I have searched this forum but haven't found what I am looking for.
We recently added a 2003 ML55 to our collection, and I left it up to my partner to inspect & purchase etc. He brought it home and I realised it didn't have any top tethers (or anchor bolts as they are called in NZ).
LATCH/Isofix fittings are in the seat cushions, but nothing on the floor in the trunk.
Being an ML55 with the spare wheel holder, there is 1 anchor bolt that has been installed by factory to replace the factory cargo tie down loop (which is covered by spare tyre holder). In a non-AMG ML, this fixture would the top tether for the left third row seat.
I have a couple of options:
I can buy a cheap (and ugly) anchor bolt kit from my local baby gear store or auto parts store (and hope the thread matches).
I buy the factory fitting which looks a lot nicer (local MB dealership quoted me NZ$123 and refused to give me part number).
I can try to get the fixtures from a wrecker.
I can move the factory fitting originally next to spare tyre holder, and be left with a hole in the carpet, but that only gives me 1.
Before anyone suggests we buy a different car seat, we already own 4 car seats, 2 with anchor straps, 2 without. I have enough that I can rotate them around depending on the car I'm driving, but I do prefer an anchor fitting for the extra security. We are also expecting baby number 2 so it would be easier to know I can use any of the seats we own, as opposed to being limited to the ones without anchor straps.
So what I'd like to know is:
Has anyone personally retrofitted anchor bolts/top tethers in their ML? Am I right to assume there are threaded holes/nuts welded to the floorpan?
Does anyone have the part number for the MB factory fixture? I'd like to look online for a better price, I'd rather not get from a wreckers for safety reasons.
If it isn't too difficult, could someone take some measurements of their existing top tether bolt locations? I would love to know where exactly the bolt holes are without lifting the carpet.
While I agree with the sentiment that you can't put a price on safety, when I can buy a run of the mill anchor bolt for $23 which will do the exact same thing (and we need two of them) I'd rather spend the spare $200 on something else for the kids, like quality shoes or earmuffs and sunglasses.
Thanks heaps DrX!! I could kiss you! I searched for hours, I even went on mbpartsworld.com but... I'll blame it on baby brain
I've asked a couple of wreckers if they have any and they say they don't. From what I've seen most NZ models didn't have them as standard (we are a backwards people).
This is our first car with Isofix since having kids, so I might look at getting a capsule that will work with a seatbelt in our other cars, and have an Isofix base in the ML, seeing as thats the one I'll drive the most.
Don't call the wreckers - they're not going to check. You need to turn up at the wreckers' with your own wrench & screwdriver. I reckon all MLs have these fittings as they are used as cargo tiedowns.
If only there was a reliable local source of ML wrecks! Thanks to the link you gave me I can confirm that the D-rings used for the anchor bolts are identical to the cargo tie downs, the only difference between the two setups are the plastic escutcheon, and for some reason the bolt and spacer have different part numbers (perhaps different thread and/or length).
Seeing as my ML55 already has one factory child anchor mount (due to spare tyre holder) I might go undo the bolt on it, and compare it to a bolt from one of the boot cargo rings.
So I've now confirmed that the cargo rings and the child anchor bolts have the exact same thread and length. The spacers are smaller in height than cargo ring spacers, due to the recess in the "escutcheon" (plastic trim bit that allows the D-ring to sit flush with carpet).
I've given the part numbers for everything except the D-rings to my local MB dealership and asked them for prices. The rings appear to be the most expensive parts, and I don't mind paying a few bucks extra for the plastic trim pieces if I know they aren't going to be scratched up.
I'll just re-use the D-rings mounted on the rails of the front seats, we will never use those.
I thought I should just quickly post my experience, in case anyone else in future finds themselves wanting to install a tether strap anchor in an ML that doesn't have them from factory.
I bought all the parts from a local wrecker. Over the weekend I managed to lift the carpet enough to check the floor and found out that my car did not have any factory holes!!! Silly me for assuming.
There were indentations on the underside of the carpet, so I knew where the bolt holes should be. I drilled a hole in the floor, painted it with a rust preventative, and bolted the tether anchor in place with a big fat square washer on the underside of the floor, and used a nylock nut on the factory bolt (FYI, in NZ and Australia safety standards tether anchor mounts must be held in with 5/16 UNC bolts).
At this stage I've only put one in, on the right side of the car, because it was going to get a lot more complicated on the left side due to the spare wheel holder.
if anyone has an ML55 with spare wheel holder, and factory anchor bolts, can you confirm there is on mounted in front of the spare wheel holder?? Thanks!
if anyone has an ML55 with spare wheel holder, and factory anchor bolts, can you confirm there is on mounted in front of the spare wheel holder?? Thanks!
I have a 2001 ML55 with spare wheel holder with 3 factory anchor points - left and right side are rearwards so serve the third row seats (not fitted of course, because of the spare wheel holder) and the centre anchor is forwarsd to serve the second row centre seat.
My first ML was a 2000 ML320 which I purchased new in the UK whilst living there and then shipped it to Melbourne in 2003 when I returned home. This car had no anchor bolts and I had to have them installed in Melbourne in order to get the car complianced and registered. The installer welded a nut to a large washer (about 80mm diameter) and then tack welded the washer to the underside of the trunk floor. I remember the installer telling me that the Vehicle Design Standards called for permanently captured nuts, and that a bolt and conventional or nyloc nut would not comply.
As an aside (and as an owner of an ML55, a 5 seater ML350 and a 7 seater ML350 .... so I have all the configurations) I would recommend against anyone installing child seats in the third row seats. I just can't accept that the whole geometry of seat design, shape, anchors, tethers etc. have been well conceived. I have huge respect for Mercedes design etc., but I reckon they stuffed this one up and its not safe.
I know, it seems far too bizarre, especially seeing as its RHD, but I checked the VIN myself on a few different VIN decoders when I was considering buying the car which show code 553L NETHERLANDS
Both MB Netherlands and New Zealand tell me the car was intended for Dutch market, and it has a factory MB Netherlands helpline number sticker in the door shut on the drivers side.
Another oddity is the cars odometer is in Miles, whereas all NZ new models have the odometer in Km's, the speedometer shows MPH and KM/H. As far as I'm aware, the Dutch are purely metric.
VIN is WDC1631742A420670. All the VIN numbers I've come across on the car match too, its not a chopped up ML!
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