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We bought our ML350 Bluetec in July 2013 - what a great car!
We recently had our 50,000Km service. When I called back to collect the car I was told that there was an issue with the turbo seals, and that I would have to bring the car back to have these replaced (under warranty). Now at this stage we had not experienced any issues with the car, no issues with loss of power or unreliability.
So a week later I took the car to the dealer, and they replaced the seals. I left the dealer and when I turned onto the highway, 500m up the road, I got a terrible surprise. When I started to accelerate above about 35Km/hr, there was nothing. The car did almost nothing, with my foot flat to the floor, the speed increased from 35km/hr to 80km/hr, but it took a few minutes.
So I turned off the road, and turned back to the dealer. On the downhill run to the dealer the car crept back up to 90km/hr, but it did take a long time.
When I returned to the dealer, they thought I must have engaged the speed limiter. But I has already checked this, and it was not stopping me getting any faster - it was just making sure I took my sweet time to do it.
So I left the car there and went home. The next day they rang to say the EFG gate valve needed to be replaced and the part was not available in Australia, and it would take a week for it to arrive from Singapore. So I waited a week. After a week, I rang them, and they told me that the wrong part had been sent and it would take another week to get the right part. So we waited another week.
The day finally arrived, and my wife drove the 90 minutes down to the dealer to pick up the car. She left the dealer and the car appeared ok, but on the way home the car started playing up. No power again. So I rang the dealer and they assured me that it was ok when she had picked it up and it must be something my wife had done or her driving technique. So my wife drove back to the dealer, and when she got there, she was shaking. The car was dangerous to drive - with no acceleration or power. The service manager took the car for a drive (for an hour) and could not fault the car. He then took my wife for a drive and it was fine. So she headed off home again. Half way home the problem came back, and she had to stay in the left lane - as the car could not get above 60km/hr while driving up a hill.
When she got home, I took the car for a drive and it was almost dead. So I went home, grabbed my phone to take a video. But of course, when I went back out on the road - it was fine.
So I will ring the dealer on Monday, and let them know there is still a problem.
There was not an issue before they replaced the turbo seals. And the car engine does not sound the same. When you stop the car, I am sure there were fans running before, but maybe I am mistaken.
Has anybody else heard of any issues with the turbo on this model?
It sounds like it's going into the "Limp Home" mode. This usually rests to normal when you turn off the ignition. There should be some fault codes readable with the XENTRY system that should point the way to the problem.
It sounds like it's going into the "Limp Home" mode. This usually rests to normal when you turn off the ignition. There should be some fault codes readable with the XENTRY system that should point the way to the problem.
Yes, that's what it sounded like, but when they checked the computer there was nothing there.
The other two things I noticed:
1. Once in this low power mode, the paddles did not work, and therefore I could not manually change the gear.
2. When we turned the engine off, it just did not sound normal. Once the engine was off - there was no noise. Normally, there are cooling fans, etc.
Today, I have taken the car out for a drive, and it seems to go alright. I am not sure if it accelerated as quickly as normal, but maybe that's me.
I will ring the dealer in the morning and see what they say.
Well, after more than two weeks in the workshop, the car came home.
They said it was some problem with the turbo gate valve, and that it was all fixed now.
It did feel like it was fixed.
But now less than 3 weeks later - the dreaded limp home mode has kicked in again. This time its even worse - it has not reset back to normal after restating the car. And there is a light on the dashboard (my wife said it looked like an oil light).
So the car is back on the tow truck and back to Hunter Star Motors.
Maybe its beyond their skill level?
It will be interesting to see what the error log on the computer shows tomorrow.
We bought our ML350 Bluetec in July 2013 - what a great car!
We recently had our 50,000Km service. When I called back to collect the car I was told that there was an issue with the turbo seals, and that I would have to bring the car back to have these replaced (under warranty). Now at this stage we had not experienced any issues with the car, no issues with loss of power or unreliability.
So a week later I took the car to the dealer, and they replaced the seals. I left the dealer and when I turned onto the highway, 500m up the road, I got a terrible surprise. When I started to accelerate above about 35Km/hr, there was nothing. The car did almost nothing, with my foot flat to the floor, the speed increased from 35km/hr to 80km/hr, but it took a few minutes.
So I turned off the road, and turned back to the dealer. On the downhill run to the dealer the car crept back up to 90km/hr, but it did take a long time.
When I returned to the dealer, they thought I must have engaged the speed limiter. But I has already checked this, and it was not stopping me getting any faster - it was just making sure I took my sweet time to do it.
So I left the car there and went home. The next day they rang to say the EFG gate valve needed to be replaced and the part was not available in Australia, and it would take a week for it to arrive from Singapore. So I waited a week. After a week, I rang them, and they told me that the wrong part had been sent and it would take another week to get the right part. So we waited another week.
The day finally arrived, and my wife drove the 90 minutes down to the dealer to pick up the car. She left the dealer and the car appeared ok, but on the way home the car started playing up. No power again. So I rang the dealer and they assured me that it was ok when she had picked it up and it must be something my wife had done or her driving technique. So my wife drove back to the dealer, and when she got there, she was shaking. The car was dangerous to drive - with no acceleration or power. The service manager took the car for a drive (for an hour) and could not fault the car. He then took my wife for a drive and it was fine. So she headed off home again. Half way home the problem came back, and she had to stay in the left lane - as the car could not get above 60km/hr while driving up a hill.
When she got home, I took the car for a drive and it was almost dead. So I went home, grabbed my phone to take a video. But of course, when I went back out on the road - it was fine.
So I will ring the dealer on Monday, and let them know there is still a problem.
There was not an issue before they replaced the turbo seals. And the car engine does not sound the same. When you stop the car, I am sure there were fans running before, but maybe I am mistaken.
Has anybody else heard of any issues with the turbo on this model?
how is going with your car, have you fixed it? My ml350 have same problems (lose power) with yours. 2013 model, Sydney mercedes has fixed near six months, they change many parts ,but the problem still there, last week they change the contact pin on turbo actuator, see how is going. if the problem happen again. i will make a complain at ACCC and fair Trading NSW for replace the car
We bought our ML350 Bluetec in July 2013 - what a great car!
We recently had our 50,000Km service. When I called back to collect the car I was told that there was an issue with the turbo seals, and that I would have to bring the car back to have these replaced (under warranty). Now at this stage we had not experienced any issues with the car, no issues with loss of power or unreliability.
So a week later I took the car to the dealer, and they replaced the seals. I left the dealer and when I turned onto the highway, 500m up the road, I got a terrible surprise. When I started to accelerate above about 35Km/hr, there was nothing. The car did almost nothing, with my foot flat to the floor, the speed increased from 35km/hr to 80km/hr, but it took a few minutes.
So I turned off the road, and turned back to the dealer. On the downhill run to the dealer the car crept back up to 90km/hr, but it did take a long time.
When I returned to the dealer, they thought I must have engaged the speed limiter. But I has already checked this, and it was not stopping me getting any faster - it was just making sure I took my sweet time to do it.
So I left the car there and went home. The next day they rang to say the EFG gate valve needed to be replaced and the part was not available in Australia, and it would take a week for it to arrive from Singapore. So I waited a week. After a week, I rang them, and they told me that the wrong part had been sent and it would take another week to get the right part. So we waited another week.
The day finally arrived, and my wife drove the 90 minutes down to the dealer to pick up the car. She left the dealer and the car appeared ok, but on the way home the car started playing up. No power again. So I rang the dealer and they assured me that it was ok when she had picked it up and it must be something my wife had done or her driving technique. So my wife drove back to the dealer, and when she got there, she was shaking. The car was dangerous to drive - with no acceleration or power. The service manager took the car for a drive (for an hour) and could not fault the car. He then took my wife for a drive and it was fine. So she headed off home again. Half way home the problem came back, and she had to stay in the left lane - as the car could not get above 60km/hr while driving up a hill.
When she got home, I took the car for a drive and it was almost dead. So I went home, grabbed my phone to take a video. But of course, when I went back out on the road - it was fine.
So I will ring the dealer on Monday, and let them know there is still a problem.
There was not an issue before they replaced the turbo seals. And the car engine does not sound the same. When you stop the car, I am sure there were fans running before, but maybe I am mistaken.
Has anybody else heard of any issues with the turbo on this model?
I had exactly the same happen to my ML350 Blutec Nov12 Model at about 50K. I took it to Mercedes Canberra and they advised they had no record of similar problem and to keep them informed if it happened again. It did on 2 other occasions, however I stopped & turned off ignition and waited a couple of minutes and it seem to reset itself. I've now done 93k and had been advised Turbo Seals need replacing, not sure if this has anything to do with the issue when I had very limited acceleration, almost as though the speed limit was on, but it wasn't. As its not happened for some time I believe its something to do with the computer however its just guess. I now have a quote for $2300 to replace Turbo Seals and Drivebelt & advised that its fairly normal for these items to be replaced around the 90k's.
Regardless of these issues, it's been a fantastic car & I really enjoy driving it!!
hello, my e350 turbo is playing up. when i start the car in the morning the turbo does not seem to be firing. When i turn the car on and off most times it then works and will work for the rest of the day. however today it was working fine and then all of a sudden nothing from the turbo at all. Anyone able to give me advice?
Similar situation. After picking up my ML BT from the 40K service I noticed the same symptoms as described. No power, would not downshift, AC weak. Turned around and headed back to dealer(slowly). The service manager reported that the Turbo "seal" had not seated properly. I'm not sure if they replaced the seal or just R&R with seal properly seated. Runs like new since, about 500 miles. Even though my situation was human error I'm wondering if in some cases the seals just degrade. Good luck, and I agree it is a very helpless feeling to have the vehicle operate with so little power.
BTW - I never had any light come on - no limp mode.
Same problem ML350 bluetec. Would run OK then on freeway would go into limp mode and check Engine light would come on.
Pulled off the road, shut it down, started up and it ran fine. Repeat
Ran ok for days, a month then problem would come back.
Issue was oil was getting by turbo and fouling the turbo pressure sensor. Replaced the sensor and it was good for a year.
Now a year later we are replacing the turbo, seals and sensor with a new Mercedes turbo. Expensive - but cheaper than a new car AND you can't buy an SUV that has the power or the range (650 miles) that this one has. its an investment car, so we plan to keep it another 4 - 5 years.
Price for the all the work will be about US$5k.
Same problem ML350 bluetec. Would run OK then on freeway would go into limp mode and check Engine light would come on.
Pulled off the road, shut it down, started up and it ran fine. Repeat
Ran ok for days, a month then problem would come back.
Issue was oil was getting by turbo and fouling the turbo pressure sensor. Replaced the sensor and it was good for a year.
Now a year later we are replacing the turbo, seals and sensor with a new Mercedes turbo. Expensive - but cheaper than a new car AND you can't buy an SUV that has the power or the range (650 miles) that this one has. its an investment car, so we plan to keep it another 4 - 5 years.
Price for the all the work will be about US$5k.
My ML 350 has the same issues with power. I have been back and forward with the dealer. They just gave me my car back and there is just no power in it. I have told them the car is in the same situation and I am bringing it back.
i get a feeling that they do not have the equipment of knowledge enough to fix it.
it just doesn’t downshift and have the same acceleration that it used to.
We bought our ML350 Bluetec in July 2013 - what a great car!
We recently had our 50,000Km service. When I called back to collect the car I was told that there was an issue with the turbo seals, and that I would have to bring the car back to have these replaced (under warranty). Now at this stage we had not experienced any issues with the car, no issues with loss of power or unreliability.
So a week later I took the car to the dealer, and they replaced the seals. I left the dealer and when I turned onto the highway, 500m up the road, I got a terrible surprise. When I started to accelerate above about 35Km/hr, there was nothing. The car did almost nothing, with my foot flat to the floor, the speed increased from 35km/hr to 80km/hr, but it took a few minutes.
So I turned off the road, and turned back to the dealer. On the downhill run to the dealer the car crept back up to 90km/hr, but it did take a long time.
When I returned to the dealer, they thought I must have engaged the speed limiter. But I has already checked this, and it was not stopping me getting any faster - it was just making sure I took my sweet time to do it.
So I left the car there and went home. The next day they rang to say the EFG gate valve needed to be replaced and the part was not available in Australia, and it would take a week for it to arrive from Singapore. So I waited a week. After a week, I rang them, and they told me that the wrong part had been sent and it would take another week to get the right part. So we waited another week.
The day finally arrived, and my wife drove the 90 minutes down to the dealer to pick up the car. She left the dealer and the car appeared ok, but on the way home the car started playing up. No power again. So I rang the dealer and they assured me that it was ok when she had picked it up and it must be something my wife had done or her driving technique. So my wife drove back to the dealer, and when she got there, she was shaking. The car was dangerous to drive - with no acceleration or power. The service manager took the car for a drive (for an hour) and could not fault the car. He then took my wife for a drive and it was fine. So she headed off home again. Half way home the problem came back, and she had to stay in the left lane - as the car could not get above 60km/hr while driving up a hill.
When she got home, I took the car for a drive and it was almost dead. So I went home, grabbed my phone to take a video. But of course, when I went back out on the road - it was fine.
So I will ring the dealer on Monday, and let them know there is still a problem.
There was not an issue before they replaced the turbo seals. And the car engine does not sound the same. When you stop the car, I am sure there were fans running before, but maybe I am mistaken.
Has anybody else heard of any issues with the turbo on this model?
I know this its a old thread, but my ml 350 2012 bluetec its doing same, its been 5 months since i took it to a mechanic, he keeps blaming random things.
Down hills works great, up hills lost all his power and dont go up 20 miles. Paddle shifted dont work wend its on "idle" mode
I know this its a old thread, but my ml 350 2012 bluetec its doing same, its been 5 months since i took it to a mechanic, he keeps blaming random things.
Down hills works great, up hills lost all his power and dont go up 20 miles. Paddle shifted dont work wend its on "idle" mode
At the end it don't power on anymore.
Did you get this sorted, mines been off the road for 8 weeks now and each time it's fixed it does 5-10kilometres and goes into limp mode, no manual transmission shift lever working, no codes apart from bank 1 sensor 3 fault but even after a reset still no performance plus it is using oil but no leaks no smoke etc. I'm about to have new seals fitted on the turbo etc hopefully that works but any other suggestions gratefully accepted
Did you get this sorted, mines been off the road for 8 weeks now and each time it's fixed it does 5-10kilometres and goes into limp mode, no manual transmission shift lever working, no codes apart from bank 1 sensor 3 fault but even after a reset still no performance plus it is using oil but no leaks no smoke etc. I'm about to have new seals fitted on the turbo etc hopefully that works but any other suggestions gratefully accepted
2 bad, mine still at the same mediocre mechanic, he change oil filter, and place a new turbo and a few things and it's not power on for more than a minutes. If find something I will apreciated if posted back
W212 M276 DELA 30 ; W211 OM642 ; R107 M117, Sierra 1500 LZ0
Originally Posted by xavierO
I know this its a old thread, but my ml 350 2012 bluetec its doing same, its been 5 months since i took it to a mechanic, he keeps blaming random things.
Down hills works great, up hills lost all his power and dont go up 20 miles. Paddle shifted dont work wend its on "idle" mode
At the end it don't power on anymore.
Check for cracked turbo charge pipes. They are hard to spot and only really open up when warm and high pressure (made of plastic/rubber). A common problem that can manifest itself with the symptoms you describe and easy to miss on a visual inspection. Mine cracked at the bottom making it more difficult.
03-01-2014, 03:54 AM
