nelbur

After looking at the pictures, I do not believe the oil was changed as stated. I feel that the dealer figured that charging for an oil change and not changing the oil, has a much better profit margin. Diesels are prime candidates for such behavior because the oil always looks black even shortly after a real oil change. If Mercedes were smart they would investigate to see if the dealer did indeed charge for the oil changes mentioned, and if so, they should force the dealer to repair the engine at his cost. I personally do not believe there is anything wrong with these engines if the oil is changed frequently with the correct oil. Yes, I have a low opinion of dealers in general.

kajtek1

I have low opinion about "professional" mechanics to start with.
Their motivation is high profit and job security, so well-being of the car and its owner plays no role here.
Original poster was pretty discrete why he did not push the dealer's responsibility issue here, so we might never know what was really behind the engine failure (double failure per update).
Maybe just like parallel topic shows - some owners don't feel like taking the time to investigate what really happen, but choose to yell "I deserve" from the manufacturer.
MBUSA is known to do lot of goodwill repairs, but they are in business for profit, so it all has to end somewhere.

dave2001auto

Drain by the drain plug and alternating with a new type of drain gasket would unsure the oil was drained. I suspect not changing the oil or Wrong type (gas engine oil 229.5) oil.
A dishonest mechanic charged for brake pads and got air in the brake line. Return repair claimed new pads were needed and no air in the lines. Replace good OE with expensive crap. Didn't change the antifreeze too.
Last time going there. When to the dealer later on the antifreeze and they only used 25%. Had the dealer do it right (took three times).

Glyn M Ruck

Let me assure you that 229.5 oil would do a far better job all round of lubricating the engine. It would just be no good for the emissions gear on the exhaust.

Carsy

Glyn,

Would 229.5 be OK for engines with cats but no DPF?

I am up to buy another 20 litre drum this year.

JC

Glyn M Ruck

Hi JC. While I don't like disregarding Benz recommendations it won't do any more harm to a 2 Way diesel Cat than it does to a 3 Way gasoline Cat & Benz gasoline vehicles give more than acceptable Cat life as oil control is excellent.

If my vehicle did not have a DPF I would run 229.5.

With diesels with Cat & DPF there is a balancing act to meet emissions. Trading off some engine life to protect the exhaust after treatment system. They get away with it because diesels are rev limited by the combustion process and run mild camshafts.

djrt

What an awful mess, engine seized. Used approved oil. I want compensation from Mercedes.

007_e350

Op, you should go after the dealership... your last oil change was at 76k from what read here so you were still within the 10k period, obviously they didn't change the oil and dropped the ball on this, they should pay for your losses, like everyone said you needed a good engineering report before before taking them to tbe court, any chance to revive your case ??

dave2001auto

This is an easy way to tell if the oil was changed on a diesel.
Take oil level using the dipstick before and after the oil change. Before the final wipe, touch the tip of the stick to white paper to tranfer a drop of used oil. The oil with the soot will spread. The new oil will have much less soot and can be seen on the paper. If you want to do more cheap analysis, 2 diamensional chromatography is cheap and easy. As for the type of oil used, that will take more equipment. Possible some pattern differences on the 2-d chromatography, but would need the control of mixing very little of the used oil with new oil as a standard. It's easier to watch or supply the oil and get the empty containers back. If they forget to save them, something is fishy.

dave2001auto

I thought that soot suspending ability was a big difference between gas and diesel oils.

exhaustgases

It truly all these sludging problems are caused by flippant dealers or oil change outfits, it is one very good reason not to trust that job to them and do it yourself. But then maybe they want that too because then they will not honor any warranty. If all oil changes are done on time at the dealer they can not deny anything.
If that sludge is from a properly maintained engine, there is a definite engineering problem, I got some ideas but all they do is make arguments so if Mercedes needs help they can contact me.

exhaustgases

And re reading a few pages back, someone mentioned all the extensive tests that Mercedes had done on the oils etc. So evidently they missed something, because now the tests are REAL LIFE and they are failing as in the pictures we have seen here. I wish instead of excuses they would just make a small attempt to think out of or get out of the small box they are in and try something that may just fix the problem. Sorry but there are just too many highly educated idiots these days in engineering (I know I've worked with some), the old guys did way better with less years and years ago and in many ways some engineering has regressed because of it.

krd2023

Thanks, but I've moved on from my Mercedes nightmare after months of trying to reach a resolution through MBUSA and my dealer, and after taking a loss of several thousand dollars after trading in my 2010 ML350 Bluetec with seized engine @ 80K miles. Because of how both MBUSA and my dealer dealt with the matter (essentially by making no effort to assist me), I've resolved to never again lease or buy a Mercedes. There are many solid auto brands to choose from and I'll stick with those who stand behind their products. In my spare time, I'll continue to monitor and contribute in this forum to help others with similar experiences as mine.

Just this week, I received this message from a forum user (actual name removed to respect privacy): "Hi I'm So Sorry To Bother You But I read your post and just recently had my 2010 Mercedes GL350 blue technology engine seize on me. I was curious what happened? Do you have any advice? I'm outside my warranty and very frustrated.
Thank you in advance for any advice.
J____ " May 2017

The best advice I can continue to give is to use available online tools (starting with this forum) to be vocal and public with your story when you are disenfranchised by a major auto brand. It will benefit others and may eventually lead to corrective measures by the auto maker.

krd2023

Here's another related private message which I received today: "Hi i saw your story i have a 2013 ml350bluetec and has 61,000 miles and the engine seized. did you get any results from anywhere?? Im getting nowhere."

exhaustgases

It seems every time there is some major fault with any make vehicle power train or what ever, the manufacture starts the blame game to get out of the huge expense to rectify the problem. At least with the bad airbags they couldn't do that.
MB is never going to admit they designed and marketed a huge problem vehicle or engine. The problem they don't see though is if someone is thinking of purchasing one of their cars and does an internet search that person is going to find a lot of info on how some owners were treated, just not good advertising.
And then you can see how some manufactures feel about taking a loss. Just go on youtube and watch the scrapping of brand new cars, its like come on you could have easily rectified a problem car and kept your name out of the garbage can. Its crazy.

krd2023

Here’s another MB Bluetec saga I received via private message in this forum. I’m posting the redacted version here in the hopes of helping numerous other MB drivers who (unfortunately) are experiencing similar dilemmas. The following from writer was sent to me recently after having spent approximately $3100 in dealer repairs on “timing chain and EGR cross over pipe”:

“Well, it took a week to get the logistics and all figured out (I live out of town from dealer). Fortunately, MB Roadside towed it back to (dealer) for free. The entire undercarriage was dripping with oil, all the way back to the bumper.

The service manager called, and said a couple crush washers were leaking, and they repaired them for free. I'd asked them to pressure wash the underside, as I intend to sell this vehicle asap, in light of all of the issues people are having with BlueTechs, especially yours. They did not wash the underside.

It gets worse! I intended to go back through (city) on my way back to (city), so stopped to top of with diesel before leaving (city of dealership). As normal, I thought I'd check under the hood. The oil...it was below the minimum on the dip stick! Crimony, I take my vehicle in for a significant oil leak of their cause, and they don't even check or top off the oil! Jeeze, they charged me $13.00 per quart for an oil change (after I told them it had 0 miles on it).

While I was there, I talked to (owner of dealership) about the possibility of having them purchase the R350 from me. He wouldn't even look at it. "I'm heavy on Mercedes inventory now".

I'm done with Mercedes in general, BlueTech in particular, and (dealer) for sure.

I've purchased an '03 VW Jetta GLI from my nephew to help him out of a bind. This VW with 160k on it is more reliable that the '12 Mercedes that I'm afraid to drive! Right now, the Benz passenger door power lock doesn't work, the window/sunroof auto close doesn't work either. All of that works flawlessly on the VW!

I can't wait until I get the customer satisfaction call from Mercedes!" MBWorld Forum User

EgjGl320

I have a 2009 Mercedes Benz GL320 bluetec and my engine seized at 80k the dealer told me $29,000 to put a mee engine in it when i originally bought it for $24,000 i just recently swapped the seized engine for a refurbished engine for $10,000 and it ran perfectly then after 2 weeks the engine seized for the second time! Is this a coincidence or what the heck is going on. Mercedes couldn't even find the problem as they wanted 30k to fix it. I still pay monthly on it was wondering what is causing this?
Thanks!

krd2023

Here's a message I received over the weekend, this time from a MB driver indicating MBUSA may be showing some accountability for known issues with OM642 diesel Bluetec engines:

"I have a 2013 GL350 BT that the engine blew up while we were cruising at 80mph. The car had 46K on it and I had purchased it via MB Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program.
By blow up, I mean blow up. Once it was back to the dealer after being towed 50 miles, I was able to view the remnants of the engine. I could put my fist through the engine block. Five cylinders were found, one never was located.
Fully maintained by dealer according to the schedule.
Six weeks in a loaner and the vehicle was finally returned with a new engine from Germany, lots of transmission parts, steering rack, etc. The total retail cost to MB; $47K.
I change the oil at 5K and maintain everything else to the schedules.
Sorry, you were treated so poorly by MB. I was able to negotiate two extra years of CPO coverage (maintenance and warranty) for the occurrence.
On the CPO Certificate, I had with the purchase order, the "inspection" was a complete joke. They checked the spark plugs and other items that the vehicle didn't even have. I had threatened legal deceptive action but didn't need to go that route.
BB in OH"

krd2023

Has a class-action lawsuit formed regarding the common issues with this OM642 Bluetec engine? Has MBUSA acknowledged any accountability regarding the known engine issues? I'm just trying to help several folks who've had similar experiences to mine and to help steer them in the right direction. (Please see this entire thread I started if more details are needed).

Racin_fool

I was never happy to see that Mercedes was pushing these engines in their vehicles for so long. So many odd failures, so many complicated leaks, very dependent on a specific fuel being used, timing chain stretch and component failures, and a failure prone exhaust additive system. Give me a vehicle with the OM648 any day over any of the OM642 cars/SUVs/Sprinters.

Abdellah

My car has an engine. The car is not under warranty any more. Can you please tell me what i have to do to fix it. Thanks my email is abdellah.challal@imaneware.ca thanks

arto_wa

It would help if you first told us which car it is and what's wrong with it?

Glyn M Ruck

We hopefully know that your car has an engine. Do you have an issue with the engine?
GL350 Bluetec's operating on US Diesel should IMHO halve the oil change interval.

Glyn M Ruck

Usually so but not in ash limited formulations like 229.51 or .52.

mikapen

It looks like the owner you posted took a different approach. Instead of an adversarial position, hiring a "lawyer" and demanding assistance, he took a constructive approach and was rewarded. Using the Dealer as an ally - instead of an opponent - can get you a lot farther.
I have had my problems with shops over the years. I used both techniques, and learned my lesson. Now I do my darndest to recruit the Dealer's help. They are in a much better position than I, or any other threatening entity, to help.
I have seen it from the other side, too, as a Service Manager. If you start by alienating everybody, they somehow lose interest in helping. It takes effort and expertise, along with a measure of "political capital," to get Corporate Policy waived.
If you enlist a lawyer, you have tied the hands of the "accused," and their legal advice will be to make it more difficult - you will have demonstrated that any concession on their part will lead to escalating demands and claims.

I don't know the approach the OP used, so this is just a comment on my experiences as a consumer, and as a professional. As we see, demand letters don't lead to an investigative approach. Just the digging in of heels all around.