and lo! there was a great buzzing from the pano roof. again.

car in shop. again. again. again again. this 10 day stint for the pano roof, clanking suspension and more loose bits brings the in shop days for this car to over 60 in the 2 years since i bought it. new. i nurse the damn thing whenever i drive it.

this is a lease. what options do i have? yeah, this is what the warranty is for, but at some point it becomes rediculous. I got the statistical fluke that gets all the defective parts.

as a reminder:

replace pano roof
replace defective gas pedal (sensors blew out)
replace dash (defective)
replace instrument cluster (defective)
replace overhead console 2x (defective)
replace mass air sensor to correct engine roughness
squeeky pano roof too many times to count
loud, i mean LOUD vibration from pano roof popup. so loud you can't hear. technicians can duplicate but as of try #7 or 8 they can't fix.
squeeky seats
a/c issues
various bits coming loose of their own accord (fogs, door checkstrap(x2), wheel wells(x2), parking brake)

 

Wow... thing sounds like a LEMON !!

i haven't had a single problem with my COUPE. My car sat with a faulty water pump for 6 months at the dealer (untouched) before I bought it, but when I picked it up the following day after I found it, they replaced the water pump under warranty.

Very strange ! Wish you the best of luck in getting these problems fixed. I would probably go to another dealer or call MBUSA tech service directly.

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

 

my car hasnt been like that at all. maybe im lucky. anyhow im hoping to get a defective cluster soon. i've seen the 2004 cluster with the folding mirror option when locking the car with my own eyes, in Mark Cummins Coupe. im trying to figure out a way to get mine replaced so i can have this option!

 

you & me both....
anyone know a good way to make your Instrument Cluster go crazy, so that we can replace it with a new one ????
- under warranty, of course !
- not that we're soliciting unethical advice or anything like that.

 

hey carlos, before you have them remove your cluster you might wanna take out your AMG bezel!

 

oh yeah, that's right. I guess I would need my stock one to trade it in.

Good thinking caped crusader !!

 

always looking out!

ill give it back to you then, or my old one once i get mine painted.

 

Nurse the car baby... I beat mine when I first got it, and now I'm dealing with it. Fun Fun Fun I especially love the bouncing up and down on un-even roads. The state I live in, is how should I say, cheap on road re-payments.

 

HMM you have bad luck

Mine is problem free except for mercedes forgetting to install wind shield washer jets on my car :P

 

I can say I've had more problems on my car than you. My car has been in the shop, more than I have ever driven it. I don't know what to do, I feel like getting a lawyer and considering this as a lemon, but I heard that it's a pain in the *** process and can take a while. anyinput on this?

 

lemonata!

 

if it were painted Citron it would match!

 

I'm pretty close to you...likely at least same amount of days...
never been towed though..just save up everything, and take it in with a laundry list of stuff...none of it life threating, just irritating,
then 2 or 3 follow up visits to get it all right...
Italian cars don't look so bad now that I've owned MBZ...
I only had to take my 1986 Bertone X19 in for a warranty issue once, when the tranny exploded quite spectacularly at 64k miles...
Warranty covered all but the tow.

So last time I'm in, my SA is reveiwing the list of codes that determines whats been done in the past...it was several pages long...I said, wow thats a lot of stuff thats been done to my car...
His response was "It's not that bad, I've see worse"...
So, yeh HAHAHA Mercedes quality..
likely my next car will be japanese.
But for now, keeping it...but thank god I bought the extended warranty. At 99K miles, it's gone.

 

replace pano roof - YES (twice)
replace defective gas pedal (sensors blew out)- YES sort of, replaced entire fuel injection system for surging

replace dash (defective)- R&R'd twice to work on the AC
replace instrument cluster (defective) No
replace overhead console 2x (defective) SRS, yes replaced they said

replace mass air sensor to correct engine roughness- YES
squeeky pano roof too many times to count- (YES see #1)
loud, i mean LOUD vibration from pano roof popup. so loud you can't hear. technicians can duplicate but as of try #7 or 8 they can't fix. (!! No thankfully, likely pano roof not installed correctly when replaced)
squeeky seats (YES and replaced plastic pieces)
a/c issues (YES, ENTIRE system replaced, had leaks)
various bits coming loose of their own accord (fogs, door checkstrap(x2), wheel wells(x2)(YES), parking brake)

Mechanics left screws out on various occasions....
+ Various SAM modules, and other control modules and lot of trim pieces, like all the ones in the trunk...uh...and other stuff...oh yeh, the seatbelt...
that took a month, because they kept sending the wrong part....

 

Lemon laws vary by state. Most require that the dealer be unable to fix the same problem after being given 3 shots to do it. So, 200 different problems, you are SOL, but if the a/c goes out 3 times, you have a shot even if the car is perfect otherwise. You also don't necessarily get a new car -- sometimes just an equivalent one.
IF you think you qualify, I'd definitely get an attny who specializes in this area. The process isn't always easy, and it certainly helps to have an attny, if for no other reason than to show MB that you are serious and not going away. Lemon law attnys also can also make the process quicker.

 

yeah, i don't know that i want to go that route. the sad thing is i really love this car. I'm sent an email to mbusa. will follow up w/ a snail mail if no response. honestly, i'd settle for a free extended warranty. my issues with this car could stop today, but past history says otherwise. i mainly just dread the warranty expiration.

C230 Sport Coup - i feel your pain. the buzzing from the roof started up again just days after the last time they 'fixed' it. i just save up a list of issues then take it back. they have had my car THIS time since the 24th of september. 30 days in the last 2 - 3 months. Of course my list of issues doesn't include lots o' fun stuff like the time they didn't screw the oil cap on right after my service B and i lost a quart on the hiway and all over my engine compartment... I told mbusa i was beginning to regret my decision to drive past the lexus dealer.

 

sounds like it was made on a friday or monday....

Friday= they threw it together trying to get out of work for the weekend

Monday= they threw it together not caring because they were too hung-over

 

Funny I beat the **** out of mine from day one and now 30,000 miles later I have had no major problems! Only stupid little crap like the hood pad falling off twice and the drivers side visor had a bad switch in it for the light, and cracked steering wheel buttons in the first week we had it. I need to add a little less than a 1/2 quart of oil about 1500-2000 miles before the service time once and maybe just before this service. If it only uses a 1/2 quart every 10,000 miles I am very happy. I drive the car like it should be and never baby her.

 

Unfortunately, unless you want to lose a crapload of money, put up with the problems as long as it is under warranty. The issues you list do not constitute a safety problem, so it will be very difficult to exercise the lemon law, if Texas has one. If you want to do a rough calculation on your loss, multiply your remaining payments and add the residual value to it. All of a sudden, these problems won't seem so bad.
This is the main reason I quit leasing after 20 years. It is virtually impossible to get out of it, unless you have a MB dealership that is will to work with you.

 

Holey... this is almost as bad as my list! This is ON DELIVERY of a so called BRAND NEW CAR (we bought ours brand new in 2003)... Here goes:

 Scratches to the paint of the rear right door
 Rear left door: chipped paint
 Front of the left door: chipped paint
 Left distal corner of boot: chipped paint
 Right proximal corner of boot: chipped paint
 Rear right door: chipped paint
 ALL FOUR DOOR LOCKS: RUSTY
 Dented area on driver’s side door, with evidence of touch up and early rust.
 Rusted bolthead at petrol intake area.
 Creaking sound for driver's seat –
 Creaking sound on turning the steering
 Excessively loud brake sounds & squeaking heard – when shifting from Drive to Neutral or from Reverse to Neutral.
 Empty washer/wiper fluid – there was a leak in the washer/wiper fluid container
 The screw stabilizing the washer/wiper fluid reservoir is loose.
 The parking brake is not efficient – the car cannot be stopped at a slope with the parking brake alone.
 Creaking sound from the right side of the dashboard
 Central Console fittings – left side: loose & makes a squeaking noise when the car is in motion.
 On-board vehicle computer unpredictability (18 Jan. 03) – unable to use the steering wheel buttons to change the menu screens.
 ESP and BAS failure


There's heaps more, but since I'm ditching the car for an E class, good riddance to bad rubbish!

 

Well as someone stated in relation to Yodel's issues, mine are also not life threatening. My take on people who say they've had NO problems is they must not be looking hard enough.

When I first got the car, it was not aligned properly, and pulled pretty bad to the right. Well alot of that is due to the 17" wheels low profile and all, but I didn't know that at the time, and I had 'em jumping up and down on that, as a safety issue, and potential lemon issue, since I took it in for that problem like 5 times. They aligned it a zillion times, and ended up giving me 4 new tires and I got the camber bolts installed too.
Later when I bought a set of stock 16's and put 'em on there, I found that what the dealer had said was true about the 17's, it went straight down the road on 16's, and was easier to drive.
But I like the performance of the 17's, and the way it looks!
Sold the 16's.
I've noticed it gets worse with tire wear. Just put a set of Fuzion's on there and the car goes fairly straight, and not have to wrestle it as much as when the tires were down to the wear bars...
Also like someone said, selling would result in massive loss of cash! I'm in it for the long run, and thats why on the 363rd day, I bought the extended warranty.
Right now, everything is working perfect....with the exception of dirt on the cloth door panels, since I can't help but bump them getting in and out of the car...didn't think to b_itch about that...
how can I clean them?

 

I also think that, unfortunately, the mechanics create a lot of problems in the process of fixing another...well, I don't think it, I know it for a fact. The dash was removed once for climate control issues, and when they put it back together, messed things up, so went to another dealer who pulled it out and fixed the problems the first dealer made, and when I had the CD changer installed and we had the trim off, they'd left all the screws out of the front of the dash behind the trim...guess they figured who'd notice?
And this was after my SA initially had a little hissy fit, because I wanted him to replace the plastic panel in the wheel well, that had all the screws missing which resulted in a hole wearing through. He tried to blame my Vogtland springs, which don't lower much...
I had to point out that the other wheel well was fine, no contact at all on that panel.
He was going, so what happened to the screws?
I was like, I don't know,
but he completely ignored my request in the first round, and on inspection before leaving the dealer, he had left the cigarette ligher socket, and wheel well panel unfixed.

He tried to say, it was not warranty, and not their problem is the other dealer had left screws out etc.
But in the end, he chilled out and got it all done, but still, you'd think you give people a written list of problems, they call and say it's all done, then you find out it's not. You wait weeks to get the parts, and then when you take it in they got the wrong ones.
But in the end, they kinda ate it. Ended up leaving me with a loaner for days and days for an issue with a 15 dollar part because they knew they'd screwed up the first time, in not fixing it then. Still they wasted my time, and
gave me sh_t for expecting stupid stuff fixed.
And it's always that way. I QA the car before leaving, go through my list, and always, there's something they left, or didn't fix or didn't fix properly.

When the pano roof was replaced the first time, I ended up refusing to take the car twice...
I made my old SA ride in the car with me..
1st time, the sunshade was hanging down, obviously messed up, 2nd time, we went for a ride and the thing was rattling, the mechanics left parts out, and the SA said he get it fixed.
So this recent replacement at another dealer, they said the 1st dealer messed up and thats why it had to be done again...
Thats another thing I've noticed...one dealer tries to tell you that the other doesn't know what they are doing, or that their service people are imcompetant...
it was quite funny busting the 2nd dealer for leaving out the dash screws and leaving the plastic panel hanging down under the dash, getting caught in my feet when driving, after they tried to say that there was no way the panel in the wheel could've been left by a mechanic or the factory without the screws....as if I had a reason to remove it? I only noticed it when doing the AMG brakes.
The real point is get a car that is right form the factory, 'cause most mechanics it seems can't find their ***** with both hands. And before I get flamed by all the mechanics on the board, yes there are some good ones out there, but my experience with Mercedes has been that they do things a little half ass_ed.

I recently complained that the headliner seemed to be hanging down a little in the back...
so they replaced the entire headliner! And when it was done, the gap I'd taken it in for...was still there..
and for this, I got stuck waiting for 2.5 hours for the car on a Friday night....while they rushed to get it out the door....
140 mile RT to this dealer...
Yup, next car will be a Lexus or something...
Italian cars look pretty good by comparison now...
I would guess that over 20K of work has been done to my car...at no cost to me other than aggravation, and time spend going back and forth to the dealer...but as I said, I save it all up, so I'm not making lots of trips...and not life threatening.

 

just got a response from MBUSA telling me to expect a local rep to contact me asap if not sooner... we'll see.

Hey, none of my issues were life threatening, except maybe the gas pedal. you'd press it, it wouldn't do squat, then it would surge. not good in traffic :p
however, when i bring something up, they find a problem. usually they have to replace a part. now i'm so damn paranoid that when i hear/feel something change on the car, i add it to the list for next time. If i was just reporting loose screws or a rattle, that would be one thing, but usually its defective parts.

i can't imagine what they have spent on this car in parts and labor ($170/hr?) but I wouldn't be surprised if they have spent $10K in parts/labor minimum... whats a spare pano roof run? i mean its a $1500 factory option from a company that charges $1000 for a dealer installed cd changer sooooo.... $2k? $3k? plus labor? owwww. i didn't mention that it had been in at least 4 times for noise BEFORE replacement. Now another 4 or so for noise AFTER replacement.

 

YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE THIS......

While trying to install some trim around the popup, THEY SPLIT MY WINDSHIELD IN HALF!! So now I have to wait a few more days. this is so old.

 

Is it OK to laugh? Sorry...I couldn't help it...
of course it was a laugh like that of a man gone man...
completely mad....brewhahahaha!!
Man try another dealer...
replacing a pano roof is like 5 grand or more...
so I've had 2, thats 10 grand by itself..
well one thing I can say for the new dealer I'm going to,
they just replaced it, didn't ask, didn't jack me, just did it, which is why it was so funny when they started getting picky about the little stuff, cigarette lighter and panel in the
wheel well, and hit me up for 35 bucks for an air filter that bigs had eaten a hole through.....but they had the B service and 3 page layndry list taken care of in a week including the pano. Smyth messed up so many times it took like a month and a half...

Had my windsheild replaced too...
punk a_ss beatches smashed it near the Boardwalk while I was seeing a show...
Insurance covered all but 120.