull it until T20 is revealed then stop pulling it or you'll be in a world of trouble.
-Needed to enlist the help of my daughter to hold mirror while I removed/installed bottom molding on driver's door. You don't want to remove any wires so someone will need to hold mirror while you remove/install trim. There's a clip on the very front of both driver's door pieces that must be put into place or the front driver's door molding will not sit properly. See pic below.
-Make certain the last piece of molding you install is the top driver's door per side. The front top part edge (closest to hood) must slide UNDER the bottom molding. You have to be very careful or you can easily scratch the bottom molding (ask me how I know) as the top molding has very sharp edge and will overlap bottom piece unless you tuck it under first.
Other than the driver's door this was an easy and satisfying project. Nobody could tell me how to do this so I took the leap of faith. Amazingly, I didn't destroy anything along the way and all pieces fit perfectly. If they aren't fitting perfectly you are doing something wrong. Take your time. These are high quality parts. No plastic junk and this minimizes breaks.
Now I'm left with what I think is the perfect balance. The trim around the windows was driving me nuts as it's a different finish from everything else plus I didn't like the shape of the outline against the black exterior. (This doesn't bother me on sedan only wagon.) The finish on the window trim is not nearly as nice as the Nike swoops, roof rails, and front/rear lower elements as those are all a gorgeous matte aluminum finish. The window trim is the same stuff used on all other cars and to my eyes looks a lot like plastic (but it's not, of course). Then there's a third finish--door handles and rear belt line. Wagon is filthy and only was once over past couple months but here's the before and after.
213-690-97-04 Upper Molding $79.20 1 $79.20
213-720-95-04-28 Belt Molding $78.00 1 $78.00
213-690-98-04 Upper Molding $79.20 1 $79.20
213-720-96-04 Belt Molding $74.40 1 $74.40
213-730-25-05 Belt Molding $67.20 1 $67.20
213-730-26-05 Belt Molding $69.60 1 $69.60
213-690-24-03 Upper Molding $55.80 1 $55.80
213-690-23-03 Upper Molding $53.40 1 $53.40
213-670-23-01 Upper Molding $66.00 1 $66.00
213-670-24-01 Upper Molding $66.00 1 $66.00
213-670-25-01 Lower Molding $62.40 1 $62.40
213-670-26-01 Lower Molding $62.40 1 $62.40
2138802906 Trim Strip $74.40 1 $74.40
2138803006 Trim Strip $74.40 1 $74.40
Subtotal: $962.40 Total: $962.40 + Shipping




Thanks for taking the plunge on this project! You have helped so many people with this thread, and I too will be tackling this project thanks to you.
Mike








Seriously though - looks really, really good and I like the swoosh in the original color - it's needed there to break up the front quarter




