B-Service - 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited July 2014 in Mercedes-Benz
imageB-Service - 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG Long-Term Road Test

We brought our 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG to a dealership for its first scheduled service. This included B-Service and rear differential fluid replacement.

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Comments

  • cjasiscjasis Member Posts: 274

    I know I'm going to get flamed for this but so be it... my old man is disabled and it drives me bat crap crazy when we can't find parking becasue folks abuse the disabled parking. Is there some reason why your MB is parked in a handicapped spot? I don't see a plate or a placard on the car.

  • yellowbalyellowbal Member Posts: 234

    @cjasis, it looks like the dealership parked the car. Note the cone-like object on top of the car.

  • iamthestigiamthestig Member Posts: 85

    Given the green number box on the roof, my guess is that the dealership's valet parked it there at some point during the service or afterwards.

    @cjasis said:
    I know I'm going to get flamed for this but so be it... my old man is disabled and it drives me bat crap crazy when we can't find parking becasue folks abuse the disabled parking. Is there some reason why your MB is parked in a handicapped spot? I don't see a plate or a placard on the car.

  • evodadevodad Member Posts: 135

    Out of curiosity, do they break that $488 down by service? Because I'd love to know how much just the oil change and filter change were individually, sounds like on the low side there's $300 in charges for 'inspections'

  • ttopjohnttopjohn Member Posts: 25

    Sound dampener - can you expand on that? What subsystem of the car is that a part of? Could be a few different things. Also, come on, you're not changing the trunk struts? Even after an MB Technician commenter has repeatedly told you that it will damage the auto trunk closing /opening mechanism?

  • mercedesfanmercedesfan Member Posts: 365

    By "sound dampener" do you guys by chance mean the transmission tunnel insulation? If so, I wouldn't really consider that elective. That piece of insulation is what prevents sound from the driveshaft from entering the cabin. As it ages it begins to expand/droop and comes into contact with the driveshaft. This usually causes a whirring/rubbing sound. If allowed to go unresolved that piece of insulation can actually fall from the transmission tunnel and wrap around the driveshaft. At worst that leads to a massive mechanical failure at best it causes one of the onboard speed sensors to falsely read that an accident has occurred and will deploy the airbags. It is beyond rare for any of that to happen, but it CAN. That is a repair I have addressed right away on all of our Bimmers and Benzes. Why take the risk? Then again, this could be something completely different in which case I retract my previous comments.

  • cjasiscjasis Member Posts: 274
    edited July 2014

    @yellowbal said:
    cjasis, it looks like the dealership parked the car. Note the cone-like object on top of the car.

    I missed that and I'm glad it likely wasn't the folks at Edmunds. Still, shame on the dealership.

  • allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878

    @mercedesfan said:
    By "sound dampener" do you guys by chance mean the transmission tunnel insulation? If so, I wouldn't really consider that elective. That piece of insulation is what prevents sound from the driveshaft from entering the cabin. As it ages it begins to expand/droop and comes into contact with the driveshaft.

    I didn't know this failed or had to be replaced on a regular basis. Maybe Mercedes should buy some glue from Ford. Ford has produced millions of Fox/Panther RWD platforms, most with several hundred thousand hard miles as cabs and police cruisers, and I have never heard of insulation wrapping around the drive shaft. And no I have never looked to see if there was insulation but I'm sure Granny's ultra quiet Town Car had plenty of sound deadening insulation.

  • mercedesfanmercedesfan Member Posts: 365

    @allthingshonda,

    Actually, pretty much all RWD cars have some type of transmission tunnel insulation and it is replaced as part of normal maintenance. And yes, if not properly maintained it can fall from the tunnel on ANY car and cause problems. It is exceptionally rare, as I said, but there are documented cases of it happening on American cars, European cars, and even Japanese cars. The repair is usually not very expensive, though, so people don't think much of it. BMW and MB are about the only ones who charge nearly $1k to replace a stupid piece of foam.

  • schen72schen72 Member Posts: 433

    Thank you Edmunds, for confirming that I could never own a high end Mercedes. I get extremely upset when I discover a rattle on my car, so I cannot imagine how upset I'd be at being bent over for repairs every few months.

  • miedenmieden Member Posts: 75

    This is where the term "stealership" is coined. Thats an outrageous amount of money for an oil change and inspection. Im not even counting the air filter replacement...that quite literally takes 10 min and a torx bit. Anyone dumb enough to pay it deserves the reaming theyre getting. Just for kicks, B-service on 215 and 220 is $210 where i work and includes a cabin filter.

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