AMG4EmE

My CPO 2008 E350 / W211 just overheated. Just purchased the car about 3 weeks ago.

Was driving today and the Overheating Warning lite came on. Drove it about 3 minutes after the warning light came on to the MB dealer to get the work done and have it corrected... Popped the hood and it seemed that the coolant was leaking and their was spillage in the middle front behind the fan. The car was not spraying steam/coolant as most way overheated cars would...

Anyone have any advice / tips on the overheating of a car? Does the car go through any irrepairable damage? Should I have them check other parts while they are still working on it? What other areas might be of concern that I should have MB check out?

I also planned to keep this car for some time since it is rather new, but have been reading about all kinds of problems that are caused by overheated cars and am becoming very worried.

Thanks in advance,
AMG4EmE

Vik888

I'm no expert, but 3 mins after the warning light came on doesn't seem to be long enough to cause any permanent damage. I doubt MB would design a warning light that if it came on, permanent damage has already been done within a very short period after.

I would keep an eye on oil consumption and gas mileage. You could even send your oil for analysis at the next oil change if you wanted to, but like I said, I think MB designs these cars because they know the avg driver won't immediately shut the car off.

2008's are fairly reliable cars.

So the coolant was leaking AFTER the overheat, or the overheat was caused BECAUSE of the leak?

Clinton Horn

I had a Chrysler product overheat due to a fan switch (common on this vehicle). It lost some antifreeze thru the pressure cap. Cooled down and was driven 180 mile home at 70 mph. Climate was mild so convection was sufficient to keep it at normal operating temp. Several weeks later transmission failure at 88,000 miles. Of course I complained to the transmission rebuilder about the poor reliability. Since his business is based on poor products he gave me the usual song and dance about varying life due to use, abuse, service etc. I can assure you we were not drag racing our minivan. Nevertheless, he did ask if the motor had ever overheated and I admitted that it had. "Well there you go". I could not deny that this might have caused an overheated tranny and it could have accelerated it's demise. In your case, if the problem was a coolant circulation problem (water pump or T/stat), I would not be concerned. If the fans failed, the transmission oil cooler is affected as well. My opinion would be that the tranny will recover from limited overheating but since it does not exhibit telltales like steam boiling from the hood, I really don't know. Perhaps someone else is better informed.

vettdvr

Overheat in 3 minutes could be stuck thermostat.

AMG4EmE

Well got a call from MB service and they informed me that some rodent must have crawled into my car and stopped the fan from working causing my overheat.

They informed me that they would have to do the following repairs:
1. Replace the fan.
2. Replace the thermostat.
3. Replace the oil/filter.

They also informed me that this is not covered by my CPO / MB Warranty and that it would cost me something like $2k.

Can anyone please help me?

1. Shouldn't MB cover all the charges for this? Like why the heck would a rodent get into my car and even if one did, would that make it my problem?
2. Since they are saying I need to replace the oil/filter, doesn't that mean I'm more prone to engine problems later on down the line? I just bought my car 3 weeks ago to keep for a while and now I don't even want it...
3. Is there anyway I can return my car?

Thanks in advance,
AMG4EmE

Clinton Horn

Sounds like you are being taken advantage of. Surely they gave you a better story than that? A cat maybe? Did they produce the offender's carcass or is this professional conjecture?

I can guess that the parts are under $750 with the fan ( They got both of them?) probably being the Lion's share.
I am a notorious cheapskate but if it were me, I would contact the state agency that regulates automobile repairs and lodge a complaint for insulting my intelligence and then I would buy the parts, get my tools and spend a Saturday under the hood.

I had a co-worker that kept a book of lies that people in the office told. At Christmas he would pull it out and read a few passages from the past :
Diesel airplanes
Cannon shells that sucked the enemy from their foxholes
Cars that had delivered hundreds of MPG
stuff like that
This story would have definitely made the list.

06e320cdi

Its possible that job just to replace fan would cost that much, I would ask why the fan cannot be reused once you removed the rodent and or nest. I did see the fan assembly is quite expensive somewhere around the 1200.00 mark. thermostat, and change the oil. I would see if your auto insurance would cover that. Its close to act of God. Somewhat like when you hit a deer.

AMG4EmE

I actually called Beverly Hills MB, the dealership where I purchased the car and spoke to my salesperson. He got me in contact with the service manager for their branch and they are going to tow the car to their dealership and try to resolve there.

I'm still needing help on...

1. Whether or not, regardless of the rodent/animal, whether the CPO / Warranty should cover the charges.
2. Is there anyway I can return the vehicle to MB and get my money back or at least buy a different replacement MB? I bought my car less than a month ago.

Thanks again for the help.
AMG4EmE

Clinton Horn

I would read up on the CA lemom law. I believe you have to give the dealer an opportunity to make the repair. Even so, an act of God (as unlikely as I may think this is) is probably not going to be covered unless it is goodwill.
Some things are just unfortunate.
I am not versed in this but I think your window for a replacement may be closed

http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon.php

timannnn

Unless they can actually prove that a rodent was in the fan (guts, blood, fur, etc) than your warranty should cover all repairs. Not only do you have the remaining factory warranty but you have the cpo also. I can't believe they would not cover these repairs seeing how you just purchased the car 3 weeks ago. Talk about shi$$y service. ((Dealership)) "oh yeah there was a rodent in your flux capacitor so your warranty is null and void forever".

Vik888

I'd like to know where the proof is that a rodent got in there?

Which dealer in SoCal is feeding you this crap?

I don't think there is any need to return the car if you are happy with it and they'll fix the problems.

AMG4EmE

One of the service advisors from Downtown Los Angeles MB.

I never gave him the authorization to start the work today. I just avoided his calls. He left me a voicemail early this morning informing me of the rodent/animal problem. I have that voicemail saved. I'm going to call him tomorrow to save all proof of rodent/animal parts and all of the parts that were swapped out.

After reading all of the websites about overheating and how there might be possible engine, gasket, water pump and who knows what else, I'm afraid of those problems long term. Was planning on keeping this car for some time... at least 3-5 yrs.

I hope my concern is unfounded and the car runs as nice as it has been after the fix. I just don't have the extra bling to throw around unnecessarily and I hope MB foots the bill.

Thanks again.
AMG4EmE

Vik888

good idea .. yeah, if they "think" a rodent did it doesn't mean a rodent did it.

I'd also talk to MBUSA and get the local rep involved.

Ultimately, if they haven't done the work, I'd take the car towed to where you bought it (if its close by) and let them deal with it because you've got more bargaining power there.

vettdvr

Ok,, I smell a rat here. My corvette fan does not come on until the engine temp exceeds the setpoint in the computer. This means that sometimes IT NEVER COMES ON depending on driving conditions. If you fan was damaged and did not run you would still be able to drive quite a while before you even noticed a problem. IN fact you could take the fan out and drive a while. How long?? depends on conditions.

Now the thermstat stuck closed will cause a very quick overheat and easily within the first 1 to 3 minutes of driving result in overheat. Give your overheat was so quickly IMO the fan was not an issue even if it was stuck and totally failed.

So my summary,, there really is a rat under the hood, now to prove it might be difficult but I believe it was a defective thermostat as the initial cause and that should be under warranty.

AMG4EmE

Can a rodent/animal in anyway damage the thermostat?

I'm mechanically retarded...

Thanks again in advance,
AMG4EmE

vettdvr

NO! the thermostat is in the liquid part of the cooling system generally at the engine end of the top water hose. Unless a rat ate through the hose and coolant leaked out it then crawled into the cooling system it would never reach the thermostat.

SZMB

How many miles on your car? So no more full factory warranty? I would think that the CPO warranty covers defective fans, unless this guy can prove that the rat chewed up the wires. It does sound like your service rep is the rat, trying to eat the cheese and drink the wine off your hard earned cash. Why's oil change necessary given that oil was changed under the CPO? Overheating the car for just a minute would not burn the oil. Maybe have the car towed to another dealership w/ good reviews and have them work on the problem under CPO warranty.

SZMB

If you look up the reviews for Beverly Hills MB in yelp.com, it's got quite a lot of nasty reviews. If the bad reviews are complaining about high prices, that I understand, but very bad customer service and poor repair works from the service department. I would stay away and go to another dealer.

AMG4EmE

Anyways finally got everything resolved.

Long story short, while LA Downtown MB had my car, they diagnosed the problem by fixing the problem. Only problem with that was I never authorized the work after receiving the service advisors voicemail on my cell.

I brought this up to their attention and they told me they could put in the shorted out fan and the broken thermostat leaving me with a jacked up car.

After talking to the service advisor, the shop floorman, and the service manager, LA Downtown MB offered to NOT charge labor, 15% discount on the parts, and give me a free oil and filter change. So instead of the approximate $1,500.00 they quoted me in the voicemail, I ended up paying about half that.

I asked to see the shorted out fan and they showed me one with what looked like a light spray of diarrea (sorry for the retarded description... only thing that comes to mind) on some areas on the fan. Who knows whether or not it was a rodent/animal, whether or not it happened to the car before I got it 3 weeks ago, or whatever...

Anyways, cars fixed and I'm satisfied with how everything turned out. PROPS go out to JAKE of LA DOWNTOWN MB for helping me get through it.

Thanks to all that replied and helped me out on this thread as well.
AMG4EmE

SZMB

It sounded like a rat ate the wires and took a **** on the fan. LOL.
I don't believe that for a bit. I think that problem was already there but they didn't catch it when they did the CPO inspection. Electrical issues should be covered under CPO warranty. The whole purpose of buying a CPO is not worrying about immediate repairs. If it was me, I wouldn't pay for anything and insist that they go through CPO warranty.

vettdvr

Rats under the hood are possible. You must know the source.

They could be dealer or rodent. Produce the rodent damaged parts and show the teeth marks. I bought an 87 corvette that was in a barn and it was damaged by rats. I threw out the nest under the hood. I could see the teeth marks in the rubber. After replacing all the parts it was a great car until I traded for a new Vet.

HIRABI

That is something else...

AMG4EmE

Well my car overheated again.

This time I pulled the car over as soon as I got the warning msg. Popped the hood and didn't see any visible signs of leakage/spillage.

Had the car towed to BH Mercedes Benz. They informed me that they can not find the problem, but are still looking into it. It is now the 2nd full day it has been there.

Long story short (Long version in the posts above)... My car overheated a month ago and they replaced the shorted fan, thermostat and changed the oil/filter. I got stuck paying about $700-800 eventhough I had factory warranty and cpo warranty and bought the car less than 2 months ago. I have driven the car since the repairs without any problems for about 2k miles.

My questions...

1. Are they going to stick it to me again since I just had some non-warranty issue with overheating a month ago?
2. Or can I tell them that I paid for them to fix it a month ago, the car was fine for 2k miles, and this overheating is a new problem that should be covered by the warranty?

I really don't want to fork out anymore money on this overheating problem but feel they are gonna try to screw me again!

Thanks again in advance.

vettdvr

[QUOTE=AMG4EmE;4092925].............Long story short (Long version in the posts above)... My car overheated a month ago and they replaced the shorted fan, thermostat and changed the oil/filter. I got stuck paying about $700-800 eventhough I had factory warranty and cpo warranty and bought the car less than 2 months ago. I have driven the car since the repairs without any problems for about 2k miles.
............QUOTE]

I don't understand why you paid for this work with the CPO. Perhaps if the engine burned out they would replace it.

This is their problem to solve. I suspect the fan motor has failed.

sosh

[QUOTE=vettdvr;4093396]Believe he paid for the work as the dealer claimed a rodent had chewed up the fan wiring near the thermostat. If that he truly the case then the owner would be responsible as its not a factory defect.