BenzVince

Yesterday I bought a 03 E320, traded in my 96 E320. It has 36k mile on it and it's a lease return. I never thought I would buy this car but after having for two days, I actually like it a lot over the W210. Anyone could give me some heads up on those cars, that you have encounter commom problems on the W211. The only problem I have is my keyless go smart key is that the panic button doesn't work when I pressed it for several second. Additionally the dealer didn't have the second set of keys since I only got one. How much those smart keys goes for and can I get a free replacement or not? (I hear they cost a lot)

KosherBenz

congrats on your new purchase!

Le Burpor

Congrats and welcome to the W211 club

I don't think there is a valid list for 'common' problems as they vary. Some people have been unfortunate and have had critical brake problems and some who like me have had close to zero issues. If you do come across a problem, just search the W211 forum and you'll find a lot of info and fix it suggestions.

Have fun!

DWP

Two common problem areas on the '03 W211 are:

1. Bad motor mounts - if you have this problem, you'll hear it - a ticking/clicking sound.

2. Audio system problems - typically unexpected shutdowns of the system, with or without a spontaneous restart.

If you don't notice either problem on your car, then either yours doesn't have it (we haven't had motor mount problems) or it's already been fixed. You probably know about the SBC brake recalls already, but you should check that they have been performed on your car.

Welcome aboard. Our car has actually been pretty reliable so far, contrary to reputation. And no, unlike your W210, you can't select your radio station presets from the steering wheel. M-B blew it on that but they won't admit it or fix it (retroactively). Bummer.

Sorry, don't know about replacing a key, except that it is indeed expensive.

johna1

When I sold my car, we could only find one key for it (still arguing about who had it last) and the dealer made me buy another one so they could give the new purchaser two keys.

It doesn't seem fair to me that you should have to pay... I would be asking the dealer to give it to you. From memory the key was absurdly expensive, even when they gave it to me at cost - I think about $500NZ which would be about $300US.

Good luck...

prometheus

I would have told them that the deal was off immediately. Do they want to ruin a deal over a damn key?

If it were me, I would walk away on principle.