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Mercedes-Benz E-Class Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • bottomsuppbottomsupp Member Posts: 11
    For the money (...saving same)

    Les Swab tires hands down (WA/OR/ID/CA/etc...

    1995 E320 = toyo proxies speed rated. with a 65000 mile warranty. The next best warranty is Continental @40,000.

    BUT…
    The service and quality PLUS added…can not be qualified.

    EXAMPLE: When I did not like my tire rotation …tires were 4wheel aligned then rotated (off rim=directional) AT NO CHARGE! with/a smile!

    I always get my tires with them… can’t be beat…
  • steve500steve500 Member Posts: 11
    :D I need to change my front pads on my 2003 E500. It's got about 42k miles on it. It's the first pad change. I find the large amount of black dust to be somewhat annoying and would like to replace the OEM pads with a low dust or even no dust alternative. But I don't want racing pads nor something that has a significantly different brake pedal fell or that wears the rotors out too fast.

    I heard that the EBC "Greenstuff" might be a good choice. Any experience with EBC or any other recommendations?
  • sailsail Member Posts: 17
    Installed on 98 E300D. No problem and brake dust has virtually been eliminated. My beef with OEM pads dust. No disk problems. Would recommend the pads.
  • steve500steve500 Member Posts: 11
    Thanks, Sail. I'll go w/ the EBC Greenstuff.
    BTW, how did you hear about EBC?
  • sailsail Member Posts: 17
  • sailsail Member Posts: 17
    http://www.perfectbrakes.com/ Sorry upon checking it appears the tirerack does not carry them anymore. Please try above link
  • ranih_2000ranih_2000 Member Posts: 1
    I have 2002 e240, and have the same problem. The dealer of MB told me the must replace the whole pannel, but I am not sure that this is the solution.
  • greasykid1greasykid1 Member Posts: 336
    Can be repaired. Do an online search or look at STAR magazine.........MB club publication.
  • microrepairmicrorepair Member Posts: 508
    I've been meaning to post a note re: PBR pads and rotors that I bought about 6 months ago from SASPOnline.com. I have bought items from these folks a number of times over the last 4-5 years and have always been pleased with their pricing, accuracy, and fast shipping. I don't remember where I heard about this brand but they were advertised as "low" dust and I too have gotten fed up with black rims on the front of my 2001 E320 and also on the 96 E320 I had.. These PBR pads are "dust free" compared to the OEM pads and I have only had to clean the rims once in 6 months or about 8000 miles...! A far cry from needing cleaning once or twice a month with the OEM pads.. And the PBR pads and rotors show no performance variance from the OEM.. I got 2 rotors, a set of pads, and 2 sensors from SASP for $169.87 back in January. Their prices are a few cents higher right now, but they are still cheaper than OEM..

    They are at;
    www.SASPOnline.com
  • microrepairmicrorepair Member Posts: 508
    I am planning to replace the plugs and wires in my E320 but when I went to order the plugs, the online catalogs suggest there are 2 plugs per cylinder. Since the Owners Manual offers no info on that and since I can't figure out how to get the engine covers off, I'm hoping someone out there has some words of wisdom on 1.) removing the engine covers, and 2.) whether there are, in fact, 2 plugs per cylinder on this engine..

    :confuse: :)
  • steve500steve500 Member Posts: 11
    After some research, I ordered the pads from racepages.com. They were the less expensive choice that had the pads in stock. Many places needed to get them out of England and had a 3 - 4 week delivery time. Racepages had them in stock and I received them w/i 5 days. The cost was $92. The sensors and shipping were free.

    I'll post my opinion on the pads after I get some time and experience under my belt.
  • steve500steve500 Member Posts: 11
    I just had them installed and they feel very nice. Two small items though: 1) the sensors that came with them didn't fit my 2003 E500, so I bought new sensors locally. 2) the "+" sign still is displayed on my dash board. I thought the "+" sign indicated that the brakes needed to be replaced, so I'm surprised that the plus sign is still displayed after the new brakes. Please, does anyone know more about this issue? Do I need to reset something?
  • schugofschugof Member Posts: 1
    What was the solution to the EC (economy mode) button stuck on activate position? The original question was question #473 on March 24, 2005.
    schugof@yahoo.com
  • pvellozopvellozo Member Posts: 19
    i have a 2002 e320. recently i got a "battery-altenator fault' message and took the car in to the dealer.
    they say the poly belt was shredded. they replaced the belt(which was not covered by the warranty) and the car drives fine for now.
    i wonder if it is unusual for this belt to fail at 43000 miles and if it is a sign of some underlying problem which they should have looked for.would appreciate any input.
  • microrepairmicrorepair Member Posts: 508
    Hmm, maybe you should have ordered from SASPonline.com (tic) :cry: The sensors they sent me fit my 2001 just fine and I didn't get any "+" sign on the dash either..
  • jodar96jodar96 Member Posts: 400
    I have a 2001 E430. The plastic engine cover is in place by several plastic prongs on the cover that go over rubber bushings on the engine. Grab the cover on both sides of front section and gently pull up, then move rearward and do the same. It will come off very easy. All 98-2002 3.2 and 4.3 engines use duel spark plugs at each cylinder, and the plugs for each cylinder are mounted side by side. Once you take the cover off, you will see the dual wires going from each coil pack to side of the engine.

    I wonder if you need to replace the wires...How many miles do you have on your car? I don't know if you have to remove each coil pack in order to get more room to reach the plugs.

    Do NOT buy any plug but the ones that came with the car. The dealer service advisor told me that the wires already have resistors built into plug wire booth. When you use resistor type spark plugs, you could mess up and burn the coils.

    Since plugs are changed once every 100K miles, go ahead and buy the original $9 plugs, instead of $4 platinum from AutoZone. The owners manual tells you what type of plugs are used in your engine.

    Joe
  • mamadadapaigemamadadapaige Member Posts: 35
    I just spent the past couple of hours scanning through the nearly 800 messages in this forum. In summary, it seems most of the electrical problems occurred in the 2003 model year, although other model years certainly have had problems, just seemingly not as prevalent as '03.

    I am looking at buying a 2004 E320 4Matic Wagon with 11,000 miles on it from a dealership. It would have the Certified pre owned warranty until 5 years or 100,000 miles. Also because it is an '04 regular maintenance would be free under the warranty period.

    They have it listed at $42,900. I offered $37,000. They countered at $39,000 but said at that price I couldn't have the extended warranty, just the factory warranty (which goes to 4 years, 50,000 miles).

    As someone mentioned, these cars seem to have an expensive mid-life crisis. Seems to me that the 5 year, 100k warranty is worthwhile.

    I was able to talk to the original owner. By pure coincidence he is a neighbor. He said they never had any problems with the car with one exception, that when they wouldn't start it for a week or so, the battery would be dead. They were told they needed to drive it more often but the service dept. also did something to it (on the Carfax report, it states something along the lines of Jump Start, etc). The original owner said that after that, they went on a 2 week vacation, came back, and the car started no problems. They really liked the car but his wife missed having a MB convertible, so they traded the wagon in for another one of those.

    I don't think we will take the $39K with only factory warranty deal. AFter reading these boards, I am not sure I have the stomach to own one of these cars.... It must be very upsetting to buy one of these cars new at full price and deal with such constant problems.

    any advice for me??

    I need an AWD car (with enough room for 2 car seats and gear associated with 2 little kids). Don't want another SUV and no minivan either. $37 - $38 is sort of the top of our budget, would be happy to spend less though!
  • barry45rpmbarry45rpm Member Posts: 98
    Get the Warranty! I love my '04 E 500, the way it rides, looks, etc... but the endless trips back to the dealer to fix one electronic problem after another is getting to be enough to get me to start thinking "I wouldn't want to buy another MB".
  • dee9520dee9520 Member Posts: 4
    The hidden rust was so bad on the retainer bracket for the top end of the right front wheel spring that the spring fell out on the floor of my garage and the car dropped down on the tire. It is a 1998 E320 two wheel drive. Had this happened while on the road two minutes before I would have been killed. I found out in just one day that there have been 4 similar serious rust problems in Lacrosse, Wi in models from 1994 to 1999. I don't think you can inspect for this problem since the critical area is hidden between the .045" thick bracket and the wheel well. I am warning all my friends who own a Mercedes E class. I have contacted my congressman and my lawyer about this problem.
    Pictures available.">
  • dee9520dee9520 Member Posts: 4
    Electric rear window opener problem 1998 E320. Both rear window motors failed. The first was covered under warrante, but the second one cost $400 to fix. The dealer in St Louis said that he was getting good at fixing them since he did 9 in the last 6 months. I was charged for 1.5 hr flat rate, but it only took 15 minutes. The only problem with the drive was that a cheap plastic wheel was used that was so distorted that the cable would not stay on. A good wheel from Phillips Plastics would have cost less than 5 cents. Is Mercedes cheap, or what.
  • dee9520dee9520 Member Posts: 4
    I have a 1998 and both of my rear window openers failed too. I don't think I had used either one more than 5 times before the failures. The second one cost me $400, but I got the failed unit and analysed the problem. Mercedes uses a very cheap plastic wheel that could not cost more than 5 cents. The cheap plastic used seems to have distorted over time so that the thin cable will not stay on it. If they had purchased the plastic wheel from Phillips Plastics Inc, they would not have had the problem and they could have purchased the wheel for 4 cents.
  • garyh1garyh1 Member Posts: 394
    I have a 1998 and both of my rear window openers failed too. I don't think I had used either one more than 5 times before the failures. The second one cost me $400

    I too have a '98 E320, and yesterday we took it in to have a rear window fixed - for $363 (independent shop). My wife took it out this morning, and my son lowered the rear window on the other side, and guess what - that one broke. Unbelievable coincidence - and another $363 "out the window"! Like Dee, the windows had rarely been used (and the car has only about 35,000 miles on it). BTW, I also have a '94 E320 wagon, and have already replaced one back window opener in it as well.

    This is clearly a manufacturing defect. Our mechanic joked that someone at MB must be sleeping with someone at the the supplier of this part (Bosch?), because MB continued to use them for years with this known defect.

    Has anyone been successful in getting money out of Mercedes when this defective part is repaired out of warranty?
  • bigrobnhbigrobnh Member Posts: 114
    My parents have a 2000 E320. They've had 3 rear window mechanisms fail. For them, it doesn't just stop working. The window starts up, then drops the glass so suddenly that it shatters.
    3 of them...that means they've replaced at least one with another faulty part. They live in Florida and I'm convinced it's heat related.

    My 2001 has not had it happen. I live in New Hampshire. I have several issues that DO show themselves when the car has been out in a hot parking lot all day.

    Someone over a year ago put a link in the E Class forum to an MSNBC story on how Mercedes put pressure on suppliers to reduce costs so that Mercedes could maintain their target margins. When suppliers pushed back, they were allowed to increase their tolerances and, basically, supply lower quality parts.

    My experience over the past 5 years is a tribute to that having been the case.

    Oh, and those wondering if an extended warranty will help. It will help you in the case of catastrophic failure. Windows dropping out, failed headlight washers, failed climate control fan speed regulators, non-functional AM radios, failed instrument clusters, etc will not be covered.

    Regards,
    BigRob.
  • majret1majret1 Member Posts: 1
    Going thru the exact same quandry. First, wouldn't buy it without the extended warranty. Other makes will negotiate the price of the extended warranty. Not sure if MB will. All they can say is no. I talked to the service manager at the MB Dealer. There were problems with the 03s, fewer with the 04s and supposedly the 05s are back to the same old MB reliability. Of course he works for the dealer. But it does seem that most of the problems centered around the 03s (first year of the model change) Have owned an '87 E class and an '80 S class. They ARE expensive to repair. My experience is that, with the old ones any, they stay repaired. But you can forgive a lot for the pleasure of driving the car. It will drive the same way 10 years from now as the day you picked it up. Have driven BMWs, Audis, Acuras, etc. Nothing drives like an MB.
  • dee9520dee9520 Member Posts: 4
    The problem with the MB window opener design is the little plastic wheel that the cable runs over. The wheel gets distorted over time for some reason and the cable will not stay on. The guide system for the cable looks like some [non-permissible content removed] toy made in 1950. With a new 10 cent wheel you could fix the unit, but MB throws the whole works away and charges $400 for the repair. It takes 15 minutes to fix and MB charges you the flat rate of 1.5 hours. I think MB has made over a million dollars with the window scam.
  • spot2spot2 Member Posts: 15
    I have a '96 E320.with 60,000 kilometers on it. But it doesn't! Just discovered it is reading in miles. The speedometer is in Kilometers.Has anyone run into this? What to do? Is this a factory botch up or what? Both the trip meter and the odometer are reading in miles and I've already heard "that can't be". :confuse:
  • bfloozerbfloozer Member Posts: 1
    Did you ever find a solution? I have a '99 E320 with the same symptoms. Other sites have suggested the ignition switch, crank position sensor, fuel relay and sunspot activity. Hope you have solved it and can share it here. Thanks.
  • johnboypsjohnboyps Member Posts: 6
    I have a 05 E500. It's always in the shop as well.
  • greasykid1greasykid1 Member Posts: 336
    When I had my 2001 E320 w/Starmark falling windows WERE COVERED BY WARRANTY.
  • gcooke86gcooke86 Member Posts: 1
    My 1995 E420 blinkers, emergency flashers, and delay wipers started working intermittently after removing and replacing the front floormats. Any ideas??
  • kabcpabkabcpab Member Posts: 6
    Trying to resolve a small chip on my new 07' e 350. I took delivery a week ago - and two days later I found a SMALL paint chip on the hood face near the front driver windshield which is located on the rim of the hood. For the life of me I can't figure out how it happened. I noticed the wipers don't come out to clean windows - but even if they did the wipe arm would not have caused the problem. Is it possible - the car came this way?. Should we all do a complete once over on our car upon delivery?. I took it back to the detail shop at the dealer and the guy used a small touch up brush with black paint to cover the chip. but I still see it everytime I drive and the brush dryed the paint somewhat to the left and right of the chip creating a small bump. The dealer has instructed me to bring the car in Monday AM and will give me a loaner. He says not a good idea to repaint the entire hood and will have his paint guy who repairs chips on bumbers do the work. Is this a satisfactory solution?. What would you do?.
  • ageorgeageorge Member Posts: 9
    My 94 e320 wagon has started to do an odd thing. WHile driving the ASR light will come on and the engine will drop to 500 rpm or so . I have to turn it off and restart it. The dealer cant find anything wrong, and of course the day the mech drove it home overnight it never did it. Any ideas?
  • chanellekachanelleka Member Posts: 4
    What did they tell you was wrong? I have an o3 e500 and they said that the radiator fluid got into the Transmission. So had to spend 4k on a new torch convertor and module. Its a beauty on the outside but a beast on the inside.. Im 27 and will never buy a mercedes again . Acura or Bmw are much better and will trade this thing in for one soon!! good luck :lemon:
  • johnboypsjohnboyps Member Posts: 6
    The replaced the entire transmission. I don't know exactly what was wrong with it. It's back in the shop today SRS lights on the dash, A/C not working properly, and a few other little things. It's got 10k miles on it and is always in the shop it seems. It has seen more days in the shop than my Lexus did in it's entire 70k miles (including servicing).
  • ccmbduong1ccmbduong1 Member Posts: 49
    I have a '96 E320 w/ 73K miles, no problems w/ window opener design yet, but it sounds like a matter of time. Anybody has a step-by-step with pictures as how to fix it. Thanks
  • chanellekachanelleka Member Posts: 4
    Yeah the Check engine light comes on all the time . The car is the worst Ive ownd in my life so far. The front head outter lamps are always burning up and seems to be a short somewhere in this piece of crap. Just 2 days ago I unlocked the doors to get into the vechile and my f-passenger couldent open her door, had to open it from pulling the inside lever.. Geazzzz whats next. Air bags deploy on there own. The car is driving me nuts. Mercedes should pay for the problem. I hope a recall comes out for the Trasmissin fluid getting into the Radiator. I know some 320's that this happend to to. Does this car have to be towd on a flat bed? Theres a little button next to the SOS button with a hitch and a rear of a car pic Whats this for anyone ? Well tlk to ya later .. :sick:
  • chanellekachanelleka Member Posts: 4
    U got that RIGHT , dont be unprotected with this beast I have an 03' 500 and its a Piece of Garbage with all the electrical issues. Has your Torch convertor, radiator or Trans gone out yet? it horrific these piece of German @#*&, Hey I am half german no offense but this thing needs to get deported... Any new issues solved?? Keep intouch.. Good Luck!!! :lemon:
  • courthousemancourthouseman Member Posts: 3
    I have a 1992 190E 2.6 4 door sedan. Anybody ever have radiador problems with their Mercedes? I do and can not seem to pinpoint the exact problem. I left message over in another forum but if anyone has had similar problems, write in the forum and I will get specific on what I have done so far...
  • microrepairmicrorepair Member Posts: 508
    After reading about all the failed rear windows, I'm getting really worried. I had a 96 E320 which I sold at 140K miles and I'm now riding in a 2001 E320 with 80K miles and I've never had a failed window. I think I read something a couple of years ago that if you use the windows a lot then you rarely have the failure. Might it have to do with that little plastic wheel sitting in one position and the pressure of the cable digs into it? Anyway, I use my rear windows a lot, almost every day and I've never had even a hint of a problem. (Fingers crossed!!)

    Nowadays I can't tell what the outside temp. is; a couple of segments of each character of the temp. digits on the dashboard are blank. They are intermittent though; they will light up for a few minutes a few times per week. Does anyone know if this is covered under Starmark? OK, you can stop laughing now...!!

    And has anyone experienced having the alarm go off as you open the driver's door even though it is unlocked? It has happened 10-12 times over the last 6 months and the other day, I noticed for the first time that the driver's door is unlocked but the other three doors are still locked from when they were auto-locked when it was last driven. The dealer replaced the door switch a month ago, which I thought was strange, but maybe they are on the right path. I suspect the electronics are not unlocking the other doors when the driver opens his/her door. Again, do you think Starmark will cover the electronics? OK, enough of that laughing now..!

    Around 76K miles my 2001 had a failed wheel bearing. I can't even remember the last time I owned a car that had a bad bearing; probably 35 years and a million miles ago..! So it isn't just electronics folks.. Even the most ancient of mechanical parts has been subjected to cost cutting..!

    :D
  • greasykid1greasykid1 Member Posts: 336
    Starmark should cover instrument cluster,also windows. There are places that do repair on the failed inst. clusters. You do not have to replace the whole unit.
  • geeslidersgeesliders Member Posts: 1
    Hello,
    I have a 1994 E320 mb and i recently got a new engine/motor installed. Immediately after the installation the ASR light came on and when this happens i lose power when driving and i have to shut the car off and back in and the light will reset. I have not found a resonable mech who can diagonise this successfully. Does anyone know what recommendations i can take??
    Thanks
    Geesliders
  • cap11cap11 Member Posts: 1
    I have an 2003 E-Class, up to now I have been lucky and avoided all the electrical gremlins that many others have had with the 2003. However in the last couple of months my radio is starting to act up. It will sometimes cut off or on while driving down the road. It will usually come back on after a minute or two.

    I took it back to the dealer last week and he "flashed the software" to a new version. So far this seems to have fixed the problem. Just thought I would post this here in case any of you have a similar type problem.
  • sailsail Member Posts: 17
    98 E300d--- well the window gave a large bang and joined the bad window pulley group. I knew it was not a question of IF but When. This is a wonderful car but I have replaced my 99 S320 with an 02 Lexus LS430. Lexus has been carefree as the 98. No problems, couldn't say the same for the S320.
    The 98 has been a wonderful car and I will keep it but the window situation and MBs response to the repair has driven me to Lexus (wonderful Lexus service, they have informed me NO MATTER WHAT the customer is ALWAYS right.) Estimate from MB $500 to $800. Waiting for the other side to go bang.
  • garyh1garyh1 Member Posts: 394
    Estimate from MB $500 to $800.

    Sounds high if you are not replacing the glass. You should be able to find a competent independent mechanic to do it for under $400. See post #800.
  • paulsainipaulsaini Member Posts: 1
    Hello, we own a 2002 E430 4matic..and just recently the AC has been stuck in economy mode. The button seems to be in working order however it does not shut off. Restarting the car, which has solved several problems in the past is not working. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
  • loungerlounger Member Posts: 32
    To the owner of the 02 4matic (post #823), my guess is that the AC compressor fails to engage because you have a leak. Pray for the best, but you are likely looking at an expensive repair if your car does not have an extended warranty.

    I also had radio problems like cap11 (post #820). Our car (03 E320) has the Harman Kardon system but without navigation. In our case, it took several times back to the dealership for them to figure it out. If I hadn't taken it back to the dealership with the car running and the radio locked up so they could pull up the code, I don't think they would have diagnosed the problem.

    The sound system had the software update more than once which did not solve the problem. It was not the audio gateway either because they tested my car with a known good unit and still would throw a code and the radio would lock up. In my case, the headunit was bad.

    We also own two Lexus ES' (an 03 and 05). Yes, the transmission performance is lousy (Toyota is definitely not infallible); I have learned to adapt to the car. Like an earlier poster wrote, check out the Lexus/Toyota boards if you are interested. But Toyota's missteps should not be much of a consolation to MB and the owners of their vehicles. In our family, there now is only one MB fan and 3 others who will not consider an MB in the future, period. Just read the article on Inside line about Toyota versus GM quality perceptions. I believe that MB will be paying for their perceived quality decrease for a long time to come. This is also true for Toyota/Lexus for me in terms of transmission feel; I won't buy a Toyota/Lexus unless I am pretty certain that they have worked out the bugs in their automatic transmission.
  • bluebook1bluebook1 Member Posts: 1
    Did you figure out the problem yet? I'm having the same problem with my '93 500SL. My wife believes it's the poor gas in today's gas stations. We don't drive ours too much we've put about 1,000 miles over the last year and We're going to let the gas run till the yellow light comes back on. We've keep the tank full. We had a similar problem with our check engine light until we stopped buying gas from a particular station. The check engine light would come on and some of the times the engine would start shaking radically. Since we've stopped going to that station we haven't had that specific problem.
  • pfentonpfenton Member Posts: 16
    I too am the proud owner of a 93 500SL and it rides and
    handles beautifully without any hitches (back when MB built
    real luxury cars). My only small complaint, is a slight
    fluttering or flapping noise coming from the dash on the
    passenger side. Any idea what this could be?
  • rramonrramon Member Posts: 5
    I am looking for an antenna mast? for a 2001 E320 sedan. As I understand it is the short tube-like portion of the roof antenna. I was quoted a price of $80 to $110 for what appears to be nothing more than a short plastic tube. Does anyone know where I might be able to purchase at reasonable price?
  • jodar96jodar96 Member Posts: 400
    My E430 did not start this morning. When I turned the key, I heard a click and that was it. Yesterday, at work, it cranked weak, but started right up. The headlights, dash lights are strong. When I try to crank, the light do NOT go dim.

    When I bought the car back in March of this year, I asked the MB service manager to print out the service history. There was no record that battery was ever replaced. With over five years of service, I was planning on replacing the battery anyway.

    Has anyone had this problem before where it was something other than battery? In most cars, with weak battery, when you try to crank, the light go dim, not with this one. I will put a new battery in it tomorrow.

    Thanks,
    Joe
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