jmayn

Hi everyone,

This is going to be an interesting 2nd post.

I recently got a 2011 C300 on 2/17 of this year. Beautiful black on black with all the bells and whistles. After owning for 3 weeks I started to notice some rough idle and the engine felt like it wanted to die when stopped in traffic and letting it coast forward without giving it gas.

I did some research on the above issues and chalked it up to it being a brand new car with only a couple hundred miles on it.

As the week goes on, it gets progressively worse, to the point where I didn't feel comfortable driving it. Mind you, this is not even a month into driving the car!

Fast forward to yesterday, 3.17. I start my car up ready to head to work and notice it is running really bad. Engine stumbling, lack of power, sounds like the motor is down a cylinder. What do you know 2 minutes later CEL comes on. At this point I realize this is not normal at all and immediately take it to the dealer I bought it from. Side note, I live in LA and purchased it from Keyes European. Anyone with good or bad things to say, post away.

I drop the car off over lunch and it is running terrible. They give me the usual 'oh it'll be nothing but a sensor'. I know enough about cars to know when something is severely wrong. The dealer was nice enough and tried to get a quick diagnoses. That was when they started to uncover what was going on.

Apparently, cylinder 5 was not working properly and they noticed some unusual wear on the cylinder walls. They then give me the bad news that it appears I will need a new motor after 1 month of ownership and only 325 miles on the odometer!

The dealer has been really great through this whole process. I have felt nothing but honesty and respect from them.

I have been trying to decide whether I should accept the solution for a new motor or fight for a completely different vehicle of same spec.

If anyone has heard or experienced anything of this nature, feed back and opinion would be very helpful. I've already called MBUSA and started the process of receiving a new car. What should I say, not say? Anything I need to do to make this process easier? Is MBUSA good about these sort of issues?

Thanks for reading this super long post

Jared

AMGfan

Jared sorry to hear about the problem. I'd push for a new car...keep us posted.

Jon

jmayn

Thank you sir. I definitely will.

mwaldron

That's terrible - my condolences! Just for kicks where was your car produced? I bought a c350 in late Feb too from Calabasas Benz (car was transferred from another local dealer), your situation gives me pause!

And like the poster above I'd angle for a new car.

EASYDOES1T

Damn, sorry to hear. Although my situation wasn't as serious as yours, I understand the disappointment. Like everyone else said, push for the new car. Good luck with everything and keep us posted.

Sportstick

Your best strategy for getting a replacement car (which I think is unlikely) is going in politely and in good nature, hoping they goodwill it. They have zero obligation to replace the entire car. Just as in an insurance repair after an impact, the warranty presumption is that the repair/engine replacement puts you back in the same position as you were before the issue arose. There is no legal recognition of the anxiety/despair of doing an engine replacement so early in the car's life. Good luck...remember the old saying about attracting bees with honey, not vinegar!!

mwaldron

Well he's with me here in CA and we have a great lemon law. I think he has a good chance of getting a new car

Sportstick

Interesting, please cite the relevant part of the statute for a single event with the manufacturer making a complete repair on the first attempt.

balticgreen

Wow, I'm really sorry to hear that.

How unique is your car? What I mean by that is did you do a factory order with options that aren't easy to find in dealer inventory or is it a pretty standard configuration? If it's just black/black P1 or some other really common configuration that is probably sitting on every dealer lot in the country even as I type this, then I would push for a replacement vehicle. It's not like they replace an engine while you wait in the lounge so a straight up vehicle replacement would be the fastest way to resolve the issue and go a long way to making you feel better about your choice of a Mercedes-Benz.

However, if the only way to get the same car is to order it then I guess you have to decide what's the least of the evils. Waiting for a new car and being reminded every day during the wait that your Mercedes let you down? Compromise on your desired configuration in order to get something sooner? Accept the engine replacement?

I'm currently waiting for a factory order that is a very unique combination. I've been waiting since basically the first of January. I'm imagining if my car came in and had the same problem yours has. I honestly think I'd just accept the engine replacement but I don't really consider that to be as horrible as other people might. As long as the new engine is a new engine and the dealership does work that befits the Mercedes-Benz brand name, I think I'd be okay with it in order to have the quickest resolution and not have to compromise my options. Maybe that's just me. I can see how others might disagree. The engine is... what... the second most major component of a car, second only to the frame? lol

DCubed

He doesnt. The motor would need to fail two more times within one year for lemon law. The OP can try calling MBUSA but with it being the first event on the cars history I am sure they will take notes for future reference in case it becomes an issue again...but one thing we all forget sometimes is that things break, even in the first month of ownership. A part may have failed or was not machined properly when the engine was being made...it could be one of literally hundreds of things. To the OP, I am sorry to hear about your problems but I am happy to hear your dealer is taking great care of you. Please let us know what happens if you care to let us know here.

mwaldron

You have a point that it requires multiple visits to qualify the car as a lemon. I hope he gets a new car as it's so new... I wouldn't want to spend 40-45k on a car that has a bad motor within 350 miles.

I guess we will find out soon enough.

jmayn

Appreciate the info. I have no intention of being rude about any of this. I realize they are obligated to do nothing but fix what is wrong with my current car. I guess in my mind, I hold luxury car companies to a higher standard. Given, this can happen to any car, I do feel since I chose to purchase a Mercedes Benz over another brand, I deserve to be heard.

That said, if you were in my shoes and the motor failed in your car after a month, would you feel totally comfortable with paying for that car the next X amount of years knowing its already the 2nd motor? Thats where i'm having a hard time accepting just the motor being replaced.

To be honest, I don't think my car was really that unique. It had everything I wanted...Nav, Black Interior, UMI Interface, Premium Package...and a few other things.

I don't necessarily consider the new engine a horrible solution, I am just having a hard time thinking about paying for a car that is already on its second motor. Maybe that doesn't play a big role in others decision making, but for me it does. **** happens I understand, I just didn't think it would happen so soon lol.

mwaldron

Sorry to **** everyone off with my lemon law remark. But a car that has a blown motor in less than a month qualifies as a lemon in my book, even though it may not be a lemon as the law is concerned.

Hope MBZ takes care of him.

MBnewby

I bet they'll get you a new motor and you'll be good to go. Really no need for a completely new car. If they do everything correctly it will be good as new. Engine failure is rare in the C, sorry to hear of your dilema. I would be super pissed...just bad luck though. I'd push for a sweet loaner car though, ask for something "special" for your troubles.

balticgreen

Every car I've ever had, including Mercedes, has had some kind of failure within the first 2,000 miles. Granted none of those were due to the whole engine being bad, but one (not a Mercedes) failed to start at all in a parking lot. At least your car STARTED. Mine didn't. Imagine watching your brand new car that was so new it still had temp tags on it being hoisted onto a rollback. Needless to say, I was NOT happy. But, you know what, the dealership fixed it and the car was completely free of any major problems for 110,000 miles after that.

jmayn

Hahaha I did. I asked for a C63 AMG. The lady smiled at me and said they don't offer those as loaners. I tried to sweet talk her, but she wasn't having it. That is one thing I am also a bit annoyed with, the loaner car is a base model. So I'm paying for my car that I can't drive and they gave me a car worth less. I'm sure that sounds super pretentious but damn, i can at least get a similarly equipped car. I may be driving this thing for a while LOL.

Chi-Benz

Very interesting, sorry to hear about the car but it's not common with the W204. Where was it produced? Did you special order it or was it off the lot? Would love to see some pics of your 2011...

balticgreen

I know what you mean. I always get a loaner even for routine maintenance and the loaner is always a C or GLK (which I understand is better than what some dealers provide, if they provide loaners at all) but it is always a base or near-base car. I'm practically ecstatic if a loaner has P1 (and thus Sirius) and the Sirius trial is activated so I don't have to "suffer" with FM. (Someone is going to send this to White Whine... )

That said, they can only give you a loaner car that they have in their fleet and most dealers just don't have highly optioned cars in the loaner fleet. Unless have a near-base car, you won't get a feature-equivalent car no matter how much you sweet talk.

RLE

Is this a lease car?

park423

How long will the repair take, and did u lease or buy?

Sportstick

I actually can relate...a bit. My daughter's fairly new Accord apparently had a crack in the block, unrelated to any possible owner abuse. I helped calm her through a warranty engine transplant, but now several months later, it's as if it never happened...good as new, and pretty much forgotten. I wish the same for you.

No worries, and no one pissed off. We just exchange information (and opinions!)...nothing in the dialogue to get upset about!

Carsy

[QUOTE=jmayn;4577991Apparently, cylinder 5 was not working properly and they noticed some unusual wear on the cylinder walls.Jared[/QUOTE]


Hello Jared,
I would be very interested to know what caused the unusual wear on #5 cylinder. ie incorrect piston/cylinder clearance , ring clearance or breakage, lack of lube ect .John.

Glyn M Ruck

^^ Indeed - infant mortality - It happens.

Acapulco Bill

@jmayn: I agree with Glyn M Ruck, millions of engines are produced for the C, GLK, E, SLK etc (300, 350 and countless 4 cylinder variations) with compression and oil rings in the tens of millions.
If just ONE of these tens of millions of rings fractures, and it just happened to be yours, Jared, then you get a non-functioning engine.
Replacing the engine is a viable and fair solution. Just make sure it is a NEW engine, as it will not be possible for a dealer to satisfactorily repair a damaged cylinder, piston, connecting rod and perhaps even the crankshaft. If your W204 had 100k miles this would be a different situation, but it's not the case here.
Best of luck!

RLE

Lest you think engine failures are anything new for German manufacturers, let me say they are not. In fact, I would bet that Mercedes has the fewest of all of them and I'm sure that any that are not the customer's fault are taken care of promptly.

The engine problems of late model Porsches are very well known, starting in 1998 and continuing to a lesser degree up until the introduction of the DI engines.

http://www.total911.com/news/996-eng...ou-be-worried/

And BMW has not escaped the same thing, either. Without looking up the details, I recall some V-8 replacements a few years ago due to bad design.