MARK CUMMINS

Campaign No. 2005020003
April 2005
ALL MERCEDES-BENZ CENTERS
SUBJECT: MODELS 163, 202, 208 210 WITH ENGINES 112,
MODELS 129, 163, 202, 208 210 215, 220 WITH ENGINES 113,
MODEL YEARS 1998 – 2000;
MODEL 170 WITH ENGINE 112, MODEL YEAR 2001
INSPECT, IF NECESSARY REPLACE HARMONIC BALANCER PULLEY

bingoldsby

...not sure why we moved to a new thread - but...

Quote
INSPECT, IF NECESSARY REPLACE HARMONIC BALANCER PULLEY
End Quote

This brings up some questions in my cluttered little mind.

If I go in now, and the Harmonic Balancer is fine and then sometime later it goes bad, what will MB do?

If I wait until it goes bad (which seems likely to me after all I've read about it) what is MB likely to do?

Just musings on my part.

Brian - Yakima, WA
2000 E320

MB AMG

True, very good point.

Are you guys checking the harmonic balancer periodically?

C-2

My 98 harmonic balancer came apart over this past summer....only drove about 3.5-4 miles at slow speed after figuring the car was experiencing a major failure (charge battery light in red came on, would lock up all power steering, no real noise). Came home, looked under the hood and found a rubber gasket about the size of an hb. Jumped on the board and after no more than 30 seconds of searching - said oh chit, I got problems!!!

Took it to the stealership, said it took out timing chain cover and oil pan. I jumped all over them, saying it's a known problem, a person cannot "maintain" an harmonic balancer. They agreed a known problem on ML models only. A MB rep came out the following day and said cover it all - sans the serp belt. This happened at 110K.

I almost fell over when they said it would be covered - it was a $2,400 fix!!! I ended up paying $120.

Walters in Riverside, CA.

genome

does anyone know what can be done if you already replaced it, out of your own pocket? my stealership insistantly denied my claim. i paid for out of pocket at an indepent center.

Does anyone have any contact info of the person/department I can speak to about this matter. thanks.

The Godfather

I guess I am gonna get money back for 2 W210s and 1 W202 and another M113 W210 done free. w00t

5-Salt

I knew there something wrong.

I have been complaining to dealer about a harmonic vibration for over a year now...never anything found. Perhap this is the source of my problem. Jimmy christmas my Ford F350 deisel runs smoother at highway speeds then the E320.

MB AMG

Damn you guys are scaring me. I'm gonna have to call the dealer.

The rubber looks fine to me however...

genome

ehh, gotta be the wiseass. yeah i gotcha. doesnt make sense.

galleryvw

i don't know what my engine number is off the top of my head - and my car is a long walk from here - does anybody know if a 1997 420 falls under this recall?


thanks

my E430 rocket

god damn it my **** broke on wednesday of last week had i know i wouldn't of gone to a private mechanic....

E55AMG99

Smythe got MBUSA to write a check for our 99 CLK320 when it pitched the balancer 9 months post warranty. Blew apart while on a road trip. Took out everything on the front of the motor and bent the hood too. Everything except the hood repaired at an independent shop. Smythe took care of the hood.

Can't remember the name of the guy down there that took care of it but Marc Fresket (sp?) is the service manager and a reasonable man to deal with. Been with them for 20+ years.

liz

My 02-320 had the "crank vibration damper" replaced. The tech noted that it "fell apart". I guess it only had a 30,000 mile life span. Good luck.

SmokeSilver

Your engine number is a 119.985 or just 119. I don't think the recall effects that engine. It was pretty much a 320 issue. I have an E420 too, let me know if find something contrary to this...

Thanks and happy motoring!!!

The Godfather

Called my dealer. They got a jackass service guy now. Small time dealership so only one mercedes advisor (they do VW and chevy too). Anyway, he tells me he got a letter saying to not do the repair unless the customer presents a recall letter. What a homo.

Anyway, does Mercedes use the DMV database or something to get the letters out?

The Godfather

INTERESTING... I called MBUSA and they said that my car currently doesn't show being part of the recall. hmmm...

bdmada1996

When I asked to check my car to see if it was on the recall list, the operator said that the harmonic balancer is simply a "service campaign" not a recall.

I gave him my VIN and he said it was not part of "any service campaigns at this time."

Does MB call their recalls "service campaigns" for marketing purposes?

Blair

Little

Does this include 430's??

E55AMG99

I think the campaign is limited to the V-6 only. No diesels, I4, I6 , V8 or V12 as I understand it.

lexrex

Assuming the original poster is correct, 1998-2000 E430s (M113 engine) qualify.

E55AMG99

You're right. According to this post the M113 V-8 is listed. When it happened to our CLK 320 a few months ago, MBUSA said it was a known problem in the V-6 and that we shouldn't worry about the 4 other MB cars in the family with V-8s.

Oh well, you can't even trust the horse's mouth these days.

Ben'z

Hi,

I have stupid questions again. :p
Is it a pulley?
Can I check it by myself?
Anyone has pictures?

Thank you very much!
Ben

genome

i just got a call responding to an email i sent to mercedes benz north america. the lady stated she got my message and that my car a 99 e430 is not on the list, YET. she said they are reviewing all (enter blaaablaaablaaa) and that it may show up on the recall campaign on a later date. she also volunteered this bit of info. she said that if the work was done prior to the campaign, the the company will review the work to see if it qualifies for a refund. however, she did state "work done at the dealership".

EddieGTP

http://www.edsoto.com/files/fsy8a83l-1

or www.edsoto.com and take it from the main page. I downloaded this from the MB Startech info site.

E430_4MATIC

Thanks EddieGTP for posting the entire notice.