2014 CLA 45 AMG blown engine with no warning at 42k miles
 

I was driving my 2014 CLA 45 AMG at around 75 mph not even running it hard and it started smoking and squealing (there was no check oil, over heat, or etc lights on or warnings given). Pulled off the road within 10-20 seconds of this starting. Opened the hood and everything looked fine thought A pulley froze up or etc. Had it towed to a local shop (the closes Mercedes dealer is 203 miles away from me) they found nothing wrong with the pulleys or serpentine and noticed the oil was almost empty. Had the car transported to the closest Mercedes dealer which Its currently sitting at the Mercedes dealership in Albuquerque. The week before I called and told them everything that happened and scheduled an appointment for the monday after we dropped it off. When it was dropped off we gave the keys to what I assume was the general manager, owner, or etc since he left in a Porsche 911 after this and also told him what had happened and he saw us tow it in. I called the dealer ship near the end of the day that monday and asked what they found. they asked for me name and everything and couldn't find me in the system so they connected me to a service guy who said oh the blue cla 45 amg that whines really loud when started? the service personel that I talked to the week before apparently didn't put my appointment and information in the system. Also the guy it was dropped off to also did not inform anyone that there was no oil in the car... The service tech calls me a couple hours later and tells me that the engine threw a rod and will be 39k to fix!!! the next day I called mercedes corporate and put in a request for a goodwill repair or for the dealership to fix my car since it is possible they are the ones that blew the engine by starting it and possibly trying to run it into the garage with no oil. Supposed to hear back monday or tuesday on what mercedes will offer if anything. If not i'm going to have to declare bankruptcy since I have a $38k loan on the car and definitly can't put another 39k in it. anyone heard of an engine blowing in one of these so suddenly or even at all? any advice for me? Anything would help.

No, every one that's blown up has been from outside impact or something of that nature. Contact your insurance company, they will fix or total it if it was damaged.

No Coverage under a standard insurance policy for a blown engine, only if you have an extended service contract with companies that sell that coverage

Did the oil leak out or you had oil changed somewhere that didn't put any in?

As far as I can tell it burnt up, last oil change was a couple thousand miles ago it was half way through a oil change cycle. No oil on the road where it happened or where it was parked waiting for the tow truck.

Update for everyone that cares. Called Mercedes corporate and was told they are still looking into it and they should know something by the end of the week. I'm not that confident in their executive referral manager division, Emmanuel told me to call him if I had any questions when this was first all set up last Tuesday and I haven't been able to get a hold of him since at his extension when I call customer service they message him through Skype and he just tells them he has no update when I ask for an ETA he just says some vague time in the future like by the end of the week or last Friday it was Monday or Tuesday...

Another update. Mercedes has decided they aren't going to cover anything they aren't even going to discount the repair, so I am royally screwed... I have no clue what to even do now.

What did they say was the source of the oil loss, I would find an used motor...they are out there, and have tested and installed. Or if its contained to a rod, etc have it pulled and repaired

What was the source of failure? We replace engines that blow up under insurance, I'm not sure why you can't go that route here.

Or, as above, get a good used engine installed.

So sorry to hear that! That sucks that MB will not do anything. I thought you are under warranty ? 45K Miles is still 5k miles short of the 50k mile warranty no? A used engine is like $13,000. Maybe even find one from a non AMG CLA to save cost?

Yes, so weird that this is not covered while its under warranty

The warranty is four years or 50k miles whichever comes first. four years was in February.

Oh, some reason I thought you had the extended warranty. On these type of cars, I would never own it out of warranty for these reasons.

39k for an M133 is crazy...

On ebay germany they are selling them for about 7k €.

Hope that you find a solution that is affortable, those OEM offers are insane :hammer:

OP - You're giving us a half ass diagnosis when we're trying to help. I'd recommend finding out exactly where the oil went first. If it burnt up you would've had a low oil warning during your drive. If it was from an external influence (puncture, etc) then I would phone your insurance company. Do you have full coverage? If so, this will definitely be covered under your policy. Don't declare bankruptcy, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

Also, I would arrange a meeting with the GM of the dealer and have a word about them starting the vehicle. It's obvious they did, and despite however short it was running it definitely contributed to the failure.

If the repair is not feasible you could also sell the car through CoPart, nice Salvage can bring 60%+ of value of car undamaged or part it out yourself

Was it dealer serviced? Who did the oil change last and how long ago?

A few updates for everyone. Mercedes has decided they will not cover my car or even offer a discount on the repair. Talked to the general service manager, the official story is that my aftermarket stereo (there is no aftermarket stereo the last owner had a sub installed and the only thing left is a amp wire that was obviously professionally installed and has an inline fuse.) Caused the alternator to catch fire. Which melted the belt which stopped the water pump which caused the engine to blow. Now first off there was no evidence of a fire in my engine bay, second it was inspected at a mechanic before being taken to the Mercedes shop and he said the belt was turning fine and was in one piece. Anyone with any mechanical experience can pick this story apart in seconds. I can't believe this is the official story. Went to the dealer Monday and inspected the car brought along a mechanic friend of mine. The belt is still in tack it does show signs of it rubbing and wouldn't of lasted much longer but its definitely still in tack, The amp wire that supposedly caused all of this does have a 20A in line fuse that did not blow. Also there is no burn evidence around the alternator the silver heat shields are still shiny silver. Took a video of it all. Also called the dealer that has the car Saturday and talked to a service tech and ask how long it would take to blow an AMG motor if it was started with no oil, his answer was hes seen them blow within seconds of starting with no oil. Have that all recorded. Going to talk to some lawyers today and see what they think probably have to get it towed to a independent shop with a Mercedes master mechanic for a full inspection but no way their story is even almost adding up. Tried talking to the service manager while I was there he said Tear it up (in reference to me getting a lawyer) and walked away. This is the most ridiculous situation I've ever been in and or heard of. Notice no where in any of that is oil mentioned in anyway or form?

New update for y'all. Called a lawyer and they informed me that the Attorney Generals office of New Mexico will investigate these kinds of things for free. Put in a consumer complaint to their department. Got a call back today requesting paperwork from the mechanic that checked my car out up here in Colorado and the towing company report. They sent a message to the dealer but haven't heard back from them yet. Things are looking up, no way their story holds up a the attorney generals investigation!

:popcorn: shared this thread on Pcar forum. I want to see the outcome of this.

man this sucks but hopefully will work in your favor.. it simply just doesn't add up, unless of course the entire story isnt being told.. but i do hope you get your car fixed a nd the issue resolved... the stealerships are at it again haha smh!

Update for ya'll. Got a reply from the attorney general which is the reply from the Mercedes dealership. see attached. their evidence is absolutely bonkers and they even attached pages that aren't even from my car!

I looked at the report. The only pages that don't belong to your car are 12-15, they belong to Mercedes Sprinter van according to the VIN.

Are pictures they presented of your car? And did your car have the 200 amp fuse in place of the 175 amp fuse for the alternator as well as aftermarket cables for the stereo?

If the above two questions are answered with a YES, I am struggling to see how you are going to fight them on anything. Your car died, you towed it in. They diagnosed it and presented their findings. It is not like your car was 100% functional and drove on its own power. Help us understand why do you think this dealership is liable for anything?

Unless you have 100% written/recorded proof that you explicitly stated that "THERE IS NO OIL IN THE ENGINE, DO NOT START THE CAR" you have no leg to stand on. As your case against the dealership is solely based on you stating that they blew your engine by starting it after you towed your car in. They can 100% state that your engine was blown when the car was towed in, and you have nothing to prove them wrong. Why? Because you towed your car in, and you have stated yourself that the vehicle have died on you on the freeway and required a tow.

Consider the following scenario. In Porsche world, 996 cars have massive IMS issues that cause complete engine failures. Your car's engine just died. You towed it to the Porsche dealer on the weekend and left it there. On Monday they diagnosed the car as having complete engine failure due to IMS bearing breaking apart. You claim that they owe you a new engine because they started the car and blew the bearing?

Edit: After re-reading your complaint to the AG, I feel like you have buried yourself in the first half of your complaint. By referencing that the first mechanic you took it to was not sure of the diagnosis and was not a Mercedes technician- so he recommended that you take it to the Mercedes dealer for proper evaluation.. That statement alone destroys any and all arguments that your car did not have a blown engine or blown rod prior to being towed to the MB dealer. I think you can see why?

As a tech the report sounds fishy. If that fuse is indeed installed properly for a sound system then it shouldn't matter. Im not sure why anybody would put it in line to the alternator. Either way it looks like the car is out of warranty so I wouldn't expect them to cover anything unless it was part of some ongoing issue. In all my years with MB I've never heard of an alternator being overworked causing a belt to melt. Is the water pump seized? I could see a water pump seizing turning into overheating the engine.