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2010 E550(S212), 2006 Chrysler Crossfire (SLK 320 R170 in disguise), 2012 CLS500 (x218)
Another one bites the dust... probably
Hi all, after all I've gone through to find the source of the missing coolant, and it being repaired, I think my engine gave up.
I was driving when suddenly I lacked power and immediately stopped on the side of the road, engine turned off or stalled.
After that, impossible to start her up again, it appears that the starter wants to turn the engine but can't, then a message appears on the dash with "ECS and ABS inoperative".
I didn't see any oil on the ground nor any other sign of catastrophic failure but these symptoms makes me think seized engine.
She left on a tow truck and I'm now waiting on news of the garage if they find something obvious.
If you have any idea on what could be an issue with those symptoms, I'm all ears.
2010 E550(S212), 2006 Chrysler Crossfire (SLK 320 R170 in disguise), 2012 CLS500 (x218)
Well, it's confirmed, engine is very badly seized and the oil filter is "sucked in".
i'll see if I can get pictures of the filter but the MB dealership who did the diagnostic for the car supposes something blocked the oil intake and lack of lubrication lead to the engine seizing and now they can't turn it in either direction.
I'll keep the thread updated if I can get picture and news but the car needs a new engine and that'll probably be more than the car is worth. I regret it because it was a very pleasant car but it'll be my last M278, maybe even my last MB depending on the legal case that I'm about to open with the last garage that worked on it.
2010 E550(S212), 2006 Chrysler Crossfire (SLK 320 R170 in disguise), 2012 CLS500 (x218)
Indeed, but for now I can't intervene on the car in any way, we need to go the legal route with all the mails and inspections in order to know if I can have the last garage who intervened held accountable and do the repairs.
As I said, I'll put pictures if I can but I think I'm now in months, maybe years of legal proceedings.
2010 E550(S212), 2006 Chrysler Crossfire (SLK 320 R170 in disguise), 2012 CLS500 (x218)
Well, I have had some news for the car. it's confirmed she's toast.
below is the picture of the "collapsed" filter that has some forbidden glitter in it. We don't exactly know what killed the engine but it was definitely related to oil starvation.
Borescoped 3 cylinders, one was TDC so nothing of value was seen, for the other two, one had a slight amount of marks but nothing worrysome, the other one had scratches all around but looked like it was really light. So no catastrophic/impressive damage in there.
However the oil felt really bad, bad smell, very brownish color so we sent it to oil analysis. I didn't get the full report due to local procedures but a sum up was "contaminated by cooling liquid, high water content (>0.2%), high sodium content (>200ppm), confirmed glycol in oil, abnormal silicon content (>100ppm) (possible rtv contamination)." But its viscosity was seen as normal.
I'm currently in legal procedures for that car and it'll be months or years before I see the end of it. It's a shame because it's a great and very enjoyable car that I wish I could have had for a decade at least. I'll see where this takes me but needing a good car for travel, I have gone for a E550 Wagon that came originally from Japan, it's the same chassis so I feel at home in there and really hope that M273 will reach very very high mileage.
What engine is that? As for the filter...I have seen MANY filters kinda concave like that, in general it is a lower quality filter (based on my opinion alone). On our GLS I have seen that twice with "Made in China" (or somewhere) Wix filters as opposed to the Made in Germany Wix filters.
Hopefully it turns out to be something easy (hey, there is a chance...).
2010 E550(S212), 2006 Chrysler Crossfire (SLK 320 R170 in disguise), 2012 CLS500 (x218)
Originally Posted by hyperion667
Sorry for your loss
Thanks,
I'm a bit gutted that it appears to be something very peculiar that was diagnosed too late or that the last repair wasn't done extensively enough (more inspections should tell us more).
Originally Posted by OldManAndHisCar
What engine is that? As for the filter...I have seen MANY filters kinda concave like that, in general it is a lower quality filter (based on my opinion alone). On our GLS I have seen that twice with "Made in China" (or somewhere) Wix filters as opposed to the Made in Germany Wix filters.
Hopefully it turns out to be something easy (hey, there is a chance...).
The filter is a purflux and apparently has a rather good reputation. I'm guessing that if the oil "sludged" a bit by reacting with coolant/rtv contamination, it could have had more pressure on the filter and made it that way. But at this point it's just speculations.
The engine is an M278 (4.6L twin turbo) known for many failures but not really that one.
I'm not hopeful on getting the car back and to tell the truth, I'm not sure I want it back at that point. If they repair it, it'll be some major changes, dropping the value and not really improving my confidence in that engine. So within the legal proceedings, it's very likely that I'll trade the car back in. Plus I already have a replacement with my E Class and the more reliable 5.5L M273. But I'll sure regret many things (NTG4.5 COMAND, ventilated and massaging seats, nicer wheel and dashboard imo).
Originally Posted by MB2timer
It really sucks hard to hear of your misfortune.
Good luck on the legal challenges.
Thanks, I'll be there for a while probably, let's hope it gets in my favor quickly so I can come to an arrangement soon enough.
I cant say I agree that the 5.5 is more reliable than the 4.6. I have one of each and the 4.6 has been very very much less troublesome. Granted, it does not get driven in the same way as the 5.5 does.....
2010 E550(S212), 2006 Chrysler Crossfire (SLK 320 R170 in disguise), 2012 CLS500 (x218)
I'm not basing this on my personal experience but on data gathered on the internet, the M278 (especially pre 2013) are prone to major issues requiring massive work (bore scoring, oil in harness/ECU, chain tensionner and chain slack, camshaft adjusters, and some that I'm probably forgetting). Not to say it can't be a reliable engine but the bore scoring alone makes me wonder if any of them can reach the 500k km line without major work on the block.
The M273 is more robust according to what I've seen, especially late production models when the balance shaft gear issue was resolved.
What kind of issues did you get on yours ?
Im sorry for your troubles. This is really a bad situation. But your engine seized due to oil starvation and you’re going to just sue the last shop that worked on it? What makes you think they’re responsible?
2010 E550(S212), 2006 Chrysler Crossfire (SLK 320 R170 in disguise), 2012 CLS500 (x218)
Originally Posted by joeshannon095
Im sorry for your troubles. This is really a bad situation. But your engine seized due to oil starvation and you’re going to just sue the last shop that worked on it? What makes you think they’re responsible?
I bought the car and straight up it was drinking coolant. They took it back under warranty to repair it with their partner garage (more than 3 month without the car for me). It seized less than 5 month and 3000 miles later, I contacted the jurists from my insurance and am following the standard procedure it's just that we have reached a time stamp when you have to go to court to not loose the right to have the first vendor held accountable.
I'm not suing at random, it's the follow up of event that lead the jurists, my lawyer and I to go that way. Plus the oil analysis concurs with the coolant leak to oil not being fixed properly so still under the obligation for seller to fix it.
Edit: forgot to say I bought it from a professional which makes this procedure possible.
Last edited by PEagle; Sep 24, 2025 at 02:30 PM.
Reason: Added info about seller
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Another one bites the dust... probably
