My E-Class is a Lemon!

mbjunk

What a $56000+ piece of junk I bought. At 8500 miles I get a check oil level at next refueling message. So the next morning I check the level and it is fine. About 2/3's high on the min/max line. So i figured no big deal I'll just stop by the dealer and see if it is something i need to worry about. They say the need to do an oil consumption test on the motor.This is basically topping off the oil and driving it for 2000 miles and rechecking the level. Sounds reasonable to me. Four hundred miles later the message comes back again. Oh by the way the message could not be found on the computer. It should be there from what I understand but nope no message. The dealers service manager and service director say if no message appears they can not fix it, and I need to drive the car for the remainder of the 2K test. I had to take a picture of the message in order to prove it existed. Then they can't fix a rattle inside the car after four attempts. The problem took thrre times to fix after numerous heated discussions about why they could not fix it. It turned out to be a faulty wire harnes to the oil sensor. This resulte in the reoval of the oil pan,alternator belts and other partsunder the hood. The rattle was a found somewhere in the panoramic roof. Just this weekend the radio/nav/ command center started to malfunction. It shut itself off for no reason, again no codes where there should be. I also have had my rack and pinion steering replaced.After two complaints about grinding and rattling around turns. The vehicle still makes noises when making K turns. And to top off my wonderful experience at "Recovery Racing" Massapequa Park, Long Island, New York they damaged my vehicle by putting two holes in the rear bumper. Thank God for my 3M clear Bra. After five weeks I am still waiting for a $300 check I paid for the repair.Do not trust this dealership, especially the service director,service manager and GM. I was promised return calls form them today and have received none.They are good at one thing though, repeating the corporate line "I'm sorry about your problems". I'll look into it and get back to oyu. What a joke..... on me for owning not leasing.

aeggroup

Hi.

I have the same car and I leased it about 3 months ago from Long Island dealer - Lakeview Mercedes. Up to now no any problem, but mine has about 3K miles now. What is the name of the service center that pisses you off ??

Thanks.

mbjunk

Mercedes Benz of Massapequa. They suck. I have no confidence in them at all. You know the expression s#$% runs downhill, well all they do is apologize from the GM down to the service manager. I'm still waiting over five weeks for my check to cover the damages they caused and tried to hide from me. Yesterday I was promised a call back from the GM and service manager about my problem and still haven't heard back from them.(I won't hold my breathe.)

aeggroup

I'm always afraid to buy these expensive cars and your case just proves that lease is safer. At least you have this headache only for some time and dont have to sell it and lie to somebody else that car is in perfect shape ).
Try another service center. May be you will have more luck there. But in general I think MB is a nice car. I had A Jaguar before and it's famous for all kind of problems, but I actually did not have any prob for 24 months of a lease, so...it's like a lottery ...you never know. Good luck to you.

chanelleka

I own a E500 "03 and BOught it from a Used Dealer named MAJOR MOTORS, in Los Angeles,and the Trans needed repair 2 months later, and they wont cover anything. Not a dime for the trans amongst other things. I wonder if anything can be done? any suggestions? You should check for recalls aswell !!!! good luck :lemon:

mbjunk

Now Aug 23 2006 and still no check. Communicated with the service manager today waiting for a return call. What a joke close to two months after damaging my car and they make me wait for repayment of a lousy $300.

hatemb

:mad: MB OF MASSAPEQUA IS A SLEAZY ORGANIZATION. THE WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES NOT TO CORRECT MANUFACTURES DEFECTS COVERED UNDER FEDERAL EMISSIONS WARRANTIES. EVEN MERCEDES BENZ HEADQUARTERS IN NJ DOES NOT ABIDE BY THE LAW. I HAD A DEFECTIVE CATALYTIC CONVERTER THAT CRACKED RIGHT ALONG THE WELD. I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WERE NO CATALYTIC CONVERTERS IN THE COUNTRY ONLY TO FIND OUT LATER THAT THERE WERE 3 AT MERCEDES BENZ SILVER STAR IN LONG ISLAND CITY. IF I WAS WILLING TO PAY FOR IT. THEY COULD HAVE IT THE NEXT DAY. STAY AWAY FROM THIS OPERATION AT ALL COSTS. THEY EVEN DENIED AT FIRST EVER CORRECTING THE OTHER SIDE OF THE EMISSION SYSTEM ONLY TO CHANGE THERE STORY WHEN I TOLD THEM I HAD INVOICES TO PROVE IT. THEN THE WORK ORDER MYSTERIOUSLY SHOWED BACK UP IN THERE COMPUTER. WATCH OUT, DO NOT DEAL WITH THESE CROOKS YOU WILL BE TAKING A HUGE RISK. DON'T PUT ANYTHING PAST THEM. DON'T TRUST ANYONE WHO OFFERS OIL CHANGES AND BOTOX INJECTIONS IN THE SAME BUILDING.

tnguyen17

Set both passenger and driver temperature to 76 degree and turn on Auto. The climate control pushed out cold air in the morning and hot air in the afternoon when car is warm.

engineer1

Did some tests-start car-let run a minute or so-shut it off and restart in 30 minutes. No smoke-so much for my theory.

Took car to MB dealer. Usual and totally expected response. Customer knows nothing-never heard of this problem before-probably condensation. MB did a software update on oil pressure monitor. Maybe clue. Does MB control oil pressure with computer? If so, this could be explanation-upon startup oil pressure sometimes too high over oiling pistons resulting in blue smoke. Anyone know anything about how MB controls oil pressure in new 3.5 engine? Would make sense though I have never heard of this before.

If it keeps it up, before warranty expires I will wave magic wand over the MB, sprinkle some foo-foo dust on it and turn it into a Lexus. That will fix the problem!

tnguyen17

I have the same problems. I took to car in for service and the dealership said this car is at factory specification.

s550iwish

I have a 2005 E320 and it is a great car. I never have problems with it. I also have a 2007 Lexus RX350. I should have waited 6 months and got the 2008 model. Im thinking about upgrading to the S550?? SHOULD I?

aeggroup

Hi.
I leased my E350 4MATIC June 1 2006 brand new. Now it has
almost 14K miles. Full of problems. Two months ago they changed engine because of check engine light. They could not find the reason why it was on. The car was at the dealership for almost 3 weeks. Now I got message ABS off, ESP off and cruise control malfunction. The car at the dealership almost 10 days already. Dealer actually makes everything possible to help me, providing loaner anytime I need it, but I'm paying lease $650 a month for E-class and driving C class, which cost at least $150-200 per month less. Does anybody know what is Lemon Law and where to get info how it applies ? Any respond is greatly apriciated.
Alex.

nedzel

Lemon laws are state laws, not federal, so you'll have to tell us what state you live in. Check with your state attorney general's office. They probably have information on their web site.

aeggroup

I live in NY. What I need is any respond from people, who's car was exchanged because of this and what I need to do to get new car.

pat

Here is a link that may help: Consumer Law Help Manual - New Car Lemon Law.

Good luck and keep us posted.

aeggroup

Thanks for links. I actually did not use Lemon Law, because my dealer, Lakeview Mercedes in Long Island, fixed the car and I got $1,400 check from MBUSA for inconvenience. So, after almost two months at the dealership my car finally fixed. I can highly recommend this dealership to anybody who is looking for a car or needs service. Service manager was very helpful thru all that time.

pat

That's great news! Thanks for letting us know.

chipper12

Thank God it's over ! Wife loved the ride, I however had a close personal relationship with various people who have tried to fix the car for the last 6 years , I now have my second new Lexus.

To many problems to list but numerous electrical issues. This car was no fun. Expensive to drive even with the extended service agreement which doesn't cover all. If you have plenty of money and time and want to know various mechanics buy a MB. Car had 98,000 miles on it and and all service was completed on time.I bought this as a new vehicle. Good luck to everyone on the site.

ccmbduong1

IMO, MB car is OK mechanically, the problem is most if not all cars nowadays are controlled by electronic components and to me Germans are not very good at electronics compared to Japaneses. Prove it to yourself, go to Best Buys , Circuit City or any other electronic stores and see if you could find any electronics from Germany. Enough said...
I am driving a '96 E320, more problems than I would like to have, water pump replaced at 70K miles, head gasket replacement at 80K miles, Rusty spring perch replaced (both sides) at 65K miles, even if MB paid in full to replace the spring perches, but I am still mad at MB because this is a safety issue and there was no recall from MB... Would I buy another MB? absolutely not... My next car would be a Lexus, just because of its reliability. I still have my '87 Camry with 195K miles on it, a very reliable car which I've used for around town and winter driving, just bought my wife a V-6 4x4 RAV4 and she loves it...

mightyjoon

Just picked up a new 08 E-350.
The car drifts to right and wheel balance is off. I took this car in for service twice for alignment & wheel balance issue so far.

Alignment was corrected during my first service on paper but still pulls/drifts to the right a lot. Took the car in for the second service and the the service dept decided not to perform any service on it.

Then I arranged a test drive with the service manager & the foreman and they also relized the alignment issue I am experiencing. They also decided not to go for a highspeed testing and told me there is nothing wrong with the wheel balance. Then they told me the E-Class is designed to drift to the right for safty reason. They also told me due to the wide tires(Low profile), I will feel some vibration at high speed and the car will drift right more than others. Then they went on and said, "It is safer to drift to the right than left." Per the Service Manager, when MB designs the car, safty is one of the main thing and they design the cars so it drifts to the right. I think this is the biggest bull I have ever heard in my life. Foreman also told me all E-class will behave the same way.

I went back to the dealership a few days laster and test drove another E-class but this car was not a safe car since it did not drift like mine.(?)

The sales person who sold me the car told me that he will take care of the issue but his way of taking care of the issue is not to return my calls.

Can anyone help me what I should do next? This car is very hard to drive since you have to put pressure on the steering wheel at all times to prevent it from drifting.

This is my very first MB and I am not too happy with the quality and the service experience.

JK

gotripped

My 2004 Mercedes E 500 4 matic developed a great deal of rust all through the undercarraige for no apparent reason. Yes I live in Michigan, but I never had a car do what this one did. Mercedes had a rep (thief) look at the car and they voided the warranty. This company is so crooked is not even funny. I am a very succesful physician and I don't abuse my cars. They owe me at least 30 thousand dollars, but rather the car is worthless now because I can't even sell it with a voided warranty. Beware of Mercedes friends, these guys will sell you down the river in a hurry. This comapny is taking innocent people for a ride. The rust on my car is so bad it caused the springs to corrode and the shock absorbers to collapse. It's a risk to drive even. My 2006 BMW 750Li is running perfectly with the same type of driving.

greasykid1

I would take my car to a differant dealer. Also contact the regional manager.

mightyjoon

Here is the latest update.
I brought my E350 in for service again (3rd time) and told them to fix it this time or I will make sure they will get the car back as a lemon.

It took them 2 days to fix it but I have no idea what they did. The invoice states following.

406716 FRT. WHEEL CAMBER/CASTER-L/SIDE, ADJUST
(INSTALL BOLT KIT, PASSENGER CAR ONLY)
1367 WMBC
1 000-330-00-18 A PIN
1 000-330-00-18 A PIN
406717 FRT. WHEEL CAMBER/CASTER-R/SIDE, ADJUST
(INSTALL BOLT KIT, PASSENGER CAR ONLY)
1367 WMBC

Can anyone tell me what above service means in human language? :confuse: When I went to pick up my car, all the peole who could explain this were gone for the day :mad:

They also performed 4 wheel balance this time. On my first visit, they said there is no issues with the wheel balance and now with 100 additional miles, they said they were out of balance(?).

The car seems to drive straight now and it should not take long to turn me into a happy MB owner

Thanks in advance for your explanation.

engineer1

Have an 06 E350 with 12,500 miles on it. Originally had a blue smoke upon startup problem, but software update apparently took care of this. Got in the car the other day and there was a strong chemical smell when the A/C came on that burned by eyes and nose and made me cough. My original thought was the the A/C was leaking freon, but I think this was not the case. I replaced the cabin air filter (original one was activated charcoal) with a new filter. The local MB dealer only sells non charcoal filters (clue to problem?). Finally took car to dealer to address the problem. Turns out, this is a common problem and MB has a "procedure" to "fix" the problem. Apparently the fix consists of thoroughly cleaning the inside of the car, clean out the A/C unit and spray the worst smelling sweet "perfume" you can imagine in the A/C. I don't know if the original smell is gone or just covered up by the sickening sweet smell. This is my second MB (had a problem plagued 2003 C before) and my retirement vehicle. The car drives great, handles great, gets up to 30 mpg on the highway, and I like the design. It is very discouraging to spend this much for a car and have this sort of thing happen.

I know that there are many others out there with the smell problem or MB would not have an approved fix. Would be interesting to hear from others about their experience and in particular from someone who knows what the problem is.

jhans

My 2006 E350 is a lemon too. It suddenly stops - nearly got rearended last time. Problem is the fuel sensor FLOT level which tends to get stuck.

I am leasing the car, and I have no intention of driving it again. How do I get rid of it or change it for another model that isn't a lemon.

Frustrated in LA.

greasykid1

About 18 mos. ago I bought a 2005 E320CDI with only 3500 mi on it. It has been great but it did come with an odor. Went on the net and did a search for a remedy. Don't know what causes it. Dealer was not able to get rid of it.What I found and did about it.
On the site that I found--don't remember now what site they also sold a product for around $20 that you spray into the air intake. Did not use their product. But did use their recommended proceedure. As follows.
Open hood so that you can get directly to the air intake under the windshield. Start engine. Close all widows. I then sprayed a good amount of a Lysol spray can (fragrance of your choice)directly in the intake. Have blower fan on maximum. Do this for 5-10 minutes. Next open all windows and continue for another 5-10 minutes.
I used Lysol because most of these smells are from some type of mold or similar cause. Read the label on the Lysol as is recommended against mold. I would say that I got rid of 80% of the problem doing this the first time. Have repeated this several times since and no longer have a problem. These smells usually are strogest in hot weather.
Worth a try. If all else fails there are outside sources that treat this type of problem. Usually $100 or more. Look in the yellow pages. Worth a try.

madmarlin

How's your 2005 CDI holding up for you?

greasykid1

Very well. Have over 25k and no serious problems. Plan to keep it indefinitely.

rjw2

Have a problem when turning the wheel to the right.The car makes a clicking noise
Had them replace somethin some rubber things on axle.Made noise less for awhile but never went away.Dealer and top mercedes mechanic say can't fix maybe axle problem?? otherwise great car.Want to maybe upgrade but i think they don't make them like 98 anymore! Have 116000 miles.Take it upstate everyweekend in winter to ski great in the snow

whitey9

They adjusted the camber and caster on the passenger side. ( front-end alignment ), and re-balanced the tires. Perhaps rotated them too. Maybe crossed them as well.

medman3705

Anyone else having 4Matic problems? When I turn the steering wheel sharply out of the garage I get a vibration in the rear end? MB said it was the AWD transaxle and replaced it at 30K miles. Now 60K it seems to be happening again but I am out of warrenty. Is this my tough luck or should I expect MB to repair?

pmp3

Hi, Have a '06 350E 4M and purchased replacement wipers - got the insert part, not the entire wiper. Anyhow, there are retainers on the end of the OEM wiper assembly that I can't figure out how to remove, so I can slide the old insert out, and new in. Anybody mess with these out there?

kbreeze

with 40k miles, i have a strange, sometimes hi-pitch wining sound that seems to be coming from the transmission area. has anyone else had this problem. if so, what is it, and whats the cost to repair.

imaxjr

I have an 06 E350 43k on it
I noticed a small crack on the windshield, about where the rain sensor goes.
Doesnt appear to have been cracked by any flying road debris.
Could it be a stress crack?
thanks......Jr.

Mr_Shiftright

Windshields will occasionally crack due to errors in the manufacturing process. Believe it or not, glass is a liquid and now and then during the "pouring" there are impurities trapped in there which might eventually lead to a crack, a shattering, or who knows.

A close inspection with a jeweler's "eye" should be able to tell you if there was impact or not.

Visiting Host

wizard1786

Just bought a 2009 3 350 and the nav unit keeps shutting down without a reason and the transmission shifts down to 2nd gear ! Have had it in the shop and they can not find the problem. Did you resolve your problem?

wizard1786

Just bought my Mercedes about six weeks ago. Have had repetitive problems with the tele-navigation system shutting down and rebooting at least 25 times. The dealor can find no problem after 5 visits. More serious is the car shifts into 2nd gear and stays there... have to stop car and restart to get it out of second. Dealor can not find out why this happens. Google search brings up similar cases for nav unit shutting down going back 3-4 years. It sounds like a major flaw in on board computer. I have contacted a lemon law lawyer and wna t to get rid of the car!! Anyone have similar problem with this model??

kevin_q

Hi Kbreeeze I had this problem. I will just write here what they put on my ticket to fix it. (Park Place Mercedes Dallas, TX Fixed it.)
Guide Pulley A - V -belt ,
Replace 201 W93 . 1 272 -202 -10-19 Sheave Pulley. This fixed the problem for me in on 10-24-07 under warranty, but I am starting to hear the problem again, this now on 2-22-09

carolinabob

Thinking about getting a 2010 E350 luxury sedan.
Biggest worries are (1) reliability and (2) cost of maintenance. Any input on these would be appreciated.
Realize that each dealer sets own prices, but what is realistic for the MB Owners Manual recommended services for first 2-3 years?
Thanks!

franky2

Great car, never had a problem with it!