mlee1999

Just curious if anyone has experienced a similar situation at a MB dealer. I dropped my car off at a dealer last Friday for a brake job and mentioned a slight fluttering sound from the engine. The car does not seem as quick as it should be. In addition to front pads and rotors, the service consultant said the sound was coming from the supercharger and recommended replacing it.

As of today I still do not have my car back. They are having difficulty getting their supplier to provide a supercharger for replacement. They received a "new" one, but I was told it had a small crack and is defective so they had to request another one.

I am concerned that a standard service technician is not qualified to install a supercharger in a hand built AMG engine. I'm assuming they would not attempt it unless capable, but we all know that is not the case. I guess my question is, should I be concerned at all or look for certain specific issues once I receive my car back?

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you.

c2jones

Holy mother of --- yes!

Can't speak for the next, but if this were my problem, I would be every bit as concerned as you are and more. I feel all your concerns are vaild and I would be wondering about the same things.

Personally, I would get Montvale involved with this just to be sure. In my area, I have a great relationship with my service writer. If I did not, I would be bridging an alliance with corporate real fast to ensure that they monitor this delicate situation.

Otherwise, if they just managed to get another charger back in there that was fine for now but defaulted later, I could see them giving you resistance claiming that you were misusing the car, etc. down the road. I would want a contact at corporate to maximize the assurance in gaurding against this.

I see that you live in SoCal. If you lived near me (South Florida - Hurricane Alley), I would arrange for you to meet me and I would lead you by the hand in to see my writer for a full array of service compliance results. The educational experience here would be well worth the effort for myself and others that are to follow. (MB/AMG is well aware of their supercharging woes; that's why they're moving toward larger displacement, normally aspirated, 7spd transmission gearing, etc to relax the workload. They have admitted as much in a Star magazine of last year.)

Let us know your progress. Honestly.

psk145

what kind of noise does it make? My car makes a strange noise, but Im not sure if its normal or not

FrankW

who ever touches my s/c shall die!! LOL

personally i would not have them take apart the engine unless a representative from MBUSA is present and have checked the car and agreed that it's faulty.

AaronC

I would not let it bother you too much. SCs are pretty self contained. Pretty much bolt on, and connect some lines and wires. A standard certified tech should be able to do it no problem.

Vadim @ evosport

Define "fluttering". Is there when car is cold or warm, under load or coasting?

As far as replacing SC - it is a 1/2 hour job. It is like an intake manifold, a couple of hoses, front belt and 12 bolts and the kompressor is off the engine.

Get more details from the dealer, if you can - talk to the tech directly.

Good Luck!

BenzoAMGpower

where do you go to... Ussery? MB of Miami? mb of Pines? MB of Ft Liquordale?

c2jones

Never heard that one.

I've heard "Fort Frauderdale," though.

But yes, that would be the one.

The place has some quirks (and in fact have an individual meeting the above description). But my service writer is quite stellar; clearly a cut above.

c2jones

I think this is a good assessment.

First I would need to have established that indeed the SC was faulty. I would exhaust every measure to learn this definitively. If this is a simple bolt on (as some state here) and is fairly interchangable, that's great, but only IF it is certain that the factory unit indeed need be replaced. Everyone has their own methodology; mine would be to engage an investigative and chaperoning element from corporate, especially if I did not have a strong alliance with their dealership and its service writing personnel.

Good luck.

CynCarvin32

Some people are of the opinion that a AMG motor requires a special person to take it apart. The motor is like every other MB motor and requires no additional skill to be repaired. This is the whole point of a factory built tuner car. If it were something special MB would have to certify techs for that and things would quickly become expensive. The Maybach requires a special tech and facility for service but the AMG cars are the same as any old W203.

Fear not. Your car will be fine. Let them replace it if they want to. I have had whole motors replaced, short block re-builds all hasSome people are of the opinion that an AMG motor requires a special person to take it apart. The motor is like every other MB motor and requires no additional skill to be repaired. This is the whole point of a factory built tuner car. If it were something special MB would have to certify techs for that and things would quickly become expensive. The Maybach and SLR requires a special tech and facility for service but the AMG cars are the same as any old W203.

Fear not. Your car will be fine. Let them replace it if they want to. I have had whole motors replaced, short block re-builds all has always been fine. The dealership would not like a fool do this kind of work. As vadim says it’s not very complicated at all. I bet you could do it given the right tools and time.

Regards.
always been fine. The dealership would not like a fool do this kind of work. As vadim says its not very complicated at all. I bet you could do it given the right tools and time.

Regards.

c2jones

I don't think mlee1999 would like it either.

C32 MIA

i have not had any supercharger problems (not yet anyway), but i wanted to let the florida members know that bill ussery benz in coral gables/miami has always taken superb care of my cars, good service

ariel manso is my service rep, he's been great

just fyi

mlee1999

As of today the car is still awaiting a replacement supercharger. The dealership has received two units, which they state were both faulty. First one was cracked and second one was "binding". They are supposed to receive a new one tomorrow. Crossing my fingers that I will finally get my car back tomorrow.

I have called the MBUSA and they will be contacting the dealer to ensure everything is in order. As with a few replies from knowledgeable members on this board, the corporate service agent reassurred me that the technician at the dealership would be more than capable at completing the swap. I have also left a message for the Service Manager to discuss my service.

I am not sure if the supercharger required replacement, but the car did not seem to pickup immediately upon full trottle. Hopefully this will be fixed by the new supercharger. I was told from a different service consultant on a previous visit that the sound at idle (mostly when cold) was from a purge valve.

On a different note, when at the dealership in Pasadena I saw a heavily modified silver C32. It looked like it had 3 piece double spoke AMG rims, rear deflector and unbadged. Does that car belong to anyone on the board?

Vadim @ evosport

This sounds "fishy" to me. Brand new kompressors from MB should be spotless and I would be highly surprised that two faulty ones in a row can happen. If they are rebuilt units from IHI, than I can possibly see a small possibility of this happening.

c2jones

I think this is a wise move in any respect.

Zeppelin

Just go pick up your car and tell them you will bring it back when the right part comes in. Sounds like they are keeping your car hostage for some reason.

CynCarvin32

correction... like = let

wow

CynCarvin32

There is no magical person at MBUSA to come check things out. You have the tech, shop foreman, service manager, and the regional rep. Have the regional rep come out if you are worried. MBUSA might just tell you a nice story to make you all warm and fuzzy inside. I have been through the longest list of repairs on my cars and I have never had an issue. Things flow better when you leave them the car and they fix it. Standing there hovering over people is not going to get you good service and often causes additional tension. If you have a loaner car let them do their job and go grab her back when the new blower is installed. If you are paying for a loaner car things might be a little different. Is this car still under warranty (sub 50k miles?)?

MB has its systems for servicing vehicles and they work well.

Zeppelin

It works well for who? the dealer or the customer?

c2jones

If you did a real-world poll that reached the majority of MB drivers, especially new owners of the last five years, you would see your assessment differently.

MB service woes have become so bad that MB is offcially responding to this in a MBUSA special report in the next Star Magazine, sent to MBCA members (like myself).

MB knows that they MUST address the out of control quality control issues, especially as compared to their top luxury import rivals. (These decreasing quality issues are no secret to this MB forum or any other. Even the passionately loyal [probably to a fault] MBCA forum is well-documented on this.)

The "system" for dealing with these issues per these service writers does not always "work well" and there is plenty of examples of this that can be verified. MB charts all this and the surveys (sent to owners post servicing) which were supposed to help these matter now only serve as painful reminders of what needs to be done.

CynCarvin32

Had a few mb's in the last 20 years. Always have had them work fine and never have been given any trouble. Guess that is good for the customer and dealership as both are getting what is expected.

Being respectful and friendly with service people gets you a great deal of help.

c2jones

Then YOU would be the strong exception to the rule, even by MB's own admission.

One could not think of a statement more at variance with reality.

The customers have been getting anything but "what is expected" from this brand name and with the prices (often leading each class of automobile in cost) that are paid, the degree of outraged customers has been in steady incline. (This month's Star Magazine (despite their flowing over loyalty) has two full pages of driver write-ups detailing mechanical woes galore.)

And the "dealerships"? How many GM's do you know well? How about service writers? What they'll tell you to a man is that this thing is no picnic; not anymore. My service writer could tell you some stories about how many times a call was made to just begin to soften up the customer's rage (rightly so). Issues like transmissions breaking up, electric gremlins, drivelines, etc., especially from the pricey V12's that do more to embarrass their owners than anything else. I see SL600's either on flat beds or in clogging the bays at the service area of the dealership every time I'm there!

MB called over 400 thousand cars this year in just a single recall. Add the other ones up over this year and you have a staggering number.

Here, the Star publication charts the facts:

benz-tech

Then why do you still own a Mercedes? After hearing from you, one would think that they are the biggest piece of crap on the planet, and that it's damn near impossible to get them fixed. I am both an owner and a technician, I deal with owners often, especially when there is a difficulty, and I find that most people are very satisfied with their MB experience. Our dealer's (and our regions) 95%+ SES (Service Experience Satisfaction, I believe) score would indicate that. Cars break, technicians are fallible, stuff happens but i don't think its as bad as the numbers on your chart indicate. Mainly because people expect more than is reasonable from these cars just because they have a star on the hood. And to answer my first question... you probably have driven a Lexus or Infinity and don't like the way they Feel. I don't either. Toyota Corrola's hardly ever break down, but would you ever be caught dead in one? I think not. Just my opinion.

CynCarvin32

Honestly go banter to someone else. I have total respect for MB and think the average Mercedes Benz customer is a pain in the butt. This along wiht a SLIGHT slip in quality is why the CSI for many dealerships is low (same with JD power ratings). People buy their first entry level MB and act like they are the biggest things to grace the world since Einstein . Go talk to the people who work for dealerships and to the people who run the rental car counter at the dealerships. They will tell you that the biggest pains in the butt are those who drive the cheaper cars. An S500/S600 driver just comes in, goes with the flow, and leaves his car. I personally give them the keys, tell them to park it inside, and to call me when it’s done. Funny how my cars are always working fine. The people who expect magic are the ones that moan the loudest and look ratings have fallen as MB changed their market demographic.

I sometimes find my self standing in the service drive laughing at people for I swear they are smoking something when they come in. They all blame the dealership for damage they did to their cars and try to get everything for free. Its a riot to watch really.

Go back to where you have come or go buy an IS300 and whine to Lexus service writers. Did you know that Lexus service centers are the highest grossing in the industry? Funny imagine that! Now if their cars work perfectly all the time do you think they could turn such a profit? No it’s the customer that makes the difference. A Lexus driver does not give a hoot with the small things while people expect a MB to be perfect. Lexus left the market of in car phones and this one item has cost MB many slots in the JDpower ratings. Mercedes wanted to offer the phones as an integrated part of the car but there are many places that version coding and component communication can go amiss. Lexus said its to tricky lets skip it. Ill take it and endure the inevitable hick ups along the way.

I have seen that darn graph enough to puke.

Regards

Peench

I'm trading in my C32 for a Buick.