I just discovered the notorious plastic tailgate latch problem in my 1998 ML320, and I notice that it is a particularly common problem. I work in a fairly large machine shop, and after studying the plastic pin that broke, have determined that I can easily make a new rod out of semi-hard steel. If this works, would anybody be interested in one? I could probably turn them out en-masse on one of our small CNC lathes if I get enough interest, and am thinking it would be worth $10-$15. It wouldn't be soft steel, but actually drill rod or S7 that would be a quite a bit harder and less subject to deformation and wear.