j bro

09 at 40000 miles and i just made a 2000 mile drive and the coolant level msg showed up, went in for a b service and the topped it up , should i be going back to get it checked out?

b16

I would..

DuaneC63

Absolutely. If it is a head gasket leak it's only going to get worse. Get a narrow metal ruler marked in mm and use it as a dipstick to check the coolant in the reservoir every morning with the engine dead cold. The problem with waiting for it to get worse is you risk hydro-lock which can cause serious damage. Other indicators are high oil level indicator and white sweet smelling smoke on start up out the exhaust. If the problem becomes persist, do not drive to the dealer, have it flat bedded in.

carjones

In my case the failure occured almost overnight. The vehicle just started using coolant (a lot)but showed no other symptoms.
Carjones

JohnnyUte

Another warning sign is white "smoke" coming out of the exhaust on days that aren't cold. I used to own a car that had Ford's 3.8l which was notorious for blowing head gaskets.

morganb

Spoke to the Service tech last night. Apparently the "good" side with compression has had one head bolt fail. I guess this was a ticking time bomb anyway. Thanks for the new head bolt number, as this goes back together I will make sure the new ones go in.
BTW I thought he intially told me issues with 1,3 and 8 cylinders so I must have got this wrong. Strip down is continuing slowly. Each step is being communicated to MB Aust and waiting their feedback.

Watchbeat

Although I have just purchased a new old stock (1/2011 Built with engine # ending 600 663 XX) from the AD and done only 900km, I just hate to hear this happen!

Hope MB already changed and used new bolts on mine!

morganb

The heads have been off and X-rayed looking for porosity, nothing found and they were all perfectly flat.
The Block is now going for the same treatment. Hopefully will know something on Friday or Monday.
To summarize: 2 cylinders no compression due to valves not sealing, one broken head bolt (not bad leak), and water in 3 cylinders not related to the head bolt. As yet it seems no reason found yet as to what would have caused all this. The scary thing is until 2 minutes earlier the car was running great with no warning lights. Then low water warnings and about 30 seconds running time later the CEL came on and the car was running rough and putting out a smoke screen the Batmobile would have been proud of.

Bruce

Sincity

Thanks for the update.

CoolBDPhenom03

And the saga continues. Continue to keep us in the loop please!

SonnyakaPig

Thanks for the update.

bhamg

Interesting...hope the good-will issue works out for you.

morganb

Well they cannot find anything wrong! The water on one side in the cylinders seems seems to have magically appeared there! They are sending out the head assembly with a new set of head gaskets to be bolted to the block (still out of the car) and then pressurizing the cooling water ways to look for leaks! I have never heard of this before with a motor out. Any comments from technical experts would be most welcome.
Now 5 weeks and still do not have a cause. This is becoming very frustrating.

DuaneC63

There is no magic involved. Either is comming from a blown head gasket (the normal problem) or you have a porous engine/head casting which is very unlikely but could happen. Although this must be very frustrating, MBZ is working on the problem and will eventually fix it (perhaps with even a new motor). As long as they gave you a loaner to drive, i'd rather have them take the time to get it right. Best of luck.

morganb

No loan car! When the head first came off I was told one side had one head bolt fail but water was in both banks of cylinders. Its leaning towards a crack or porosity but it seems difficult to find.

DuaneC63

No loaner car is total BS. Your dealer sucks not offering you a loaner. Head bolt failure on the M156 is known by MBZ and a known failure. Block porosity is less common but not unheard of. In either case you should have been given a loaner until they figure out the problem.

SonnyakaPig

The problem is a consumer has less power than the manufacturer and even a dealership until the consumer files a lawsuit and commences discovery. But, that costs time and money so there needs to be some good evidence that (1.) there is a problem and (2.) MB knows about it before a lawyer will get involved and take the case on contingency. Otherwise it's up to the consumer to pay to protect their rights. If the consumer's loss is limited to out-of-pocket rental expense, the best forum to recover that amount would be small claims court. Tough situation but unfortunately very common.

DuaneC63

There is a class action suit regarding this issue.. Google it.

SonnyakaPig

I will, thank you. But, the commencement of a class action suit (depending on the stage of litigation) does not necessarily get @morganb and other like consumers in a rental car if the dealer is unwilling to provide one.

SonnyakaPig

That's old news about the class action and that class action isn't related to this head bolt issue. Further, there have been no updates relating to that class action about the metallurgy problem. That issue is now quiet.

morganb

Thanks for the advice. I am in Australia so not sure how any US class action would affect me. I am lucky I have a few cars so I have been driving some of the others over the past 5 weeks or so. I have not had to rent a car.

DuaneC63

Unfortunately you are correct. Loaner cars are goodwill by the dealer. It is very sad MBZUSA is acting like most american car manufacturers regarding known defects. Of course some MBZ dealers are much more accomodating than others regarding loaner cars. My wife has a Lexus and they break their backs to make you happy. But don't feel to bad..when I take my MBZ in, I get an MBZ loaner. When my wife takes her Lexus in she gets a Lexus loaner. When I take my Porsche in I get a Mazda (nothing against Mazda's).

SonnyakaPig

My local dealer used to offer loaner cars as standard practice, now it's at their discretion and they don't offer this courtesy very often. Too bad.

bhamg

While we were working through a major engine issue in the M5 my dealer provided me with a loaner. One month became two, eventually stretching out to five months. I was in town for four of those five. I got an X5, assorted 5 series and a 3 series wagon (my favorite). Once I called the BMW store in the morning from the airport and told them I was coming in and asked for the demo wagon. They said they had sold it but just to cab in and they would have a car. I got there late afternoon and there was a wagon waiting for me...fresh out of the prep shop and showing all of seven miles on the odo. It doesn't get any better than that.

SonnyakaPig

That's a really cool experience. Personally, I think dealers are more likely to provide loaners to people that purchased cars from them. This isn't a rule, but I've seen this outcome at my local dealer.