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Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedans
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aircondition. It will only go away when it has reach the cold temp. The tech told me that this is a very common problem with the E Class and other Benz models. Third, the engine knocks resulting from a bad EGR Valve, replaced but the 'VERY ANNOYING KNOCKS AND PINGS' still there. No more hope !
Till now, It has ran only 9300 kilometers and supposed to be a very new car. But, check these problems. So, take my friendly advice. At the same price catagory, rather consider a LEXUS GS 350 or GS 460 or a BMW 525 or 530. You don't wanna go through the same nightmare I'm having, would you? :sick:
In addition, that car was one of the last MBs sold here in the U.S. that used their I6 engine (the same engine that powered previous models of the E320 and 320 E), and that particular engine seems to be fond of trashing their head-gasket somewhere around the 100,000 mile mark.
WIth those two things in mind, I would jump at the chance to buy her car were I in your shoes, it's a wonderful ride.
Best Regards,
Shipo
1) is MB's faux leather ok? I'm not a great lover of leather in cars, but my experience with vinyl seats is, well, not so great. They're offering 27mo leases, so it doesn't really have to hold up that well, but any opinions appreciated.
2) the Consumer reports ratings are, frankly, pretty impressively bad. I drove and liked the car a lot, but how much trouble do folks have with their e class cars?
My '07 E350 has given me no problems and is rock solid.
I now have a 2001 E320 that is better in many ways because it has a first gear lockout for winter driving as well as ESP (it's first year on the E320) which is barely short of amazing in the way it controls the torque and braking on the individual wheels to help keep you out of trouble and deliver power to the wheel(s) that can handle it.
Shipo is right about the head gasket issue. I had to replace it on my 96 at about 120,000 miles. And another less mentioned, but frequent problem, is the front suspension bushings seem to wear out around the 70-80,000 mile mark. It can be expensive. The one you may buy might have the problem at a lower mileage just due to aging of the rubber. Other than that the 96 was more durable than the 2001 which has had a failed wheel bearing, failed catalytic converters (both!), and a number of other things that did not go wrong on the 96. But it also has had the same front end bushing problem!!
If her car has only 15K miles, you can still get 70-80K wonderful miles. It is a terrific car. Maintenance is a little higher than with the Asian cars; it will need brake pads and rotors at least every 40K miles, but I've never replaced shocks before the 110K mile mark and the E320 is fairly easy on tires for such a big heavy car.
Enjoy the great ride !!!
I served a lemon law notice on MBZ and we are negotiating a new car. Has anyone else had a similar problem?
The gas guage was working fine, until Monday. It started bouncing then just quit. Any ideas?
When I went to pay my bill, the dealer charged $35 to re-set the service light. I protested but they said I authorized it when I signed permission to do the service when I dropped off the car. Note: THEY NEVER TOLD ME THERE WOULD BE A CHARGE FOR THIS and frankly I've never heard of this being done before. They also charged $6 for window washer fluid.
Remember, I was ONLY in for an oil change and filter, not the "service". It's not the money as much as them doing this.
Has anyone ever heard of this or have it happen to them?
-mike
first I-drive. then they take away the dipstick and rely on software to check the oil. then no manual trans on the 335d for USA. who is in charge over there? who ever it is, s/he should be choppered to that rock where the monkey is and left there with a 5 year supply of government cheese. Then chopper the monkey back and install it behind the BMW CEO desk.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Which dealer was it?
Back to the E-class, I'm still pining for a recent year Benz diesel to go with my set of 4 1999 16" E wheels and one scratched Y2k wheel. I've got 2 vehicles now, thinking of trading 2 for 1. E class diesel is on the short-list..
I have had several M-B's and resetting the FSS is usually a simple thing.
It is some variation of having the key in position 2 with the FSS on the dashboard display. Then hold the reset button down for 30 seconds. Again, the routine varies by model. Some you hold down twice and some you move ignition key back and forth.
Oil changes require 9 quarts of Mobil 1 at $6.50 per quart, a $20 fleece oil filter and several o rings and gaskets plus labor. The $100 charge is not out of line but the $35 charge is.
Hope this may help. Shop for a friendlier dealer with a better service manager.
That is the key to happy M-B ownership.
I once complained to M-B when they called to follow up on a service visit that their service manager was not very Lexus like. He was fired the following week.
Oil changes done by others while under warranty are OK so long as the garage uses the Mobil 1 oil.. I've only used my dealer for oil changes maybe twice in 10 years of owning a Mercedes and have never had them refuse any warranty work.
The other point I wanted to make of my resentment toward the dealer was that there was no mention of a charge for this service light reset. It was only noted when I picked up the car. With all my (high end) cars, this was a first for me.
You can email me to my carnaught@carspace.com mailbox for the answer.
Another recent bulletin installed a UV shield on the brake fluid resivoir.
If they didn't replace the dipstick, then filling the crankcase with one quart less hasn't even triggered the FSS any earlier nor has it indicated a low oil level at any time in the last 75K miles... My 1996 E320 did signal low oil a couple of times, but that was run with fossil oil and was also showing full on the dipstick at one quart less (at oil changes) for the life of the car (140K + whatever the next owner did)... I guess the synthetic oil is better than I thought !!
They mentioned "it had been going on for sometime".
Oddly, my 2003 S-430 4-Matic does not have a dip stick; all electronic.
They have gone back to a dip stick.
You mentioned the FSS sensor. I had a "99 ML 320 that showed "oil low."
There was a bullitin on faulty oil pan sensors back then. It was corrected and a free oil change ensued.
Hope this is of some help.
Paul.
Thanks for your help.
On the other hand, your dealer did that work at really good prices. Normally you would be paying about $6-700 total for the front pads and rotors at most dealers..
Brakes are wear items as someone else mentioned and Mercedes will only pay for rotors if they fail prematurely due to a manufacturing defect and 45K miles is not premature to them. And a friend of mine had all four rotors replaced on his 2001 E320 when it was less than 4 years old with just 26K miles and Mercedes refused to pay for any of it even though the rotors had voids in the casting that were causing the premature wear..!!!
All of which is why I just traded my 01 E320 for an 09 Mazda6 GT sedan.. We retirees can't afford the repair bills on a Mercedes after Starmark runs out....
So I'm off to the Mazda6 forum... I'll miss the Mercedes ride, but not much else...
As the market continues to slide I'm starting to like that dent in my 2000 E320 trunk lid...may keep it.
Even at a $12,000 discount on a new 09, I found the car lacking in many features which should be standard at this level. While they all had package 1, many features were lacking-rear view camera, parking sensors, ventilated seats, Xenon headlights with AFS, premium audio, dual chrome ehausts (regular), etc.
Mercedes should be able to do better than this at the prices they charge, even when discounted hevily.
Not that if you live very far north of the equator, depending on your relationship to the magnetic pole, or if you have some significant magnetic anomalies, it may never read right. The fuse probably controls the self-dimming as well, so that isn't a solution.
1989 MB 260E. It is a one owner Florida car that checks out. This is from the era of "over engineered cars" that have a rep of being difficult to maintain. I have a woman friend, age 40, who needs a daily driver for local drives. There are two Bosch shops nearby with good reputations. Should I suggest she consider this car knowing it will need closer attention to maintenance details? I can buy it for $3500 and suggest she budget another $2000 to clean up mechanical details. This is one very nice car and she is on a budget.