My '99 E430 sunshade (ya know... that big ole piece of cardboard that slides out under the glass sunroof) seems to be rattling in the headliner... if I hit an occasional sharp bump I get a "thud thud" up there.

A little wary of taking it to the the dealer lest they want to start a science project by yanking the headliner to fix it.

Anyone else seen this? Is there a simple way to extract and fix?

Thanks,
Greg

My E430 has the same rattle, but I don't think it is the sunshade. I have ridden in the back seat while another driver traverses railroad tracks and I am convinced that it is the headliner rattling against the rear of the sunroof frame (which is just above the front of the rear seat cushion - you can follow the contour of the headliner). The only fix I can see is to drop the headliner and attach a strip of foam to the back of the sunroof frame to keep the headliner from hitting the metal frame. I put a post on this forum for the prodedure to remove the headliner some time ago, but no one responded, so I guess no one has done this on the cars with the new, "hard" headliners.

VINCE,...I have the same rattling problem in my '99 E430. Would you be kind to post again the procedure to remove the headliner. Thanks in advance!!!

I have never dropped my headliner. Someone else did, but I can't remember who. The dealer replaced my entire sunroof assemby to cure the rattle, and it seemed cured for a while, but came back. I think they "over-engineered" the fix when they replaced the assembly. One of these days I will drop the headliner. The procedure should be on www.startekinfo.com, the M-B tech website. You have to subscribe. $20 for 24 hours, so gather up anything you might need and download when you visit the site. The info there is supposed to be virtually massive.

Vince,...Thank you for the tip. I will check the M-B tech website.

To fix that rattling, both existing in my former 99 e320 and in my current 00 e55, you just put a couple of old socks from the rear of the sundshade, where the rear dome light is. Rudimental yes, efficient, yes :) Just tuck the socks back there. It may create a slight buldging if you don't do it right, but trust me, it works :)

Doctor - That is an approach I have considered, but not tried. Are you saying you remove the rear dome light and stuff the socks forward towards the rear of the sunroof? I was thinking about a block of foam rubbber pushed forward with a stick. I think you have confirmed my theory that the dealer threw too many parts and not enough thought into trying to fix mine.

Well I went to a shop that dealer with british cars and who happens to be sublet by the local benz dealership for all sunroof/headliner work b/c they don't know any better. The English gentleman there asked me jokingly if I had a pair of old socks...which for some unknown reason happened to be on my floorboard, and he just pried the back of the headliner, poping out I think the dome light, either on purpose or not, and just shoved the socks in there. I actually haven't done it yet on my e55, but I'm doing it right now :) So I"ll be right back and report back later!