I'm in Canada. I have been waiting for months and months for this car to be available. But reading many articles and also on this forum, I get the feeling buying a new car with many changes in the first year being new motor, transmission could be a big mistake. I don't want to be the "tester" if I'm spending this much. The new engine and transmission were in the CLS 550 in 2011 I think but not sure and if they were, I wonder how they were for reliability.

I have been searching for any reports on the 2012 but it may be too early yet since it just was released. I have had friends telling me it's not a good idea to buy a car with major changes in the first year with no track record. I keep my cars for a few years and yes I've thought of buying the extended warranty. But, that kind of defeats the point I'm concerned about which is service reliability on the new 4.6L turbo/Direct Injection engine and new transmission changes to match.

I would appreciate anyone's input to help me make a decision on whether I should wait another year or go ahead as planned.

Thanks again.

Toban

 

See if u can get a late build 2011 E550 with new command system at a steal. Rock hard 5.5 NA V8 that outperforms new engine with exception of gas mileage (but at $65-70k USD who cares about a couple mpgs).

 

Get an extended warranty and you'll be fine. DI and FI mixed are a recipe for issues when the car ages, but as long as you have a warranty, it's not really a concern.

 

Consider leasing the car for no longer than the warranty.

 

Go for the new 550 with no worries. This engine has been in the CL since MY11 and the S and CLS for several months now. It is a monster and contrary to what others have said, outperforms the old 5.5 (which was a great engine) in every way imaginable. The numbers do not lie. HP and torque are higher and 100% of the torque is available 1000 rpm lower (1800rpm vs 2800 rpm) than in the 5.5. The power delivery is like a V12 in its refinement and the fuel economy is leaps and bounds better. I drove a CLS on a 14h 900+ mi trip averaging 70mph and got 30.2 mpg indicated on the trip computer. Good luck!

 

go for it Toban: warranty!!

 

The issue AFAIK with DFI engine design is the carbon build up over time, which I believe takes more than 1 year to develop. I think I read that some of the VW, Audi, and Porsche engines from a few years ago has developed this issue. Don't know the details but the concern is a valid one.

Here is a link to some photos of some badly clogged up valves in DFI engines:
http://forums.quattroworld.com/rs4b7/msgs/19166.phtml

 

If you trade cars every 3 to 5 yrs or so buy the new motor. If you keep cars till they crater like I do then get the tried and true 5.5. It's probably the best gas motor mercedes has ever produced, so the new 4.6 has some big shoes or tires to fill.

 

What do u all think a $70k 2011 E550 would go for today. About $55k?

 

Depends how it's optioned out. I highly doubt 55k though. The NADA has my 2010 valued at 59k. And it was 70k new. Might find an individual seller but finding an e550 from an individual seller is like finding a needle in a haystack.

 

I think only about 3-5% of the E class vehicles sold are 550s so they are a bit rare and even in the used car market you almost have to pay a bit of a premium for a nice low mileage vehicle.

 

my 550!!!

 

BMW ran into this years ago. If you stay with a name brand premium gas (and stay with one brand), you should not have a problem. The issue arose when folks used gas with poor additives and tried to skimp on the octane.

 

Thanks for all your replies.

Here's my concern. I want the newest engine etc as I think down the road, the used car customer will want this feature in a car. This is why I've been waiting for months. It's a bit of a crap shoot I think juming into the first year engine. Although, one poster did comment the CL has had this engine through 2011. I wonder if there's been any problems with the engine? Why does a DI engine carbon up as one poster commented on?

Toban

 

You have no reason to be concerned. The engine is not new, nor is any other part of the powertrain.

 

The new 4.6L is a monster.

I was considering taking my wife's 2011 E550 from her & buying her a new car, but once i tested the new 4.6L, i knew i had to have it.

You'd be crazy to buy the old one.

 

Reliabilty of any turbo is ALWAYS questionable. Reliabilty of proven NA displacement is rarely questionable.

 

which is why one should follow the rule on these cars: never own a car beyond it's warranty. It's one of the reasons I lease.

 

How long have the 4.6 V8 TT and the 7G-Tronic Plus been in service?

 

New Audi DI engines still have carbon build up issues. It happens because there is never fuel passing by the valves to keep carbon at bay. I don't know about other manufactures, but I know Toyota gets past the issue with a fuel injector just past the throttle body to occasionally spray fuel to keep things clean. JHMotorsports is about to release something similar for the RS4.

The carbon mostly comes from valve overlap. I know turbo motors are less susceptible to carbon because there is little to no valve overlap. Hopefully MB either eliminated valve overlap or installed a downstream injector.

More than likely though, the new 4.6 will suffer from carbon build up. For most people, it will not be perceivable until 50k or later

One thing is for certain, NO fuel and NO additive can prevent carbon build up. Unless of course MB has a downstream(I guess it would be upstream, actually) fuel injector

 

I can't believe Mercedes would release a new engine car kmowingly they were going to have carbon problems and warranty claim issues. Having said that though, how do you get rid of the carbon build up? How do you know when you have a build up in the engine?

Toban

 

Well I'm not 100% sure that Mercedes has not come up with a solution yet. But I know it's still an issue across the entire VW/Audi/Porsche line.

You know you have it when you get missfires on cold starts or missfires in the upper rpm range. If you ignore it, your rods will take a hard right exit out of the block!

By the time it affects you, your warranty is done. Getting rid of the carbon build up is a nightmare. I have done it on a V10 S6 and it was a nightmare(did I say it's a nightmare?). TO get rid of it, you have to completely remove all the intake components down to the manifold and scrub it manually. Each port on the S6 I did took 45 minutes or so. This stuff is tougher than it looks.

Here is some pictures of the S6
Before:

After:

 

Thanks for the post. I am on the same boat, I have first year production E350 and now it has garage door opener problem. Sure engine problems can be even worse. Anyway I am going to take E550 2012

 

The 4.6 has been in the CL since model year 2011. 7G-"Plus" includes minor software and hardware updates to the trans to increase efficiency; it is not a new transmission design.

 

Old 5.5:
Torque: 391 ft-lbs. @ 2800 rpm
Horsepower: 382 hp @ 6000 rpm
EPA mileage est. (cty/hwy): 15/23 mpg

New 4.6:
Torque: 443 ft-lbs. @ 1800 rpm (wow)
Horsepower: 402 hp @ 5000 rpm
EPA mileage est. (cty/hwy): 16/26 mpg

The new engine is one of the main reasons I bought this car vs a 2011, more power and better fuel economy. Sure there may be problems with DI, but from talking to my friend who works at MB they made some changes to the DI system for the US because of our fuel "quality" or lack there off. He didn't say what they did or he did and it was over my head.

Edward