Repairs
Slight Vibration at specific speeds
There can be a notable vibration in the cabin, it tends to be worse on cold mornings and fades away after a few minutes of driving. Now with warmer spring weather, the issue had gone. So I assume it is/was “flatspotting” of the tyres after standing still for a long time.
Broken front spring (15 & 20 March 2025 ~108000 Km)
When replacing the front brakes, I noticed an broken front spring (This should have been an APK failure point). It turns out there are several types of springs, depending on the car type and its options. The factory-fitted springs are color coded, mine are marked with a single yellow and single red marker, corresponding to part Mercedes part number: A 210 321 28 04.
I borrowed two universal spring compressors (see image), and with them I could remove the broken spring after disconnecting the torsion bar (moving it out of the way), and shock damper. For refitting the new spring, I also needed to loosen the lower suspension arm. With that, i’d say the job is doable without the Mercedes-special central spring compressor, but I do think it is worth the investment, as the universtal spring compressors do not inspire confidence.
Heavy Steering and poor return to center
Air conditioning does not cool (May 2026, 112000 Km)
According to the buying agreement with the seller, the air conditioning should be fixed. It does however not cool. I inspected the “heater unit” which houses the evaporator using an endoscope. It looked like this.
So a new evaporator is needed. The repairs includes the complete disassembly of the dashboard. I think I have spend over 15 hours on this repair, making sure things are put back better than before (mostly by cleaning).
There are three things that I would attempt to do better next time:
- Engine coolant spilled in the cabin when I lifted out the heater box (This required a carpet wash)
- A brittle retaining clip on the lower front window cover broke
- After reassembly, I am left with a single screw, with an unknown purpose.
But I also have tip, for something that went well: One may avoid breaking the infamously-brittle plastic speaker grills, when trying to loosen the main retaining clip by pulling the grill itself. After removing the dashboard’s side cover, the clip can be “accessed” (albeit blind) from below with a pry tool. Than it can be pushed up (and out). Do this when the screw and rear clips are already loosened.
air vent wheel light (16 March 2026 108100 Km)
I noticed that only 2 out the 3 air vent adjustment wheels were showing a small light. So I replaced this 1.2 Watt light source.
