OB_330CiC

My red battery indicator recently went on, the roadside assistance quoted $280 to replace the battery on an E500. That;s sounds like alot, anyone replace their battery on a E500.?

Any aftermarket alternatives?

dookhan

Autozone aftermarket Battery $100.00

NA55

Yeah, just get the battery at a local auto parts store..

Replacing a battery is really easy.. It can be done in about 10 minutes...

Barry45RPM

Which one is it? The underhood one or the trunk one?

OB_330CiC

It's the one in the trunk, large black one.

sosh

Be proactive and replace both batteries. Beware of the cheap auto parts store batteries, lots shorter life.

BudC

I agree but then I had to have my battery replaced in the second year. I was told they can work fine one day and be dead the next.

Frankly, I think the problem was that my car sat around in the hot Arizona sun at the dealership until I came along and bought it. That's one of the reasons I'm ordering a fresh car. Mine was replaced under the warranty. Forty-five minutes after I called MBUSA, a new battery was on it's way to my house where it was replaced free of charge.

I have been using only OEM Mercedes batteries since 1984 and they have all gone seven years in either Minnesota or Arizona. I hope that the battery failure in the E320 was just a glitch.

Barry45RPM

Not a valid assumption. The battery would have a severely shortened life if it was deeply discharged several times, and jumped & charged. (Deep Cycling) Sitting around doesn't harm a battery's life span. The one in your new car will spend most of its life sitting around too.

Cars at dealerships get moved around often enough so that they don't go completely dead.

OB_330CiC

Thanks to everyone for the great input and advice. Since the car is almost 5 yrs old and 67K miles I'm going to replace both at the same time. BTW, the smaller battery in the engine compartment is 120.00. So total is 280+120 =$400 for both batteries replaced by roadside assistance.
Not cheap but hope they are worth it for another 5 years.

sosh

Actually a high heat enviornment can shorten the life of a lead acid battery. It will also cause a marginal battery to fail. Don't know if this was the case with the other poster but his could have been a defective battery also.

sosh

At 5 years the battery owes you nothing. My experience is such that if I kept a car more than 4 years I would change the battery proactivly at the 4 year point.

lkchris

The trunk-mount battery needs to be a sealed "fleece" unit, as there's no provision for a fume escape hose.

Installing a 'mericun conventional battery that vents via the caps is asking for trouble.

"Get a battery at a local auto parts store" is the worst advice you can get. It's the 21st century, not 1955.

paulv

Agree, and also, the MB AGM technology batteries need a slightly higher charging voltage (12.8v vs 12.65) which will eventually kill a conventional wet acid battery. It's better to replace with MB OEM batteries.

Regards,
paul...

OB_330CiC

Hey gang, fyi roadisde came to change my batteries today. I had noticed a funky smell (kinda like battery acid or foul smell) thru the AC that started coincidently with the red battery warning.

It turns out the small battery in the engine compartment was bad, corroding, and smelly under load and that was also feeding into the cabin since it sits right under the air filter. Fix two problems at once! battery warning gone and so is the funky smell. While he was at it I had him replace the large battery in the trunk too since neither had been replaced in almost 5 years.

Anyway, thought I'll let everyone know, in case you get battery warning accompanied by a funky smell inside the car.

pfphipps

My 2003 E320 battery in the trunk has a vent hose. I just went and looked to confirm that the hose is there. The battery was replaced after about two years under warranty. The genuine Mercedes replacement battery was made in Spain, not Germany.

For future reference, what did each battery cost? The $280 you were quoted for the rear battery seemed high from what I have heard from others.

lkchris

I earlier looked up the battery in EPC and checked the Duval site and MSRP is $260 ... so $20 to install is pretty good.

Randy B

The battery in the trunk and under the hood are fillable. If your battery is out of warranty, peel back the stickers on top and you will find several round plugs with angles cut into them. Patience and a pair of need nose pliers will take them out (Harder to take out and easy to go back in). Distilled water for $1.59 (Gallon) at the local grocery store and a small trickle charger will solve the problem.
I have been able to get seven plus years out of all MB batteries, by topping them off every three years or so. I am in Florida and with the heat the batteries do breath a lot.
And yes there is a vent tube in the truck that is plumbed through the body for exhaust fumes from the battery.

Randy B

OB_330CiC

Here's the scoop, for the REAR trunk battery you have two options: a black one($248+tax) and a white one (125 +tax). The difference I was told by MB dealer is that the black one (OEM For the E500) is sealed, marine type, better specs, no maintainence required, 2 yr full replace warranty. The white one is more like typical battery fluid maintainence required.

The smaller FRONT battery was 114+tax.

Total to get get both batteries replaced at my house by roadside assistance $393.00 . I hope this helps.

jposhea3

granted this thread started 3 years ago, but MB Manhattan just now (April 2010) is charging $850 to replace both batteries.

Had I read the thread, I would have just called roadside assistance! :-)

Must be a slow month for them and they're trying to make it up. At least they also have a $100 off coupon, so that'll knock it down to 750, which is still insane.
I asked if they had to drop the tranny to get at the battery, and the SA said it was just a 1 hour job, so it's not the labor they're trying to bone me on.

sigh.

petep86

LOL drop the trans to get to the battery!!! hahahaha

petep86

oh BTW MB of Manhatten Blows!! best sales guys on the east coast, but also the worst mechanic/ service department on the east coast,, lol

edwinwalke

My 06 E320 CDI has the fume escape hose which connected just fine with the Bosch Lead Acid battery($99 at Pep Boys with three year replacement warranty)I installed. So far, no fumes, no leaks, and no corrosion and it works perfectly. Local dealer wanted $260 for the MB AGM OEM battery.

Clinton Horn

Ditto 2003 E320 been in about 12 months. Save the small PVC elbow from the OEM battery and the Bosch works fine. Mine DOES have a factory fitten vent- line.
To my knowledge AGM batteries have only one advantage over conventional. They do not spill acid. They are not necessarily more powerful or "better"
I run them in bikes (vibration) and in the SBC backup as the consequences are pretty severe. To each his own, the AGM battery is slightly higher and safer. The Bosch at Pep Boys does very well

Long Islander

Do all years and all models of W211s have two batteries? I thought they stopped putting in the small battery at some point.

timannnn

Can you please post the model number and specs of the bosch battery you purchased from pep boys? Just want to comparison shop and they have nothing listed on their website.