Open Mon–Fri 9–6 · Open Saturdays 9–4 54/58 Princes Hwy, Arncliffe, Sydney NSW · minutes from Sydney Airport Call 0418 200 289
Roof stuck open? Don't force it. Call 0418 200 289 before you touch anything. What to do →

Home / Makes / Mercedes CLK convertible roof repair

Mercedes CLK cabriolet · soft top specialists

Mercedes CLK convertible roof repair, Sydney

Most CLK cabriolets arrive with a roof that stops partway, a switch that does nothing, or a rear quarter window that has sunk into the body and taken the roof with it. It is one of the cars we see most. Two generations of a well-built hydraulic soft top, now 15 to 25 years old. The pump, the rams, the switches and the windows the roof waits for are all at the age where they ask for attention. Usually it is one of them, not the lot. We find which in the workshop in Arncliffe, and you see what failed before anything is quoted. Fixed, the roof works on the switch, the rear windows drop when they should, and a good twenty-year-old car stays on the road. Call or text us the year and the symptom; you'll usually hear back the same business day.

20+ yrs in automotive repair 1000+ roofs serviced 4.9★ Google rating
Call about your CLK Submit an enquiry Submit an enquiry

Known faults: Mercedes CLK cabriolet

What goes wrong on a CLK roof,
and what we do about it

A CLK roof is a hydraulic pump, a set of rams, a handful of switches and sensors, and four windows that all have to agree before the roof will move. It is a good system, and when it stops the cause is usually one part, not the whole lot. The trick is finding which one before spending your money.

Fault 01

Roof stops partway, or won't start at all

Hydraulic pump · rams · relay

How it shows up

You press the switch, the roof lifts a little and stops at the same point every time. Or the pump hums and nothing moves. Or nothing happens at all. Sometimes there is a faint oily patch in the boot lining or behind the rear seat, and the roof has been getting slower for months without anyone quite noticing.

Why it gets misread

A new pump is the first thing most owners are quoted, and it is often the wrong first thing. A ram weeping past its seals, a tired relay inside the pump module, fluid that has slowly leaked away, or a latch microswitch that has stopped reporting will all produce the same stop. Replacing the pump for any of those leaves the fault exactly where it was.

How we fix it

In the workshop we watch which stage of the cycle stops and read what the roof module is seeing, then test the pump, the rams and the switches individually. Leaking rams are rebuilt in-house rather than replaced, a failed relay or switch is replaced on its own. Rebuilt ram or new, genuine pump or a good second-hand one, side by side on the quote with photos of what we found. Then the whole roof is cycled and water-tested before it leaves. If yours is stuck partway right now, don't keep pressing the switch; call first. Covered by our parts & labour warranty, and if the roof ever misbehaves after, you call us first.

Call about a stuck roof Submit an enquiry Roof won't open or close → Hydraulic ram rebuilds →
Fault 02

A window dropped, and now the roof is sulking

Rear quarter windows · regulators

How it shows up

One of the small rear windows has sunk into the body, or stops halfway with a clunk, and since then the roof refuses to begin. The switch clicks, the windows twitch, nothing else happens. On the CLK this is one of the most common ways a roof stops working, and it has nothing to do with the roof itself.

Why it gets misread

It gets quoted as two jobs, a window and a roof, when it is one. The roof lowers all four windows before it moves and checks where each one is as it goes. A rear quarter regulator that has dropped or jammed stops the roof before it has done anything, and the plastic sliders in that regulator are the usual culprit.

How we fix it

We rebuild or replace the regulator, align the glass to the roof seal, initialise the window so the roof knows where it is, then cycle the roof. If it still hesitates after that, the roof gets its own diagnosis, but most of the time the roof was fine all along.

CLK window regulator repair → Call about a dropped window Submit an enquiry
Fault 03

The switch does nothing, or the dash lights up mid-cycle

Roof switch · sensors · boot separator

How it shows up

The roof switch is dead, or the roof starts and then stops with a warning. The boot lid won't release for the roof, or the roof won't fold because the boot separator hasn't been pulled across and the car refuses to go on without it. Sometimes it works on the third try, which is the car telling you a sensor is on its way out.

Why it gets misread

Intermittent faults get expensive fast, because a roof control module gets quoted for what turns out to be a worn switch, a sensor that has moved a millimetre, or a separator flap that isn't being seen. The module is rarely the problem on these cars.

How we fix it

We read the roof's own fault memory with the scan tool, then confirm it by hand: which switch, which sensor, which point in the cycle. The failed part is replaced individually and the roof is cycled through every position to prove the cure. Intermittent faults are given time in the workshop, not guessed at.

Call about a dead switch Submit an enquiry Stuck open right now? Do this first →
Fault 04

Water where it shouldn't be

Drains · seals · rear glass edge

How it shows up

On a CLK this old it is the aged seals as often as the drains: damp carpet behind the front seats, a wet boot floor, a musty smell that won't air out and fog on the inside of the glass on a cold morning, usually after the first big storm of the season. From outside the roof looks perfectly fine.

Why it gets misread

The fabric gets blamed first, and on an old soft top it is an easy guess. Far more often the drains at the rear of the roof well have blocked with leaf litter and the water has found its way into the cabin, or a seal along the side rail has hardened and lifted at one corner.

How we fix it

Water goes over the car in stages until the entry point is visible to you as well as to us, and nothing is quoted before that. Drains cleared and flushed, seals replaced or reseated where they have failed, then tested again before handover. We don't do trimming and won't pretend to, but the drains and seals behind most CLK leaks are ours. Covered by our parts & labour warranty. If the fabric itself has gone, we will tell you straight and point you to a good motor trimmer.

Call about a leak Submit an enquiry Soft-top leaks in detail →

Models we cover

Every CLK cabriolet,
both generations

Two generations, one family of roof. The fixes below apply to all of them, and we stock the parts we use most so the car isn't waiting.

CLK Cabriolet, first generation (A208, late 1990s to 2003)
The original hydraulic soft top. Pumps and rams are the usual arrivals now, along with rear quarter windows that have dropped and roofs that stop because of them. Rams are rebuilt in-house.
CLK Cabriolet, second generation (A209 / W209, 2003 to 2010)
Same idea, better sealing, more sensors. Roof switches, boot separator faults and stops-with-a-warning are the pattern, alongside the same pump, ram and window work as the earlier car.
CLK 200 Kompressor, 230 Kompressor, 240, 280, 320, 350, 430, 500 and the AMG cars
Engine makes no difference to the roof. The CLK 55 and CLK 63 AMG cabriolets use the same roof hardware and get the same treatment.
E-Class and C-Class cabriolets
The CLK's successors from 2010 carry the same hydraulic idea with more sensors and a windbreak system. They have their own page.
SLK and SL hardtops
Different roof entirely: folding steel with its own hydraulics. See the SLK Vario and SL Vario pages.

Not sure which roof yours has? Text us the model and year or call 0418 200 289 and we'll tell you straight away.

How a visit works

Four steps. No surprises.

  1. 1

    Tell us the symptom

    Call 0418 200 289, or text a short video of the roof trying to move to the same number. '2005 CLK 320, roof stops a third of the way and the pump hums' is enough for us to say whether it's one for us and what we'd check first, usually the same business day. The number comes after we have the car in the workshop, not before; a price guessed over the phone is a guess with your money. Then we book a time to look at it.

  2. 2

    We diagnose, you see it

    The roof comes into the workshop. We read the roof module, watch which stage stops, test the pump, rams, switches and windows one at a time, and show you the failed part, photographed for you, before anything is quoted.

  3. 3

    We fix it properly

    Rams rebuilt in-house, pumps repaired or replaced, switches, sensors and regulators replaced individually, OEM or premium aftermarket parts, fitted by factory-trained technicians, with your go-ahead on the quote first. Covered by our parts & labour warranty.

  4. 4

    We rain on it before Sydney does

    No roof leaves on a promise. Cycled through every position, drains flow-tested, seals soaked, cabin checked dry. The water test is why our repairs stay repaired.

What owners say

Repair first, replace last.
Owners notice the difference

★★★★★

“Was recommended to take my Clk320 to him to fix a faulty roof. Was quoted almost $2000 more by Mercedes to fix the same fault. Very happy with the price and workmanship. Would highly recommend for anyone needing convertible repairs to see them”

Mercedes-Benz CLK320 · Faulty roof
★★★★★

“Michael is very professional, knowledgeable and is a specialist in convertible vehicles especially on Mercedes which I highly recommend. He assisted with an electrical repair promptly with my Mercedes soft-top convertible and kept the soft-top motor running very smooth.”

Mercedes-Benz · Soft-top electrical
★★★★★

“It was an absolute pleasure dealing with Michael. With 29 years of experience, he really knows his craft. He was honest, friendly, and did a perfect job fixing the convertible top on my Mercedes. Definitely worth the 1-hour drive to get there. Highly recommended”

Mercedes-Benz · Convertible top

More on the reviews page, or read them on Google.

Straight answers

CLK roof questions
we hear most

If yours isn't here, call. You'll get the same straight answer.

Ask us directly Submit an enquiry
My CLK roof stops halfway and the pump hums. Is it the pump?

Sometimes, but less often than it gets quoted. A pump that hums is usually working; what stops the roof is more often a ram leaking past its seals, low fluid from that leak, a tired relay in the pump module, or a latch switch that has stopped reporting. We test each one on the car before naming the part. Leaking rams are rebuilt here rather than replaced, so you pay for the ram that failed rather than a new pump for a fault the pump never had. If you've already been quoted elsewhere, bring the quote: we test the car, show you what we find, and you compare the two side by side. If they were right, we'll say so. Worst case, you find out exactly what is wrong and decide from there. Best case, it is one part.

The rear window dropped and now the roof won't move. Is that two faults?

Usually one. The roof lowers all four windows before it moves and checks their position as it goes, so a rear quarter regulator that has dropped or jammed stops the roof before it has done anything. On the CLK the plastic sliders in that regulator are the usual cause. We rebuild or replace the regulator, initialise the window, then cycle the roof; most of the time the roof was fine all along. More on the CLK window regulator page.

Do you replace the fabric on a CLK soft top?

No. Fabric, canvas, rear window stitching and re-covering are a motor trimmer's trade and we don't do trimming, and on a CLK we say it early because the canvas is the first thing owners suspect. The pump, the rams, the switches and sensors, the windows, the drains and the seals are ours. If the fabric is the problem, we will tell you straight and suggest a good trimmer.

Is a 20-year-old CLK worth fixing?

In our experience, yes. These roofs were built well, parts are still available, and most faults come down to one component rather than the whole system. A rebuilt ram or a new regulator keeps a good car on the road for years, and the work is covered by our parts & labour warranty. How long you plan to keep the car decides whether a full repair or a smaller one is the honest answer, so we'll ask. In twenty-plus years and more than a thousand roofs we have found very few CLKs that were not worth the money; if we ever find a roof that genuinely isn't worth the money, we'll say so before you spend it, not after.

Does a CLK roof have to go to Mercedes-Benz?

No. Roofs are all we do. The parts catalogue sells the roof in large assemblies, so a new pump or a roof control module is often what gets quoted; our job is to test the pump, the rams, the switches and the windows one at a time in the workshop and replace the one that failed. Leaking rams are rebuilt here rather than replaced. OEM or premium aftermarket parts fitted by factory-trained technicians, water-tested before handover, and covered by our parts & labour warranty.

Visit the workshop

Bring it in, or start
with a text

Address
54/58 Princes Hwy, Arncliffe, Sydney NSW 2205, minutes from Sydney Airport
Hours
Mon–Fri 9am–6pm · Sat 9am–4pm · Sun closed

Start an enquiry

A few details so we can tell you whether it's a job for us and how we'd approach it. By appointment; for most faults, we diagnose before quoting. For urgent enquiries or if we missed you, call 0418 200 289.

Call now Submit an enquiry Submit an enquiry