aritweets

Anyone else get the recall letter in the mail? I wonder what the solution will be. Maybe we'll get a c63 as the loner car :p

mo11

Or maybe the gt, hahaha!
i guess we just keep on driving til they get the part, or the car burns... its upto them whichever they'd rather replace....

AMG_FVR

I just called about this and MB told me that the parts are not available from Germany until around July or so.
It sucks since I just got the car a month ago and have to deal with this already.

AMG_FVR

The solution will be replacing the starter motor with a new redesigned one. If you ask for a buyback, maybe you can upgrade to a C63!

Mr. J

You are wrong. There is no design defect with the starter motor. Read the recall notice. The problem is that if the engine fails and is mechanically unable to crank and the driver keeps attempting to start it, components in the circuit that feeds the starter may overheat due to excessive current.

The solution is the addition of a control module to break the circuit in case the driver attempts to over-amp the starter. This will likely be an in-line PnP module and could be something as simple an inline fuse or breaker.

As far as safety risks go, this is very minor. It requires the combination of both catastrophic engine failure and over-the-top driver stupidity for this to occur.

imj0257

Dunno why they are saying July...

I purchased mine a month ago and the dealership fixed the problem before they would even deliver the car to me.

AMG_FVR

This is what MB customer relations rep told me when I called. Seemed odd to me as well but that's what they told me over the phone.

AMG_FVR

I'm in the same boat as well. We just have to wait out until the part is available.

Dthquazi

You will be fine. Just don't sit and crank the motor endlessly of it isn't starting....

Big Goober

Some dealers, at least in the US, have the parts needed. My car goes in on Friday for the work.

mo11

What!?! It's here? What state are you in? Did they call you or did you have to call in to find out. Damn these dealerships... i swear once they take the payment! I hope they have enough... the next shipment from china is another 3 months, hahaha!

ItalianJoe1

The fix is just an updated version of the part that's already there.

If you are curious, lift the cover on the right side of the engine bay near the cowl. There is an air intake piece over the battery. On the terminal on the left side, nearest the engine, there is a little black box thing with several wires attached to it. This is the unit in question. We remove and replace the entire unit with a new updated part on the affected cars. We've been getting dozens of them in my shop, so the parts are somewhat available.

As stated above though, this is ONLY an issue if you have a mechanically seized engine and continue to start it when it will not crank. We had one car towed in that was hydrolocked by a driver going into deep water, it caught fire before it made it to the dealership. Small fire under the hood, while it was on the tow truck, nothing dangerous. Car was a total loss due to the value/cost of repair though.

Big Goober

In Texas. Dealer said that they didn't have the part right off the bat but after being put on hold, realized they have it. I'll know Friday.

imj0257

I'm in TX too. Dealer had to hold the car for a week before I could come pick it up. What's weird is another car on the lot.. same car different color.. got the fix in about a week before mine. So not sure exactly how they are doing the fix.. by date of production?

Big Goober

I'll ask about the rhyme and reason tomorrow.