amgmark

Hey everyone, I am hoping someone here has had the same problem, or can give me some advice. I am a MB newbie, just bought my used C32 about a month ago. This past Sunday my drivers seat power controls stopped working. It would try to move the seat, then just stop. The dealer said they replaced the elect controls but they burned out again and they stated that the problem was the track that the seat moves on. They claim that the track has a groove in it from the seat moving and from use. They also claimed that they checked 3 times and that this part is not covered under the starmark warranty. This electronic control was replaced under the warranty by the privious owner back in March, but they claim its not the motor so its not covered either. The estimated repair cost is $900 bucks, almost 600 for parts and 300 in labor.

After the service guy told me this I seriously wanted to punch him out... They have already had the car two days now it will be there at least one more.. to add to my frustration they gave me a POS Mercury as the loaner car..

Anyone ever hear of this problem before? I was searching around and wasn't able to find anything. The service guy said he just did another car with the same problem about a month ago..

Any help would be greatly appreciated.. Should I take the car to someone besides MB?

Bif powell

I feel like that should be fully covered.

Harpinc

That sucks! I can't believe that Mercedes would'nt warranty something like that. I would be outraged.

benz4menz

If should be covered. I once had a problem with my seat and they fix it under warranty.

amgmark

They are saying that it is not part of the electrical system, but rather the track below the seat. Per their records the seat was even fixed back in March under the warranty, but it was the control on the door. I would think at the very least it would be a design flaw or something that they should cover. I guess I will have to speak to the service manager tomorrow and give em hell.. I am pretty outraged about the situation because I bought this particular car because of the warranty..

Thanks for the replies so far..

Clk&Slk

Lol.....Btw, Mercedes of Escondino alway give you a rental car (Ml and C-class) for any kind of repair regardless it under warranty or not.

sdsilverm3

Which dealership was this at? MB of Escondido is usually pretty good about getting you MB loaners.

amgmark

Mercedes Benz of San Diego in Kearny Mesa which is convenient since I work in Sorrento Valley.. I could make the switch up north.. maybe they will cover the service under the warranty..

sdsilverm3

You should definitely make the switch. I hear less than stellar things about MB of SD service-wise. Sales people didn't exactly welcome me either when I was there to shop for a car. Just be aware that MB of Escondido is no longer open on weekends.

Kev04C320

I had my seat railings replaced after only couple of weeks of ownership on my brand new C320 back in 2003. When the seat was moving backwards, it always made a loud click. I talked to my SA about it and he took care of it under warranty of course. After that, I still had intermittent seat adjustment problems. During morning cold starts, sometimes the power seat and steering wheel would not work. It turns out the connection to the seat control module underneath the seat gets loose once in awhile so they replaced the harness and the module. The problem became less frequent but not completely.

Marktini

If the seat was fixed in March under warranty see if there is a time limit on repairs, I was under the impression that all repairs made under warranty were guaranteed for at least one year???

amgmark

Apparently I need to call the location that the previous work was done. They are saying they have limited info on what work was performed at other locations. I guess they may have fixed the seat control module, and not the seat rails. It was probably the seat rails to begin with and they just replaced the module because they either didn't know, or the previous owner didn't have them replaced because the warranty doesnt cover???

Renault78law

that doesn't surprise me. the starmark warranty is much more limited than the bumper-bumper warranty that came with the new car.

timberman

this sort of thing really pisses me off
for a start i had several problems with my own car when i purchased it....1 the drivers side head rest would not adjust... 2 the drivers heated seat element on the base part did not work &... 3 the drivers side door mirror was not folding back when put into the park position
I immediately contacted my local MB dealer who told me that because the faults were already on the car when i purchased it meant that it was the responsibility of the dealer that i purchased the car from to rectify the faults which should have been picked up on the pre sale checks
after several weeks of calling the dealer and also the MB UK warranty providers the dealer agreed to fix the faults at there expense.

from what you have stated in your post it sounds like the dealer was aware of the fault when you purchased your car ... now i don't know if it works the same over there as over here but if so it seems to me that they should be oblidged to rectify this fault whether it is covered by the warranty or not & i would check with MB USA to see where you stand

I am currently trying to get my passengers side heated seat element fixed under warranty... this seams to be a common fault and i know its covered as i checked with the warranty people myself, but my useless local dealer still hasn't got back to me after 2 weeks

i hope everything works out for you as i know what a headache this can be

cntlaw

The dealer can usually argue some components worn out were caused by usage. I suggest you write a formal complain letter to the HQ.

timberman

yeah this is true but i believe any faults should be disclosed pre sale so the buyer can ask to have them put right or haggle for a lower price

people buy from approved dealers to avoid the pitfalls of buying private or going to an auction and usually pay extra for it so should rightly expect everything to be perfect !!!