220S

Hope things can get resolved. I got my W211 when the W212 was already available. I'm not a person who's keen on getting the latest thing and feel more comfortable with tried and tested. But that's just me.

But the Airmatic in the rear is basically the same as the W211. And also the 7-GTronic tranny. And the motor. The rest is new. Maybe the old parts don't fit into the new chassis quite right... LOL j/k....

Despite what people think, Airmatic was not a "known issue" with the W211. MB has been using Airmatic for a while now and not just on the E Class. The problem is that if a strut fails, it can leave you on the side of the road unlike a standard strut suspension (and they fail, too.) Plus MB isn't the only mfg to use air suspension (think Range Rover, as an example.)

The big issue is that when if it does leak, that it gets attended to since the pump can burn out (trying to fill the shocks.) Just keep an eye on the system. Plus most failures are connected to hit big potholes (streets suk here compared to Germany.)

I was hesitant about Airmatic at first but I asked several MB indie mechanics and owners of MB airmatic and realized the ratio of failure to cars sold and on the road is very small. Plus the system has been improved upon with current versions.

Anyway, I hope the car starts acting like expected. It's a drag to buy new and have this happen. But I agree that the BMW F10 has just set the new standard. And I'm not talking so much in appearance as I am in performance.

C280 Sport

Better to have it done now while it is new and under warrenty. Sorry to hear this. Bring it to a Benz dealer. They will take care of it under warrenty and ask them for a loaner. If it makes you feel any better my aunt just got a 2010 Toyota and had to have it towed 3 times already . Good luck

MBNUT1

The thing for me that is disappointing about this story is that Mercedes was supposedly improving the quality of the E Class. This sounds like a setback in that regard.

MBNUT1

I really hate how Mercedes is lightening up the steering of the newer cars. Its like they are trying to dilute the breeding of the car. People can complain about the sluggish response of the W211 but at least it feels like a Mercedes. The light weight of the W204 steering is one of my bigger objections to that car as well. I totally agree that it makes the car more difficult to position. I didn't notice it so much on the W212 but I wasn't driving it very hard either.

K-A

Agreed. I love heavy-ish steering feelings. I like my 211's a bit more than the F.L 211's actually, I think mine is plenty light, but still retains that heavy-ish, confident feeling.

Fact is all the soccer moms who buy M-B's need it to be supremely light so it doesn't strain their arms when maneuvering around grocery store parking lots, so many of us have to suffer.

Boulder GT3

Sorry about your problems. I'm not a big fan of the 211. It's pretty drab.

As everyone gushes about new models, be it the 5 or the 212 it's always a good idea to not buy a first year. Having been thrilled and bought several first model year BMW's I learned the hardway about how unstable they are. The first year of the 211, current SL500 and a few other MB's had a lot more issues than later ones.

I hope your car stabilizes.

303E550

Emilner may have some issues with his new E, but I highly doubt that this is a model-wide phenomenon. There are several others on this board who don't have any issues with our new 212's. I can't imagine all of the 211's rolled out of the factory trouble free either. These are complicated machines and issues will be present.

emilner

Hasn't stabalized yet.

Now my garage door openers are no longer holding memory overnight. Yesterday they lost memory for the second time, I reprogrammed them and they worked for a few hours. This morning they are a no go, they are not working again!!

This to me is VERY frustrating!! These transmitters have been in the last 15 or so vehicles I have owned and I have never had nor HEARD of a problem with them!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

K-A

I would seriously do everything I can if I were you to try and get out of that car. Probably an impossible task, but ya never know, that's a LOT of issues.

C280 Sport

Soooo true. I know this from hand because we have purchased a couple GMC SUV's first year and got burt with them reallly bad.

ipp

I think it looks hot!

MBNUT1

Quality is a statistical thing. Even one problem car out of such a small sample isn't a good. It is widely acknowledged that the quality on the early W211's was crap. The W211 improved over the years and the expectation was the W212 would be an extension of that improvement.

As far as the complicated machine argument goes, as far as I'm concerned Mercedes shouldn't overextend their capability to put together a flawless product in favor of uncontrolled complications.

K-A

The real interesting thing will be how well all the incredibly extensive Standard, and especially Optional tech stuff (many/most of which are Safety oriented) will hold up, and in 5-8 years, how much of a "stay the hell away" aspect the 212 could have due to how much $$ it would cost to fix one of the many tech problems that can arise.

303E550

Agreed, but we would be living in a dream world if we thought every car coming off the line was flawless. I am sure that Mercedes, as with most every other car manufacturer, would love to have that be true and strive for such a goal. Unfortunately, these are still machines, the best of which aren't fail-proof.

vettdvr

My 2003 E500 fits the same category on poor reliability. I won't buy another car with airmatic suspension. Don't care good they are suppose to be.

I think the 2010 E350 is a better car than the 550 due to no airmatic. Granted I like the power but I just won't buy another with that system onboard. SBC brakes well that's another horror story I won't go into here.

I am considering buying the E350 but the 550 is out of the question due to reliability concerns.

ipp

I think you just are having a bad battery. I saw a brand E-class at my dealer and it was slammed like your's and I asked the dealer and he said it happens when the battery is drained, that could explain why the homelink loses it's settings too.

emilner

Even though the car starts fine?

Green E-300 DT

"Probably an impossible task" Not so my friend!

If he were here in our state, I could tell him exactly what to do.

Here in Kallieforneia, there is what is know by Lemon-Law lawyers as the Song-Beverly Act.
I'm sure that NY probably has one also. Do a search under New York lemon laws.

In some cases, and agreement may be reached without having to go to court.

It does take a while to get into court if that becomes necessary, but it is well worth the wait
because when you do prevail, the manufacture is 'forced' to buy it back and you get almost
all the monies you have spent from the first time you compained about the problem(s).
You are charged only for the earliest mileages before you first complained.
The manufacture is forced by law to pay most all if not all the attornies fees.

How do I know all this? I am presently involved in such a case with my Hyundai Azera.

We do know that MBZ has been forced to do this. Here are some examples:
http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/dd...arch_type=both
You will note that there is an older E-55 that had suspension issues also.

As you can see, this dealer seems to specialize in 'buy-back' vehicles,
so we do know it is done by many manufactures.

Life is too short to fool around with this lemon.
The sooner you consult a firm that specializes in lemon-law vehicles, the sooner
you will be able to get something else that will not drive you to the funny farm.

Get on with it now. Good luck!

ipp

Not sure... But it seems to have something to do with power loss. A bad battery giving wrong current can result in very strange behaviors from the car. I remembered that from a thread I read at the BMW E60 forum a couple years ago.

ZedStyle

because everyone hates going to work on monday, including people who assemble cars... so if your car has more issues than normal, it was probably put together at the beginning of the week by some grumpy germans who wish they weren't at work that day..

emilner

Well, its at the dealer to figure out the crashing suspension (which happens after 3 days of sitting) and the garage door opener loosing memory and hopefully fix one or two rattles. I have a GLK as a loaner, but I miss driving a car...

bigben320e

That sucks. No other way to say or see it.

emilner

Well, I got it back from the dealer last week after having the pump changed and well you guessed it, the rear is sitting on the floor again.

Back to the dealer we go...

220S

Three strikes, and MBUSA is out. Game over.

Green E-300 DT

This is why I will not have anything to do with any vehicle that has this type of suspension.

Especially if it is no longer covered by a full factory warranty.

But you have a newer supposedly covered S class and the dealer cannot seem to fix it properly.

It is indeed too bad. What a shame! MBZ needs to address
these types of problems that are occuring at the dealer level.

Good luck to you.
I trust you like lemon pie. Here, have some more! (Sorry, kidding of course!)