m a x i m u s

Same here. I had a tiny hole in my rad.

mdotk

Thanks, getting it pressure tested tonight for a start. We couldn't find any sources of a leak today.

mdotk

Pressure test passed. Ending up being a faulty radiator header tank.

604 C63

Bullet dodged!

Euler

.

Joao Raimundo

Thanks in advance
i am a portuguese citizen that have an e63 with this vin ,
it's possible for you to see european cars?
vin number is : WDD2122771A323091

thanks

blacksquid

I used a different decoder and it pulled up the VIN you posted:

https://www.vindecoderz.com/EN/check...2122771A323091

Valvestud

Your's is not affected.

Regards,

Joe

Joao Raimundo

thank you so much
the figure of the car does not correspond , mine is a combi also the year and millenage is not the same but
the extra information is total correct.
😥
jhrraimundo

Valvestud

Not sure I understand what you are saying about "correspond", but hopefully you got the info you needed.

Regards,

Joe

DrSkywalker

Same thing happened to me in 2014. Coolant levels dropped. After much fussing, it was revealed that the cylinder head bolts had to be replaced. Had to pull out the engine and measure cylinders for damage - turned out OK. Car was out of warranty, but MB Canada ponied up for the full $6300 charge (after initially refusing a couple of times).
I suspect this should have been a recall issue, but the bad press and cost scared them off. Internal decision just to pony up and cover it when the issues arose????

VII

It's the math, a recall for MB would mean dealerships charging them the $4k in labor for each car sold with an m156 for 4 years and that is a lot of cars.
They also had the extended warranty option (like on the fuel tanks from that generation) but I guess either liability or just financials (crated engines for most failures) means they decided to not even do that.
And so they go for goodwill for good customers at their sole discretion. (If you'd needed an engine you might have found them less cooperative)
In reality failure rates are low enough that they are getting by without too much bad publicity so the giant corporation wins again.
​​​​​​

604 C63

SAY HEY WHAAAAAAT?

Thats a new one on me. Don't know that I have ever heard of that before.

BadCompany

Honestly, they might have treated him differently because he was driving an SL63.

604 C63

Thats probably a pretty good point. From MBs standpoint there are lower numbers and likely higher net worth owners with longer MB history. Based on this if this hit me I think I would be on the look out for SL/G/S 63 owners that had this take care of, and that I could point to as precedent.

wiseass

confirmed internal leak with a pressure test.
so lets say the MB pre-owned warranty covers the repairs on my 2009 c63, what else can I try to get them to replace that typically wears prematurely? lifters? valve buckets? camshafts?

builthatch

off topic but how do you still have a MB CPO warranty on an '09? i had the max three years (1+2) on my '09 and it ended in '16.

wiseass

I recently bought the car used from a MB dealership (Australia). If its been serviced my MB its whole life, MB can sometimes offer an extra 12-24 month warranty on it.

builthatch

ha! that explains it.

welp, good luck and keep us updated.

dnktexas

Long time lurker here. Felt the need to create an account to possibly alleviate some fears some posters may be having about coolant levels.

I have an '09 c63 @ 79k miles and like many, got the dreaded "Check coolant level see operator's manual". This happened at cold start when I got in my car for work in the morning. First time this has ever popped up. Driving a few minutes down the road, the message disappears. BUT a few minutes after that, I also got the "Check engine oil at next refueling".

Knowing that my motor (#042672) falls on the oh sh*t list, I of course freaked! The pairing of the coolant AND oil light already had me thinking I sheared a head bolt and my motor was moments away from hydro locking.

Luckily, I was able to make it the remaining half mile to work. The car was not shuttering, idle was normal, no performance loss, no tail pipe smoke, and temperatures were normal.

I let the engine cool and went to check the levels a few hours later. Coolant was ~1cm down from the fill line and (cold) oil level was to the top of the first red indicator. Very strange, as I was expecting oil level to be overfull and contaminated with coolant. However, oil and coolant did not appear contaminated.

I did a quick check of the reservoir and hoses leading from the radiator to see there was an integrity compromise. Everything appeared normal and no sign of dripping, or burnt coolant.

Long story short, I drove it (very, very cautiously!) a few miles down the road to my indy as I needed my service B anyways.

My mechanic kept the car overnight to run a coolant pressure test. Needless to say, I was expecting the absolute worst as my 3rd party extended warranty expired earlier this year F**k!!!!!!!

My level of concern was to the point where I was even contacting local dealers to test drive some 2014's. I was 100% certain this was going to be the death of my car.

Got the results yesterday afternoon that the coolant system has zero leaks . Coolant and drained oil did not appear to be contaminated (visually, no oil analysis sent off). Low oil level was due to a small leak in the pan gasket, which I was already aware of.

Just picked up the car on my way to work and I will be closely monitoring coolant level for the next few weeks, but all in all, I'm thinking I dodged a major kick to the nuts!!!

My indy has done a few head bolt jobs on the M156 and noted that it's pretty common for our cars to need a small coolant (and oil) top off from time to time. He also stated that it's really not as common as I would believe.

Anyways...Apologies for the diatribe on my first post. Just hoping to calm some fears for owners that see that dreaded coolant message...It's not always going to be bad news. Regardless, I think it's time to invest in some Weistec head studs and SLS lifters in the very near future.

Cheers, guys.

j-mo

Hello Joe,

Can you please check this VIN for the head bolt issue. It's a 2011 so I am crossing my fingers.

WDDGF7HB7BF648159

thank you!

chrisridebike8

You definitely got lucky. Definitely get those studs and lifters in. If you don't plant to add a supercharger later, just get the updated stock bolts. Cheaper and they are pretty stout.

Bundles

Long time lurker here...
There is a nice 09 C63 67k miles at the local MB dealership here and it seems to be a good deal. Obviously, the headbolt issue is in the back of my mind. Is there a test the dealership can perform on the bolts? Should I ask them to replace prior to buying the car?

The SA mentioned they have a warranty but has not given me pricing yet. He noted saying the warranty folks are not MB but all service items will be taken care of at a MB dealership. Not knowing too much about 3rd party warranties, which warranty should I go with to cover the headbolt issue?

TIA

rnorthen

My 2010 C63 with 33k miles just had headbolt failure - was still under the MB extended warranty (by a few days), so MB picked up the tab for new headbolts, lifters, etc. total was around $8k

Vladds

I just wanted to know if the bolts they pulled were rusted or not really.


Also, were you on Mercedes antifreeze, are you the first owner?