2007 E350, a bit short of 160k miles. Fuel Pump went out, ...................... of course "I smelled gas" shortly before it went out.

Is this car still covered by MB's fuel tank warranty? Do I call MB of North America to find out?

Many thanks in advance.

 

The fuel tank warranty covers fuel leaks for exactly 15 years after the day the car was initially purchased. It does not cover the broken fuel pump. The time to replace the fuel tank was before the fuel pump broke. Talk to the dealer and see what they'll do for you. Make sure you don't have a PZEV car. That warranty is only 150k miles.

 

Many thanks.

 

PM me the VIN I'll let you know

 

Non-PZEV = 15 years/unlimited mileage from in service date, PZEV (code 917) = 15 years/150,000 miles. 03-07 warranty covers the fuel tank assembly; 08-11 fuel filter/sender, fuel pump, and gaskets. See attachment indicates ‘complete fuel tank assembly’ as all inclusive.

 

I have the PZEV, fuel pump just failed, 2006 E350 Sport and 157,000 miles. Production date is 8/2006. I don't know initial sell date, could have been months later. Title says it is a 2007 car. PZEV Warranty is 15 yr / 150,000 miles? Sounds like I am skunked?

Any ideas on a potential fix? This is a very clean black on black car with no body or interior damage. Runs great when the pump works. Looking for options. Thanks for any ideas. Mark

 

Call local MB dealer to find out "in-service" date.

 

Well PZEV only had 15/150k coverage so you're past the 150k market so it doesn't matter what the in service date is, you're already past the warranty. If you did a carfax or autocheck that would also tell you the in service date but it wouldn't do you any good. You used to be able to find them for $6, but not sure if they're still out there, eBay and Amazon have been cracking down on them.

 

If you are certain the problem is only the fuel pump (understood as both pumps), and the car is still valuable to you I am certain that $600 (parts + labor),

VDO -> https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...vdo-2114704194

Genuine Mercedes (currently on sale) -> https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...ump-2114704194

Even with the most expensive indy you can find, it is well worth it. The pumps are wear items, and they already gave you 150K miles.

Talk to the dealer and see if you are lucky; otherwise, you are still golden anyways that it is not the intake manifold damaged, or some other pricey stuff.

 

Juanmor, thanks for your time on this. At this point I would be excited to find a pump that works at those prices. Unfortunately they do not fit the PZEV tank. The pump in a PZEV equipped vehicle is not replaceable. It is actually built into the fuel tank with no access hole. A terrible design since it is well known pumps wear out or people run the tank dry and kill them. I am looking for a work around. I think most of the PZEV cars were sold in California only.

 

PZEV, . My apologies then.. I should have re-read your original post before concluding.

I have never seen one in person. Just some images with a few different views. However, there must have been a way to put the pump in, I doubt they put the pump within the mold.

The worst-case scenario is replacing the tank (+pump) and the labor costs, correct? From what I see online, we must be talking about @$2200 for the tank alone + labor + misc (harnesses, other parts), say @$3500+ (conservative)

If I were you I would explore the possibility of "MB USA courtesy" either via the friendliest dealership you have interacted with during those years, or directly write a "very smooth" letter to MB USA and see how it goes. MB USA has not too much loose (deep pockets), and some of those tanks on inventory can be written off anyway. The problem I see is the labor cost, which is hard-fresh money nobody would want to part with. Perhaps you may get an offer with you to pay for labor, and they give you the major parts or a heavily discounted price. The question is who can deal with MB USA better, you or a friendly SA championing for you.

Hope you have a spare car in the meantime; otherwise, that puts even more pressure on getting any solution w/o proper time to think about it.

 

There is no mold. The PZEV tank is made of 2 sheet steel halves that are seam welded together with the pump inside. There is no cover to open on the passenger side where the pump is. It's just blank.




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Thank you for that information. Learning a ton in this forum.

Definitely, someone at MB engineering group was smoking something.

Now I can see how they will fix it overseas. Fill it up with water completely, and open it apart, replace the pump and weld it again. Or, just use a non-PZEV tank and call it a day.

 

From what I understand, Mercedes made a deal with the NHTS in the USA to cover these tanks for 15 years and 150,000 miles to avoid a Recall and lawsuits. I have not heard of any cases of them paying after 15 years or 150,000 miles. They are washing their hands after the expiration dates.
I have spoken to two dealerships, same story. They want me to tow the vehicle in, let them inspect it and make a decision. Basically they want the car so they get the job knowing there is no warranty in advance. I will pull it apart, I am ASE certified from a past life so it is just a pump but a very complicated system.
Looking at options, it is a metal tank, I know a very good certified welder. I have thought about cutting it open, install a new pump and have him weld it closed again. I would have to go with his expertise, some metals are thick enough and OK to weld like that and others are not. He has built many tanks for custom vehicles.

 

You mean to enter the slaughterhouse without futile resistance

You are better hands than I thought, yourself and a certified welder . I can tell you that 30 years ago (living overseas) that tank would have been cut open regardless of thickness just for inspection/curiosity, and if it still was worth something it would have been fixed and weld it back. Hopefully, it does not have more MB plastic around the seams. Keep in mind the new pump could also fail, and you want to make it a bit easier the next time around.

 

Sorry to report it this way but I was also working on the Benz World forum.

Full PZEV Tank removed, lines still attached. NOTE: All lines on the PZEV tank are metal and use threaded connections, no plastic or rubber outside the tank.

Fuel filter cover Driver side of tank

Fuel Filter cover with electrical removed.

PZEV Tank with new access hole cut to get to fuel pump module. The metal plate cut out is sitting on the left of the new access hole. It could be welded back in.

PZEV Fuel Pump module. Comes out with two quick release clips. It was made to be replaceable but they did not give you access to do this job.

This is the pump that is inside the Module. IF we can find a replacement Pump the Module could be reinstalled. The tank opening would need to be welded or fixed with a sealed door for access.

This is the top of the fuel pump, note the hose connector type and it is a standard two wire power connector, one 12V and one ground.

Second picture of the fuel pump connections in side the module.
world forum trying to find answers to my PZEV fuel pump failure and most of the notes on what has been done are reported on that forum if you would like to read up on this.

I will report that I have now removed the Fuel Tank from the car, not an easy job. The exhaust, Driveline and the complete rear suspension has to be removed to take this tank out. The only reason for all this work is that Mercedes decided not to add a window in the top of this tank to allow a fuel pump installation.
The dumbest feature delete I have ever seen on a car build. They put in a trap door for the filter replacement in this same tank so it is not for emissions I think it is for cost cutting. So a 1 hour job is turned into 12-15 hours. Mercedes wants you to install a complete new gas tank with the new fuel pump installed.

I removed my tank, cleaned it fully inside to remove the gasoline. Then I cut an opening in the passenger side of the tank to gain access and look for the fuel pump. The pump is right where you would think, just under the place where the access hole should be located on the passenger side. Once open the pump is held in place by two very nice quick disconnect locks, one fuel line and one electrical connection. So with the tank open the pump comes out in about 5 minutes. The problem is no body sells this easy to install fuel pump. I am looking for a pump that fits and works properly in this application and then I am looking for options to seal the tank properly once a pump is installed. These metal PZEV tanks are very high quality steel. The fittings and connections are all steel. More like a race tank connection than a passenger car design. If it just had a removable access door on the passenger side they would be perfect for the life of the car. I will try an update once it is back in the car. I ordered a pump to install inside the fuel pump module. It will arrive in a week or so. That should fix the pump module but I still need to decide on how to close the fuel tank. Welding is the easy way but would not help at all if this ever needs to be opened again.

 

Nice work, , and write-up for others that find themselves in such a pickle.

For closing the tank, I wonder if you could use a similar mechanism as used in the non-PZEV tank or equivalent. The tricky part is the plastic flange attached to the tank since the cover can be the top of the non-PZEV pump unit w/o the internals, i.e, just the seal and the cover. Then, you can buy new seals, cover, large nut, i.e. standard available parts.

 

Unfortunately the non PZEV tank is plastic and my tank is Steel. I am still kicking around options.

 

I mean to reproduce the flange as a standard piece so you can fit standard parts later. Say, similar to the driver side but no internals?

 

There is a company that makes Fuel Tank Covers, they have them in 6 and 8" sizes designed to seal up exactly what I need to do. I ordered one today and will see how it works. Made from 1/4" thick aluminum. It will require drilling 10 holes in the tank to mount it but looks like a quality fix specifically designed to seal an inspection plate on a gas tank. Providing the new pump ordered fits this should allow repairing the PZEV tank and Pump.

 

The actual PZEV fuel pump replacement is written up on the Benzworld forum if anyone is looking for information. I did successfully replace the PZEV fuel pump and re sealed the tank. Lot of work but not that much more than replacing the entire tank. Now if the pump goes out it is a 2 hour job or less in the future and a $300 part that is available locally. Not for the faint of heart it takes a lot of work to do this job.

 

Thank you for sharing such a practical solution. How is it going now. The most important piece of information that I wish I could get from you please is the type of fuel pump is it another car pump a specific one and the seal picture
Regards

 

The first pump I installed was from a Carter fuel pump I purchased for an E350. I installed this pump into the original Mercedes pump module. ( Module = the plastic housing the pump and filter reside in ) The Carter pump failed after only one month or so. I suspect it was exposed to some metal from cutting the tank open. I had washed it all out with soapy water but pumps normally fail due to dirt so I suspect that first failure was my fault.
I found a better pump solution, The Mercedes pump for a S500 I think was a perfect replacement, I still had to take apart the S500 module and put the new pump inside the old E350 PZEV module but it was an exact replacement pump and is still working perfectly today. No leaks or issues. The good part was when the Carter pump failed it only took about 2 hours to install the new Mercedes pump because I had access with the new access plate. Beat the heck out of removing the entire rear suspension, and driveline, and exhaust system to pull the entire tank from the car. Final wrap, the repair worked. Edit: a full write up with far more pictures and the removable access door is available on the Benzworld forum you can look it up.

 

I'm thinking about doing this I know it's been awhile since you posted but I was wondering where you got that replacement pump for the passenger side and is it still working okay in your car