Chicago_Buckeye

You're absolutely right Gaazmon; luck DOES play a big part of it as well.

By the way, BEAUTIFUL color on your Benz; must look really nice in person.

Is it rare, maybe custom order? Don't remember seeing any around Chicago in that color.

vettdvr

Door locks fail. You will know it when they continue to jump up and down.

Air suspension

A/C fan

83,000 and I am sure more to come.

erifly

I got the door lock failure and had a similar issue on my previous car so I had an idea of what the cause was..cheap plastic door pins losing grip(unscrewing) on the locking mechanism. You can go around each door and try to tighten each one with your hand but if you feel a door pin that just keeps spinning and spinning it will have to be replaced. I bought some metal ones for about $15 and that solved the issue.

ksukkar

Can I add
1. Mix of gear oil with water, had to replace the whole radiator
2. sudden error in steering pump, replaced it
3. Now my DVD Command unit (euro) and the CD changer unit do not work at all, so basically as if there is no electricity pumping into it...!

dont know why this is happening, anybody has a clue..?

Mackhack

Fuse for the COMAND?

ArcaneE270

Bouncy door pin... most annoying problem imaginable.

rcollins2867

geez, I thought I was the only one that had the 2003 w211 lemon....I have just made it to my 1 year anniversary with this car. I bought the car with a clean carfax and only 45k miles, had a little warranty left when purchased, never in a million years would i have anticipated the surprise that I was in for....$3400.00 in repair cost, and roughly $300.00 yearly maintenance cost...

list to date, and I am stuck with this lemon as it is out of warranty and still costing me...

1. Front airmatic spring replacement ($1700.00) dealer only part and labor
2. Crank position sensor ($380.00)
3. Trunk auto close module (not replaced as this is costly, just have to use key to open trunk)
4. rack and pinion rebuilt ($1300.00)

In shop as we speak for the following.

1. Motor mounts
2. Transmission mounts
3. Oil Change and filter service change
4. Suspension light back on indicating another air suspension leak.

I guess if you get a good one, you get a good one, if you get a bad one you get a bad one....

Good luck anyone with their w211's, beautiful car but issues galore.....

rieger

Ok Boys get ready for this list!

1. Engine Mounts
2. Transmission
3. Torque Converter
4. All The SBC stuff
5. bushings/links
6. Control arm
7. Airmatic shocks (3 of the 4) failed
8. Tie rods
9. Rocker Arms and Camshaft (failure due to metal fatigue)
10 and some computers were changed out

The rocker arms and camshaft was really suprising since I haven't really heard of this problem before but when the card was making a weird noise and I insisted that they take the engine apart since they said it sounded normal until they really listened more, and when they took it apart the camshaft was all scored and they said the failure was due to metal fatigue.

ricoh64

what yr was your car? I have an '05 e500 but have not had any issues as of yet. Extended Warranty up in August, any must do's from the dealer for an '05?

Mackhack

I got my thrust arm bushing passenger side swapped completely and paid by my ext. warranty. Did that after 62k miles. If this is required on a 05 I dunno but if you want to check our car I would def. check them.

rieger

The car comes with 4 year warranty and it is only 09 so how can your Extended warranty be already finished? Shouldn't it just be starting?
Most of the items on the list are noticeable with a little noise then within 6 months of the noise goes belly up and the problem will be apparent. But it is not something they can check for unless you hear the noise and it has to be consistent. If your warranty is not over and you can buy ext. warranty than I would do so if you are a car enthusiast. If not then some of the problems you won't even notice. I have been in many MB and the owners don't even know there is a problem until I tell them.

vettdvr

Easier to add to my list.

Air springs replaced
Belt Idle pulley bearings failed.

More to come.

Please someone convince me to buy another MB for Quality and Reliability after owning a 03 E500.

jeffrey2

I only have 1 recurring issue with mine...
There is a pulley somewhere under the hood, when started in the morning, it squeaks for a moment. No, not a belt, but a pulley sounding like it needs to be lubed. Replaced 2 or 3x when at dealer under warranty but still not fixed.

Beyond that -
My windshield is a rock magnet.

vettdvr

Idle pulley, Tension pulley or the pivot bearing on the Tensioner. These can't be lubed they have seal for life bearings in most cases. I recommend you have yours repaired. IF the really have been changing the idle pulley then they just haven't changed the right one. IF it is a bearing and fails it is possible to sling the belt and do more damage.

Geeves

I do hope this type of thread only attracts the bad news...

Have a 2003 with 52,000 miles to date...no problems so far (except for changing of some valve when back vents blew only warm air). Front suspension a bit clunky, but nothing major and surely things cannot be expected to be as tight as when it was new?

vettdvr

Perhaps you have a better one than I did. We started with problems 2 days after taking ownership.

SPNJHockey

Yeah me too, Cuz. AND...every time I get hit, it's in the same damn spot: bottom right hand corner...7 hits inside a circle of 6 inches in diameter. Rather odd!

amgking22

hey just a quick qestion for u can u explain to me wat happen to your battery because i have the same car and im gettin a code sayin battery and altnator if u could explain your issue u had it would help me out alot thanx

vettdvr

At 101,000 miles and list of failed parts I can't imagine ME buying another MB. I bought this one as my first foreign car with "a reputation of reliability" expecting a very reliable car. What I got was a very expensive car that had $1000 bills stuffed into the parts counter to keep it running. After pulling the belt idle pulley and replacing it I noticed the bearing in the OEM part had Made in China on it not Made in Germany. If MB is outsourcing to world suppliers it isn't surprising they don't have control on quality. After all the sum of the parts equal the total vehicle.

If I buy American cars and they fail at the same rate I will only save about $30,000 and have enough to buy 2 so when one fails I won't need a loaner.

These are my individual results and opinions, of course your results may vary and this vehicle may or may not be reflective of the quality MB produces but only reflects my individual car.

mshrout

Hi everyone, newbie here, we have purchased a used 05 E320, currently has 62K, bought with 52K. once I got the wheels and new tires to balance went to work on the brakes. new rotors and pds installed and 4 wheel align. checked air pressure and still slightly pulls to right.

Ive worked on brakes and cars, motorcycles for over 30 years.

when I installed my new brake pads the right front outside pad was worn farther down than the left side.

my theory, the SBC keeps a constant slight pressure on this pad from the caliper piston on the disc, hence the slight pulling to right and more wear on the pads... no other issues with car. very well built car.

vettdvr

MIght be sticking caliper piston holding pressure on the pad. Doesn't take much for wear.

mshrout

Vettdvr, you probably right about that. possibly the piston is sticking in the caliper, another day to work on that project. right now on the board is tearing my dirtbike forks down to rebuild with new springs.

vettdvr

I do understand the "other" work. I have to pull the manifold on my corvette to replace the oil pressure sending unit.

Gersh320

Sounds like you have a poor quality or dying battery. I've been starting my car 5 times a week when it has been sitting outside all day with temps as low as -24C. I can tell it struggles a bit but no issues.

strider-g3

-motor mounts (i hope)
pulls to the right even with brand new tires and balanced and aligned.

can anyone give me an average cost for replacing the mounts via dealership? and can the job be done privately or does it require some special tools only mb has? im in canada.