it wasn't that I had to pull anything to find the code around the HB, it's that I had to pop the engine cover off to even see the HB. I have the 430 which is a V8, so I have alot less room in the engine compartment to work with.

I'll check it a few times after driving (and letting it cool) to see if the code is in the proper position

 

MGRAEFF... Mine is a '98 E430 and as just stated, you can see the marking from above w/out removing anything, but will need to pull the belt out of the way (slightly forward) to see the markings. Squeeze an arm in from the right side and squeeze your hand in by the belt. A flashlight is very helpful to spot the p/n markings on the rear half of the pulley.

 

I called MB this morning. (800) 367 6372. Spoke with a C/S rep that advised I didnt have to worry about the HB recall after giving him my vin#.
That has settled my nerves a bit but still feel concerned considering the number of units effected.

 

great news guys.
As I reported earlier I did find that my 99 E320 HB p/n was affected by this campaign.
I called the dealer (Euromotor cars) who nicely confirmed that my car needed to have the HB replaced as well as added that the door seals needed to be replaced. So there you go.
Just give your nearest dealer a call (try another one if they seem too busy to talk to potential or existing customers) > you are bound to find someone who will take good care of you.
Car going in for service this wednesday. Cost will be 0 (nada , zeuth)
Bearing in mind that no car manufacturer makes all the parts themselves, it is great to see a manufacturer who still backs their car for a problem that may or may not happen in all cases of the suspected supplier lot.

BTW: I have failed to point this out before, but I will correct it now. Have you guys ever stopped to realize what a great service this forum is for us MB car owners. Not only most of ourselves will go out of our way to help out someone who we don't ever know but also the folks that put it together deserve a big thank you from all of us.
I did finally think about it today and noticed that there is a way to keep this forum going by ordering something from the MBworld gift shop (click on Marketplace) (I will be driving my C230 with a MBWorld cover tag for all to see and hopefully get them more customers and us more people to share ideas with). Checking the sites of the sponsors who are great folks is a good way to keep this good thing going.
In my view this is the best forum of any car brand I have been before. The organizers are pretty liberal on what we can say within reasonable limits and don't seem to pull any strings in any direction, which is great. Also the majority of the folks on the forums are quite mature and respectful of others and stay focused with the purpose for each thread.

 

A1120350000

guess who is calling the dealer tomorrow. I have 86.7k on my car and I thought the rough idle my car has developed was the plugs going bad (never replaced them).

 

still waiting for the letter

 

Dealer replaced our HB today - no hassle whatsoever - even provided a new Pontiac Grand Prix as a loaner (I have to say that's about the crappiest car I've driven in snow with the Good-fora-Year tires). I thought out RWD E would be poor, but it stops well and goes okay with traction control. Better than expected.

Door seal bulletin did not apply to our E430.

Last, I had them check out a frustrating problem wherein our tilt steering does not work (since I bought the car). The tilt motor whirs, but no movement. To my chagrin, requires a NEW STEERING COLUMN to fix!! I said "Huh?!?".
Ouch $1300 for the part alone. I took a pass. I'm shocked that it failed with less than 60K on the car and it requires such a massive replacement to fix.

 

Mike, as several of us have said here, there is a good chance you will be taken care of without the letter.
Just call the nearest dealer. Voice your concern and you may be surprised by then taking care of you right away.
Many of us have been taken care of recently.
Have your VIN ready and do the homework most of us did, such as reading the p/n from the HB.
The dealer should also be able to dial up into the mb database and verify the p/n of your HB.
All the best

 

Have you verified that it covers your

1- year
2- model
3- engine
4- part number

?? If so, fugget about the letter and just give the dealer a call. If
they balk, just tell them that your ride has specs which matches #1-4
of the service campaign. If they still fudge, then (sadly) you may need
to resort to tactics such as I did.

 

I called the dealer yesterday morning. Turns out the service rep that I have always dealt with was gone and the new guy tut tutted over the fact that they haven't seen my car in a while (because I take it to a private shop for regular maintenance now that it is out of warranty), took my VIN and told me he would call me back within an hour.

35 minutes later he called and told me my VIN was in the range and that they would inspect my car. If they had to replace the part it would take 1.5 hours and they would do it immediately upon the car's arrival. At that point I told him that I had already inspected the part number and that he should plan on needing to replace it.

Made my appointment for Tuesday the 13th.

 

I called MB customer service to get my letter, and got it three weeks later. I wanted to have my Service B done at the same time. The service people checked out my balancer and found no problems.

 

hi Enzo, I find it strange. If MB sent you a letter it is mostly because they know that your car, based on the VIN number, had the part in question.
Did you look at the HB per the instructions / pictures in this thread and found that the HB P/N was one of the 2 affected?
My car had the affected HB. There was nothing unusual with it now, but being MB of course the dealer got an approval to replace the unit due to the risks involved in leaving a suspect lot of HB around in cars.
May I suggest you check the HB and if it has he affected p/n then find yourself a more responsible dealer to go to and get the right thing done?
Have a good day.

BTW: I took my 99 E320 to the dealer on Nov 30 (without a letter) and they replaced the HB by the end of the afternoon and also took care of the door seal campaign.
I even got a C230K (2005) as a loaner until Thursday. That's a nice car . great improvements in design, etc.

That is service.!

 

I'll go look at the part number tomorrow. I guess I trusted MB to have thoroughly checked the HB. Thanks!

BTW, what is the "door seal" campaign involve? How do I know if my car is included? What door seal? Thanks.

 

The door seal is just some kind of grease they place on the rubber seal under the door to prevent water infiltration and rust later on.

The new HB P/N is 112-035-13-00-05. I checked it on the car and confirm a brand new HB installed (also called vibration damper).

both were covered under what they call a WR Recall.
Got the car back today and all is well

 

I got mine replaced.
But, the P/N on my car is 112 035 13 00 without the last two 05.
Are they are same part?

 

Yes they are the same.
The dealer invoice to MB states the additional -05 (probably means the year of manufacturing). The actual part does not have the -05 extension.
Cheers

 

Local MB dealer has turned down 2 requests to replace my HB, absent a campaign letter. My VIN and HB part # matched those on the hot sheet also.

I asked him why, and he told me the mechanic can't find anything wrong with it and if there is any damage due to that, MBUSA will pay for that.

Where is the magic letter?

Mine is 2000 E320 and I checked the HB part number and it is in the campaign.

 

Don't give up easily.
call and ask for another advisor.
Some seem to be too snobishy and think they know more than the factory.
Look at it this way. The dealer I went to, is in one of the richest cities in the east coast and their service lot was very crowded and yet they treated me with attention and scheduled the service within 2 days from my call. I believe that it had a lot to do with the humbleness of the advisor I was fortunate to deal with in the few times I dealt with that dealer. I don't even change the engine oil or anything else with them, but the repairs that I could not handle or one goodwill waranty service I got them to do, was allways handled through the same specific advisor. So he kind of recognizes my voice right away, which I have to give him a lot of credit for.
In any case you are bound to find a similar person on the same dealer or at another dealer in your area. When the phone operator answers try to ask for another advisor or if you hear the same voice then hang up and try again another time.
My advisor checked on the MB database, confirmed that my car was in the campaign and it was handled right away. I paid nothing for the work, So the dealer is being reimbursed from MB and since I had no letter. Your situation seems to be more of a dealer/advisor unusual behavior more than anything.
In my case since I bought the car used I was at least able to raise a valid concern that the letter might have been sent earlier before I bought the car in early 2004 and consequenctly would not be sent again. (mind you that if you call MB directly and voice your concern they may also send you the letter or tell you a number to give the dealer to call back and get this matter straight).
I don't believe that it would be to MB interest to let this clear bad manufactutuing lot part fall apart later on and cause a much more extensive damage besides getting you stranded.
From what I have heard in this forum, if the HB looks ok you should be safe to drive the car to the dealer to get it replaced (it does not mean that you should continue driving until it starts to fall apart), but if you see cracks or feel vibrations on the engine then it may not even be safe to drive to the dealer.
I believe an experienced MB mechanic can probably replace the HB in less than 1 hour, so that ought not to be costing MB too much either.
The dealer service lane was pretty crowded, so I believe their customer service is helping in retaining customers and take many away from the other snobby dealers in my area who have seemed to be difficult to deal with in my initial dealer service facilities visits to determine where I felt I was treated fairly and with respect. Again you ought to find similar situations in your area.

 

Son of a gun, I got my campaign letter today, a week and a half after I made my appointment and 5 days before my car is due in the shop.

seems kinda suspicious, no?

 

Just got it done. I was tired of waiting. Took it to the dealer and they took it in right away. It took less that a hour. To my surprize, when I got home the MB letter was in the mail box.

 

I got my letter yesterday too.
After having it done last week.
Good anuways to see it being addressed more now.

 

FINALLY got my letter from the MB USA today, dated simply December, 2005. Had already scheduled appt. at dealer next week. Took 'em long enuff!

 

Add me to the pile of people who got their letter today. My CPO warranty is up at the end of the month so I'll get this done ASAP and have them give the car a going over before the warranty goes up.

 

Just an FYI for those still waiting for letters.

 

With so many getting their letters, I would make sure to go to the dealer early in the morning to avoid getting difficulties driving in and also getting a temporary car.
In general it should take one day to get the car back depending on how busy they are.