mhj202

Is it normal that a 2009 E350 with only 9k miles would need to have power steering fluid added? Also, is it normal for the dealer to charge for the power steering fluid in addition to the cost of the "A" service?

The steering was making a strong whining noise on cold starts so I mentioned it when I brought the car in for the "A" service. They said the ps fluid was low and they didn't find a leak so they topped it off and charged me for the fluid. Seems weird to me that the car would need ps fluid added so quickly.

My concerns are accentuated by the fact that the car was delivered to me very low on oil (oil light went on after only a couple months and dealer said that it was like 4 quarts low with no leak so they must've delivered it to me low). Note that the services were performed by the same dealer that I bought the car from.

Thanks.

edwinwalke

If it were my car I would have the dealer provide an explanation of where the PS fluid went. Appears there is a leak that needs fixing as this is not normal to have to replenish the fluid. I have driven several MB in excess of 200K miles and never needed to add PS fluid.

mcleantmw

If you paid for an A Service, then it's normal to pay for fluids. Guess MBUSA has changed the approach on the newer vehicles, but I received free A and B service under the original warranty, but then paid for them when my CPO and CPO Extended Warranties kicked in. It is unusual to need PS and engine oils topped off..........could be an error at the factory but I would monitor them to see if they go down again. If so, you've got a problem especially with the PS fluid that means there's a leak somewhere but will be fixed under your warranty......which will also cover the fluid replacement.

mhj202

Thanks. The actual cost of the ps fluid doesn't bother me as much as having a new car that apparently wasn't prepped properly to start with. And, to make it worse, even after they claim they checked all the fluids (a few months ago when they filled the oil), I'm now short on ps fluid only a couple of months after they supposedly confirmed that my fluids were good. Since they didn't find a ps fluid leak, I'm suspicious that, like the oil issue, the ps fluid issue was caused by the failure to fill it properly from the beginning.