Rudeney

Not really. The 722.9 transmissions on these cars were more problematic in earlier models. They have become more reliable as more were made, but with no specific range like the balance shaft issues.

Double check the engine cover fit. And make sure you connected the air pump hose connection, too. As for the fuel smell, it's probably bad seals on the fuel pump and/or fuel sender on the tank under the rear seat (common problem).

bmccarther

Wife wants a 2008 MB R350 wagon for Christmas. Any problems with this car? Here's the VIN: 4JGCB65EX8A076065

Rudeney

4JGCB65EX8A076065 has M272 engine #820562, which is well beyond the balance shaft problem range.

bmccarther

Rodney...Thank you!!!! YOU SO ROCK!
There's one more in the area for sale...here's the vin: 4JGCB65E18A064628.
The last 6 digits seem to imply an earlier production number than the previous vin.

Rudeney

4JGCB65E18A064628 is another MY2008 and as expected, it's engine (M272 #691148) is beyond the affected range.

dwen77

Appreciate the feedback and tips, I did recheck everything listed and after 50 some miles the check engine light did go away : ) The gas smell hasn't occurr in a couple weeks. I'll monitor the gas smell and check the fuel pump and sender on the tank if require.

Thank you!

yandg

HI,

Looking at this R500 VIN#:WCD2511722A084598
Appreciate if anyone can check if there is any issues with it?

Thanks You!

need4spd

I got a 06 R350 (92k miles)which was just diagnosed with balancer shaft issue, my question would be what is the status of the law suit that was filed over that issue and if MB is doing anything about it?

Rudeney

Forget the lawsuit - it was thrown out for several reasons, mainly because the plaintiff lawyers were idiots (the suit was full of errors) but also because no judge wanted to get involved in the precedent of making a manufacturer cover a repair outside the warranty period.

My advice is to work first with your local MBZ dealer. Ultimately, they will have to work with MBUSA to get it covered under "goodwill". If you are the original purchaser or if you bought from an authorized MBZ dealer or have used them for service, you have a better chance getting help than if you've never stepped foot on their lot. If the dealer seems disinterested in helping, go to mbusa.com and contact customer service via their web form and beg for help. Give them a reason to help you - be nice, respectful, beg and plead.

need4spd

Thanks for the response Rodney
Car is at the dealer now, they said they will do all outstanding recalls and after that see what else they can do. Fortunetly I'm able to do the job myself so I'm not really freaking out, it's just a waste of time for me since my friends shop is like an hour away from my house and I know it will take me multiple trips. I also noticed that intake manifolds seem to be a problem, should I look into replacing that to?

mpbeld

I am thinking of purchasing a 2008 CLK 350 vin WDBTJ56H58F242200 could you check it and let me know if it has balance shaft issues.

xsever

Engine serial number is 743632.

The car is not in the affected range.

mpbeld

Thank you so much for the good news and the quick reply!!!

need4spd

Just a little update, MBUSA just inform me in a nice manner to go pound sand, so I'll be doing the job myself in the next couple weeks. Parts are relatively cheap so it will cost me about the same as a brake job at the dealer, but I can't imagine buying a 13k car and having a 6k repair bill month later.

xsever

I never understood how they got away with this issue even if the lawyers on the lawsuit case were not the best and made mistakes.

This is clearly a defect.

Rudeney

Yes, it is clearly a manufacturer's defect. The problem is, the manufacturer gives sells their vehicles (int he USA) with a 50K mile/48 month warranty bumper-to-bumper. This is pretty much the best in the business. MBZ's argument is that, like any other problem, as long as the failure is discovered during the warranty period, it is covered. If not, then by law, they are under no obligation to cover the repair.

I can agree with that. It's a simple contract. What I have a problem with is that they sometimes cover the repairs, and sometime do not. I have some suspicions about their decision making process, but I have no inside knowledge. What I believe is that the dealer plays a large role in this. if the dealer asks for "goodwill" then they get it. If not, they don't. Now, it would seem that dealers would want to get MBZ to cover repairs so they would make money, but dealers are expected to cover part of a goodwill repair. So, if the dealer isn't willing to chip in, then you're not going to get approved.

I hate this. I really wish that MBZ would just cover these repair. We know that about 580,000 engines fall into the range, but not all are affected. Let's say that maybe 20% are (and I think that is a very high number - I think it's more like 1%) so we're talking about maybe 100,000 or so repairs. While the "cash" price is $5,000 (or half a BILLION dollars), the real "cost" for the repair is maybe something like $1500, or $150M. That sounds like a lot, but look it's a small fraction of profits. And like I said, that's really a "much worse than worst case" scenario. my guess is that they would spend something like maybe $20M to fix all of these.

cssnms

Hi Rudeney, New here, hoping to become a Merc owner soon.


Could you tell me if the vehicle I am looking at is affected?


WDBTJ56HX6F183335




PS I think it is great what you are doing here - helping out the community!

xsever

Engine serial number 216141 is in the affected range since this is a 05 CLK350.

Sorry.

cssnms

Bummer.... What is the fix (if there is one), perhaps I can get the dealer to take care of it as a condition of sale?

cssnms

Okay got another one... WDBTK65G55T041180 It's a 2005 CLK320. This car has 65k on it and it's a dealer 2 mi from house.

ricardovasco

Hi Rudeney. Could you check mine,please? CLK500 04 WDBTJ75W44F109966

Thanks

xsever

The engine serial number on this one is 905537 which is not in the affected range since it's an 04 CLK320 with the M112 engine which never had this problem.

The engine serial number on this one is 574617 and it's not in the affected range since it's an M113 engine.

Rudeney will tell you if it's in the affected range for CPS/magnet defect or something like that.

Rudeney

None of the M112/M113 engines (CLK320 or CLK500 in the USA market) will have balance shaft issues. Only the M272/M273 (CLK350/CLK550) are to worry about.

As for the actual problem, this TSB will explain it:

http://benzbits.com/BalanceShaftTSB.pdf

It is certainly repairable, and it's not really too difficult to do this except for the fact the engine has to be pulled and that equates to lots of labor. That's the rub - if it faisl, it will cost about $5K for the repair.

AsianR350

Hi RODNEY,
Would you please check my vin # if it falls in the range of affected balance shaft?


2008 R350
4JGCB65E88A074489
28,500 MILES

Thanks in advance.

cssnms

Okay I have another one - 2007 CLK350 WDBTJ56H57F211219 - Manufactured 8/2006. I tried the Russian site, but I guess I am not sure how to use it.