Bicycle rack to suit E220 estate

[Tblk]

I’ve just stumbled upon this thread as I am in the same predicament with the exact car and model year. I am also looking at the tow bar solution and the quote I got back suggested I had to get the car coded by the main dealers. MB have said they won’t code it unless they install the tow bar fitted by others as it will affect my warranty. I asked MB for a quote and they’ve come back with a quote £2097 which is ludicrous so still at a loss

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I’ve just stumbled upon this thread as I am in the same predicament with the exact car and model year. I am also looking at the tow bar solution and the quote I got back suggested I had to get the car coded by the main dealers. MB have said they won’t code it unless they install the tow bar fitted by others as it will affect my warranty. I asked MB for a quote and they’ve come back with a quote £2097 which is ludicrous so still at a loss

Professional tow bar fitters will code it. Ironically the dealer will get a professional fitter to do the work and charge you a margin on top. Technicians from the workshop will be much slower than a specialist and they could
be doing servicing and repairs.

My dealer told me who would do the work so I used them. I bought a kit from Mercedes and another through Westfalia. They’re both made by Westfalia but even Westfalia didn’t know what came in the kit as supplied by Mercedes.

It turns out it’s identical, both excluded two relays for the rear SAM which required some trial and error and investigation to work out.

 

[219]

Just some final questions. How long does it take to fit a tow bar, just say if I went for the 13 pin one. I see some companies come to your home to fit them. Any disadvantages to adding a tow bar to the car ? Does the car then recognise when it's there and when the carrier is detached the lighting is back to normal ? Will it interfere with 360 camera and sensors ?

Margaret ,

I would imagine you would book your car in for a day at a fitting centre ; if someone comes to your home , I would anticipate it taking the best part of a day .

It varies from car to car , but often the back bumper has to come off , on my own car , I still have to drop the rear silencer and remove the heat shield to get the last couple of bolts in on that side , I haven't worried about it for just the small cycle carrier I'm using it for just now , but I would never tow anything substantial without completing the job , and Mr MOT tester can't see the missing bolts

Often a lot of the trim inside your boot will have to be removed , both to bolt in the hardware , also to run electrical wiring .

All in all it can be quite a long job , any where from , I would estimate , a minimum of two or three hours , up to a whole day . It will be easier on some cars that others , depending on what is involved .

On a car specific kit then the car's electrics sense the lights being connected and automatically make changes , and back when the lights are unplugged .