Nobody has yet mentioned the real cause of the problem. What did the MB dealers say about this defect? How will the replacement lens be better than the original? Have they changed the plastic?
Does slamming the trunk hard contribute to the damage?
Further info on this topic from my question to Newsgroup 'alt.auto.mercedes' has produced the following response from a poster.
"If the car is under warranty, 4Y or 50K, then ALL owners get it replaced under warranty. SI # 82.10/449 dated May 2, 2005 address's the problem and tells you to replace the light with an optimized one, part number 209 820 01 56.
This center high mounted stop lamp entered production approx Dec 2004."
For the record - Got the brake light and the mirror replaced. Normal cost would have been approx 450 GBP parts, labour & tax. Mercedes went 45/11/44 on the cost, that's 45% Mercedes, 11% Dealer, 44% me. Actual bill to me was 178GBP - I got a 10% discount for a "while you wait" fix of 1hr 30mins. The car is coming up to 4 years old and was a RHD-ordered import from Belgium (although bought from the same dealer, who tagged on an extra year's warranty because imports into the UK only have a 2yr warranty). As an aside - during the service, they lost one of the "buttons" that locks down the driver's floor mat. Seems the part cannot be ordered on its own so for the sake of a piece of plastic that probably costs a few pence, I now have brand new complete set of mats. Go figure the logic.
Slightly OT - but you mentioned that your CLK was a 'parallel import' from Belgium & it only had 2 years MB warranty.
I'm in a similar position, with mine being 're-directed' from Barbados to the UK when new, with a full European spec. I also only got a 2 year warranty (which has now expired) and was given a 1 year purchased warranty by the dealer. But what I do not understand is the position wrt the MB MobiloLife service. Has that expired with the MB warranty?
Good question - I hadn't thought about that, but having checked Mercedes UK's site (http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/cont...explained.html) my understanding is that it is is valid for life for all UK and EU cars as long as the service book is complete and shows authorised MB agents. Only because of the "Barbados factor", I'd check with the dealer you bought the car from (or the nearest one to you, if that's not the case) and ask them the same question.
Mark up another
Although it took my wife (embarrassingly) to point out that it had gone, I thought I had just been too aggressive with the Auto Glym...
Car still has another six months of its warranty left so they will be changing it!
Never had this problem with my E240, so is it something specific to the W209?
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Current metal:
2002 (C215) CL500 (Batmobile), Obsidian Black, 53k miles
1997 (C140) CL500 (Bismarck), Emerald Black, 131k miles
1991 (W201) 190E 2.6 Sportline (Blake), Almandine Red, 133k miles
1990 (C126) 420 SEC (Bruce), Astral Silver, 109k miles
1978 (R107) 350 SL (Boabby), Signal Red w/ silver hardtop, 115k miles
They did fix it (FOC - same as faulty aircon condenser earlier this year) but since then I've traded my CLK and gone for a CL. Both great cars, but fancied something with a bit more "go" and couldn't wait for a CLK55 to come up.
To those who have this problem - pester your dealer until they do it. Defo a manufacturing fault - as evidenced by the fact that there was another guy in the showroom picking his car up after the same fault.
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