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Prospective C350 Coupe buyer here. My wife is interested in the car and I think it'll be a nice highway cruiser for us. Everything I've read (and searched on this forum) points to a few reliability concerns with the C250, but not much about the C350. Any major issues or concerns? Recalls? I'm fine with the annual maintenance costs, just don't want to be surprised with major repair bills out of warranty. I've had german cars for years now and am very **** about preventative maintenance; despite that I had an '02 BMW X5 that nearly bankrupted me (every leak cost me $4k). Then again I now have a 1999 M Roadster which extremely reliable and affordable. Seems like the C350 will be more of the latter.
Thanks for the response. Those seem like rather surprising and significant issues - do you know if they are common on the 3.5L engine?
Thanks,
Cyrus
There are a few threads on the knock issue, but nothing on the belt tensioner. It didn't appear that either hit a large number of cars. The knock issue was resolved and MB incorporated that fix after a certain engine build (see below).
Engine 157:
1) From engine number 157 9xx 60 009368 up to engine number 157 9xx 60 017984 install check valves and chain
tensioners
2) From engine number 157 9xx 60 017985 up to engine number 157 9xx 60 022333 (December 2012) install check
valves (optimized tensioners installed in this production range)
Engine 2768:
1) Up to engine number 276 8xx 30 000790 install check valves and chain tensioners
2) From engine number 276 8xx 30 000791 up to engine number 276 8xx 30 001281 install check valves only Engine 2769:
1) Up to engine number 276 9xx 30 365996 install check valves and chain tensioners
2) From engine number 276 9xx 30 365997 up to engine number 276 9xx 30 406603 (February 2013) install check
valves only (optimized tensioners installed in this production range) Engine 278:
1) Up to engine number 278 9xx 30 073273 install check valves and chain tensioners
2) From engine number 278 9xx 30 073274 up to engine number 278 9xx 30 103675 (February 2013) install check
valves only (optimized tensioners installed in this production range)
Thanks for the great information. As usual, it seems MB is taking care of their customers. I will make sure I buy a vehicle in warranty and have this addressed if need be. Back to C350 shopping! They're certainly a rare breed compared to the C250 Coupe.
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You'll be fine
