Rudeney

No worries on a 2012 - this problem was corrected halfway during MY2007 production.

dedalos99

Thank you very much for all your help Rodney. I get check engine light after i change the oil myself, i check with ODBI and i get code P0014. Should i change all 4 cams sensors?
R-350 2012 has 80.000 miles


Thank you

Rudeney

Your car has a different engine (M276) than the ones affected by the balance shaft and camshaft solenoid problems (M272/M273). Note that generic OBDII "P" codes can actually translate to more than one MBZ "DTC". I'd get a proper diagnosis with equipment that read MBZ codes.

CODriver1

I drive a 2010 C300. Purchased from MB dealership in July 2013 with 31K miles. I'm the second owner. Car has been babied and meticulously maintained. Regular driving, mainly to and from work daily. Car is now at 66K.

CEL came on last week. Took into local imports guy and he ran the code. Got the dreaded PO017. He suggested it would be the timing chain issue and told me to call dealership as they may cover all or part of it. Also provided me with a copy of the service bulletin and information on the wiring harness campaign, just in case it applied to me. Of course, my car isn't currently under any warranty.

Dropped it off at MB dealership this morning. Was just emailed that the timing chain and timing tensioner do need to be replaced, and the cylinder head covers need to be resealed. They quoted me $3100 to fix. Price is lower than I expected from what I'd gathered lurking here (thank you for all the info, BTW). It seems to me that a failure on chain and tensioner at 66K miles would be a rarity on a well maintained car without defective parts.

I'm guessing that MB hasn't *really* fully resolved this issue in model years after the class action settlement. Been digging around the recesses of the internet and it still seems to be reported at rates higher than what would be expected in cars with fairly low mileage.

Just wanted to report in so owners of MY after 2007 are aware that they may still face this issue. Thanks again for all of the info you've shared here!

Rudeney

P0017 can actually be unrelated to the "balance shaft" problem. There are four translations from that generic OBDII code to MBZ-specific DTCs:

http://benzbits.com/DTC/DTC%20209.372.pdf

Of course all of these are timing related, but only DTC 1200 is balance shaft specific. Of course timing chain issues are rare, but the do happen. $3100 is VERY high for this job as the engine does not need to be pulled - this is a top-end job only requiring that the head covers be removed.

CODriver1

Thank you for the reply! I thought $3100 was reasonable because I assumed this was an engine pull. I also called the imports specialist who did the original diagnostic and directed me to the dealership. Figured he had no reason to inflate numbers since he'd told me to go to a dealership over him for the repair anyway. I gave him the number quoted and asked if that sounded reasonable based on the discussion we'd had at his shop last week. He said yes. Dammit. Looks like I need to call around more.

The good news is that I picked my car up today without having the repair done. MB told me they'd need to keep my car until Monday or Tuesday. I had a loaner and I head to the Caribbean this weekend for two weeks. Wouldn't be able to return the loaner in a timely manner. Told them I'd call to schedule service after I get back. So at least I have the chance to get the price down.

I know pricing is influenced by geographic area, etc. I live in a mid-sized city in the Midwest. If you had to guess, can you tell me what you think is more reasonable for this job?

Rudeney

Checking ASRA, this is just over 12 hours of labor, plus parts. Parts are under $500, and at $120/hr, labor is $1500, so I'm not sure where the extra $1100 comes in. Ys, there are shop supplies and a carwash, plus shop clean-up time, but not another 10 hours worth!

CODriver1

Thank you again for getting back with me. $1500-2000 is better than $3100!

Today, I looked closely at what MB gave me when I picked the car up. I hadn't yesterday, because I figured it was a repeat of the email estimate. The one difference is that those papers actually reference a DTC 1200. The only place I got PO017 is from the imports specialist I went to for the first diagnostic. Hm. Now I'm unsure what the origin of the problem is.

I'll call MB when I get back to verify whether or not they're saying this work is because of the balance shaft issue. I'll also call four other places around here for quotes based on timing chain and tensioner replacement. The car will be in my garage while I'm gone, so no risk of the engine falling apart while driving.

I can't thank you enough for your help. I will be back with the final verdict after I get back to the US.

kraut2

Is VIN# WDBWK4F77F171804 engine affected by the balance shaft issue? Thanks in advance!

cmcg

Hi from Australia,
If you would be so kind as to deliver me the (bad?) news. My VIN is
wdc1641862a421567

Appreciated
MG

Rudeney

Recheck the VIN - that's not valid. I think you're missing a digit.

Rudeney

That one has M272 engine #936397, which is well beyond the trouble range.

kraut2

WDBWK54F77F171804
Sorry I missed a digit! Thank you!

cmcg

Appreciate your help. I should have probably been more specific. Here in Australia we don't have the benefit of the class action settlement so we're getting stung by repairers on this issue. I have an engine warning light on permanently and the repairer is saying that this is a balance shaft issue and its going to cost me a small fortune to fix. I'm just trying to do enough homework to keep him honest on pricing. I guess in order for me to have a decent discussion with the guy i need to know the error codes? Is that my next best approach on this issue.

Rudeney

That one has M272 engine #660281 which is beyond the balance shaft problem range.

Rudeney

Well, the class action settlement is no help over here now as it only covered cars for 10 years so any new failures are beyond its coverage. As is usual with these class action suits, the lawyers made all the money and the victims got very little help.

In your case, unless you are getting DTCs 1200 and 1208 (generic OBDII codes P0017 and P0016) then it's not balance shaft failure. Get the codes pulled and then let's see what you have.

cmcg

Hi again,
Well i've now pulled the codes and, sadly, it is turning up P0017 and P0016. So my engine number is outside the dodgy range, but showing balance shaft codes. Do i have any options now but to accept my fate and pay up to have the work done?

Rudeney

I think it would be very rare, but possible that the timing chain idler could fail even in an engine like yours that is well outside the problem range. The first thing I'd do is get the codes pulled with a tool that reads actual MBZ DTCs. The P0016 and P0017 generic OBDII codes actually can be four different DTCs each. Knowing the actual DTCs can help. Of course the bad news is than none of the other DTCs are any less expensive to repair than the balance shaft.

meatalishawynn

I was wondering if anyone may be able to assist me in obtaining the VMI (repair records) for my GL450. I purchased used about 3 months ago and since then the suspension has put the car in Malfunction 4 times (and the dealer claims that they have replaced the whole system 2 of those times.) I feel that something fishy is going on and it is in the shop every other week. Your help is greatly appreciated. Add the dot com to my screen name to send to me privately. Thank you!

Mom in distress!

meatalishawynn

I was wondering if anyone may be able to assist me in obtaining the VMI (repair records) for my GL450. I purchased used about 3 months ago and since then the suspension has put the car in Malfunction 4 times (and the dealer claims that they have replaced the whole system 2 of those times.) I feel that something fishy is going on and it is in the shop every other week. Your help is greatly appreciated. Add the dot com to my screen name to send to me privately. Thank you!

Mom in distress!

Oh, meant to put in my vin:

4JGBF7BE6BA745479

THANK YOU!!!!

Rudeney

Sorry, you can only get the VMI records from someone with access to live dealers systems, and then, it's doubtful they will do that for you as it includes private information about the prior owner. Some dealers will do this and redact that private info, but most will not.

kb24forlife24

My friend's looking at a 550. Could you check the VIN?
WDBTJ72H08F254756

Rudeney

WDBTJ72H08F254756 is a MY2008 - no balance shaft worries there (engine #248263).

Alex225577

Hi, can you please check my VIN WDBUF72X87B137901? Its a 2007 e550. Thank you

Rudeney

M273 engine #136526 - it's beyond the problem range for timing chain idler sprocket failure.