220S

I guess you overlooked the first part of my post

That's still irrelevant to why certain manufacturers cannot build high quality automobiles. Some actually do, and sell the cars for affordable prices while still maintaining profitability. So why not MB?

btw, housing (space) is finite, cars are not. The cost of modern cars with a reduced labor force and lower modern assembly line costs has no bearing on an apartment in NYC.

Just because the E Class is MB's 'bread and butter,' doesn't mean it can't be better built. And they do happen to be at the higher price range of all brands in their segment. So they are still expensive in relation to all other brands, just like 25 years ago.

But again your implication is that because the price is more competitive now than it was 25 years ago, that we should simply accept poorly designed and badly manufactured components. Sorry, not me.

threeMBs

Who? Last time I checked, both BMW 5-series and now Audi A6 - IMO the only two cars competing with W212/W211 - are more expensive, especially considering purchase price and not just MSRP. 5-series is more expensive for number of years now, driving would be 5-series buyers to E because of price difference (just check this boards for proof). I, as a former BMW 5 series (2) owner, will never buy another Bimmer again. Audis are great cars (had both A6 4.2 and A8), but they have a few issues too. Who else? Lexus? There are a number of problems with LS/GS/RX. Did you know that a number of LS cars were catching fire due to mulfunctioning cruise control? Or RX's power brakes failing in very cool and moist weather? And a number of brand new GS cars rattle like no E would. I am not even mentioning inferior design (except navigation) of both Lexus and Infiniti both inside and especially outside.

You read what you wanted to read and not what I meant at all.

Enough of this. Proove it with your actions, not with words here. Do not buy MBs. Period.

WEBSRFR

Ah this reminds me of the Seinfeld soup **** episode

Basically...

How dare you complain about the reliability of Mercedes vehicles and the substandard parts they seem to use on occasion. You complain about Mercedes? Then NO Mercedes for you!

I guess when you pay top dollar for supposedly one of the finest engineered vehicles you can buy expecting longevity and reliability with that is too much for some people.

I hope we can get back to discussing the actual suit that is pending along with what MB might be willing to do for the owners of affected cars.

charliele729

Is the class suit actually pending from MB, or is it still in the process. I dont know about some of you guys, but I was planning on keeping my E for over 5 yrs!!!

220S

Yeah, this sort of stuff gets pretty juvenile. Just because a Lexus catches fire means I can't complain about the myriad of issues from MB?

Progress comes from people not keeping their mouth shut and rolling over dead.

threeMBs

Here? What good will it do?

220S

Um, sure why not? Here's a current example: when the W212 E63 came out in its first year without the standard alcantara headliner. There were lots of complaints across the internet about it and about cost cutting in general. The very next year, MB returned it as a standard fare.

When Schrempp was cranking out crappy cars the industry trade journals and the car magazines flooded the presses and the internet with stories about poor Mercedes quality. The board kicked him out and replaced him with Zetsche. The first mission was to "return Mercedes to respectability" with a better quality product.

And look at Tunisia. Egypt. Bahrain.

Keeping your mouth shut does less good. And choosing between the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.

MBUSA reads forums. And AMG even set up one of their own forums exclusively for AMG owners. They post polls all the time and ask for owner's responses about lots of stuff. They read all the positive and the negative threads and posts. And they listen.

charliele729

Are any of you guys having problems entering your vin and not getting a data card or any type of info besides me.

threeMBs

Yes, same with me.

charliele729

BudC, have been helping me trying to get this thing to work, but he also says my Vin was invalid and the website didnt have any info on my vehicle. He has 08 E350 that was build in 6/07 and he says his engine number is way above the cutoff of engine with the defect shaft, I hope that would be good news for me and everyone else because mines with built in 10/08. I havnt gotten a chance to look at the engine number. Is there anywhere else to look for the engine number beside in back on the engine?

Vik888

I have the extended warranty, 7yr/100k mile ... sooo, I think I might bring the car in, give them the DTB and make 100% sure a service order in recorded in the system for my visit regarding the DTB. This will lead to proof I brought the car in during the original mfg warranty period, so should legal action be required at a later stage I can show I brought it in during the warranty period and they did nothing about it. I hate that I'm talking about legal action over a car I love, a car company I love and one of the best Mercs I've owned or driven.

If right now Service Advisors don't want to do anything, or MB won't do anything, I suggest others do the same thing .. so there is a record you did bring it up earlier but the dealer and MB decided to take no action.

SteveC325

I'd like to get this sorted out, too. I was originally NOT planning on buying the EW for my car, however, now... *if* (big if) I decide to keep it, I will have to pay $3300 for a 6/75 or $5000 for a 7/100 EW.

However, if this problem does not affect my 08 - I may "gamble".

The VIN site does not work for me, either

220S

Just an assumption, but if this ends up like BMW's subframe ca suit then all should work okay out for owners either way.

Once a suit is under way, the problem is out in the open. I do know that BMW was fixing under goodwill early on for those who knew about the issue and pushed. But if you signed on later to the ca suit, then you had to accept BMW's settlement offer. Either way you were covered however some people felt signing on and taking the settlement wasn't as good as trying it on goodwill and pushing to get it fixed. I don't recall the specifics (you can Google it), but I remember something about BMW would fix anyway despite the suit since it had put itself in acknowledgment of the issue. And apparently the settlement wasn't as good as trying to get BMW to fix it (something to do with time frame and mileage.)

Anyway, I'd monitor the suit's progress and just be sure to have it on record with the dealer that you've inquired, plus had them check the TSBs, etc..

SteveC325

I found out today that my engine is beyond those affected. My delivery date, per the data sheet was, 10/20/07 and the engine is 791XXX - way past the 468XXX cutoff... whew!

I still think I will get the EW, however.

If you know where I can get that 7/100 for $4K, please let me know.

WEBSRFR

It really should not cost you much more than $4K. Just call around a few dealers and ask to be transferred to the finance manager and ask him her for the best price they can give you for the Mercedes Extended Limited Warranty (not some no name brand warranty). This comes with a $0 deductible. Call around and you should be able to get a good price. I believe you need to do this before the warranty runs out.

WEBSRFR

Just so we are all clear, can someone please post the symptoms of this issue? Is it a hard shift from first?

charliele729

Thanks to Dan, I just found out my serial engine number 272964 31 118557, which means that I am not affected. Whoo hoo!

johnlk25

According to the datacard, my engine # is 272964 30 952344.

Am I safe or is my engine one of the affected ones?

charliele729

You are safe John, anything over engine #30 468893 is the new material idler n shaft.

My other question is that with the new modified shaft (350), is it suppose to last longer, or is it design not to wear down like the old one???

threeMBs

Do you mind sharing how to get serial engine number thru that website? Thanks.

LOVEMYBS

It's funny my 07 E550 is not listed but, my serial number is 30-064797 which means I'm in the "gray zone". Darn!

threeMBs

Got it. Thanks konigstiger.

WEBSRFR

Cutoff for 273 (550) engine is 088611 according to Dan.

My engine number is 081489 and it is affected and I'm going to look into having the dealer replace the defective party before it takes down the gears.

charliele729

I talked to my SA today, and he says he normally insalled a new balance shaft about once month. Not one specific model but more on the year between 06-07. He says that I shouldnt have anything to worry about since I am the later model 08+ and that if it was to happen, he would replace it 100% free. He the best SA an MB owner can have. Also he said that the new material is made with a differnt type of hardened metal that does not wear down at all like the old one.

K-A

Good to know that they rectified the situation with the engines quite a while ago.

That with SBC makes me all that much happier that I sold my '06. Lots of quality/durability stuff has been improving in M-B lately. I trust an M-B product more than any other Luxury manufacturer right now. The W221's have been the most reliable S-Classes since the much less advanced W126's, and the more simple W204's have been very reliable within their Class. The W212's will probably fair even better, or at the very least, just as good as those two.

As long as people keep complaining and demanding for better (when justified), M-B will continue to improve on their quality. They now know firsthand how fast people will write them off, and how drastic the repercussions can be when people start noticing and reporting quality problems.

These are advanced cars, so they'll never be as reliable as a Civic in terms of little issues, but what we can expect is for them to R&D the hell out of everything obsessively, and choose top parts suppliers, and maybe not focus on maximizing profits at the expense of lesser quality products so much.

Now, we have new engines coming out, that have more that can go wrong than what we currently have (DI, Turbo's, higher compression, and in some cases, all 3), and a new transmission somewhere down the line, so we'll have a whole new waiting game to play.