'01 E320 buttons, plastic, rubber gone to heck...
 

The steering wheel buttons on my '01 E320 wagon are sticky and nasty, upols. cleaner gets the gunk stuck to it off but they're still tacky and melty... The same goes for the top of the drivers door panel... And the rubber at the bottom of the windshield (outside) is all crumbly, just like the antenna on top.

I know the sun must shine in Germany, though maybe not as much as in FL, but this is a real pain. Do 'they all do that'? What's going on here? Do I just go Lexus next time, LOL?

Same problem with my '00 E320 4matic. Can these wheel buttons be replaced?

I haven't asked at the dealer about the buttons, I was hoping for a miracle cure... You know, wash with starting fluid and then hit them with spray starch, along those lines!

I don't think there has been any harsh cleaner or solvents on these buttons and the adjacent areas are OK. The windshield seal thingy and the rubber antenna are a real disappointment, 110k on an '01, I thought I was going for the long haul with this car but...

I'm sure the sun here has something to do with all this plastic/rubber trouble but it still sucks, I've looked at Fastlane because I've had really good experiences with them but couldn't find the buttons listed. I guess I need to email or call...

It seems to be a common issue lately, my 01E developed it about a year ago. They did not want to warranty it since it was "cosmetic" even with the extended warranty. I finally won, "goodwill" thru the shop manager $325
.6 hrs labor. I would immagine that means $250 or so for both switches, $75 to remove and re install the airbag.
The switches were in stock 210 821 25 51 8h71 (tan)

Got Mine Here
A set of steering wheel buttons for My 05 W 220 S 500 car is $136.35. The part number I need to order is # 22082106797379

Call Chris Tell Him Joe Sent You

Chris Sullivan
1-888-316-9143
www.mbzwholesaleparts.com

Ran into the same issue on Ferrari. I highly recommend: http://stickynomore.com/. He does great work and the price is very reasonable. I wouldn't bother replacing with new parts as the same thing will happen. His process eliminates that.

Or, you can clean it yourself. Search the forums on ferrarichat.com and you will find the process to clean it.

There is nothing to clean. The paint appears to dissolve from finger oils and when you try to remove the gunk the paint is removed too. Not to hijack this thread but it seems to be a quality issue with this supplier and the supplier of certain rubber parts like the roof rack pads (wagon-PITA to replace), windshield trim panels beneath the windshield wipers, and teleaid/gps antenna. My question is whether the replacement parts are of the same crap quality?

I guess we should consider ourselves lucky because the same era BMW's around here are exhibiting worse rubber degradation. As I have asked before, "Didn't the Germans invent synthetic rubber?" Why is this happening to our late model MB's? Mark

stickynomore.com will take care of it, check out the site. All the gunk is removed and a new coating is applied that will not degrade. What I have gotten back looks better than new. It is an issue with many euro makes.

MB repaced mine under customer adjust, a few years ago and I dont have any issues, they admitted it was an issue.

Only if you don't mind the entire dash doing exactly what you just described. No joke. My cousin's Lexus is not even 10 years old and the dash has turned to mush. They used some crappy rubbery coating on it that peels and melts.