Jcapp3078

Foremost, a quick overview of my problem. With 3000 miles on my '02 C230 the FSS told me I was 1.5 quarts low on oil. Before adding oil I checked the dipstick only to discover that the oil was at the max point. I waited a few more minutes and checked the FSS again--same results. I therefore took the car into Mercedes of Manhattan--where I purchased the car. I was informed that the car had a faulty oil sensor, and the part needed to be ordered from Germany. All and all the car was in for eight days. After picking the car up and driving home, I checked the oil level with the FSS. Again the FSS stated the car was in need of 1.5 quarts of oil. I check the dipstick and found the oil to be about 1/16" below the max. I added about 1/4 of a quart to max out the oil on the dipstick. I then ran the car for a few minutes and waited once I shut down the engine. I check the oil using the FSS and was told that I needed to add 1 quart of oil. I therefore scheduled another service visit. Upon dropping the car off, I was told by the service advisor that the FSS needed to be calibrated. Three days later I was called to pick the up the vehicle (11 days of service). This time I decided to check the level and the FSS before leaving the shop. Once again, the FSS stated that the car was in need of 1.5 quarts of oil. I ask one of the technicians to have a look see. He checked the dipstick and determined that the oil level was just shy of the max. He therefore added about 1/8 of a quart, ran the engine and waited about 10 minutes. Additionally, he checked the level using the FSS, and to his surprise the system stated that the car was in need of 1.5 quarts of oil. He hooked the vehicle up to the MB computer and could not find any faults. I therefore left the car with the three puzzled techs.
My question, the New York Lemon Law states clearly, and I quote from The Lemon Law Bill of Rights, Section 199 (6), "If your car is out of service to repair a problem for a total of fifteen days or more during the warranty period you are entitled to return the car and receivee a refund of your purchase price or of all payments made under your lease contract, and of sales tax and feees . . . " In short, how can I expect Mercedes to handle this situation. I was told today that the car should be ready by Wednesday. That will be the 16th day that the car has been in the shop. It will also be the third attempt to repair the problem. I already phoned the Mercedes Northeast rep. Unfortunately, he was gone by the time I returned home. Nevertheless, do you suggest I contact an attorney, or wait to see what kind of response I receive from the Northeast rep. Has anyone had any experience in dealing with the Lemon Law and Mercedes. If so, what is the best route to take. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Also, if someone can steer me to a good Lemon Law attorney I would appreciate that information.
Finally, has anyone with a C230 had any problems with the FSS and oil level reporting. I was told by my tech. advisor that there was a service bulletin on this--I have not seen it. Unfortunately they have yet to figure how to resolve the problem. Please keep in mind, that the only time I am seeing the add oil level is when I go into the menu and request and oil level check. To clarify, I am not getting the oil low light. Again, thanks for everyone's assistance.

Mike T.

...I would not pursue a lemon law case over a problem as minor as this. A C 230 (2002) has a real dipstick as you noted, so there's little danger of making a mistake because of this computer error. I would say that M-B clearly should repair the fault to your full satisfaction, but I would not do a lemon law thing over such an issue. On the other hand, if the red LCD screen screaming at you to add oil was in your face all the time, I might feel differently...

Buellwinkle

MB needs to know if they want to do business in the U.S. they have to play by our rules. They can't put out a shody product and not expect people to seek legal remedies. By all means locate an attorney in your area the specializes in lemon law cases and pursue it to the max. MB has a long standing reputation for not handling lemon law cases directly with a consumer. You are entitled and MB did you wrong. Remember you are doing this not only for you but all off us that have to wait for parts or service longer than necessary. If they want to save money by not stocking their parts depots then it's their problem. They did the math and realized it cheaper to **** you off and let you sue than it was to keep that part in stock. Don't let yourself, MB or the rest of us down.

So what car have you picked out for a replacement?

Jcapp3078

Foremost to address Mike T, granted this is a minor problem. However, if I were the type of person not to use the dipstick to check the oil level I would have probably killed the engine by adding an extra quart of oil. Secondly, if we let the small problems go, where does the line get set. MB decided to put the FSS in the C230, it should work. What do you do if you have a C240 and no dipstick to check the oil level. Does it become more of a problem then. I agree with you in the sense that it is somewhat minor, but I should not have to accept the situation. The Lemon Law does not distinguish between minor and major problems.
In regard Buellwinkle, I hope to stay with MB. I love the way the car drives, and it is a Mercedes. I had the fortune of driving the C240 and now the ML320 both '02. Manhattan gives good loaners! What I would like is to have my car fixed, but if MB is not able to do that, I would like to stick with the C230 or maybe move up to SLK 230. Finally, you can count on me fighting Buellwinkle. I realize if I back down, it makes it easier for companies to take advantage of people. I work hard for my money, and I am not going to be satisfied with a car that needs to be serviced every few weeks. Regardless of the oil sensor issue, MB is in violation of The Lemon Law. That law is written to protect consumers from companies that do not want to produce a quality product. If MB would have addressed this problem the first time or the second time, I would not be writting the message for all of you to read. How can I even think of upgrading my pulley when I can't even get my car out of the shop. The said part is, I have put more miles on MB loaner cars than my own.

Jcapp3078

Well, I picked my car up Today, Thursday, September 26. After having the car in the shop for three times and a total of sixteen days, I was quite happy to get her back. Moreover, I was even happier to see that the problem was resolved. Mercedes had to call in a specialist from Montvale, New Jersey. Apparently, the dipstick on the C230 is very sensitive. I was told even a slight under from the max mark can equate to at least 1/2 of quart--so guys, keep that oil near the max. Secondly, I needed a new oil sensor and updated software. I don't know what this took a specialist, but I am happy to have it fixed.
To my surprise, when I picked the car up I was given a check for the amount of one loan payment. This came directly from the general manager of Mercedes Manhattan. I was surprised and happy to say the least. I was told it was a goodwill/ loos of vehicle usage. Reading between the lines, I guess Mercedes realize that I do have a case against them. After all, it was in the shop three times for the same repair, and it did take them over 15 days to fix it. According to my reading of the New York Lemon Law the car is a lemon. I contact an attorney, and they sent me all of the paper work. I have yet to decide if I should go that route. After all, what more can I get. I am happy with the car, and the service and loaners that were provide were great. In short, I am going to wait a few weeks to make sure the issues are resolved.l If everything is running fine, I am going to pass up on the lemon law ordeal. Secondly, having a check handed to me without complaining to anyone was a nice touch. I was also told, since they did a complete A service a 5000 miles, that they would still do another at the 10,000 mile mark--free of charge. That way, it will keep the car on schedule. With service like that, it is kind of hard to complain. What do you all think? What would you do if you were treated in such a manner. A quick recap, I first dropped of the car a week before I was suppose to drive to Florida. At that time, I was told the car would be ready in a few days, so the gave me a Enterprise loaner since no MBs were available. However, once my service advisor realized that he car would be in longer, I asked if he could get me an MB since I was driving to Florida. The next day I had a '02 C240 with 3,000 miles--returnted with over 7,000. On the subsuquent repairs, I had an '02 ML 320. and on top of that a loan payment.

trench

Seems like they did good. I've never heard of anyone else receiving a payment for loss of service. After this kind of treatment I'd probably even give them another chance to correct the same problem if it were to crop up again. My guess is that the Manhattan dealer realized that they had taken too long to make such a simple repair and is avoiding having the car listed as a lemon.

Although the car is technically a lemon according to NY law, I think that persuing a case goes somewhat against the spirit of the law (but not the letter); as the dealer did (hopefully) manage to fix the problem.

I think the real issue here is that the service people should have made sure that the problem was fixed before telling you that the car was available for pick-up. If they had simply checked the FSS reading after the first repair they would have realized it wasn't fixed; this might have expedited the repair.

Later, BT

Buellwinkle

I guess New York's lemon laws are totaly different that in California. Here the lemon law case is against the manufacturer and has nothing at all to do with the dealer. Most dealers truly don't care and figures MB will deal with it.