UNBELIEVABLY EXPENSIVE BATTERIES
02-05-2011, 07:59 AM
#1
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2004 E500
UNBELIEVABLY EXPENSIVE BATTERIES
I had my 2004 E500 with 38,000 miles in for the annual (B) service this past week and I asked the service advisor to check the car because of somewhat slow starts in very cold weather. He later informed me that both batteries needed to be replaced - at a cost of $750!!! I asked him if he was kidding but he denied it. He said I could not only replace one of them and if I didn't replace both the car would likely fail to start and leave me stranded. No alternatives were offered. I told him to go ahead and to make sure the clock was reset before the car was returned to me because of the problems I had in the past resetting the clock. As expected, the car was returned with the clock off by 3 hours!
I called MB USA to report this, but they would do nothing about it and seemed uninterested.
It is either a ridiculous design issue by MB or price gouging by the upstate NY dealership - either way, this is my last MB, for sure.
I called MB USA to report this, but they would do nothing about it and seemed uninterested.
It is either a ridiculous design issue by MB or price gouging by the upstate NY dealership - either way, this is my last MB, for sure.
02-05-2011, 08:33 AM
#2
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2005 E55 AMG
You could have had the batteries replaced elsewhere, they aren't special batteries and would have likely cost $300 or less elsewhere.
This is one reason why I will never ever ever ever take my car to the dealer.
This is one reason why I will never ever ever ever take my car to the dealer.
02-05-2011, 08:48 AM
#3
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10 Cayenne GTS, 07 Porsche 911 Turbo
+1 on finding better batteries elsewhere. Sorry to hear how your stealer stole from you. My cars never return to the stealer once they are out of warranty.
02-05-2011, 11:31 AM
#6
Do it through Roadside Assistant b/c they don't charge you for labor. $271 I got quoted last week when I needed them b/c I left the lights on and my car was dead. There I got told that my battery is from 2003, he checked it and declared the battery is still in perfect conditions. I like that this battery last for so long!
02-05-2011, 03:34 PM
#7
Senior Member
Both batteries at once is a gimmick. I still have my original MB battery in the trunk (2003) and only replaced my aux battery in November or December. I was scarred not to get OE but decided to get it from Sears. $80 some odd later and 10 min of work; all works perfectly! I will more than likely order a new main battery in the next month to have handy. I'm on borrowed time with it. Check out www.bmwmercedesparts.com for original MB and BMW parts and accs on the cheap. I have spent about 3000Gs with these guys over the last year. I'm always looking for new maintenance for my two German cars. Love it.
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02-05-2011, 09:17 PM
#11
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02-05-2011, 09:24 PM
#13
Senior Member
It's called an Auxillary battery, and it helps "stabilizes the on board power supply voltage, and can be activated in certain situations if the systems battery voltage is low."
Last edited by wampa; 02-05-2011 at 09:27 PM.
02-05-2011, 09:25 PM
#14
Wampa might be right too that it is also used for the rest of the electrical stuff since our cars are full of it!!!
02-05-2011, 09:46 PM
#19
It's not a bad system. MB developed that with Bosch in the early 2000s and they were way ahead of its time with that system.
They had those recalls. I personally didn't have problems. I love the system. I mean think about it. It can virtually detect an emergency brake situation and slows your car down faster with more brake power while not applying more brake force on the pedal.
You can actually feel it when you drive lets say 60 mph and there is a red light. You have a considerable amount of force on the brake pedal and although you don't push harder (keep the same pressure on the pedal) you can feel that the car applies more and more brake power/force to slow down all the way until you come to a complete stop. Try it out.
The only thing what I did to the SBC system was to get the damper installed so that my brake pedal won't vibrate anymore when the SBC pump generates pressure. I also reset a friends E500 SBC brake counter on his own behalf.
They had those recalls. I personally didn't have problems. I love the system. I mean think about it. It can virtually detect an emergency brake situation and slows your car down faster with more brake power while not applying more brake force on the pedal.
You can actually feel it when you drive lets say 60 mph and there is a red light. You have a considerable amount of force on the brake pedal and although you don't push harder (keep the same pressure on the pedal) you can feel that the car applies more and more brake power/force to slow down all the way until you come to a complete stop. Try it out.
The only thing what I did to the SBC system was to get the damper installed so that my brake pedal won't vibrate anymore when the SBC pump generates pressure. I also reset a friends E500 SBC brake counter on his own behalf.
02-05-2011, 09:53 PM
#20
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99 SLK230/09 C300/06 E500
I only have had the E since last Friday but I thought the braking was different. Now I know why. This beats reading the owners manual!!! Thanks.
Two minor problems--rubbing feeling while making hard left/right turns--taking in for transfer case flush and my Command stopped working--I disconnected the battery for a hard boot--back up and running!!!
Two minor problems--rubbing feeling while making hard left/right turns--taking in for transfer case flush and my Command stopped working--I disconnected the battery for a hard boot--back up and running!!!
