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Comments
1. Problems with radio going out. Now fixed.
2. Head lamps on when they should not be. Now fixed.
3. Sunroof, appears to loose its memory and does not recognise what position it is at (it moves a short distance when the button is depressed but does not open or close fully). Yet to be resolved. This problem has lingered for a while and has been back to the dealer for a number of times now. Shame, I thought MB where better built than this. Perhaps I should get a Toyota next time. My wife's 2000 Camry is just great and never been back once for any fault.
If anyone has the same problem, let me know. Me too thinking of sending a lemon law letter to the dealership specially since they ignored an earlier well mannered note.
Does everyone have problems with their car???
Do you think the problems have been worked out by now in the 04 cars?
Any advice would be helpful as my lease is up in a few months.
I would think long and hard about the 2004 E-class. I had a 2000 E-class and gave up to a 2003 GX470 and a 2003 BMW 330i. I had a difficult time with my E-class with a host of electrical problems (COMAND, radio, sensors). I really liked the car, but I lost my confidence in the car with continued electrical issues. I think it is going to take two or three years for MB to change the philosophy to the MB of old where quality was important.
dash board was replaced due to premature splitting of air bag cut out
window regulators replaced on 3 windows
dash board lights replaced
plastic headlights and parking lights completely yellowed - replaced
drink holder replaced
vanity mirror lid replaced
fuel level sensor replaced
stop lamp switch replaced
cowl seals on windshield replaced
serpentine belt,tensioner and idle pulley REPLACED
replace fog light bulb
replace emblem on gear shift handle
replace switches on steering wheel - finish turned very sticky
Otherwise the car has been fine!!!
Except for the OEM Conti tires - extremely noisy.
Replaced with Turanza LS-Z major improvement in the ride - no loss of performance -
Thats not a great tribute to what I expected to be a LUXURY automobile.
We are presently discussing the premature wear of the leather seats and serious rust from small paint chips.
Hope that this info assists you in making a purchase decision.
Could anyone kindly post a link or a copy of the letter that Mercedes sent out regarding the resolution of $3250 or buy-back for those who ordered the NAV?
I would truly appreciated that as I am currently in Negotiation with Mercedes and they need a copy of the letter to prove the claim.
Thanks in advance.
mbnotforme "2003 E Class Comand/Nav Debacle" Jul 22, 2003 6:26pm
Could someone post the letter mentioned in the following link please if available?
mbnotforme "2003 E Class Comand/Nav Debacle" Jul 22, 2003 6:26pm
Thanks in advance
Within a week after purchase, the ambient light next to the panoramic sunroof went out. We took the car in and it sat for a week at the dealer while waiting for a special light bulb to come in. Then we started hearing a sudden static noise that grew progressively louder coming from the speakers. It happens occasionally right after the car starts and can't be turned off. The radio will suddenly reboot and all is fine again. It's been difficult to identify the source of the problem since it happens randomly. Yesterday, I got in the car and before putting the key in, the display warned of a brake failure. When the key was put in, car wouldn't start and the display/clock went bonkers. We had to call roadside assistance and they replaced the battery. The car works now but the navigation system doesn't work. So the car is going back again to check what is going on. We're afraid the problem is much worse than a bad battery and we'll be stranded somewhere if the car doesn't start again.
Anyone else have similar experiences or have any ideas about what's wrong with the car? The dealer and service reps have been really nice to us but we don't want to be making monthly trips to see them.
For what it's worth, I've got a 96 E320, basically the exact same car as the 97 you'r looking at. Mine has 134,000 on it now and until the 115,000 mile mark was nearly trouble free. Only significant repair was replacing all the bushings and sway bar links in the front end around 70-75,000 miles. I think the dealer was trying to get about $1000 for that work but it was covered under Starmark. Oh, I had to replace the front brake rotors and pads (twice) prior to 115K miles also. At 51K miles AND a Starmark warranty you should be fine for the remainder of the time on the warranty. Without that warranty it's a crap shoot and it may cost $$$ for repairs.
Price sounds pretty good... Good luck..
The car was recently serviced (45,000 miles) and everything was fine. About a two weeks after the service was done, I started hearing a "beep" while driving the car. It sounds like an old cell phone message indicator, just a single beep that lasts only a few seconds. It does not happen with any regularity...I might hear it twice in an hour, or twice in 10 minutes. Other people have heard it as well, and it never lasts long enough to pinpoint exactly what area of the car it is coming from! No I am not insane, I promise! It's definitely coming from inside the car though, and there are no indications of any malfunctions or problems happening.
I am prepared to take it back in for service; however, we all know that I could hear the beep 50 times driving to the dealer, and then it won't make a sound once I get there! ha!
Has anyone else ever had such a problem with their Mercedes?? Or does anyone have a suggestion what would "beep" inside the car? I have wondered if it could be the battery (under the back seat) perhaps. Again, nothing else lights up or shows indication of a problem when the beep occurs.
Any help would be appreciated!
I'm purchasing the car through a private party, so I don't think I can get a Starmark warranty.
Thanks so much for your help.
- P.
Anyone have the same experience ?
Otherwise, seems like a great car. I think I need the S though.
I am glad that others have had similar problems, since we all know MB dealers like to convince owners that the problems they are having are imaginary and only by reading sites like this do we find out that the problems are real and are experienced by others.
Anyhow, apparently the xenon lights can be set to point in three positions off the horizontal plane - low, medium and high - the factory default is medium. For some reason, my lights were reset to low upon taking the car in for repairs on an unrelated matter - hence, I was only able to see 15 ft of pavement, then black! It took 3 tries, but finally the lights were reset to medium by MB and seem to work fine.
That was my experience, now my questions:
(1) is it true that the passenger headlight should be set slightly higher than the driver side? In my case, the passenger headlight is set slightly higher (verified using the "wall" test)
(2) For those that experienced the low setting, what were the circumstances under which this happened?
Save yourself time, money and headaches and buy a FWD Volvo S60. Come winter install four Michelin Artic Alpins on their own dedicated rims. If when you travel to NY you get off I95 and go upstate, pick up an S60 AWD. Come winter ditto with the Artic Alpins. Throw the savings into an equity fund specializing in gold and rent a condo in Florida every January for as long as you own the Volvo with the savings.
As a side note, I'm told that MBUSA employees get a significant discount when they buy or lease a new MB. So, why did one of the NJ based warranty administrators just buy a new VW to commute in?
I looked at the Volvos as a possibility but no thanks; their repair record is even worse than the MB and just as expensive to fix. Audi was another but their repair record is very spotty; although Consumer Reports says that the 2001 A6 is pretty good. But... what if that's just a statistical anomaly and I get stuck with lots of repairs in a couple years? Jaguar used to be horrendous repairwise, but I think they have improved thanks to Ford/Mazda input. But I just barely can squeeze into the S Type; not comfortable for long trips. BMW 5-series is a little better than the MB for repairs, but the trunk is way too small for my long trip luggage. I thought the Accura TL might make the cut but not enough headroom for me with the mandatory sunroof. As of now, the Avalon (boring and a redesigned model coming in 4 months), Accord (slightly small for my needs), and Chrysler 300 (reliability?) are on my short list for further investigation. It is tough to find a sedan that fills all my physical and mental needs but I refuse to buy a gas hoggin' SUV... This may be a long search...
One option is to buy a 2-3 year old MB E-class, Volvo S80, or Audi A6 and make sure that I have the manufacturer's certified warranty and then be certain to sell/trade it before the 100K mark. At least I'll only spend time in the shop, not money!
I have heard however that the "Certified" warranty varies from manufacturer to manufacturer with Lexus' certified warranty being the most identical to the new car warranty. In other words, just because one purchases a certified car, the warranty is not necessarily identical to the warranty on a brand new car. I do like though that if the shrewd buyer zips in at the two year interval he may wind up with LONGER warranty than if he had bought the car new.
After all the brickbats the new style BMW 7 Series has taken, I'm waiting for a certified used one to hit 40K. AND, in an effort to prop up the lousy resale on a 7 Series, wouldn't it be nice if BMW took the warranty out to 7 years or 120K miles? Now that would be a nice way to go to Tanglewood or Camden, ME for the next 5 years.
pvh3: I can sympathize. But I haven't ruled out another MB. I just won't ever buy a new one. Just a low mileage Starmarked one and trade before warranty runs out.
merrel: Ouch! I can't believe you didn't seek reparations from the first dealer; like a big fat lawsuit for fraud.!! Re: the writers; when an E class is running fine, it IS one of the finest rides in the world and worth raving about. Unfortunately the fine rides are getting shorter and less frequent since the E's built in the 80's... Does give one doubts about another one.. Unfortunately for me, I don't fit into any Jaguar after they stopped building the saloons in the 70's.. Are all the British folk so small ??
I bought a Starmarked 99 E320 Wagon (E2, K2, E1, Euro Delivery) in immaculate condition with 52K miles from Concours Motors in Milwaukee in Feb of 2003. At the same time I purchased a 24 month Starmark Component Extended Warranty".
A review of the service records before purchase revealed 6 minor repairs. 5 of these were seemingly ordinary, minor, electrical repairs in 51,000 miles. The battery was replaced at 22 miles, a headlamp unit (Xenon's--I assume only one)& 3 bulbs.
Starmark Certification required only brake rotor & pad replacement plus, the front axle ball joints.
In the first 14 months, the vehicle has required 3 exterior bulb replacements: brake lamp & 2 FR fog lamps. The dealer has never charged for the parts or service.
HERE'S THE PROBLEM: After replacing the fog lamp twice, the service tech discovered that the wiring harness was "...heavily corroded...and found broken wire..." Repairs to the harness required $14 of parts & $90 of labor (the wagon has to be racked to get at the fog light assembly).
Paragraph 13 (Electrical) of the Starmark Component Extended Warranty states "...,wiring harnesses and connectors,...". I realize that the warranty excludes "All items not specifically covered...". Also, the phrase about the wiring harnesses does not begin with the word "ALL". However, paragraph 14 (Suspension) does not include the word "All" in the phrase "...,wheel bearings,..." and both the L & R front pair were replaced at N/C.
QUESTION 1: When are "wiring harnesses" NOT "wiring harnesses"? Note that the phrase is in the plural.
My Excellent Service Advisor, in response to my query on the charges, e-mailed me this statement (NOTE THE PARENTHETICAL COMMENT) "With Starmark coverages we look up the failed part (in this case they did not have a specific wiring harness for fog lamp so we used fog lamp) & get a numeric code. We go on MB Warranty online & submit that numeric code...After trying about 3 different ones we gave up & determined it was not a covered component."
He suggested I discuss the charges with the Service Manager if I wish to pursue the matter.
QUESTION 2: Have any of you had a similar experience?
QUESTION 3: What advice do you have?
As this is the most active MB E-class board, I'll post here and cross post to a couple of others where this is more on topic. I really want some opinions on this.
Dealer has tried 2 different radios but they were no better. Problem must be in antenna system. Any help is appreciated.
Has anyone made any improvements to the factory system? If so what?
Am considering a satillite radio system converter. Any comments or recommendations?
When you all get sick and tired of all these problems, especially those of you who drive from one city to another city, come join us on the Toyota Avalon forum. While all cars have problems, I was reading this forum and really cannot believe some of the MB problems and lack of service for the price you pay.
You gotta really love the customer loyalty thing.
abfisch