pod

hi..I have the pleasure of owning a very early w211 e class 220 cdi August 2002 its my first merc,I Love the car, it hasn`t give me one days trouble untill last friday.While sitting ticking over in my garage a bad burning smell arose ,on further inspection the dash was glowing a not so nice colour of red ( attention Alternator/Battery Failure) or something to that effect ,I turned the car off carefully opened the bonnet (incase of smoke or flame) but there was none,I tried to start her again but no start.I removed the alternator and had it checked and it`s fried unable to repaired .
Now to cut a very long story short I contacted a dealer to price the ALT he asked for my chassis number which i gave and he informed me that there was 5 outstanding recalls on my car and that i needed to get her to a dealer soon and that one was to do with the ALT.Now here is my problem if i buy a new ALT and the same happens to it or should i wait to speak to merc warranty and see if there`s a direct link between the recalls and my fried ALT
Has anyone had this problem ? Will the age of my car affect the recalls?The parts guy in Merc told me he has sold 40 ALT`s so far this year.So somethings not right.Thanks for reading this ,it`s probably too long ,It`s my first post...Cheers

magnus203

You from the UK? (curious)

If I was you, i'd put the alternator back on and get it to your dealer and have it fixed under the recall warranty. It may cost you a little cash to get a recovery truck to get the car into the workshop but you'd be saving a **** load of cash for the alternator and any other faults that may occur due to the recall work not being done.

Good luck!

GGM

pod,

Welcome to the community.

You may want to post some more information in your profile and/or create a signature with more information about your car and your location. Some problems are specific to models on certain continents--Europe vs. North America, for example. And even in North America there is a difference between cars sold in the US and cars sold in Canada.

This will make it easier for people to respond with information specific to your location. They won't have to ask you as many questions back and forth and will be able to respond to your questions more quickly.

It's just something I learned from other members of this forum.

I hope this helps.

konigstiger

Recalls and service campaigns do not expire – even out of warranty. Therefore, I would suggest you have the dealer inspect the vehicle. MB “USA” released campaigns for the battery control module, alternator, a couple for the SBC braking system, etc. – all no cost repairs. Furthermore, MB should cover the cost to get the vehicle into the dealership.

Diesel Benz

I would like to know his location too. I don't understand how the car could have 5 pending recall issues, it should not be possible in the Western Europe?

Some of the recall work can be easily identified, like the additional support for the SBC brake wiring harness/connector.

pod

Sorry for the lack of info ,I`m in Ireland the car was origanly bought new in England and the owner moved over here to Ireland a few years later,which is probably the reason she has missed her recalls.
I`ll try to get some pic`s up....Thanks everybody for the replys

pod

Just to let you know my local dealer is on holidays so i can`t get any info but as soon as i do i`ll keep you informed

pod

Talked to the mercedes dealer on tuesday he said that it was unlikely that the ALT would be replaced as it was only a rectafier that the recall covered but he would try his best .
Was there not a recall for something to do with the battery in the rear some kind of reprogramming a regulator? does any one have a recall list for Europe or know where i can get it.....Cheers Paul

Diesel Benz

I can understand that they would only change the alternator regulator instead of the whole alternator. You are probably after the BCM battery control module SW update. I'm not aware of any "public" source for the Euro recalls.

pod

thanks for the info Diesel Benz every bit may help.

pod

Mercedes will not cover any damage to the alternator as the recall was only for reprogramming the battery module (i was told this was to make sure the 2 batteries worked together)
The europe recalls are as follows for W211
1 Battery module control unit : check/reprogramme
2 Turbo Linkage : check/grease
3 S.B.C control unit : replace wire/hareness
4 S.A.M Unit (rear fuse box) : replace
5 Front Axle : Replace Bolts / Grease Sleeves
The price of the ALT in my local Irish Merc dealer is €786.76 including vat but not including fitting, i can get one from a Northern Irish dealer (this dealer would fall under the UK/English Mercedes dealer network) for €500 or i can order it on the net for about €400 im not sure about the last one.I like the thought of it coming direct from Merc/Bosch.Any thoughts or ideas?

konigstiger

MBUSA Service Campaign 2005070017 APR06 documents for 211 2001-06, if equipped with Bosch alternator replace the regulator (VIN specific). The alternator regulator may fail to prevent voltage values ranging beyond the specified tolerance limits.

Furthermore, EPC documents regulator part replacements for your 211.006 EPC: Regulator A0031544106 replaced by A0031547106 up to alternator A0131540002; A0031543606 replaced by A0031547306 up to alternator A0121545902 & A0121549802

I can send a copy of EPC info and the campaign bulletin if you want as it may assist in obtaining goodwill assistance.

Diesel Benz

I doubt the Euro recalls would be fully limited to the BCM SW updates, I tend to remember regulators were changed too. Quite likely the same as konigstiger shows for the US. Looks like you dealer is trying to get the money twice or then there is a limit how long time MB covers the expenses (it may not be a recall in Europe in the same sense as in the US that it would be seen a safety issue etc.).

The last part on the list above should be a lot cheaper than the whole alternator. I would consider a part from MB instead of a whole alternator from eBay unless the source is very reliable (like MB GTC).

http://www.mercedes-benz-parts.co.uk...com_virtuemart

pod

Thanks Konigstiger and Diesel Benz for the info but Sorry guys i had to give in and order the damn ALT ,it`s coming from the UK dealer .As for the recalls this couldn`t have happened at a worse time everybody here is on holidays so nobody wants to take responsability , she`s been off the road for 3 weeks and i just need her back ,the dealers here in ireland are famous for being useless they have no competition so they don`t care.
I should receive the ALT on Wedensday so hopefully all being well be back on the road by the weekend .Thanks for your help and your suggestions ,i`ll let you know how everything go`s

pod

Thanks Diesel Benz that web site will come in very handy there stuff seem`s alot cheaper...Cheers

Barry45RPM

There has to be a way for you to update the address on file by the Authorized Importer/Distributor of MB products for your country. (Not the Dealer's in house database) Here in the USA the entity is called MBUSA, which is really a "separate" company than MB Daimler in Germany.

The importer/distributor for your country is responsible for notifying customers of recalls, etc. for the lifetime of the vehicles within its jurisdiction.

Diesel Benz

I completely agree, and I actually know example cases where a car has been privately imported from Germany to another EU country (quite popular for an MB) and has received the recall letters from the local importer (not from local dealer) and everything works without the private importer having to do anything else than registering the car through normal procedures.

I'm sure it should work like this in Ireland too. Obviously since it did not, the local official importer isn't doing the job well. If you know a lawyer, he might be interested. The SBC recall stuff is something MB definitely wants done to every car. In the worst case the local importer co-operates with a workshop they also own and charge MB for the work without doing anything for your car. It would be nice to see the paperwork from an official workshop. Also some of the recall work is easy to identify, depending on the MY, I don't remember any more if you actually mentioned some stuff being taken care of.

pod

The guy in service and warranty in the dealership told me that if I was getting the car serviced with them ,that all of the recall work would have been done,but as i have my own garage its alot cheaper ,so maybe part of this is my own doing,but he did say that when she`s back on the road that he will fix all the recalls when ever i want (but not the alternator)
I think the problem is that these Dealerships are all divided up For example the dealer i went to his Sales division is leased out to a company and run by the head sales man,Stores is leased out to another company and finally service/warranty is leased out to another company and everybody pays the dealer principle who`s name is above the door so it`s pass the buck and nobody cares so there`s nobody looking for cars that have missed recall .

Fastbuck

I thought there were a couple of postcards in the back of the service book for the specific purpose of updating your contact details with MB.

pod

not in mine and she had been in the dealership before this happened to check the camber on the front and rear

pod

finally back on the road new alternator fitted with no problems