Hello all =)

So I got my car at just 53 miles...took it on a road trip...now I'm at 4k. During that time, my rear airbag light came on. It ended up being that the rear seatbelts had way too tight of tension...the entire seat belt assemblies had to be replaced.

Now, my rain-sensing wipers are going beserk when it's dry out and work sluggishly when it's pouring.

Got in my car this morning and it's just cooling down here in VA...neither of my seat heaters work. At all. I even sat in the passenger seat and tried. Nothing.

I'm so frustrated. What would you guys do? I mean, obviously I'm going to take it in to have them fixed, but it almost feels like "What else is wrong with this car?" Now I'm worried that it's going to be a constant battle. I want MB to check this car out from top to bottom at this point...I'm a little timid, so what would you guys say to the dealership? Should I just call MB direct?

I'm just utterly sad. I'm coming from a 93' lexus....and I was really excited about this car (I just wouldn't give up my old car...loved it and put 210k miles on it).

Any comments/advice would be appreciated.

 

Sorry to hear about all your problems. To try to pick your spirits up, most of us have had little to no problems with our W204. I have had cars like yours and those little problems usually work themselves out after a year or so. It sounds like you just got a bit unlucky but statistacally speaking, you shouldn't have anymore problems for the next 10 years or so.

I would tell the service advisor that you are really disappointed with all the problems you are having. They can likely do a good "once over" on the car and maybe give you some cool MB goodies or cash vouchers for service but I doubt much else.

 

Thanks for replying =) I just set up the appt. I drive to dealership 2x as far as my closest one because their service was just awful. Luckily, the parts manager remembered me and fixed the seat belt assembly the next day. I'll go talk to him and see if he can do anything.

One more question: when it rains the driver's side wiper slings back water - to the point that it's very distracting and impairs my vision when it's raining...it slings about at least 5 inches onto the windshield. I'm guessing that's not normal...I thought perhaps it was just a design flaw..have you experienced that?

=P Thanks again =)

 

Haven't noticed that. This may be one where you can step outside with the SA to take a look at. Just check that the are resting in the correct place and that nothing "funky" is happening during the arc.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you. For both the seat and wiper advice! You're awesome! =)

 

All of the problems that you have described are not common issues with the car. Both seat heaters not working could be an indication that you have a blown fuse which your dealer would fix (its a pretty easy fix). Regarding your wipers; you should not leave them on the automatic setting when it is dry outside but rather you should have them turned off. The rain sensor will get confused and start to wipe your windshield which you don't want to have it do on a dry day. You can have dirt under your wiper blades that could scratch up your windshield. As for water getting slung back to the driver side via the passenger side wiper I'm guessing the wiper arm is not calibrated correctly or you might have some funkyness going on with your wiper blades. When you go back to the dealer for the seat heater issue ask them for new wiper blades (should be free) and report back to see if it fixed the problem.

 

How long have you owned the car? I would try to lemon lawed it if problems keep coming up.

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the new car however it's probably best to compile these issues and take it to the dealer to correct ...... that's what the warranty is for. It's understandable that you are frustrated but once these issues are fixed hopefully nothing else arises but one never knows ??

We got our w204 when it was introduced in late 2007 and have had minimal issues in the 3 years we've had the car. Hopefully once all is taken care of then you too will have no issues for months to come .... good luck

 

It doesn't really qualify for lemon law because the problems are different, not the same problem over and over again, just a bunch of different problems. So at least to my knowledge, they won't give you a replacement or comparable car. But since your problems are so recurrent, a dealership that would want to win your business and happiness would probably offer you service discount, or freebies to keep you happy. That's about all I would say they would do. But you can look at it in a positive light. You can rest easy knowing that the specific problems your car has are perfect now and new parts are being put in.

 

Huir, car was delivered to me on July 25th...I looked up the lemon laws...the car would have had to be out of commission for more than 20 consecutive days...but since I couldn't pass VA inspection, the car was "technically" out of service. I think I could have our attorney argue it. I've considered it. I'm going to have to look at the dates to see if it passed the 20 consecutive day mark...I don't think it did. Thanks for the idea =)

ETA: I just checked the dates. The airbag malfunction started on August 2. It was fixed August 20th. =P How lucky am I? 2 days short =p At least my ****-retentive calendar allows me to note these details =P With all of the other issues, though, I'm wondering how strict the lemon laws are...it's pretty close. It's still registered in NJ, so I just looked up those lemon laws...I'll have them look at VA ones and see if there's anything to be done. Thank you =)

LaicepsYdobon, Thanks for your input about the fuse for the seat heaters...I'm hoping it's just a fuse. I wonder if MB fuses connect more than one system...my lexus did. More than one thing wouldn't be working. But then again, I haven't figured out all the little details of this car, yet. Don't laugh, but I'm going to try and get video the next time it rains...as long as it's safe. I can't believe how much water it throws back...it wouldn't matter to me if on passenger's side, but it's the drivers side.

I haven't wanted to complain/ask too many questions because the car was a gift, so in more ways than one, I'm grateful for this forum. I'm glad to know there may be hope, yet! =) So, hoping for a little rain this weekend and I'll try to record it (on a private road). I don't know if I can post video here, but if I can, I will. Thanks for the tip on the rain-sensing feature and I'll definitely have them check the calibration and blades. Merci!

omgitsjoe, Thanks for the pep talk! =)

Jctevere - I'm just too tired to look up the laws again, but I believe it could be either/or the same problem 3 times or twenty consecutive days of out-of-service. It doesn't qualify =( After the seatbelt/airbag issue, I switched dealerships and have nothing but good things to say about Midlothian MB...they had everything fixed the next day! So, it's really that I need to write a complaint letter about the local dealership. They wouldn't even give me a loaner because I didn't purchase the car there!!! I was shocked. So was Midlothian. I've just been tired. I'll get up the energy to draft it tomorrow =)