I just got my coupe back from it's second "Service A" (30k miles)...and I thought you should all be aware of this.
Apparently, this effects cars produced in Sindelfingen between June '01 and Oct '01 (the mad cow era).

Faulty side seals in the rear differential leak then spray the lubricant around the underside of the car. This attributed to a sweet burning smell that I occassionally noticed (I guess it got on the exhaust), but never thought enough to mention it to my Service Advisor.

Well, the mechanic noticed it and replaced the 2 seals (part # 022 997 98 47), the 1 Breather (126 350 00 90), the Sealing compound (002 989 47 20 10) and replaced the rear differential lube oil under warranty.

The SA told me this was not an official recall, but a problem they've noticed. He will contact Mercedes Benz to have them issue a Service Bulletin on this.

 

Thanks for the info. Rick. I'll keep an eye on it. My car was built on 10 October 2001.

 

Me too. NTB mentioned the leaky diff. when I got new tires at 26k. My dealer replaced the seals at 2nd A svc. My build date: 8/03/01.

 

Is Service "A" # 2 free?

 

well, the free maintanence is 4yrs/50k. so, if Rick didn't go over 50k, and obviously not more than 4 yrs, it was free service A.

 

yeah...it was 'free'....I had a nice time driving their loaner slushbox coupe with the anemic 1.8 .....but the person that had it before me was a slob (coffee spilled all over the console/passenger side floor)...and someone along the way stole the CD cartridge. I made sure they knew about it before I even drove off the lot.

 

It "WAS" free? Or it "IS" free? My car is a 2002 and still under warranty. BTW, I'm in the US if that matters.

 

it WAS free for rick since he had service A done and now in the past tense.

service A IS free if you did not go over 4yr/50k.

 

As stated, service in the US on cars purchased in the US is free for the first 4 years or 50,000 miles. This includes A and B service. Assuming that you get your car serviced once a year, you should be able to get Service A (1 yr), Service B(2 yr), Service A(3 yr) and Service B(4 yr). I believe the free service will be ending on MY05 cars.