mr.louie

My late 03 replacement car has been into service frequently for problems no one can fix. Among them, the driver's seat fails to come up to it's preset position when car is started. This happens intermittently, and the service guys have replaced several control modules, but it is still happening. In addition, the passenger side mirror intermittently fails to reset to the straight position after the car has been in reverse, and I go to use it and it's still pointing down to the curb! This is not only annoying, but dangerous. Another thing they can't seem to fix are the noisy windshield wipers, even though blades and arms have been replaced. The service foreman wants to replace the windshield to fix the problem. Have any of you had these particular problems, and could you describe how they were fixed? Any help would be appreciated. I only have 4500 miles on the car. I love driving when it is working properly, but it has been in the shop to many times to count.

thearle

Seat - I could be wrong but I think what you are seeing is normal. If you measure the total travel distance of your seat rails at 100%, a sensor activates the auto-adjust function only at that preset position - which is about 30% from the forward-most setting. If your seat is not forward-past that sensor, the seat will NOT self-adjust.

Side Mirrors - have them check the shift gate switch/sensor. I had an SL that had the same thing.

Wipers - if the noise you refer to is wiper judder, then that is indication of a windshield that "sticks" to the blade - caused by contaminants. Clean your windshield with a solution of pure dishwashing liquid + vinegar and then rinse with a mixture of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and water.

X72

The wipers on my car would also chatter, squeak, and make noise. They didn't replace the wiper arms. They bent the wiper arms by "twisting" them so that they put less force on the windshield (my interpretation). Replaced the wiper blades as well. I have gone about 9 months and the wipers are still good (they clean well and are QUIET); before, a new wiper blade insert would start chattering after a week or two. To clarify, my wiper arms are twisted about 45 degrees towards the front of the car.

I think when they engineered these windshield wipers, they must have been aiming at increased performance at Autobahn speeds, but seem to have missed that the wipers then would chatter at low speeds. I don't mind giving up wiper performance at extra-legal speeds in the US in order to have quiet wipers

Another thing to consider is to take your car to a different dealership to see if you get better results. It may be worth the drive, time, and effort to go to a different dealership. You can ask for recommendations on this board, but first search to see if recommendations have already been made.

If you search for the wiper issue, you will see you are not the only one.

William
2003 E320

McGuireV10

That's a pretty interesting theory. I've tracked my Viper in the rain, and on long straights (running maybe 140+) the wipers don't work at all. Without Rain-X it would have been pretty nervewracking.

X72

I looked at another W211 and it also has the oddly twisted wiper arm. Maybe they are all like this. Mr.Louie, all I know is that I had problems with noisy chattering wipers. They first replaced the wiper blades, and the problem recurred quite quickly. When I complained again, they replaced the wiper blades and told me that they "bent" the wiper arm. Since then it has been good. Maybe the wiper blades have had some kind of change over time.

The chattering would happen when it rained. The wipers would not chatter when using the washer fluid. The washer fluid has a surfactant (I think that is a fancy word for soap) that you are supposed to add called Summer Fit. In addition to the Mercedes Benz solution, I have used P21S Windshield Washer Boost and I have also put a squirt of the Mr. Clean Auto Dry Soap in the washer fluid. These have all worked fine for me. I remember reading online about someone adding Dawn dishwashing liquid with great results. Of course, this will also remove the wax from the car.

McGuireV10, I don't doubt your experience. At high speeds, the air rushing over the car produces a suction effect on the windshield (any physics guy can correct me; I think it is called the venturi effect). It literally pulls the windshield wiper off the windshield more and more as the speed increases.

Below are posted pictures of the wiper arms. I find them to look quite odd.

William
2003 E320

Barry45RPM

With regard to your RH look down parking mirror:
1> Be sure you have NOT pushed in the button that lets you adjust the Left hand (drivers) mirror. In order for the feature to work. The RH mirror button must always be left pressed in.
2. Be sure you are not changing between different smart keys &/or Keyless go. The feature must be memorized for each key.

mr.louie

Thanks, everyone who responded to my post. I have made arrangements to have the factory service rep meet with the foreman and go over the problems again while the car is in service. I'm waiting for the dealership to call when they know when the rep will be there.

In regards to my down pointing right side mirror- right mirror button is always pushed in, and I always use keyless go with the same key. Do you guys have any other ideas? This is the greatest resource of info and I appreciate all the replies.

I think going to another dealership makes sense, although I've been going between two local dealers already. My drive-dynamic seats never worked correctly initially, (turning off on driver's side and not pumping correctly). That feature was finally fixed after many futile trips to one dealer, and then switching to another dealer. I suppose the car was ordered with too many bells and whistles, although that's what makes it so much fun to drive. I would assume those features should be working if one pays to get them.

At any rate, I will keep you informed of my progress, if there is any, and thanks again.

moocowman

Bought new '05 E500 1 week ago. Already back for warranty service on 2 issues. Main issue was passenger seat thinking someone was sitting on it and playing fasten seatbelt chime. Drove around with unoccupied passsenger belt fastened.

I have the same intermittent mirror problem as you. Dealer thinks I'm crazy. Told me to make sure the switch is kept on right mirror adjustment, which I did. As soon as I pulled out of service dept., happened again. Drove around the block back into service. Of course he restarted and problem went away. It's intermittent and I'm sure they won't do a thing until I can prove it happens all the time.

...and they wanted to give me a Saturn as a loaner when there was a perfectly good Maybach in the showroom!