Recall Campaign 20067080004 NOV06 Inspect Instrument Cluster (IC) and replace if necessary. Approximately 30,379 vehicles affected.

Model 215 (CL-Class), 2000 – 2002 / 2004 – 2005. VIN range:
215.373 = A010123 – A029012
215.374 = A043422 – A045438
215.375 = A007963 – A045436
215.376 = A043426 – A045418
215.378 = A007971 – A027788
215.379 = A043461 – A045427

Model 220 (S-Class), 2000 – 2002 / 2004 – 2005. VIN range:

220.070 = A153298 – A300137
220.170 = A137766 – A452109
220.173 = A159266 – A301296
220.174 = A432175 – A452076
220.175 = A137746 – A452124
220.176 = A432934 – A452122
220.178 = A137763 – A301366
220.183 = A431158 – A452129
220.184 = A431168 – A452126

Due to variations in the production quality of electrical components from the supplier, the background illumination of the IC may fail. Under certain conditions if the vehicle is driven after the background illumination fails, the IC fuse may blow causing a total failure of the IC. The dealer will check the IC part number and replace if necessary.

Notes:
(1) Every vehicle in the VIN range may not be included in the campaign. Call your dealer to verify that this campaign is required on your vehicle.
(2) If you paid to have this condition repaired, provide adequate documentation (i.e.: dealer invoice) to support a non-warranty repair to be eligible for reimbursement.

 

Interesting that the 2003 was not included? Why?

 

Anyone had this problem? Doesn't MB advise owners of recalls?

 

I am having trouble with mine, of course I am making a list for the workshop.
Thanks for the heads up.

Ed

 

FYI you CL guys.

So today in the mail I get a letter from MBZ.
"Your warranty is extended to 10 Years on the instrument cluster".
My car is not on the recall list.

Got the same letter for my SL55 brakes last week.

Yikes

 

The warranty on SBC Hydraulic Unit only for the 2003-2006 E-Class, 2006 CLS, and all SL-Class vehicles is extended to 10 years/unlimited mileage.

 

I have a 2001 CL 55 that seems to be covered. The LCD display is OK, but the temperature display is about 12-15 degrees low. In 60 degree weather it reads 50 degrees... is that included?

 

The letter comes with a sticker for the warranty booklet inside back cover. It matches the layout, color and font of the book perfectly. If only they spent as much attention designing the cluster.

 

Probably not. That sounds more like the outside temp sensor.

 

I normally refrain from posting unless I have something productive to add to the thread. I decided to post b/c I'm having an issue that I can only trace back to the recent recall cluster replacement work.

Now I have to say that I'm not the type of person to be exteremely particular, but I'm feeling like steam is coming out of my ears. When my CL600 was being repaired on a separate matter, the people at Tyson's Collision Center (owned by HBL Mercedes) called themselves being proactive by handling the recalled cluster replacement prior to public anouncement. By the time someone posted this thread, my cluster had already been completed for about a month.

This is fine, but something is definitely wrong b/c I'm noticing that the battery is discharging itself at a rapid rate. In a nutshell, it seems as if the instrument cluster is not appropriately powering down after shut off & driver side door opened. I'm also getting a "place selector in P" warning when the car is cut off, but the car is in "P" (Park). I'm not a MB master tech but I am a highly common sense person. I can only assume that this problem is related to the cluster work, as there was absolutely no electronic problems prior to these intelligent folks.

If anyone has experience with the CL when the battery is dead and car locked, you know what joy that brings to your heart. I first noticed this problem when the car wouldn't unlock with either the key fobs or keyless go card close by. I even tried to put the manual key in the driver side door, but nothing happened. I then tried that same manual key in the trunk and experienced success in getting that open (not sure what the deal w/ the door was). Something told me that the battery was dead, so I jumped it with another car. BOY, my ears got an instant treat when I attached the jumper cables.........my ears are still ringing from those delightful pezo (sp?) tweeter-like sirens. I guess once power was restored, the CL felt like it was being broken into. The tele-aid tried to dial out, the car wouldn't start w/ the key....it was getting ridiculous. Then I dawned on me that since I now have power, just hit the unlock button on the key.

I can only be thankful that I do not drive this car everyday, b/c I would not have noticed this problem. Once again, I'm going to assume that b/c the car is sitting dormant more than usual daily driver, the alternator is not being afforded the opportunity to recharge the battery, which is obviously losing charge.

In closing, I'm just posting this so that other cluster replacement owners can keep an eye out for this ailment if the recall work is not performed correctly. In addition, I'm also letting my experience with Tyson's Collision Center-HBL Mercedes be known as extremely unsatisfied and I wouldn't even think about returning for any future work; although I'm sure I'll have to return the car so they can fix whatever they f**ked up. You'd think that a MB Dealer would actually know how to work on their product, but then again...

 

Sounds like maybe your front SAM got fried during the cluster repair. Battery drain is often a SAM problem.

 

Sam = ?

 

Signal Acquisition Module (SAM), a component of the vehicle’s communication network.

 

Great?!

 

I got my letter and extended warranty sticker from MB yesterday. I guess that means my '02 CL500 is not on the recall list, right??

 

In reply to LEXLYF, the most common cause of a dead battery when the car sits for more than a day is one or both of the front seat control units. Very common problem on many late model Mercedes-Benzes. The control units don't allow the interior CAN to shut down causing about a 2 ampere draw on the battery. This won't kill a good battery overnight usually, but after 24 hours time to call the RAP wagon. Probably not related to the instrument cluster replacement unless the dealer tech moved you seat for the first time in months and that is when the seat control module decided to c*** out.

 

The SAMs (Signal acquisition/actuation module) are computerized switching systems. There's one in the front and one in the rear. In the old days, the headlight switch was an electrical switch that could handle the high current that flows from the battery to the bulbs. As cars got more and more electrical consumers the cost and (especially) weight of all the copper got excessive.

Now, switches send signals to a SAM over lightweight fiber-optic networks and the SAMs do the power switching. Because there are two SAMs the real copper wire runs can be fairly short (and light).

The various fiber networks go to sleep at different times after the car has shut down. Anything that keeps a network from going to sleep can cause a battery drain. This can be a bad "switch" (usually a control unit) like the seat control unit that Matt identified. If it goes bad in a way that continues to signal the SAM that it's about to ask for something, the SAM doesn't allow a fiber network to go to sleep and your battery goes dead in a couple of days. But the SAM itself can also go bad with the same consequence. Or a control unit can go bad and take a SAM with it. I had a bad mirror control unit (right-side mirror wouldn't dip) take out a seat controller which took out my rear SAM.

This is why it sometimes takes three trips to the dealer to get electrical problems fixed. They are very tricky to diagnose sometimes, especially if the dealer doesn't have a very good specialist.

 

what if you didn't receive the letter in the mail. How can I get my re-call service done? thanks

 

I just got my letter a couple of days ago and I know others got theirs sooner. The letter didn't say anything about bringing it in...just an extension of the warranty. Frankly, I don't want them in my dash unless absolutely necessary. I'd give it a little more time for the letter and if you don't receive it within a few weeks, give them a call.