‘Sounds like John Deere’: Woman takes her Mercedes to her mechanic. Then she realizes he’s not allowed to open the hood

A Las Vegas-based lawyer is accusing Mercedes-Benz of using tactics that make it difficult to open the hoods of its vehicles.

The video in question was posted to the Creeky Stories (@lelonganlaminh) account on TikTok on Dec. 27, though it originated on the Las Vegas-based Personal Injury Law's YouTube channel.

The YouTube video, posted on Dec. 10, has amassed more than 136,000 views there, while the TikTok has garnered more than 259,000 views as of Sunday morning.

As he relayed in a video put up earlier this month, the German automaker has a hood design that makes it difficult for owners to open their own hoods, in the interest of only letting certified Mercedes mechanics open their cars.

"Is Mercedes just done with right-to-repair laws and requiring all repair dollars to be kept at the Mercedes dealership?" the lawyer, Tom Friedman, asked. "Or is Mercedes trying to figure out a new way to keep the public safe by barring them from doing any work or cleaning on their vehicles?"

In it, Friedman claims that the Mercedes EQS has a hood with a hood latch hidden behind a plastic panel to access. He also points out, "And then if you raise the hood, there's nothing to hold the hood up, so you've got to go find a stick or a friend or something to keep the hood up."

Friedman told the Daily Dot that "the video was inspired by a call from [his] sister."

"She let me know the coolant light was illuminated in her Mercedes, and asked what to do. I wrench on my own cars, so I did my best to help, and it led to the video," he said.

"My channel is mostly about personal injury info with some car related content sprinkled in as cars are my hobby," he added. "I don’t like car manufacturers locking out independent shops and vehicle owners from maintaining their own vehicles, so I wanted to put this out there."

Is Mercedes keeping you from opening your car hood?

Road & Track, when the EQS first came out in 2021, praised it as the automaker's "most important car in decades," but also commented on the oddity of a hood that won't readily open.

"Don’t simply pop the hood and expect to be impressed," the writer said. "In fact, that can’t be done with the EQS. There is no latch for the front compartment. Doesn’t exist. You’re not supposed to look or touch this car’s innards."

The article does note that there is a "strange little port" on the driver's side of the vehicle where you put windshield wiper fluid. Other than that, you're supposed to leave the inside of the car alone.

An online forum on electric Mercedes vehicles does let people know how to get at it, though.

"I just opened mine today to throw on the red nose for wifey," one shared about the EQE Sedan. "There’s a black stud you can pop out with a screwdriver and the plastic flap will pop out.

"The only difference is that instead of the traditional red MB lever, it’s a metal string that you just hold and pull to open the hood," the user continued. "Took me awhile to figure out what to do with it but I played around and got it to work."

Another post on the EQS hood revealed, "There is no safety release on the front edge of the hood. It can simply be lifted up. There are no gas struts to help lift the hood and keep it in the open position. The hood can be lifted to a complete vertical position."

What TikTok added to the conversation

The video making its way to TikTok brought forth some different conversations.

"Hood latch is a monthly subscription," quipped one.

Someone responded, "That wouldn't surprise me at all."

"Sounds like John Deere," someone else observed.

Another user said, "You can work on John Deere yourself. I have John Deere products and I do all the repairs myself. And you can buy after-market parts for the engine too."

"I won't buy any car if I can't open the hood!" one asserted.

"It’s an EV, so there’s no engine under there," a respondent offered along with a shrug emoji.

@lelonganlaminh

youtube/Precision Injury Law

♬ original sound - Creeky Stories

The Daily Dot has reached out to Mercedes-Benz via email.

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The post ‘Sounds like John Deere’: Woman takes her Mercedes to her mechanic. Then she realizes he’s not allowed to open the hood appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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