Andrew1959

Hi I started a new thread on tyre wear but continental run flats

teddyp

I purchased my vehicle in South Africa.
I bought the car in Jan 2015 so I only have 1500km on the clock.
The car developed a dangerous flat spot.The car will experiences problems when taking off from a stop street,going around a bend or overtaking.The car battles to get up to speed but all of a sudden takes off.
I took the car to a dealer and apparently the car needs a program to be installed into the computer system.This program has not been written yet and will probably be ready only in April.
So the car cannot be driven till this program has been installed which may only be in April.
I have tried to contact some senior people at Merc Headoffice but to no joy.
The switchboards refuses to transfer you to anyone that is senior ,you are forwarded to the call centre.It is now 2 weeks and I have received no feedback.
I have since discovered that the are about 7 cars parked off with the similar problem at my local dealership.All brand new vehicles.
I will appreciate any advise as to how I should progress with this this matter.
I paid R600 000 on this vehicle and I used my life savings as a deposit.
This is my 4th Merc but it will definitely be my last.The quality of the Merc product is not the same as 10 years ago.
T.Pather

ManiacGT

Sadly I'd say most cars are not the robust machines of yesteryear and that's down to costs, homogenisation, emissions and many other regulations not to mention market expectations.

StanNH

Do you have anything like a Lemon Law in SA? It seems you should have some way of getting MB to move on this. Is there any consumer agency that can help you?

Glyn M Ruck

Oh dear. No good. No lemon law in SA. Log a case with MBSA HQ in Pretoria. Insist you speak to the Technical Director.

If you have no joy, ~ report it to the Motor Industry Ombuds.

If this is a known problem waiting on Germany they must give you a loaner & quarantine your car on safety grounds.

Hint ~ the service manager of Sandown Motors Sandton (subsidiary of MBSA) is a real can-do chap. He sorted the brake pedal going to the floor on some W204's that other dealers said was NORMAL!. He took this forum's advice to look at the ABS block & replace it. Problem fixed.

Glyn M Ruck

Try & find out if this problem is only being experienced at high altitude which is my suspicion.

JTUBB

Teddy, Have they given you a good loaner for the time that the car is parked? That should be the minimum support at this time?

StanNH

The number of owners reporting issues has now crept up to 50% which is, quite frankly, a bit discouraging.

I know all the arguments about this being a biased sample because forums like this are not a true sampling of all owners, but it's still a ridiculously high number. If anything, the actual numbers are likely worse, since some who reported no problems initially have now experienced at least some sort of an issue with the car.

I was just reading the latest issue of Consumer Reports and they mentioned that they monitor online automotive forums as an indication of how particular cars are faring in the real world. This arguably being the most active W205 forum around right now, it's a safe bet that they are keenly aware of all the issues plaguing a car they have already lauded as a leader in its class. For all the honors and praise this car has garnered in the world press, and from its owners, I think MB has really shot itself in the foot by having such poor quality oversight, particularly at its US facility. At some point, this will all catch up to MB and bite them big time.

My C300 will be gone for nearly three weeks before I get it back. A number of issues, including the MB-Tex fiasco, will have been addressed and I was promised a perfect car when it comes back. One more extended service stay after this and I'll be in that 30 cumulative day Lemon Law window ... but I hope that never happens and all the demons have finally been exorcised. It's such a great car ... too bad it's taking MB so long to figure out how to build it.

djdj

Sorry, but this is not logical. Taking a sample from people who come to this site may or may not be reflective of the overall population. Some people seek out sites like this because they have a problem, while those without problems would not have that motivation and therefore would never even be sampled. Others who come to this site may be, shall we say, overly obsessive about what most people would say are extremely minor issues or not an issue at all. Some of the "problems" reported here may be because of operator error (like the guy who complained about lack of Burmeister "loudness"). In other words, the poll is interesting, but not reliable or predictive.

StanNH

I guess it will very interesting to see what CR's take is on all this. Certain issues seem to be very common, however. These include the two recalls for the steering and the tires, the emissions campaign, the MB-Tex problem, the rear bumper cover fit, and various electronic glitches. Granted, many issues being talked about here are not defects at all, but someone being unhappy with the way some feature works.

My opinion is that this is a particularly troublesome first year introduction. I do think this thread is a realistic representation of owner problems, but that's just my opinion. Until we see some empirical data, we really won't know.

Glyn M Ruck

Yep ~ forums concentrate problem reporting. Some only post when they have issues.

El_Ucca

I now have 1000km on my C200 AMG Line. No other problems so far except a very irritating rattle sound coming from the doors when driving (I think is the doors) It sounds like something very small is loose inside both doors.

The sound does not always exist, but most of the time it does, especially on the passenger side. Very irritating. Perhaps i need to take it to the dealer. Anyone else experienced this?

mihaelb

Does it happen when bluetooth is paired? I think this was mentioned several times, if it's the case.

solarflare

I sought this forum to keep a tab of what are potential problem of C300 ownership. I did not have a problem at time. Unfortunately, I do suffer two problems related to rattles since then. First one has been fixed by the dealer. It was related to seat belt buckle. The second one I still need to make an appointment. Nothing bugs me more than rattles. I still remember I rented Ford Focus or Toyota Corolla. I did not hear any noticeable rattle, but the cabin is very loud. Rattles bugs me more than general road noise. I am sure MB will take care of it. I just don't like heading to dealer so soon.

solarflare

This sounds like my problem. It was the front passenger seat belt buckle. The first thing I noticed is that it disappear when I have front passenger. Thankfully, mine was getting to be fairly easy to reproduce. The dealer isolated fairly quick. The component took 2 days to get to dealer. That was a downside.

teddyp

Yes they have given me a vehicle.Nevertheless I am still upset as this is a brand new vehicle and I have to wait 3 months.In the meantime I am paying insurance and installments for a vehicle that is parked off.

ManiacGT

There's no way I'd be making payments on a car that I cannot use, loan vehicle or not. Contact them and tell them you want them suspend payments on the vehicle until such a time as you can use it.

goherdibg

Can you describe the flat spot in a little more detail?

I have noticed something on my C300 quite a few times in the 3 months I have owned it. I am at a stop light or stop sign. When I try to go it feels like something is still pressing the brake pedal. I give it more gas to get it to go and all of a sudden it "lurches" ahead like the brake released. My wife looks at me like I'm an idiot when it happens. Honestly, I do not have an answer for her why her head just hit the headrest when it does happen. I hate to say "it's the expensive new car....it really is....it's not me. I'm not the idiot - the car is".

Anyway, I have a tendency to use my left foot on the brake sometimes (I know!) so the first few times it happened I questioned whether or not I actually had my left foot on the brake and trying to press the gas pedal with the right???? Well, I know for a fact on a few of the occasions it happened I was using my right foot on the brakes and did not have the brake pedal depressed but still experienced the lurch.

ManiacGT

I'm not sure about your car, but all the ones I've tested have a hill hold/assist. Whereby you press the brake pedal a little more when stationary and it holds the car until you press the accelerator. I'm sure it says hold or something in the display.

goherdibg

Mine has it also but it releases immediately when I press the gas pedal. The lurching has happened even when I am not using the brake hold.

El_Ucca

You might be right. A few days ago I moved the passenger seat all the way back and i noticed that the sound disappeared. Perhaps the seat got in touch with the belt buckle.

I have to check this out although i think i heard the same sound a month ago when i first got the car and my friend was test driving it.

Andrew1959

Car seven months old and now on third key fob battery

Diesel Don

Ok, here is the list for my C300:

-- Roof trim molding was deformed, replaced by dealer;
-- Touchpad was defective, replaced by dealer;
-- '4Matic' lettering was loose, replaced by dealer;
-- Trunk needed to be slammed to close, dealer adjusted;
-- Steering column inspection recall;
-- Bleeding seats, waiting on parts to replace.
-- Sagging sunshade, dealer re-lubed and said there was no further adjustment.

I also have the tail light/bumper fitment issue which I need to address, and excessive wind noise from the driver side window.

I was actually surprised to read that this was considered a quiet car. Unfortunately I test drove a different vehicle from the one I ended up purchasing and even then didn't have an opportunity to test drive it on an interstate. I really noticed the difference when I had a GLK loaner and it was vault-like by comparison.

Honeymoon was over pretty fast.

wallyworld2

Hi I'm new here. Only had my C250 W205 AMG Line for 2 days now.

Options:
AMG Line
COMMAND
Seat Comfort
Vision Package
TV Tuner
AIR-BALANCE
Diamond White Designo Paint

I joined this site so I could find out anything I needed to know about my car that maybe wasn't shown to me when I picked the car up. And also in case someone is thinking about buying one, they can ask what I think of the options.

One thing I have found that the dealer didn't show me is that when you unlock the car with the key, keep holding the unlock button down opens the sunroof and all the windows. Great for when you’re heading to the car with shopping so you can let the heat out of the car before you get there.

Also I have a yellow light that is constantly lit up on my console that says ‘passenger airbag’ wondering why that’s there?
Cheers

Andrew1959

Tv tuner were are you located?