Wouldn't want to meet the guy who designed this way of changing a simple bulb, it's absolute insanity. Glad it's sorted Matt, you just know Mercedes-Benz, had a clever way for the home mechanic, to break trim pieces, in the process.
@lesrogers7310
2 жыл бұрын
If you think this is difficult you should try changing a headlamp bulb or sidelight. On most even relatively modern cars it's a nightmare.
@rimmersbryggeri
2 жыл бұрын
at least your wallet will be about €80 lighter.
@rodhili3946
2 жыл бұрын
It's on the Internet now. A public service video. Well done Matt 👏
@maxidyne
2 жыл бұрын
What an idiotic and un-German design! Nice how to for other S204 owners. With these LEDs it will last a lot longer than those normal lights.
@acelectricalsecurity
2 жыл бұрын
Nah that is a typical German design
@darthvirago
2 жыл бұрын
All bulbs should be an easy five minute roadside repair. I had to put my 09 Accord into the garage to get the headlamp bulb replaced. I couldn't get my arm up the wheel arch to fit it.
@cmartin_ok
2 жыл бұрын
Insanity ! Almost as insane as having to remove a complete headlight unit to change a bulb . There ought to be a law that states that every external light on a car has to be changeable at the roadside without any special tools, ie use your hands/fingers only
@bigad511
Жыл бұрын
I was able to po off extior plastic and do quick change in 20 secs be carefull guys dont break the lense water will be in need to know what fuse is trunk interior lights is on estate 2009
@brendanhurley8780
2 жыл бұрын
I wonder if some of the MB design engineers were previously employed by Renault.
@paulie-Gualtieri.
2 жыл бұрын
Don't, had a Renault 25 many years ago, the bulbs behind the speedo and rev counter, had blown it was a dash out job.
@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge
2 жыл бұрын
@@paulie-Gualtieri. Meanwhile I had a Renault 5 recently and took me 4 minutes to take the cluster out while I had never done that before.
@zeniamin
2 жыл бұрын
LOL!! Someone’s been wasting precious time and neurons on some French design cars…:))
@adrianrowden8266
2 жыл бұрын
Another way to keep you tethered to main dealer expense years after the warranty has expired.
@zeniamin
2 жыл бұрын
Good Lord!! Not sure if this should make me laugh or cry, but thank Goodness you guys made a video of the procedure!
@smoothmicra
2 жыл бұрын
How many men does it take to change a light bulb? At Mercedes it is three apparently: one trained time served technician to change it, one man to carry the suitcase full of money for parts and labour, and one maintenance department manager to laugh up his sleeve while waving goodbye to the customer.
@brusselssprouts560
2 жыл бұрын
Reminds me of a Renault I had a few years back that meant you had to virtually dismantle the front trim of the car and then have about 5 inch wide working space to change a headlight, and the memory of changing an indicator bulb is enough to bring about flashbacks!
@FoundernFintech
Жыл бұрын
This worked really well - thanks. Definitely worth having a set of trim removal tools.
@olliedann
2 жыл бұрын
Satisfying little job done. Nice and bright. I can see why you had some assistance.
@EmilysDadd
2 жыл бұрын
I'm surprised that this job was so involved. Number plate lamps/bulbs on my W251(R Class) were held in by the lens and simply unclipped from outside after removing a couple of screws in each light.
@mickc7388
2 жыл бұрын
Hell's bell's what a palaver just to do a small job like this-ridiculous
@londonrascal
2 жыл бұрын
This type of LED has very poor heat dissipation, yet are ‘run hard’. They are prone to failure because of this. Think how long the current bulb lasted, how under stressed these are and you begin to see why LEDs are not the be all and end all they are claimed to be. I also personally don’t like the ‘flood lit’ look of a number plate they produce but prefer the soft warmth of standard bulbs for items like number plates.
@UnknownUser-rb9pd
2 жыл бұрын
Why would a number plate LED bulb need to be run hard ? It doesn't need to produce much light to illuminate a number plate. When LEDs first come out 20 years ago their power outputs and reliability were much lower but nowadays they are vastly more efficient so curious as to why this would be a problem ?
@Lot76CARS
2 жыл бұрын
Flipping heck Matt, all that fuss for a couple of bulbs, what were they thinking of??
@helle9028
8 ай бұрын
one of my inner handles broke off, very nice design:) now i somehow need to find a new one.....
@stusoldcars4248
2 жыл бұрын
Looks like a Mercedes estate to me. Lol. 👍 Station wagon for our American friend clicks. 👍🤪
@aapaap8595
2 жыл бұрын
Station wagon in the rest of the world.
@stusoldcars4248
2 жыл бұрын
@@aapaap8595 rest of the world clicks then. 🤪🤪🤪👍👍👍
@GoldenCroc
2 жыл бұрын
@@aapaap8595 Kombi, if you please.
@DashCamSerbia
2 жыл бұрын
Caravans, how we call them in Serbia. And what you call Caravans, we call Camp Trailers. :p
@paulie-Gualtieri.
2 жыл бұрын
Combi in Euro speak
@ScrotalCuppage2469
2 жыл бұрын
Engineering like this is in no small part why the Germans lost the war
@tonys1636
2 жыл бұрын
A comment often given to German engineering - over engineered and neat, Soviet engineering - over engineered and rough. British engineering - none but works well.
@andorszabo3270
2 жыл бұрын
And I thought only BMW and certain French brands were bad lol. Thanks for the info 👍
@benjones1180
2 жыл бұрын
Mercedes love numberplate lights did the ones on my w212 last week and also a pain in the ass 😂
@mrmartyby
Жыл бұрын
What a terrific tutorial, & shows another awkward design by Mercedes, why on earth do they make simple maintenance jobs so awkward. I followed the procedure as shown and completed the job in 25 mins & some skin off my fingers reaching in to twist & remove the bulbs then repeat to reinstall. Nice recommendation to use Led's I've replaced all the 501 bulbs likewise in my Merc's, especially the "eyebrow" ones above the headlights, the original bulbs were having to be replaced every 6 months or so it seems.
@williamwales6619
2 жыл бұрын
Had sidelight bulb probs.with my 19yo. Honda Civic. Followed the Honda Manual took of the inner wheel liners and wrecked them (early 90's Plastic). On to the Honda Forum only to be told that the lights can be changed at the top. Did so in 10 mins. Moral to the story .? Do your research don't trust a manual. Ps i had polarity issues as well.🤔
@davidpeters6536
2 жыл бұрын
Wagon, Estate or Shooting Brake? MB - sometimes over engineered or just expensive to run. They aren't alone.
@neilwalsh4058
2 жыл бұрын
It wouldn't detect a missing bulb until that bulb was in circuit, in this case when the headlight switch was turned on. If its off the monitoring circuit doesn't see it anyway so won't flag it up as a faulty/missing bulb. Had same problem with a dodgy side lamp connector on my W211 that failed when lights were on. Made it good but light still stayed off until I reset it. Wasn't this the same bloke that put copperslip on your front brake sliders and walloped the wheel nuts up with a windy gun on another visit to these so called 'specialists'?
@lesklower7281
2 жыл бұрын
I can't believe it that is so easy compared to me fitting a l.e.d number plate light to my toyota hilux flat top drop side ute how hard can it be took me three days to do it is the hardest most frustrating job l have done on it apart from changing the radiator but was a case of how hard can it be well it was extremely hard and this was on a Mercedes-Benz
@mikes747
2 жыл бұрын
Not as bad as my old corsa c face-lift. The bumper had to be dropped to change a sidelight bulb! One of the many hateful things about that car!
@richardjohnson3463
2 жыл бұрын
What a ridiculously complicated proceedure to have to go through to change a lightbulb!
@Mrcento
2 жыл бұрын
Meanwhile on nearly every 90's car, jut just pop off a plastic lens and pull the bulb out, 40 seconds per lamp 😂
@timmcneill2772
2 жыл бұрын
Told you theyre a ballache
@paultaylor9652
2 жыл бұрын
Slightly over engineered Matt, that's the Germans for you.
@carlreading9916
2 жыл бұрын
Not over engineered, poorly engineered.
@markwright3161
2 жыл бұрын
@@carlreading9916 Overengineered for the assembly line efficiency that becomes a pain for basic maintenance. Designed to sell more cars faster without any thought about how it would be kept on the road and legal.
@Captain_Scarlet_SIG
2 жыл бұрын
Canbus is what it’s called 😂 you don’t get all this polava on a Rover.
@richardwalker5492
2 жыл бұрын
You can on a 75!
@markc1921
2 жыл бұрын
@@richardwalker5492 and the P38 range rover I had.
@Dixieddawg
2 жыл бұрын
First!
@stevennorth6484
2 жыл бұрын
It couldn't have been designed more awkward & unnecessarily fiddly.
@philipbunker146
2 жыл бұрын
What a complete ball ache
@stephenjcuk7562
2 жыл бұрын
That is absolutely ridiculous. So many ways to get it wrong. It has reinforced my opinion of modern cars. Daft
@acelectricalsecurity
2 жыл бұрын
Designed for the dealers to make profit, a stupid design, who's only purpose is to make as much money as they can from their customers.
@markzehetmeier195
2 жыл бұрын
What a stupid design
@Roger.Coleman1949
2 жыл бұрын
With all the hype about how wonderful the quality of the modern motor car is from its predesessors , especially prestigeous makes, I find it staggering how shoddy and flimsy the construction and complexity of these parts are.Within a very few operations of this procedure, they will have become brittle and break , backing up the theory of planned obsolescence and ' no customer serviceable parts inside ' !.I don't think you're going to find many of this current generation of vehicles survive to become classics remembered with affection !
@thedeadstig123
2 жыл бұрын
"you don't want to upset the cars bulb monitoring system" ever think cars are too clever nowadays?
@tonys1636
2 жыл бұрын
I've got a bulb monitoring system, it's called eyes.
@DashCamSerbia
2 жыл бұрын
No, this is a good system. Too many older cars with half of their tail lights faulty, without the owner knowing about it, drive around these days.
@tonys1636
2 жыл бұрын
@@DashCamSerbia Lights should be physically checked daily and before any journey at night, even with a bulb out warning system, that is actually useless information if on an unlit road in the early hours in the middle of nowhere when one blows, bugger all one can do until either at home or one's destination. Stopping to change it would be hazardous to all.
@DashCamSerbia
2 жыл бұрын
@@tonys1636 Nobody does. I see cars with brake lights turn on all the time while driving too.
@robertsedgwick1629
2 жыл бұрын
don't bank on the leds lasting!
@planestrainsdogsncars4336
2 жыл бұрын
Next video ..how to replace the shooting star bulb in Rolls Royce starlight headliner☄☄☄
@iangascoigne8231
2 жыл бұрын
“They are functioning LED’s which will probably last longer than the car” Famous last words Matt.
@Bratfalken
2 жыл бұрын
Yes, seeing cars with plenty of LEDs with single glows blown or not working I wonder how many of those needs to be blown before the annual tests sayes you have un-even rear lighting and need to replace a whole, extremly expensive, taillight!?
@squeakers27
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, my car keeps blowing LEDs rather quickly so I resorted to back to normal filament. They are the best option for reliability as you know they are what the car is expecting, no doubts about dubious quality like most LEDs. Other cars that I've had, the LEDs has lasted a fair amount of time but wouldn't say longer than a filament bulb so don't really believe that fact that they last longer but do look better. Also you can't be sure of the quality of LEDs (lots of dodgy chinese quality) and they might go quite sooner than you think.
@id70b40
2 жыл бұрын
For a German car….. that was a faff and a half😊. It’s no wonder you couldn’t find a guide online…. Mercedes were probably too embarrassed to publish one.
@robincook3367
2 жыл бұрын
What a completely and utterly ridiculously over-complicated palaver to change a light bulb, As for putting them in the right way to ensure correct polarity... ludicrous. So many modern cars are overly and unnecessarily complicated.
@xxrs2009
2 жыл бұрын
Nice vid. Me personally I never understand why people want to replace them with led's which are 10 times brighter. Do you want people or the police to see your licenseplate from miles ahead? Also the quality is in many cases worse. Cool white is also ugly especially in a cold climate. Yes I'll get me coat...
@GoldenCroc
2 жыл бұрын
There are reasons why, but funnily enough even disregarding those, I disagree with all the reasons you gave as being problems/drawbacks! :P
@tinplategeektoo
2 жыл бұрын
What an absolutely useless system and a massive waste of time and energy expended on 2 light bulbs. That designer shouldn't be allowed near anything ever again.
@huwdavies6650
2 жыл бұрын
Who was it at Mercedes-Benz decided that's an excellent way of changing your number plate bulbs? Particularly as being mounted in the tailgate they would be more prone to failure due to regular impact vibration when the tailgate is closed on a vehicle without a powered open and close mechanism.
@888johnmac
2 жыл бұрын
pretty sure everyone hates hidden clips that can only be released by pulling one way .. makes me miss the 70's & 80's practise of remove the plastic screw cover & there's your prize
@tonys1636
2 жыл бұрын
A lot of faff to change a 50p bulb, an hours labour with a main dealer, time manufactures made it easy for owner maintenance again and not provide financial support to overpriced dealerships. Should have been titled 'How to turn 50p into £50'
@johnmarsh2078
2 жыл бұрын
Remember I suggested you get rid of the Merc Monstrosity and keep the R8 Tourer instead? I rest my case. All that grief for a bloody number-plate light bulb! Just wait until the electric motor in the ignition/steering lock barrel fails. You ain't seen nothing yet. KISS .... keep it simple, Pal..
@CauliflowerMcPugg
2 жыл бұрын
Why does changing a bulb have to be so difficult nowadays. Bring back the 80s Lol. Car designers need a kick up the reality backside.
@grayfool
2 жыл бұрын
Totally bonkers. talk about making a simple task over complicated!
@davidedwards4170
2 жыл бұрын
Perfect timing by bulb on my 2011 W204 Estate needs to be changed Thanks for a much need how to video !
@DashCamSerbia
2 жыл бұрын
I think engineers at Mercedes had a contest about who can design the licence plate lights to be the least serviceable. :p
@Parknest
Жыл бұрын
Matt, the saloon isn't much better. The plastic trim should come off to make the job a LOT easier. There are some T15 screws to be removed and then it can be prised off with a trim tool (a screwdriver is a big no-no unless you're VERY careful). I would imagine it would be pretty much similar on the estate. I'm upgrading the number plate lights on my W204 to LEDs but to keep it legal (technically) I'm replacing the entire light unit and the only way to get it out is to remove that trim piece. Removing the tailgate/bootlid liner can be done if you're just changing the bulbs but it is more work.
@walthamwalker
2 жыл бұрын
Can just imagine Halfords doing that lol
@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain
2 жыл бұрын
Mercedes designed these with one thing in mind..... Making money to change them! Same happened to me years ago with a c max to change a headlight bulb very very fiddly, Halfords refused to do it, only option was to take it to ford to get them to change them. £100 for a bulb to be replaced and a hours labour!
@mpersad
2 жыл бұрын
Oh man. At least you know what to do now Matt! My dear old G-Reg W124 Estate was so simple in comparison. :)
@michaelstaunton1632
2 жыл бұрын
A very interesting & informative video really enjoyable good job 👍👍
@Thanos.m
2 жыл бұрын
I've seen BMWs where changing a lightbulb is much worse in some cases you need to remove the bumper or take off the wheel on a lift to do them. Personally I'd avoid those small LED resistor bulbs every time I've installed they'll usually fail after a month or two and they start flashing and throwing errors
@squeakers27
2 жыл бұрын
Agreed, had lots of LEDs of dubious, iffy quality. Wouldn't recommend if it's a pig to fit like here and just go for the reliable option of a normal filament bulb.
@CortinasAndClassics
2 жыл бұрын
What a stupid amount of work just to change the bulbs.
@Strike86
2 жыл бұрын
Not the worst bulbs I've seen but ridiculous for something so simple. My family had Renault Moduses (Modii?) for a while and you had to remove the whole front bumper and headlight to get to most of the front bulbs. Unfortunately designs like this are not meant to be user-serviceable - you're supposed to go to the dealer and pay their extortionate labour rates for something you used to be able to do yourself.
@johnstevens2127
2 жыл бұрын
Your supposed to be explaining this procedure to your public, and NOT to your assistant! No light on the matter in hand so very little of what your talking to your assistant about can be seen It's would appear to be an effort to boost your ratings so you can get a higher income from the advertising as apposed to assisting your audience. A good ploy to get viewers to return to the site more than once With that in mind I wouldn't be inclined to use Stevenson's Mercedes Benz if they are endorsing this video
@trabali5168
2 жыл бұрын
wow just to change a bulb, with the possibility of damaging your trim, what ever happened to just shoving a screwdriver and popping the lens cover out?!!
@philipbunker146
2 жыл бұрын
Bet Halfords won’t change them for you lol
@davenaylor8076
2 жыл бұрын
Sure they will, but won’t want to cover the cost of all the broken trim pieces they damage in the process. Especially at Mercedes prices.
@furiousdriving
2 жыл бұрын
maybe with an extra charge!
@delukxy
2 жыл бұрын
@@furiousdriving What's the dealer charge? £60 + parts +vat?
@dj_paultuk7052
2 жыл бұрын
They certainly will not last the life of the car. They look like the cheapo Chinese ones off ebay. They get super hot as the driver chips are driven so hard. The PCB material burns, crumbles and then they fail.
@FatherJack-b1u
2 жыл бұрын
Haven't watched any of your videos for a while and was just thinking to myself... That car is a bit too modern for you 🤔😆
@markparsons5497
2 жыл бұрын
Never again will i buy a Merc, had nothing but problems with my last one and the S class i have now is just as bad but the Rover and the nissan i own have not missed a beat in years.
@nigelrudd670
2 жыл бұрын
I probably would definitely break the lugs I'm heavy handed 🤓🤘👍
@robc5955
2 жыл бұрын
Still love that shape merc, have you had to replace the glow plugs yet?
@ianmead7712
2 жыл бұрын
That’s a crazy amount of work for a number plate bulb come on Mercedes it’s a bulb
@darrenwilson8042
2 жыл бұрын
Yes you have working lights but this has illustrated just how dirty that tailgate is - get it washed man !!
@stephenwestley1017
2 жыл бұрын
Sometimes it pays to use a specialist as they are manufacturer trained makes a job easy
@Phil-1969
2 жыл бұрын
LED number plate bulbs 💡 don’t last 5 minutes
@skimmingstoness
2 жыл бұрын
Another simple task the car maker are making more fiddly so you take it to a main dealer
@tvdel
2 жыл бұрын
Could you have changed the bulbs on the tailgate at the same time ?
@alchapman1052
2 жыл бұрын
What a right going to do a basic thing like a number late bulb.
@roisinking1219
2 жыл бұрын
How to replace rear lamp to r h side of c220 Mercedes sport led type
@bigad511
Жыл бұрын
Reset what factory settings thats the only reset here??
@richardhowlett9424
2 жыл бұрын
I hope it’s not like that on an Accord tourer
@pauldavies6037
2 жыл бұрын
Good no water got into that area could be fun
@shauntvr4312
2 жыл бұрын
Over engineering why
@jonp5641
2 жыл бұрын
What a palaver!
@thescotsmantechnologyrevie2138
2 жыл бұрын
Replacing a numberplate bulb?! I gotta see this
@furiousdriving
2 жыл бұрын
its the only guide on the internet for this model. Millions will love this
@michaellecaplain3377
2 жыл бұрын
Reminds me of that old episode of Fifth Gear where they got Tim Shaw to replace a headlamp bulb on a Golf and a Green Flag bloke to do the same on a Renault Mégane against the clock. Golf time: less than a minute. Mégane time: just under an hour. Apparently if your Mégane had Xenon bulbs you had to remove the bumper and other bits - cost at a dealer? £300! Absolute madness. I'll stick with my 16-year-old Fiesta, thanks.
@richardhunt1384
2 жыл бұрын
Had exactly the same situation when fitting LED number plate bulbs to Kia Optima Tourer. The hand book very usefully told you how to swap them out on the Saloon version but nothing about the Estate. KZitem offer no help either so I ended up doing the same these guys and taking all the trim pieces off. One broken clip but fortunately not rattles as a result. You could sell this video and make a fortune seeing as no one else has put up a video showing how to do it before!!!! 😁😁😁😁
@dominiccook12
2 жыл бұрын
Had an issue with my e61 where one went, found an led replacement kit on ebay and then it broke in my hand, then I bought an led replacement bulb and it fell into the gubbins and I had to take all the trim off. Managed to get it out with a long magnet but when I put all the trim back it took ages and didn’t get some bits right, now I’m driving with one trim piece off because when it was installed it would rattle and drove me mad.
@paulmckinder3082
2 жыл бұрын
Wow removing all that for a number plate bulb bit of a joke. But if i remember correctly a n plate vauxhall tigra i had i had to remove the front bumper to replace a headlight bulb
@knifetrain3118
2 жыл бұрын
Famous last words “An easy job” I would do just what you did and take it to a garage who know exactly what their doing!
@markc1921
2 жыл бұрын
It's just as difficult on a mk3 focus estate. Mine has led from factory but it still broke!
@liamcinq
2 жыл бұрын
Good video. It's harder to change the ashtray bulb in a mk4 Mondeo that this.
@mr_pastry
2 жыл бұрын
Are you using a new camera, Matt? The picture quality is brilliant
@jimmyquinn9639
2 жыл бұрын
Lovely job 🚗🚙🚘👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
@tristanpage6805
2 жыл бұрын
Hats off to the tech to be video’d doing that. Great vid
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