W208 Conv intermittant roof problem

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Joined
Jun 20, 2009
Messages
7
Location
NE Hampshire
Car
2000 CLK 430 conv
My 2000 CLK 430 conv has recently developed a problem lifting the roof.

This happens, I would guess, once in 5 'lifts' and each time the lift stops after the front of the roof has lifted about 2-3" away from the windscreen.

The remedy appears simple, just push the front of the roof up slightly and the process continues without a problem.

I wondered if anyone has had a similar fault and what the solution was? If it is an easy fix I will do it myself if I can; if not I guess back to the dealer under warranty.

Just completed first 1,000 miles of MB ownership and other than this, a fantastic intro!

Best wishes
Julian
 
Have a simular problem with my 2001 w208 320,bought it about a month ago & wasn't paying much attention when the dealer was demonstrating how to opperate the roof.On reading the owners manual it becomes quite confusing as it starts by saying"press clip on unlocking handle & rotate clockwise"9you cannot physically do this it should read anti clockwise).I too find it works best after unlocking the roof to push up when pressing the roof switch,opens ok then!
 
You may find a cable has stretched or there is a problem with the pump. needs some investigation really by someone who knows the system well
 
Apart from indicating there may be a problem with the system if you have to help it on it's way,is there likely to be any long term damage if you continue to operate the roof in this way?
 
W208 convertible long gone now but I seem to remember that you do need to push the hood up slightly after undoing the clamp in order for the hood to work.......In particular I remember one salesman not doing this and he was not able to get the hood down at all!! At the time we thought it was a duff car but the salesman who showed us the next car we saw explained to us the correct procedure....

So you are probably not pushing the front part of the roof open enough so that the mechanism engages.
 
Yes , on my old cabrio , you had to lift the roof up a bit once you have released the catches ..... probably 6 inches ?

AFAIK it is meant to be like that . The roof is too taut for the motor to pull it back , lifting it ( and creating a little 'fold' ) takes some of the pressure off it and allows the motor to do its thing.

Not lifting it risks damaging the motor ( and they are expensive ! )
 
Thanks for the additional comments,my problem is after the catches are released & the hood raised(manually about 6" or so,you hold the hood switch,roof starts to lift,stops(at this point you can hear motor running)then give the hood a gentle push & all works fine again!
 
yep its a common complaint.. from what i know the cables have to be adjusted to take the slack out..

I got one fixed by a local soft top place.
 
Do you mind me asking how much it cost to get sorted?
 
Ok,cheers,need to get gearbox oil/filter changed soon so will ask about getting cables sorted.
 
Thank you very much for the replies, extremely helpful. I will try pushing the roof up a little in future and see if that improves things.

Best wishes

Julian
 
I have owned my W208 Cab for 10 years. It is imperative that when you unlatch the hood, you must push the front section of the roof up until it pivots. The motors and mechanisms also need greased every now and then. My local merc specialist (not the main stealers) gave my hood a service at the start of this summer including solving a couple of creaks and rattles. They charged me pennies for this and did it as part of a normal service (probably £50 for the roof attention). enjoy the car! I keep mine as a second car and only use her twice a month or so, but I still get a buzz taking her out!
Cheers
Graham:D
 
Thanks for the useful info Graham,think thats where i was going wrong as if you read the owners manual it says only to lift the roof a little with no mention of until it pivots.Will also see if a local indie garage can give the roof/mechanism a service,cheers:thumb:
 

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