Got my car back yesterday for the "Searching For Signal" display even though the Sat plays. The RO said they replaced the SDARS unit (Sat Recvr) They did, had to re register the receiver with Sirius... Also said they replaced the antenna & cables-They didn't... same black hockey puck on trunk lid, no color matched new antenna. Display still says "Searching For Signal" Occaisionally on start-up.

They didn't do the DSB for the heat coming out of rear A/C vents, while the front tries to cool off the car. Instead they claimed that they did an Evac & Recharge of the A/C & found a leak in the system. (The A/C was nice and cold so there was no leak).

My 2 keys STILL do not summer open the windows and the roof, except once out of 50 tries... they said the "reprogrammed 1 key for parking aid".

They didnt replace 2 black push fasteners along the black plastic moulding inside the trunk next to the left tail light, even though the RO said they did. I still had 2 holes. I went to the parts department to BUY them & put them in myself. (The parts guy gave them to me)

The Tire pressure monitor display malfunction which was in memory with several codes, was working when I brought the car in after being out for 2 days, twice during the preceding week. Their solution? Replace the metal MB valve stem caps with silver painted black painted caps. The MB caps have been on the car since it was new, the display had not failed until this past week.

I got home, put the car on the driveway, shut it off & got a display message "Close Sunroof!" ..The damn roof was already closed because the A/C had been on.

My 7 Speed transmission still shifts abruptly 1-2 & 2-3, and sometimes has to downshift 2 gears when coming out of a turn because its "in the wrong place" despite parts replacement and numerous program updates...

None of the problems with the car have been resolved. Ever. In almost 3 years of owning the car. I'm still plagued with the same enjoyment robbing electronics bull ****.

I'm disapointed with this $69 thousand dollar car to say the least. I won't buy another. My feelings WILL be indicated on any JD Powers surveys I recieve. Not ranting & raving, but a true indication of the car and its service.

I'm done. I give up.

 

I'm so sorry to hear your frustrations I have been following your trials/tribulations for some time now.
I too have had some recurring problems but obviosuly not your extent. Maybe it's time to call the regional service manager and get them involved.
Hope all works out well.
Best
Jay

 

Barry,

I'm also sorry to hear of your ongoing bad luck with this car. I'm really convinced that people who buy highly optioned MBs are asking for trouble -- this is ridiculous as luxury cars are supposed to be highly optioned and all that stuff working.

Guess you're going to look to trade for a car that's built on the other side of the world.

Best wishes and good luck.

Regards,
paul...

 

Any attempt at trying another dealership yet? I think you mentioned once that even with favorable MBUSA assistance you are steadfast against the brand. Therefore, if in fact done you owe no further loyalty to this dealership (tipping or otherwise) that has concerned you so. Maybe you should consider contacting MBUSA for possible retribution (i.e.: buyback) rather than assistance. No guarantees of course, just another option in an attempt to get the most for the vehicle as opposed to trade-in offers short of selling privately and move on …your call.

 

Yes, please go to another dealer..

 

Have you tried to have MBCA (Mercedes Benz Club of America) help you?

 

Yeah, THIS time the service department did whatever the hell they wanted to despite my bringing them the DTBs telling them how to address my problems.

So they did change out the SDARS receiver, just like the DTB says, and I STILL HAVE THE PROBLEM??? Thats not the dealerships fault.

Why would they offer me a buyback 3 years later? I wouldn't want to add any money to the deal and STILL end up with an E Class with the ongoing electronics issues. If I'm going to add money, I want something dependable, that gives me pleasure EACH and every time I start it up. I don't want to hold my breath while it "boots up" to see what's not working right on this drive. I don't want to be in the middle of a drive and get a correct or an incorrect error message, or have the A/C blow hot air on the rear seat passengers so hot that it overwhelms the whole car.

I tried. I was patient, I was understanding, I waited my turn, I drove loaners, I drove my own "Airport Car", a '96 Chevy Corsica POS... I played by the rules. Dealer service department managers came & went, SA's came & went... I don't believe that MB has licked all the aggravating problems on this generation E class and that they are putting all their effort into a perfect next generation E class, and trying to get by for the rest of this generation's model run. Even the guys "not having problems", ARE having problems they dismiss as "gremlins" that come and go.

I have no faith in the Brand any more as of this week, or their dedication toward making my 211 a quality automobile. I'll probably get something new in December/January & run like a scalded cat. I really tried. $ 69,000 is A LOT of money to spend on a car, let alone one that tortures me.

 

Have you tried to have MBCA (Mercedes Benz Club of America) help you?

 

Time and money lost in having to visit the dealer so often for electronic repairs, unable to repair repeated electronic problems (even by utilizing MBUSA bulletins), etc., etc., etc. Personal and dealer documentation will, no doubt, say it all. BTW, if bought back (best case scenario) you’re not locked into another MB. You will meet an independent company representative at the dealer of your choice, hand your keys over, and walk away with your check and you’re on your way. Lastly, I have no direct knowledge of the dealership you’re using but if it were me …well I’m certain you already know the route I would have taken through our past conversations. Anyway, truly wish you the best in moving on. BTW, can you post the dealership in question so other members in your area can either comment as to their experiences or be for warned?

 

Barry, my sympathies but it sounds to me like 1/2 your issues are with the car and the other 1/2 are with a service department that is unresponsive and/or incompetent. You might want to give someone else a chance to straighten out the issues as these guys just don't seem able. If the issues are still present then you know you've endured too much. BTW, since I am on Long Island also, would you mind pm'ing me the name of this dealer so I can stay away?

 

The dealer service department did substantially let me down this time. The car has done it repeatedly. Yech. I'll PM their name to you. I don't want to beat them up in public.

 

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/164609-mb-greenway-houston-stuck.html (post #3)

[MB]CRS (dealership tech) “There is technical help in the states as well as personnel that comes to the dealerships periodically or when needed.” Just about sums it up. Without MBUSA intervention you can forget resolving these issues to your satisfaction whether by repair or othwerwise.

 

I'm tired & I'm done. Three years of trying is enough. I'll just drive it 'till I cant stand to look at it any more. Then I'll get something else. If it was an airplane it would be pulled out of service & scrapped.

I understand NO car company can keep every customer. There are no (extremely) hard feelings, I just feel the experience should have been a good one.

 

Barry,
That sounds like a horror story.
What do you think you will buy to replace it?

 

hey barry you think you could PM me the dealership name as well? If its any consellation Sirius units will lose signal quite often. compared to XM they are significantly less consistant. I was an audio installer for some time and while we rarely had problems with XM, we were always swappin parts out on sirius.

Also your patience seems like it was strung out to the end. You should have contacted corperate long ago...

 

If MB built airplanes with the same kind of reliability as their cars, I would doubt that the FAA would certify them for flight.

Regards,
paul....

 

OT of me, but quite true. There's no theoretical reason I know of why XM reception should be better than Sirius, but if an XM microantenna under the rear window glass, on the rear shelf, gets solid reception (as it does in our car) and a Sirius antenna on the trunk or roof doesn't, there has to be some kind of real-world difference. It's a pity that Sirius and XM are bribing the car makers to lock out the other company instead of allowing dual-service receivers. Sirius has bought off all the German brands, alas. If Barry's next car is from Honda, Toyota or Nissan he can at least give XM a try.

 

Sirius reception is much better then XM. I have both and not only is Sirius reception better but everything about Sirius is better.

 

Whatever works for you. For the obvious reason that I mentioned, a Mercedes forum is not the ideal place for me to argue the merits of XM over Sirius. I shouldn't have hijacked the topic, which is Barry's problems with his car.

 

Actually it is not a "reception" problem, but an MB Satellite receiver problem. Specifically, when I start the car the satellite radio plays immediately, the DIC displays the channel (Howard 100, for example), while the Comand unit displays "Searching for Signal". The only way to clear this incorrect message is to press another application (map, for instance, or Phone) and then immediately press Sat again. Then the display on the comand will match the DIC correctly. The is a DSB advising the dealer to replace the Sat receiver in the trunk if its serial number is below a certain mfg date which will solve the problem. The dealer did this and I still have this intermittant problem. (I know they swaped the unit because I had to call Sirius with the new receiver S/N so they could transfer the subscription & activate the new receiver.

The dealership also claimed they swapped the antenna with the new Satellite kit, but I know they didnt due to the same weathered look of my old black hockey puck style antenna. A new antenna would have been a color matched (Pewter) small ice cube antenna.

All told, I still have every problem I ever had with the car... NONE have ever been resolved. There are not many of them but they are absolutely infuriating, as they all are a finger poke in the eye to the driver. .. and they all recurr randomly.

The basic "car" part of the car is rock solid. The electronicly operated options ALL suck.

 

(1) Intermittent summer opening feature failure can be resolved by the process of elimination in testing parts associated with sending, receiving, and applying the infrared signal.
(2) Intermittent tire pressure monitor failure should be resolved by changing out the TPC module (left side of trunk, behind rear SAM) to the latest release.
(3) Since the DTB process did not resolve the transmission shifting problems this can be readily addressed by your dealer contacting the Enhanced Diagnostic Assistance Center (EDAC) who may very well approve a new transmission.
(4) Since the DTB process did not resolve the SIRIUS signal failure, once again, this can be readily addressed by your dealer contacting the EDAC.
(5) Close sunroof malfunction, the Battery Control Module (BCM) may need to be reset. I’m thinking under certain conditions communication faults may occur between the BCM and the CAN bus.
(6) Rear A/C intermittently blows warm air in cooling mode, replace the heat exchanger valve and/or Driver side Signal Acquisition Module (SAM) as per DTB.
(7) Easy entry/exit seat moves to incorrect position, replace electronic ignition switch (EIS) as per DTB.

BTW, every so often reset the ECU to wipe out what was learned (for improved performance):
- Turn to the on position (#2)
- Press the gas pedal to the floor and hold for about 5 – 10 seconds
- Turn the key to the off position (do not remove) without removing your foot from the gas pedal
- Do not remove your foot from the gas pedal for at least 2 minutes waiting for the ECU to reset

Bring the vehicle to another dealer, have documentation on hand, speak with the service manager and request that the area MBUSA Service Parts and Operations Manager (SPOM) monitor the process, get your loaner, go home and pour yourself a Glenlivet.

 

Outstanding post Konigstiger !(as usual!)

BTW does that ECU reset procedure apply to all 211's ?

 

Yes.

 

I have followed most of Barry's complaints and feel for him! It is NOT good enough. We are not talking about one dissatisfied customer. We are talking about bad publicity, if one car can work perfectly, then 1000 should!

When buying a car I have always taken into consideration the after sales service. We are NOT in the position where we can simply try a different Mercedes dealership, so if I were Barry, I'm afraid it would be goodbye Mercedes and perhaps hello ugly BMW or Audi?? Both ugly looking beasts, but decent dealerships.

Life is far to short to get uptight over this sad ongoing debacle, get rid of the car and hopefully move on, but remember the grass might not be a better quality elsewhere??

Good luck,
John

 

Right now, I'm going to hold onto it for as long as I can stand it. I've mentally written off having my "bells & whistles" all working, and the basic car is nice. If the warnings & failures cause my blood to boil one more time, thats likely to be the last time. It will be off to Lexus/Audi/BMW/Infiniti. The deciding factor on which car it will be, will be making damn sure all the gizmos work every time. For this kind of money, I flat out refuse to be tortured... I really thought with THIS car I'd really be blown away by a car's performance, engineering and ride.

Blown away is right. I used to say: "Once you drive a Benz, you'll know why there's nothing like it." Heh Heh.