2002 C320

Right when I start my car, I sometimes(most of the time now) hear a semi-loud tapping sound near the dash/front windshieldof the car. After a few seconds to a minute or two, the tapping disappears. I opened my hood and tried to listen to it but I can't hear anything from the engine area. I can only hear it in the cabin. The sound can be described as someone using their finger to tap on the window or tap on a piece of plastic. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

You're another victim of the purge gremlin my friend. When you start your car it automatically cycles the climate control and opens and closes all the vents as a type of "systems check" if you will. The problem is that this is the one piece of shoddy craftsmanship by MB. The wheel along with the rod is plastic, and what has happened is either (a) the rod has broken or (b) the teeth have broken off/stripped resulting in that sound you are hearing. What it's doing is continuing to go through it's cycle however instead of opening and closing the vents it's "slipping" resulting in that "thunk, tap, smack, clunk" sound. It won't destroy your car but you need to take it to the dealer to get it fixed. They'll replace what is broken with a stronger piece to prevent future recurrences. Now for the part where you start crying....the part is all of about $25, the labor on the other hand is about $600 since they have to remove the entire dash to get to the culprit. It's in a very nasty spot to get to. Anyway, that's all it is, but it is costly to fix unless you've got under 50K miles on your car, then it's covered under warranty.

 

Hi all!

I´m a newby to this forum and novice Mercedes owner (2001 C180). The reason why I bring this old topic up is that I experienced the same problems (tapping sounds inside dash). After finding this on the net I contacted my dealer to fix the problem. No worries, they said. We will repair it for free. Got the car back after a day and the tapping sounds returned?? Called the dealer and asked if they exchanged the faulty parts? Yes they said and I asked if there could be more faulty components? Yes there are six of them (they replaced one)!! Apparently the job cost them about 450 pounds and the part 15. If you´ve done your maths properly it is logical to examine all the parts and replace if needed at the same time.Anyway I checked in again to fix it. After a day I went to get my car. Now they say they´ve ordered the parts needed but I can have the car until they receive the parts. So they´ve ripped the console out and rebuilt it (remember 450 quid) and expect me to come in with the car later to replace the parts (another 450quid).Go figure. Sensmoral = Ifyou have this problem make sure they check all possible components: