Mercedes-Benz M-class (ML320, ML350, ML500 and ML55) 2005 and earlier

biker5

Just picked up my toy from dealer due to center console leather bubbled as I mentioned yesterday. Fixed under warranty.Now its smooth again like a babies butt. :-)) good friday to ya all.

anhu1

Thanks, Biker5. I need a little more info about this. You mean mounting the fog lamps to the grill guard is the pain or running the wires to the fusebox or aux button inside? Also, the OEM fog lights from the dealer is PIAA series 520, right? That what I noticed in the accessories list.

biker5

I'm sorry if I confused you.. What I'm talking about is the H3 bulb that you can install inside the headlight housing..That's the pain to install. But if you are going to use the PIAA 520 from the dealer and you will install it to your front grill, NOW that's a piece of cake. The fog light kit should come with the wiring harness that will fit exactly to the wiring harness thats already pre-wired to the vehicle, and can be found behind the grill of the ML...which is hiding behind the black
rubber flap on you right hand side if you are facing the hood... its a blue connector with a black cap. Its easy and its fun doing it yourself.

Also, you don't need to run any wire to the fuse box because its all pre-wired if you are going to used a OEM fog kit. BUT...if you are going to install a diffirent light, thats a diffirent story, you are going to run a new wiring with relay and can be control by diffirent switch. Like what dt77 said....You can e-mail me if you still need some info.

gpvs

Okay, I got my ML back and was wondering where in the dash is the indicator that the aux lights are on? The SA told me that there's no indicator inside the car, so I asked him, how will I know whether it's on or not? He told me that I can look from the reflection the light is projecting. He said there's no indicator as far as he knows. He even said, "that's german engineering for ya, sometimes they over engineer it", but still does not answer my question. Is he right? I thought I read here somewhere that there's an indicator inside. I just don't have enough time right now, i'm mr. mom tonight. I'll have to do a little research tomorrow.

kenyee

Your SA proves that he's the one who needs an hour to connect a laptop up and run a few menus ;-)
Yes, it's there. It's under a separate menu ("dash" I think). It's a reaaaaaaaalllllly brighhhhhht green light if you turn the aux lights on.

biker5

kenyee is right, it'sssssssssssss there. turn your key to #2 position without starting the car..all the cluster light indicator/warning light should be on.. its a green one just right below the clock adjusting button. But..I'll tell you this I have mine on but I cover it up with a black tape because its too bright for my eyes, but still I can see the green glimps of green light when I turn on my fog. Tell your SA that one of his tech need to re-train. good day Homie.

ctic

I don't know why it is. I would think that the same fluid is used in all MBs, but only my ML has that smelly odor when I wash the windshield.

gpvs

Thanks for the info. I'll print this page out as reference when i talk to my SA. And to think that they should at least know a tad more stuff than the average person. Oh,well, thank goodness for this forum. Thanks a lot, guys.

tonychrys

Did you get your ML back? Is the vibration gone? (keeping my fingers crossed)

gpvs

I was not able to test it at the same speeds as a few days ago, it was raining really hard here so traffic was bad. I'll test it tomorrow. I'll let you know. Thanks for asking.

mlx52

Today while driving the MCS screen displayed a message reading SOS workshop. I know that this is related to the Tele-aid system malfunctioning, but I was wondering what would cause this message to be displayed. The car is going into the dealer on Wednesday.

Thanks
Jamie

dt77

I acutally have a pic on my site...in gallery.

bright green light. it's labelled cellphone+console

dt77

http://fullspeed.to/ml

gpvs

Thanks, dt77. I checked your site and if you don't mind, I'm printing that picture to show to my SA the next time I see him.

gpvs

Duh, I just opened the manual and they have it there on page 71 and 82. Hmmm....makes you wonder what the SA's on those dealerships knows and don't.

I'm more mad at myself now for not doing a little research before asking them to do such a thing especially after what they forgot to do. Oh well, life's too short to worry about little things like this.

redgoatee7

Hey,

Even though you've probably seen every spy pic of the 2002 ML (and the official pic in that German pdf file)...go to www.4car.co.uk and click on Spy Shots under Top Stories. Later guys.

Todd

redgoatee7

Hey,

My parents gave me their ML to use for a semester at school, and some little minor annoyances have developed. It's 1500 miles from its B-service (it's my mom's car...it only has 22K on it), so my parents were planning to bring it to our dealer soon anyway. Just want some input on some of these things...

1) The trip computer has stopped working completely. Could this just be a fuse or is it broken?

2) When I got home, I hand washed the ML...and then of course it rained heavily the next day. Now, there is water sloshing around somewhere on the left side of my ML. It's been a week since, and the water is still there. It can be heard accelerating from rest and coming to a stop. Where could water have collected? Could it be the side steps...are they hollow?

3) My ML has always been doing this...when the car is on and playing a CD (it has the Bose option), when the volume is turned down low, there is a high picthed buzzing noise (that's the best I can describe it). At normal volume, you can't hear it, but between tracks it is evident.

4) I can't really describe this, but there seems to be a ticking coming from the front of the car. It get progressively faster and faster when building speed...but can be heard when moving slowly. My brother's Neon (which is thankfully sold...feels weird bringing up a Neon when talking about an ML) had a similar problem which turned out to be a loose brake pin.

Otherwise, the ML320 is great. Great in the snow, carries all my stuff to and from school, etc. etc. No major problems, just these little annoyances (guess you have to deal with owning one of the first). Sorry for the long post!

Todd

4books

I have asked 3 separate dealers, each of whom do not know the answer, a simple question... Can the 3rd row seat be removed entirely, instead of just folded up, and is it easy to do? Can any owners tell me?

whatwasthat

You can remove the 3rd row seats entirely, and quite easily, although the seats are a bit on the heavy side (which makes them safe, no?).

dt77

no problem, glad to have helped.

dt77

melissaomaha

djdj

I came, I testdrove, I bought.
Wish it were nicer here today so I'd have an excuse to open the roof and drive somewhere.
Yesterday I bought a 2000 ML320 with 19K miles, black, ash leather and the skyview roof (which proved to be much better than I expected.) I did add one year to the Starmark warranty to bring the years to where the mileage would hit 100K. I testdrove it in the pouring rain and it was a still great drive; solid, surefooted, smooth.
The day before I drove a new RX300 and the used M-B was no noiser (Lexus has wind noise around the outside mirrors, the M-B around the skyview roof) and just as smooth riding. But you drive the M-B, the Lexus you just steer. When you get behind the wheel in the ML, the gearshift falls into hand. In the Lexus, its that odd lever in the middle of the dashboard that you have to reach for, almost an inconvenience.
Even the buy experience was good. My wife hates that part of carbuying and she said "this wasn't painful at all". The saleswoman was never pushy, even thought my kids were cute when they set off the alarm on the SLK in the showroom (nice car), and got my coffee order right. They were much fairer on the trade-in than the Lexus offer was and didn't try to switch me to new like the Lexus salesman. It came from Motorcars East in Bedford, Ohio, saleswoman Kathy Stape.
I actually like the cruise control lever, I would like steering wheel controls for the radio but don't think its that far to reach (Lexus lacks them too), would prefer autotemp but am willing to swap that for drive orientation of the car. Lexus has the little things, Mercedes has the soul.
I am glad to be on the "bought side" of the messages now and just hope my wife doesn't appropriate it too soon.

4books

Good. thanks 4 ur help

thor8

Congratulations on your purchase and welcome aboard.

Mellisa, that is a tough one, I have a 99 ML430 and no extended, I think my ML will go pass 200k with no problems on engine and drive, Mercedes if well mantained will eat many miles, some small things may fail but I am not worried about, I will deal with them as they come, if they come.

whatwasthat

Just bought new '01 ML320, and noticed a couple of things. Firstly, after shutdown, a small, fan-like noise emanates from deep inside the engine compartment -- anyone know what this is? (lasts several minutes -- definitely not the radiator fans, which are large and observable, and does not click like a fuel pump) Secondly, the air temperature dial seems to get quite a bit hotter to the touch after an hour long drive than either the fan speed or air directional dials -- anybody else notice this or understand why?

Love the car/truck by the way!

biker5

Don't worry that is normal...the sound you are hearing is the coolant pump which was the engine design to run for a few minutes to recirculate the coolant inside the engine,if you open your hood you will see the coolant going back up to the reservoir.. for this thing you don't have to worry. About the air temp dial, I'm not sure on this one because I don't have a dial temp on ML2000. Maybe Drew or Kenyee can help you on this one. Sorry.

gpvs

Finally got to test the ML yesterday and the vibration is gone. It's got to be the missing lug nut. I looked at the invoice they gave me and they just test drove the car and didn't find the vibration after putting back the lug nut. Thanks.

bargamon

I read the V-class is not comming unil '09???

I am not suggesting we carry on till then, but I was under the impression this was to be built in the Alabama plant, and be here around '04. The plant I believed did have some mini-van capacity as was the plan before the purchase of Chrysler.

The V-class Will have sliding doors, full time 4wd and is slated to be a hybrid beweens the SUV and mini van. This has always been the type of vehicle I would be interested, sort of the best of both worlds. I love our ML, but its wonderful off road capacity is not very useful to us as we aspire to stay ON the road. The E-class wagon 4matic is also wonderful but very expensive. The V-class fits in between.

Just was wondering if any body knows of any info floating around, or conceptual drawings. If 09' is target, then my kids will have aged out of by then.

Oh, 16 days after b service light came on and oxygen sensor needed replacement.

mikestaley

Email me directly, I'll share a thought about saving $ and the Warranty.

Mike
Y2K ML 320 I/25K miles

tonychrys

Enjoy the miles!

whatwasthat

Thanks for the info on the coolant pump. BTW, by air temperature dial, I just mean the middle HVAC dial that goes, clockwise, from blue through white to red -- no actual degree markings. It only heated up after an hour plus-long drive.

rjlim

Hello melissaomaha. Congratulations on your new ML and welcome. It's nice to know somebody from the same town in here.

ctic

Is the V-class going to be bigger than the ML?

biker5

Yes it is. It is a real passenger VAN close to VW vanagon with the big three pointed star on front grill. If you want to see the pic. visit the wolfgang web site it is posted at MBworld.org.

dantlo

Hi everyone! I am new on this board. I test drove a ML320 2001 yesterday. My lease is up on my wife's Bimmer 98'528. They have pretty good leases going right now, but I am not quite certain about the reliablty on the ML, the sunroof was very noisy when flip up. The brake feels a little rubbery also. Anyone have noticed the same on their car as an owner? The car drives ok for me as an SUV but I did not take it on the freeway. Is the ride bumppy on the freeway?

Thanks

drew_

The V-class is currently a large van (VW Eurovan-size) sold only in Europe. MB will supposedly be coming out with a compact van called the Vito in Sept 2001, but only for Europe. The MB minivan will be based on the next generation M-class W164 platform. Since this platform is still in development and the next generation M-class won't be out till 2005, it makes sense that it will take MB some time to develop the van off the W164 as well.


http://www.mercedes-benz.com/e/rv/default.htm

drew_

The next generation M-class will supposedly be available in two wheelbases...the latter will be more comfortable for longer trips in the 3rd row. It will NOT be a full-sized SUV though since MB has said that they don't want to compete in that segment, and besides, there is actually a downward sales trend in those vehicles right now.

drew_

Congrats on your new ML and welcome to the group, this time on the other side of the "fence" as an owner :-)

Biker5 has already perfectly explained the coolant pump huming to you. The only thing that I can add to that its purpose is to prevent hot spots in the aluminum alloy engine block.

Regarding the temperature control, I think (I really haven't noticed) mine gets a tad warm to the touch too. Not the dial, but the blue/white/red area. However, I've always assume that its because my lights (DRLs) are on all of the time. No problems whatsoever.

drew_

Congrats to you too, and welcome to the M-class topic! Glad to hear that you had a good purchasing experience.

Regarding the climate control system, it may interest you to know that it is already is a semi-automatic system. This means that you select the desired temperature via the middle knob (yes, the only thing not present is the temperature markings), as well as the fan speed and then leave it. There is a sensor in the dash (it's behind that little grid in between the low range and foglamp switches) that will adjust the temperature of the airflow to match.

drew_

If you haven't done so already, please feel free to introduce yourself in the M-class owner's club area, in the "Meet the members topic". Also, you can post any pictures of your new ride in the Photo gallery topic over there. Finally, any good/bad sales or service experiences can be posted in the dealer & service experiences topic.

I hope to see you all in the weekly MB Tuesdays chat at 6-7pm Pacific/9-10pm Eastern. The link to the chat as well as the owner's club will always be at the top of this discussion topic (just under the topic title) for easy reference.
http://www.edmunds.com/chat/mercedeschat.html


Drew
Host
Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards

whatwasthat

Thanks for the response. In our case, the actual knob itself got quite warm (not today after 35 minute trip, though), and no DRL's here in the States. I had not felt the dial. FWIW, the knob had been in the blue sections for the entire trip. I would just like to ensure that no electrical connections are getting too hot or shorting back there.

Chris

sshowitt

I am sure that someone has turned you on to Lisa at Courtesy Motors for your warranty. Any questions please feel free to contact me. Real nice to do business with.

anhu1

Thanks Biker5 for the useful info about the installation. I am waiting for the delivery of my front grill guard and side steps. Do you think that only PIAA 520 comes with the wire harness that would fit the pre-wired harness?

Thanks again.

anhu1

I have an '01 ML430 and it just got a few hundred miles on it. However, I recently noticed that there's some sort of a noise on the driver's side. I checked around the dashboard but nothing was suspected. I then checked under the hood while the engine running. I can hear that noise but don't know exactly where it came from. I looked at the engine cooler reservoir and saw the coolant inside kind of circulating. I think maybe that's the noise? Anyone familiar with this noise?

drew_

Please refer to these messages:
whatwasthat Jun 3, 2001 7:38pm

biker5 Jun 3, 2001 9:46pm

drew_ Jun 4, 2001 12:11pm

anhu1

Thanks, Drew. This noise I have is not after turning off the engine, but while the engine is idling. Do you think it's worth to have it checked by the dealer? Thanks.

biker5

Yes, it should come with the factory wiring harness, just plug it in.. secure it with the plastic tie wrap provided thats it. take it to the dealer and have your dash board switch activated. I paid $38.00 just for that switch, but some folks they got their switch activated for FREE.. Good luck..BTW where are you getting your Grill is it from the dealer.If you can wait for a little bit longer you can get it thru online purchase, if you want to save a little.Let say 20 to 30 off dealer price.

Anhu1 About the noise.. is it coming from the rear?..like some sort of whinning sound,if it does have your dealer check the fuel pump, it could be bad.

anhu1

Biker5, I ordered the WAAG Front grill guard and tail light guards thru AutoAccessories.com. I paid about $400 for the grill and $150 for the tail lights. Do you think it's a good deal or not? They said it's very easy to put on. About the noise, it is not from the rear but the front on the driver's side.

djdj

Tks for the info on the A/C section. It'll be a new switch to play with.
Today finally got sunny so at lunch I took a co-worker for a ride, opened the skyview roof and cruised around. Its great! With the roof open and the windows closed there is very little breeze in the car, even on the highway doing about 55 (too much traffic).

djdj

The ML has a very smooth highway ride. Even on the bumpy roads in Cleveland the ML absorbs the irregularities and is never floaty. I testdrove it on the same highway as an RX300 and the ML was just as smooth and quiet. The RX had very noticable windnoise around the mirrors, the ML from the skyview roof (I've heard the regular sunroof is quieter).
You always feel in control of an ML and even though you are high like other SUV's it never has a tippy, leaning sensation. Its never harsh over bumps.
The best way I can describe the vehicle is that you keep looking for errands to run or places to go just to get back in it.

scott902

Hello,

Been away from message board here for awhile.

I bought a second car, 2001, Camry Gallery Series, metallic pearl white, with gray metallic. Nice car, all made in Japan, as well as a great price over $4k, off, I don't care they are changing the body in 2002. I can't pass up a bargain.

Had ML in for A service, service advisor said that,mobil 1, filter, air filter included. Tires only get rotated not balanced.

When I went home I found the tires never rotated?

I'll go to local tire place and have balanced as well, since rotation without balance is half a job.