I have been in many E - W210s lately and noticed that most have cracks in their dashboards! Compare it with the W124s, its a rare sight indeed.

Your feedback is appreciated before I know more people going out to buy the last few remaining 210s offered at discount prices ...

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

The leading cause of dashboard vinyl cracking is the use of Armoral which dries out the plasticizer. This occurs faster if the car is parked such as to expose the dash to the sun.

__________________
1993 MB190e 104k

I use the same stuff that I use on my leather '94 dashboard - Meguir's gold class leather cleaner. Ii wonder if this is OK for the dash in the '99. Ii spotted a small crack near the passenger windshhield defrost vent.

Henry's E230 was barely a year then, and already had a crack running through the windscreen inwards. I don't think any AmourAll was used. Neither was it parked under the sun for long.

Well, we were assured that all cracks appearing within 3 years had a warranty, and it would take 3 days for the replacement. Looks like a common thread of claims.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

WAT ?!?!?! You shouldnt use armour all? what should you use on your dash then? Sombody help me out here

The dash pad in almost all W210 chassis here in the south crack in 2 to 4 years, just as the warranty runs out!

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

black280ce, even though ArmorAll has come to be known as 'the' plastic/vinyl treament to the masses, prolonged treatment has proven to be more detrimental then helpful. A large reason for this I understand is the high water content which drys-out vinyl rather than protecting and nourishing.

Two products: 'Somethin Else', and Lexol's 'Vinylex' are superior products for conditioning/protecting vinyl/plastic (both can be a purchased through www.carcareonline.com), and have very gentle yet effective cleansers, and are loaded with emollient oils that will restore luster, add some serious UV protection, and keep the surface looking new for years.

....except in the case on prematurely cracking W210 dashboards

Regards,
- Ryan

__________________
'95 E420 - 'Shadowfax' 138kmi.
'92 Volvo 740Turbo Bard 193kmi
'74 240D - 'Ol' Green' 4spd Manual 104kmi. (sold )
'77 300D - 'Red' 223kmi (sold)
'75 240D - 'Bianca the Blue Bomber' (sold)

My wife 00 E430 is almost 3 years old and the dash looks like new, because I used Lexol Vinylex twice a year to clean and protect it. My wife also put on winshield sunscreen when she parks at her work under the sun. I am thinking about applying Lexol more often, like 4-5 times a year.

are there any products in the Merguiar's range that anyone would reccomend for use on the dash?

The dash of my 97 E420 is in great shape. I generally don't use anything more than a damp towel to wipe of the dust, but sometimes I use Zymol Treat. However, I drive from garage to garage, so the sun doesn't get much of a chance to do its thing.

__________________
Lloyd

[89 300TE]
[97 E420]
91 300 CE
95 E320 T

I haven't used Amourall at all, but other cheaper interior cleaners which I get from Kmart or other local shops. I only use a little at a time and clean it off dry. Some people use the type that leaves a horrible coat of gloss/shine on it to make the dash look like brand new, but it doesn't. Culprits doing this are used car dealers who also use a quick shine spray on the paintwork every morning just to impress buyers.

My advice firstly is to cover your dashes with the carpet like dash covers with the stick on tapes which can be bought to fit your car model, just ask around and you will find it. Secondly, when you leave your car in an outdoor car park, use the silver/reflective windscreen stick-on pads on the inside of your windscreen and you will see the enormous difference it makes to the temperature inside and no direct sun exposure to your leather/MBtex/cloth seats, wooden dash fascia or decorative panels. Park your car to face the sun if you are using this. Look for tree shade or building shade everytime if possible. The other windows can also be protected if necessary. Costs a lot more to park in undercover carparks, but it pays in the long run with an expensive car like a Benz.

Our temp. gets up to about 43 degrees celcius in Summer end of February just before the cooling down for Autumn. Guess what the surface temperature will be on the car's dashboard and outside paintwork? Before I got my 1994 C180, I went to many car dealers including Benz and saw with my own eyes, just how many of the W124s had their dashboards all cracked up as opposed to the other Benz models. Why is this? Maybe the previous owners here were/are business people who had to go from work site to worksite or customer to customer and had no chance or time to worry about protecting their cars. The 1994 C180 and all those up to and before the new C Class have a hard plastic dash which defies the direct and very hot sun rays. My examination of the BMW 3 series from 1991 onwards have found plenty of cracked dashes too.

My 2 cents worth....

My 1999 E430 has developed a fine line crack on the left side of the passenger airbag. The car has only been outside in sun when driven from one covered parking space to another.

My 97 E320 has tiny cracks by the speaker grills and coming off the airbag cutout on the passenger side. Every single W210 I have seen has the cracks in almost exactly the same places. Though it is out there, I do believe an uncracked W210 dash is the exception.

As for a good protectant, I use 303 Aerospace which can be obtained at any Marina or boat supply place. Doesn't leave that greasy/shiny Armorall film, and actually protects against UV. Zymol is pretty good too, but I use their wax more than anything (Vintage).

__________________
08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

Yep,2 vertical cracks along the passenger airbag channel....New spring perches...dried out sunroof rails....new motor mounts...busted rear window lift...uncontrollable volume control...bad blower regulator and fried commutator...radiator mounted too far forward,too low and too near the engine so that bottoming out the front end cuts the tubes against the fan blades,my THIRD radiator!!!various and sundry electronic troubles dealt with over the past year...etc,etc,.

Superb ride,excellent diesel economy but embarrasingly minimal quality control,seems I discover something every other month.

Now don't tell me it's simply mileage and age,I cut my teeth on cars of the '20's to the '50's...

Bad time to detail it out and sell it I suppose....Christ,I really needed this reminder

__________________

My '98 E300 was a southern car and was cracked around the airbag cutout, speaker grilles and sun sensor when I bought it 3 years ago. When I called MBUSA to complain about it they basically said they had NEVER heard of anyone having a problem with cracks in any MB dash covering. Yeah, right, never before

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz