Does the E320 CDI have any know issues I should be aware of?
 

I've had mine for 18 months and love it but want to keep an eye out for any potential problems. Thanks.

Not much, really.

You can keep track of dealer technical bulletins by occasionally subscribing for a day at http://www.startekinfo.com

My understanding is that EGRs have failed with some minor frequency. I have over 130,000 miles and have had only that one issue.

How many miles are owners reporting on their CDIs without major problems?

98k miles on our '05. Only unscheduled repairs thus far (all covered by warranty):

-SRS airbag sensor around 40k
-leaky injector line around 50k
-EGR malfunction/failure at 97k

EGR failed at 15k

I've owned my CDI since April 2004. It currently has a little over 80,000 miles on it.

I had the EGR replaced during the first year of ownership.

I also had the transmission sensor port leak problem early in the life of the vehicle.

As far as non - engine related problems, the air conditioning was shutting down while on max cool, and the fuel gauge was occasionally suddenly dropping from 1/4 tank to 0 (that got my attention the first time it happened.)

There was also a problem with the CD changer, but I forget the details, other than that it was fixed with a software upgrade.

All of the above were fixed (on the first try) under warranty.

My only recent problem is that the emergency brake bracket fractured last summer after 4 years of shocks as the emergency brake was released (I always set the brake when I park.) I had to pay for that repair. Now I use my foot to slowly ease the pedal up when releasing the emergency brake.

The analog speedometer is reading about 1 mph less than the actual speed, but it's not annoying enough to try to get it fixed.

I also had the transmission sensor leak. -Thanks for bringing that up.

I had the transmission sensor port leak as well, both in a 1999 and 2006 E series, both with the 5 speed box. This problem seems to be particular to the 5 speed transmission box only. It is ironic that the newer MB transmissions are supposedly "sealed for life" previously. I do not know if ATF changes are now recommended or not.

Changed a couple of years ago. For the 722.6 5 spd the service interval is now 39k miles. One time only; expect that to change too.....the 722.9 is the same requirement to the best of my knowledge. Newer 722.9's are 'pumped" full from the bottom.

05 E320 CDI Fuel Leak
 

Have 2 05 E320s in family and both had very minor fuel line leaks about two years ago in soft fuel lines. One dealer said problem was caused by low sulfur and problem could not be fixed because replacement lines have same problem. Another dealer fixed problems by replacing lines.

Oops - now I have had 2 issues. My MAF sensor just failed at 136,000 miles. I am still very pleased with the reliability of this vehicle.

Make sure you have the original 16 inch 225 energy conservation tires. I bought a set of CLS 18 inch rims and tires and the mileage worsened by up to 5-6 miles per gallon. MB put these skinny tires on for a reason.

Just under 30k on my 2006, with the transmission sensor leak being the only problem. Not so much as a squeak or rattle otherwise...it's been a fantastic car (so far...knocking wood). Very glad to hear others with many more miles have had nearly trouble-free experiences.

Long time Alan.

I only had two problems so far. First is the transmission sensor port oil leak and second is a diesel leak from an O ring at the intake runners, both fixed under warranty. Beautiful car. It would be intersting to see how they perform with higher mileage.

I bought my 2006 used as well in 2010 with 49k miles. Only issue I've had is the a/c also shutdown on a long trip during hot weather. After letting it sit over night it started to work again no problems. Then again on way back home it happened. Hasn't happened since and we have had plenty of hot weather since that trip but no trips that far. I have 108k miles and around 30-40k since that trip.

I did take it to the dealer but they said they couldn't find anything.

Anyone else have this problem? I hope it does not come back.

I have noticed that it doesn't sift well when below 10F until the trans is warmed up.

If it was hot and humid, could the evap coil have frozen over?

Purchased my 2006 in Sept '11 with 26235 miles. Now have 50000+ with no issues!

My 2006 w/53Kmi had the SAT antenna module fail. Also had a slight oil seepage at throat of turbo pipe. This pipe is silver, approx. 1.25in diam, running up front behind Rad, clearly visible underneath w/sound panels removed. All fixed under MB Extended Warranty. SAT antenna module is Main Head Unit related and labor intensive.


BTW, Per Star Service Manual Lib P/N P-2700-211-06 Vs. 1.0: Full Service Life is 15yrs OR 10,000 operating hrs. whatever the intent of this statement.

My 06' W212 e320 CDI had but one real, serious problem, everything else falls into the category of normal maintenance. At approx 134,700 miles I got to experience first hand catastrophic SBC braking failure. The problem was taken care of over three weeks, not to my 100% satisfaction, by Mercedes and I was provided a loaner car! It has had zero issues since. The car will turn the odometer to 138k miles during its current tank of fuel.

SBC failure on the highway is a horrifying event. You go from normal breaking to effectively NO braking when the ELECTRONIC servo operated brake pump fails to respond to your braking commands. I was lucky more than skilled, I ran my car off road and managed to get it stopped in an empty parking lot.

Other than this serious safety issue which was filed with NHSTA and DOT mine has been a perfect modern diesel sedan for me.

Know if this problem affects '06 211s (E320 CDI) and what was undertaken nationally to rectify the problem?


Notice you own a Vespa. I loved my 150 owned several years ago but let it go when parts were unavailable. How do you like your 300? Yes, it's going off topic, I know..
Thanks, Basil

Love my 300...it's FAR from stock however, loved it stock too around town, now that's easily highway capable it's even better, see this link for more Vespa details on my bike:

http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/s...g-up-that-name)


SBC brakes were used in the W211 2003-2006, discontinued in the 2007 model year after MANY issues. There is a lot of documentation on the web about the failures, search "W211 SBC failure" and read for days. A chronicle of my personal experiences can be found here:

http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/s...light=E320+cdi

My failure was never resolved to my 100% satisfaction and if anyone knows how to completely delete brake by wire and convert to conventional hydraulics I would love to see the links. Basically MB corporate and dealer both insists there was not actually a problem, they replaced some stuff and bled the brakes, the bleed was NOT the issue, also software was changed in SBC unit but they didn't really admit to anything and did charge me a nominal fee to bleed the brakes. These SBC equipped cars have in the USA a ten year SBC warranty due to all the problems associated with the system, mine runs out October of 2015, I will decide in September of next year exactly what I'm going to do, either sell it or convert it to a conventional braking system.

I would like to take this opportunity to say since my post may seem a little "bashy", I only wish I had known about electronic braking as a function of the car prior to buying one. When I bought mine I was completely unaware of the SBC issue and only wish someone had pointed it out to me. I would have never intentionally purchased a car with brake-by-wire electronics had I known. I had been shopping for a BMW 335D and didn't like the level of electronic control so moved onto what I thought was a wee bit less intrusive electronic package. I've had an overall brilliant ownership experience for the last 50k miles save that one issue.

I will be much more thorough when researching my next diesel of the modern era. My mistake and it's an aspect of the car that I can either chose to trust (which based on personal experience I do not) or replace with a Brembo or Aisin system that I do. Just a lot of learning to do on how to kill the braking aspect of the SBC system while retaining esp, LSD, abs and such if possible. Its on me for lack of specific research at some level, and I can live with that.

You better hang on to it, because everything else out there have more sensors than the poor CDI. As of SBC, probably can be replaced with brake system from later 211 which is still brake by wire, but it has better life spam and lower service cost.

If I end up replacing the SBC end of the braking system it will be with a fully manual, boosted or not type of master cylinder. I would have already done it if not for loss of cruise control function. Once I find a way around that hurdle it will probably be game on, even if I have to add a vacuum pump to boost it along with proportioning valve body to adjust front/rear bias. If adding a vacuum pump I see it serving more than one purpose, like very positive/actually negative case evacuation. I will not have electronic brakes or steering on anything I trust, as stated previously, working in the high performance industry is eye opening to how often modern electronics with massive levels of integration fail.

Yes, it was that scary to have zero brakes at a time when they were most definitely needed. Ever wonder why almost all the parts cars on eBay are hard front hits...I have my suspicions now.