Tim Hicks

WBDTJ56J26F166905

2006 Clk 350

Tim Hicks

Wanted to know if my car was under the Balance Shaft issue

Rudeney

All MY2006s will have an engine "in the range" for potential balance shaft failure.

thewedgeshop

Can you check WDBUF87J36X180814.

Did the circle check last night putting the crank at 305*. One of the passenger side bank circles seems to be off, see picture below.

Currently only getting p0016: crankshaft position correlations bank 1 sensor a.

Car has 110k on it.

https://*******/photos/e1jQWTyX1sNrCpZ97

Thanks
Clint

dcnaz1973

can someone check on my vin and let me know?
WDBRF52H06F790829

rcruz

where can i input my vin so i can check it?? is it a dealer resource only?? 4JGBB86E36A116764

Bill51sdr

I went to the dealership from which I have bought both my CLK's and spoke with a service advisor. I told him I am almost certain my CLK 350 has the balance shaft issue and asked what if anything he might be able to do for me. Obviously he is aware of the lawsuit and in fact had just a day or two ago had received an email from MBUSA regarding the repair. He tells me there is now a warranty on the affected engines for 10 years, 125K miles and once the condition has been verified, it appears the repair and diagnostic fees will be covered. This is his understanding of the situation anyway. I am taking the car in this Friday for the diagnosis and will post here once I find out the extent of the coverage. This seems to be really good news for the time being. We shall see...

robertandbuck

Hi, I am not sure if I am posting this correctly, but my 06 SLK350 Vin WDBWK56F26F098465 is affected .....I have 80k on it...It runs fine but as everyone paranoid....thanks so much...Rob....

kano5003

Hey Guys, Im new to Mercedes and I to am a bit worried about getting a C63 due to this Camshaft Balancer issue. The car that im thinking about getting has the following codes.

VIN # WDD2040772F168977
Engine No# 15698560030395

Thanks any info is appreciated.
P.S - Is it rare for this Camshaft issue to happen in this model?

KaNo5003

Rudeney

The C63 has no problems related to balance shaft failure. It only affects the M272 (xx230, xx280, xx300, xx350) and M273 (xx450, xx550) engines.

Shams Khan

Dear Sir,

I appreciate your input on this forum and the help to all us newbies. I purchased (except for payment due monday) a 2007 CLK 550. Originally my research indicated it was the 2006 and 2009 versions with the problem. Idiot me bought the car with

vin # WDBTJ72H57F211433 and

engine # 273967 30 069701

..... am I susceptible to this problem? BTW, they threw in an additional 1 yr, 12,000 mile warranty. Do you think I should cancel the sale (docs are signed, just not payed yet) or add a 3yr / 50k upgraded warrenty for $2000 or get involved with the court settlement? Thanks.

-Shams

Rudeney

That engine serial number is "in the range" for potential balance shaft failure (on the V8, there's no "balance shaft", but it's the same part that fails, which is actually the timing chain idler sprocket).

The class action settlement is going to do you no good - the age and miles will likely put you in a very low coverage amount for claims if it fails in the future. The class action is really there to help people who had already paid for the repair out of pocket.

As for deciding to buy the car or not and deciding on a warranty, My advice is usually to avoid cars with engines in the range. Even though the failure rate of engines in the range is still very small, if yours fails, then it's a problems as the repair costs $4K++. My advice is to look for one out of the range. I'd rather spend a few thousand dollars more to get a later car with a more reliable transmission and no fear of engine failure. If you do go the warranty route, make sure you thoroughly check out the fine print and the company first.

bobpun

I own a 207 CLK550 Cab. with Vin: WDBTK72F47T084803
Would appreciate assistance in checking to determine whether the engine falls within the range of engines with the faulty cam sensor/balance shaft
The vehicle has the 722.9 transmission and last year dealer replaced a control module under warranty. Tranny has worked fine ever since, should I expect more transmission problems in the future or does the fix address the transmission issue

Rudeney

That one has M273 engine #132002 - it's well beyond the problem range. I am guessing you had the transmission conductor plate replaced? That's a typical failure on these. Less common are problems with the main fluid pump and valve body.

bobpun

Rodney, thanks for checking the VIN/Engine number. Re: the transmission, last summer the car went into limp mode but reset itself after I turned off the ignition and restarted. The problem didn't reoccur but a few months later when I went in for scheduled maintenance I mentioned the incident to the MB service advisor. At the time I was advised the tranny wasn't throwing any problem codes but a TIPS document indicated a potential problem, pursuant to GI27.50-P-035556 (Recommends control unit be replaced at the electrohydraulic controller
unit). Valve body was replaced as well as the electro plate. Luckily I added the 3 year extended MB warranty when I bought the car in 2007 so everything was covered under warranty.
Bob

Rudeney

Good deal! Other than the very rare possibility of main fluid pump failure, then you've got the transmission in good shape now.

jazzmammal

Your are a true guru Rudeney, I've enjoyed reading your posts. I have a CLK430 and haven't posted in that forum for some time because my car is the best old Benz I've ever bought. All I've done in 40K miles is a throttle position sensor and an upper rad hose for actual repairs. Regular maintenance plus tires and brakes sure, but zero for big repairs. For 25 years all I've bought are appx 10 year old Benz's with over 100K on them. A couple of turbo D's, three SEC's and now this CLK. I've got 165K on it now and it's been 4 years so I've been looking for a replacement and my logical move would be to the W209 or maybe an E but I'm reading about all this crap with the engines and tranny's.

There's a lot of info in this thread, could you please basically recap which years/engines are the ones to look out for? How about the 03-05 CLK500's? My other issue is with the airmatic suspension. I think the 500 has that too, correct? Another potential multi thousand repair. Between that and the drive train issues I'm thinking I may finally have to abandon my old Benz model and go to something else which would suck. I'm a former pro car guy, I was in sales, finance, management for over 25 years and I can appraise a car and this research on forums like this is part of that. I'm not spending 8-12K for what seems like a nice older Benz and then look at a real chance of another 7K in repairs. Do I have to start looking at the C class?

The problem is for those of us who want lots of class for not too much money is the deeper we go into the mid 2000 era luxury cars, the more I see potentially very expensive issues with active suspensions, all the incredible computer modules, plus all the high end electronic toys inside the dashboard. Maybe I'll be forced to back off and go with used Accords. Ugh. Or, find a pristine W208 with low miles. Any comments would be appreciated.

Bob

Rudeney

All CLK's have traditional suspension - no Airmatic or ABC to worry about. The CLK500 has the M113 engine, so no balance shaft worries. THe worst thing about a CLK500 is the MY2005 and MY2006 cars as they have early 722.9 transmissions which are more problematic. Almost all pre-MY2008 722.9 transmissions will need a new conductor plate. Some will need a new valve body and a small few will need, well, a whole new 722.9 transmission.

Even the balance shaft issue is not a death sentence, just an expensive fix. But then a permanent one.

Pauliescff

Balance shaft vin check please?
WDBRF52HX7A947152

jazzmammal

Thanks Rodney, good to know. I can live with a valve body replacement, not so much with a new tranny which has to be in the 4K range but that's a normal risk with any 10 year old plus car with some miles on it. I did a basic appraisal style test drive on my car a couple of months ago just to check things out. 165K and the engine/trans are perfect. I only paid 7500 for it four years ago. If it completely took a dump tomorrow and I had to sell it for parts I've been driving a very cool CLK for 2 G's a year. Not bad. It sounds like I could probably do the same with a 500.

Bob

Rudeney

M272 #514594 - beyond the balance shaft problem range.

giftshopduane

I am looking to purchase an R350 vin 4JGCB65E37A043827 would you mind running this number for me also..

thanks

Rudeney

M272 engine #456169 - it's in the range for potential balance shaft failure.

Anthony Nguyen

Hi Rodney
Can you check 2008 e350 vin# WDBUF56XX8B324511
Thanks

Rudeney

No worries with a MY2008 - those are all good. All M272/M273 prior to MY2007 or "in the range" for potential failure. MY2007 is in the range on the first half of the build cycle, so it needs to be checked, but after that, (MY2008 and later) are all good.