801

To my knowledge, this would include E350 MY 06, 07, 08 and 09 W211's, correct? Wondering how many miles everyone is compiling and if the Balance Shaft issue affected you.

My 2006 E350 currently has 75,535 miles, balance shaft okay so far (fingers crossed)

jimbo1763

1. 2006 E350-42,000 miles, no balance shaft issue.

2. 2007 E350-108,000 miles. Balance shaft replaced at 75,000 miles.

agm18

2006 E350 4Matic 94,332 No balance shaft issue.

AllHailBenz

2008 E350 4Matic - 87,910 miles. No Balance Shaft issue.

OnlyGerman

2006 e350 86k - No issue

rolex11

On your 2007, did your engine number fall within the range that were deemed to be at risk?

Also, who replaced it, dealer or indy? Was it under warranty? If not, what was the cost?

jimbo1763

Engine was within the risk range.

Dealer replaced. Cost about $2K-$2.5K with MB participation.

VII

2006 E350 - 120K magnets replaced at 110K but no balance sprocket so far

Fredvdv

My 2006 E350 4M has just been diagnosed with a Balance Shaft failure. Bought it new, 1 owner only.
To make matters worse, the front differential is failing too.
These two repairs were quoted by Mercedes Benz in Surrey, BC, Canada to cost $ 6000 and $ 5200 respectively. All in all, a jaw-dropping, shocking $ 12,500 repair job once the taxes are added.
My vehicle has driven 85,000 miles, always maintained at Mercedes to the letter of their requirements. I wrote to Mercedes Benz in Germany. They relayed the e-mail to Canada. The reply was simple: "Very Sorry but Out of warranty". So, they are doing nothing at all.
How on earth can two of these vital components go bust so quickly? I have read about faulty ball bearings that they sourced in Poland and that the Balance Shaft used in the 2004 - 2007 models where sourced from a cheaper supplier who used softer metal. But they will never admit to that.
"sorry out of warranty" is all they have to say.
The problem is that the car is in such great shape, it looks to be in showroom condition.
Market value is about $ 15,000 here in Canada (our new cost is much higher than what US buyers pay) and so how do you justify a $ 12,500 repair on a $ 15,000 car?
Am now checking to see if non MB service places with a good reputation can do this work for less. New price for this car was $ 104,000 (incl sales taxes and all options) so that is a tough pill to swallow. So: be careful, perhaps trade yours in before these problems surface.
For me, if I don't repair it, my only other option is to trade it in and get maybe $ 5000 for it.
Not much more than scrap value. If I repair it and have some luck to get it done cheaper than the $ 12,500 I may still drive it another 85,000 miles. I will decide soon what I am going to do.

Robaustin

Sorry to hear about these problems, Fredvdv. I really like my car, but it truly has had more significant problems than I've seen with any of the other nearly 40 cars I've owned. I should not have to spend $1100 on transmission work in November only to replace the transmission in March. I have 73000 miles on my very well maintained E550 and have spent nearly $9000 on repairs that should never have been needed. I love the car in may ways, but Mercedes seems to be foisting poor quality on its customers and then charging outrageous sums to fix them.

My year newer C350, so far, had been flawless. Maybe they're trying.

801

FredVDV - I was saddened but not shocked to read your Balance Shaft and diff post above. Ulitmately, the reason I started this thread - M272 mileage and Balance shaft status, was to try to ascertain some percentage of M272 W211's affected by this defect. Obviously, there are many, many reports of M272 equipped R class and CLK class cars affected by this as well ... but what both of my local MB dealers have not been able to tell me (or were unwilling to tell) is what percentage of M272 W211's have been affected by the balance shaft defect. I've seen educated guesses ranging from anywhere between 10% and 75% of all W211's suffered (or will suffer) from this malady. It would be nice to know ... but it appears as though it's still anyone's guess.
To repeat the OP ... my 2006 E350 4m has 75k mi .... replaced the cam magnets (sensors) but no Balance Shaft issue (yet). Keep the reports coming, gents. The more info, the better. thx.

Fredvdv

After receiving a $ 12,500 quote from my Mercedes dealer in Surrey, BC I searched for a better deal and found one in Washington State, just across the border in the US where a dealer is quoting me $ 8300 to replace the balance shaft and front differential on my 2006 E350 4 matic. I wrote MB in Canada and Germany, neither is willing to participate in any of these repairs. These are obvious manufacturing flaws that should have been re-calls.
Anyway, going into Washington State saves me $ 4,000 so I will do that next month.

801

Curious as to how many miles on your 2006 E350 4matic when this issue occurred?

Elrond

Hi, I have a CLS 350 2005. 110000k - no problems so far.

Fredvdv

Further to my post on the failing balance shaft and front differential, 2006 E 350 4Matic.
I had Wilson Motors in Bellingham, WA do the repairs for me after they quoted $ 8300 for both jobs (plus the 8.5% sales tax)
I picked it up a week and a half ago and am delighted how it all ended: The car really drives like new! I had to pay taxes on my return to Canada, but all in all I still saved about $ 3,000 on the job compared with the quotes received in Canada. I hope to add another 80,000 miles to this E class, it looks, feels and drives like a new vehicle. Well done Wilson Motors!
Of course, still a bad taste about how MB is handling these Balance Shaft and Front differential problems, it really sucks, but what do you do?
Spending the money at least gives me a beautiful vehicle that I hope to be able to drive for many more years to come.

Elrond

Good luck with the E-class from now, I'm sure it will serve you well.
I'm just curious if there is a difference in the quality of the parts installed in European models, especially the premium - S class equipped with the same engine, I'm asking this because a friend of mine is a driver for a company doing VIP transfers between airports and the is driving a S350 272h.p petrol (Europe version) and the car has 600000 km ( around 400000 miles ) without an engine/gearbox problem. Any idea how is that possible ?

jimbo1763

It may simply be the luck of the draw. Not all cars in the affected range had the bad balance shaft parts installed. No one seems to know the real percentage there-I have heard around 20%, but I have more than that. In any regard, it sounds like your friend got a good one.

Fredvdv

Update:
My balance shaft problem and front differential replacement were done in June 2013.
Now 3 years and 30K miles later, I am happy to report that my E350 4M still looks fab and the engine and other moving parts work very well. Car is now 11 years old, has done 120K miles and I'll keep it for many more years. The big dollars I invested in these repairs were money well spent. Tough pill to swallow at that time, but the engine was almost rebuilt and runs like new, still today.

BryanW203

Good to hear.

Always nice to see updates like this.