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Comments
The gas cap thing is reasonably common - even after you correct it, the light won't go out until the engine has been started and stopped ["cycled"] some number of times. It's possible the cap needs to be replaced, but not likely. Simply taking it off, and reseating it properly, should do the job, assuming the gasket is good, but the CEL won't go out immediately. It's not a huge expense to replace it, assuming it is not actually something else in the fuel system that is the real culprit.
Never, ever, hm ?
In Germany MB is replacing complete doors and liftgates because of their insufficient rustproffing. This is on C- and E- Class cars of production years 1998-
But they only do this if your had all inspections and oil changes with THEM :-)
Thanks to Mr Schrempp MB saved way more than they could afford on the once stellar corosion protection and now they rust like Italian cars used to. People in Europe are reporting holes rusted from the inside out near their rear license plates etc.
When I look at my 02 C320 Wagon I see that the hatch must have gotten some water in it, as there are water traces on the inside through the latch and already some small amount of rust on the clamp and metal protector.
Ths is in Southern California !
PS: Any bets on whether MBUSA will replace the backdoor when a hole rusted through it ?
In Europe, the press has been full of reports and complaints from angry M-B owners with disintegrating Cs and Es. From what I hear, my experience with a 2000 model Mercedes Benz E Class 320 Elegance is pretty typical.
My car has major surface rust on its bonnet (hood !), rear wings + wheelarches, all four doors, and the rear tailgate. In addition, the roof and bonnet are peppered with small blisters under the paint, all of which are heading towards eruptions of one kind or another. MB assure me these are 'stone chips' - utter nonsense of course, but that's MB for you.
Recent model Mercedes cars (particularly Cs, Es, CLs and CLKs) corrode like a 1972 Fiat.
A switch to water-based paint around 2000 and an insane attempt to improve falling profit margins by reducing paint specs to just 100 microns (250 would be appropriate for a decent car) has caused enormous problems for MB - or more accurately, for owners of its poorly built cars.
Initially, the firm quietly undertook to replace entire panels, but during 2004, there was a switch of policy to a quick shot-blast and 'blow-over' with paint. Dealers are allowed just a couple of hours labour + materials for each panel, so MB's spend per rusty panel is probably around £50.00 ($90). Nice savings for MB, and a guarantee of further rot in future for the hapless owner.
Of course, many of us have 30 year perforation warranties on our cars. Sadly, this is of little help. For starters, most MB rust is due to the appalling paint quality - rust rarely starts from the inside, so there is often no 'perforation' at all, just a spreading eyesore of flaking, disintegrating paint. This allows MB to duck its responsibilities at any time it chooses. Most rust repairs being conducted by MB at present are 'goodwill' repairs.
In any event, miss just one dealer service and your 30 year warranty is void.
The result, of course, is that residuals on MB cars are now very poor. I was offered just £8,500 ($15k) by an MB dealer for my July 2000 E-class estate - original list around £48k ($90k). This is the worst depreciation figure I have ever seen for any car, regardless of make or model.
How sad it is to see a 'quality' carmaker lose its way so quickly.
Smart Car anyone?
Am I wrong for being upset about having to replace the rotors? Couldn't I have avoided this if I replaced the brake pads when there was 15% wear remaining on them?
I am confused why MB would not consider the rotor damage in determining when to advise the owner to come in for service. Any thoughts?
It would help if you specified the miles on the car, when judging if there is anything amiss here. If you have anything between 25k and 40k miles, you're well within the envelope. I expect to go 50k on our '02 C240, but our miles are almost all freeway, with most of it long trips.
Everything about brakes involves how the car is used; I can assure you from my experience with our car, I see no sign that the brakes are wearing at anything but a normal pace, even a bit better than average when put up against our recent Honda products.
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Mercedes includes your first service visit @ between 1,000 & 3,000 miles (Safety Check), and you will get a tire rotation @ 6,000 miles. Your car will tell you when to come in for your next visit, usually @ 14,000 miles. And it will be for your service "A", 'B", or "C". Since the car adapts to your driving style, and habits, I can't tell you for sure when that would be exactly. You will be responsible for those service visits. Mercedes-Benz took great pains to ensure that your service visits will be as few as possible, and the costs are reasonable.
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My car had approximately 25K miles, mostly highway. The wear seemed normal, just wasn't used to having to replace the rotors under normal conditions. This is my first Eurpean auto.
I love the car, but the maintenance is costly.
Also, I am not familiar with your model, but mine has different tires in the front and rear and, thus, I was not able to rotate my tires.
I agree that $500 a year is a reasonable guess for the routine stuff, with wear items over and above. This is not a cheap car to maintain, but that is true of all the Germans, period. Ours came with the maintenance prepaid for 4/50, a program they dropped in 2005. (Only BMW now plans to continue to offer included maintenance - all the others have either dropped it or have announced plans to do so.)
I have a 1998 C280 with 106,000 miles. Yesterday while driving, the turn signals completely stopped working (moving the stalk doesn't turn them on). I tried the hazard switch and that is also non-operational. I checked the fuses (#1 & #10) and they are fine (Voltmeter). Does anybody have any suggestions?
Thanks
Thanks in advance - Mike
Thanks in advance - Mike
The 2000 silver C230 I traded for had no paint issues in the 6 years I owned it.
- Paul
We sold the C-Class because we have too many cars, now down to 2 Toyotas, a '93 pickup with 227,000+ miles and a 2005 Avalon (near-Lexus, more power than the C230 with better gas mileage). Maintenance on the MB was out of sight, $287.00 for an A service where the only two things *done* were an oil and filter change and replacement of cabin air filter - scheduled by MB at every maintenance interval, believe it or not!!! Oh, and lots of "checks": tire pressure, ww fluid, coolant, etc. Nothing I couldn't do in our garage. Oh, and 200 miles later the rear wheel bearing breaks on the turnpike in Boston rush hour traffic, the $287.00 checks did not catch that!!
I can change the oil and filters in my Toyotas for less than $15.00 each, and if the mileage of the truck is any indication, these may very well be the last autos my wife and I will ever need before we're dead and buried. I need to write the truck and Avalon into our will, was hoping it would be our MB but that's not how it turned out.
I realize MB is an expensive car to maintain - I am not complaining. Just wish MB could be more reasonable about the services they actually perform. I have no problem spending a large sum of money when a large amount of *work* is actually done. Oh, and the last two times they did not update my warranty book, I had to bring the car back to them in order to get the book stamped. I don't mean any disrespect, but for $287.00, isn't that the least they could do?
I know, only an MB is an MB, and I will be missing out on that. For this, I am sad. They are beautiful machines, so solid. Sure wish I could have my red 1995 C220 back. It's old enough that I could have it serviced independently, which would make all the difference.
Thanks jrct9454, billp8, and Pat for your help while I owned the car. Going forward I'll be in the Toyota Avalon and Pickup forums.
- Paul
I FINALLY got this problem fixed by MB dealer after bringing it in 4 times. I was so furious because the "Check Engine" light comes on each time this happens, and the overly-bright flashing amber fuel light was getting annoying at night.
In any case, it is most probably the fuel pressure sensor leaking. I cannot remember the exact piece, but I'll check for you. For some reason they did a systems check, the computer reported that it failed and they gave it back to me on my 3rd visit. They also forgot the computer report in my back seat. So armed with this, I forced them to replace the piece on their dime during my 4th visit.
Good luck.
g
Does anyone know what this service entails, and what I can expect to pay?
I have an 02 C230 sport coupe with around 24K miles.
Thanks!
Schedule A service includes checks of exterior and interior lighting, windshield wiper and washer fluids and system, brake pads inspection, correction of tire inflation and tire damage checks, oil and filter change, fluid level check and correction, engine cooling system and brake system inspection, battery condition check, and engine hood and latch inspection.
In Suburban Chicago, Schedule A service runs about $150.00. It may be less where you live.
Hope this helps.
My car is barely 2 years old w/ a 25k mileage. Early last year, I got both rear tires replaced because there were nails found in them. This time around, just 1.5 years later, I was told that all 4 tires needed to be replaced, plus the front brake pads and rotors.
The following day, I was scheduled to pick up my car in the afternoon. At noon-ish, the service technician called to say that the camber screws also need replacing. I expressed my conern in having to replace all these parts so soon and he kinda quickly told me that all these wear items were worn out in a short amount of time due to the way I was driving... I'm still not sure whether I buy it, but in the end, the damage was a whopping $2,000.
Anyone share a similar bad experience? Can I get these services done outside of a MB dealer?
jaguar2000
And unfortunately if you do the oil change yourself, the computer will still show that you're overdue for service, becaquse only MB can reset the computer.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Jackg
I'd suggest you go to a specialty audio shop and have them slip the radio out (they have the tools to do it quickly) and see if there is a fuse behind it). If they say the radio is no good, then you are in the right place for a quick replacement without paying double labor for buttoning up the console again.
Probably they can sell you a radio that will sound better anyway.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Thanks!
The details are:-
Turn ignition key to position 1 on the starter switch
Push buttons on left hand side of steering wheel (the ones showing 2 rectangles overlapping) until trip meter showing miles and total miles appear.
Then press arrows until service indicator appears.
Then press reset button (located at left hand side of instrument cluster) for about 2 seconds.
Then follow instructions, depending on which service interval was done.
I hope it helps. I did it once. It took a few attempts to make it work.