Door window seals don't clear glass

[Darren66]

Hi,
I'm interested to hear from anyone who's having issues with their door windows not clearing the glass of rain or external dew? I have a one year old A180d and the weather seal doesn't contact the glass when going up and down, so first thing in the morning I have to go round the car and clear them by hand. When there's a heavy morning dew its impossible to see out of them.
Here's the interesting bit, been to my local Mercedes dealer and they tell me this is normal and I should accept having to manually wipe my windows! I must admit this is my first Mercedes so not familiar with the product but would certainly consider seeing out of the window without manually cleaning something of a basic function.
I'd love to hear from as many people as possible and get some feedback across the Mercedes model and year ranges and establish if this is truly normal.
Thanks for reading.

 

[c63chris]

Lots of cars don’t do this anymore. My C classs doesn’t clear the window completely. I think the days of the seal wiping the window for you are gone!

 

[Will]

The weather strip/seal is designed to fill the gap between the metal door and the window, mainly to keep detritus out and some of the rain away.

Some cars may do this by chance, but too much contact between the glass and the strip will invariably end up with scratched glass long term - they are a dirt trap.

It has never been advertised as a window wiper. If so you’d expect to replace them periodically.

I would recommend you have your windows thoroughly cleaned and apply rain-x or similar to allow the water to run off more easily, they should then self-clear pretty much as soon as you drive off

 

[SCRL]

Same for me! I couldn’t believe it when I first experienced this, but I’ve come to accept it as “normal”. Does seem to be a bit of a loss of utility though...

 

[Darren66]

Many thanks all for your replies so far, really appreciated. I’ve been driving for over 35 years now had many many vehicles from cheap bangers old vans and several other premium German brands but never had this issue on any vehicle, I find it Hard to accept that Mercedes can’t get this to the same standard.

 

[daveenty]

My E Class Mercedes doesn't do this, nor does my RX450 Lexus.

As inferred to by Will above, if they were to wipe the glass you would invariably end up with scratch marks in it. I usually either wipe them down or use a bit of water from a bottle on them before setting off.

 

[Will]

Many thanks all for your replies so far, really appreciated. I’ve been driving for over 35 years now had many many vehicles from cheap bangers old vans and several other premium German brands but never had this issue on any vehicle, I find it Hard to accept that Mercedes can’t get this to the same standard.

Maybe it’s easier to make rubber strips that press tight against the glass than it is to make them with a very small but even space so they don’t contact the glass causing scratches? Also you often find on older cars, if the rubber seals go hard it can put additional pressure on the window motors/mechanisms causing them to slow down/struggle in operation and sometimes causing damage.

I wouldn’t class it as an issue - as said they’re not there to wipe windows, and have never been advertised as such.

 

[Darren66]

Maybe it’s easier to make rubber strips that press tight against the glass than it is to make them with a very small but even space so they don’t contact the glass causing scratches? Also you often find on older cars, if the rubber seals go hard it can put additional pressure on the window motors/mechanisms causing them to slow down/struggle in operation and sometimes causing damage.

I wouldn’t class it as an issue - as said they’re not there to wipe windows, and have never been advertised as such.

 

[Darren66]

Hi Will,
I’m interested in your thoughts, I’ve passed a similar survey around my office and friends and find that in general the owners don’t have an issue at all as their windows clear adequately enough for them to see out when operated up and down. Quite confusing why there is such a disparity across models. My A180d weather strips have no contact to the glass whatsoever so nothing at all clears.