Live Oak

2011 E550, P2, etc., SmartKey, 23,000 miles, 1-1/2 year old.

Came out to the car this (Sunday) morning. I had the fob in my pocket. (The fob had been in our bedroom all night, and red light when buttons pushed. The car had last been driven about 25 miles the day before.)

My wife had either not yet opened the passenger door or had just opened it but had NOT gotten in. I had not opened the driver door. We heard a one second "whirring" sound that we have never heard before. We both remarked about it.

Got in the car and there were no lights anywhere. Car would not even think about starting or lighting anything up, even with the fob in the ignition "switch." Got my wife's fob. Same story.

DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY IDEAS??? (Sunday, 25 miles from a dealer)

T.H.Carrera

sounds like battery is dead ?

Live Oak

Sure does.

At 23,000 miles? And it has never given a hint, such as slow start, that it is getting weak.

Just had B service, and asked the SA if they did the battry check and he said yes. ??????????

And what's with the "whirring" noise? Has anybody heard that?

T.H.Carrera

if you are certain nothing was left on in the car to cause a drain over night, then could be a defective battery. Try jump starting it...

ghstudio

check to make sure the battery connections are tight....especially the negative lead (which seems to be the one that comes loose first.

Live Oak

Can't even see the battery -- it's hidden under an AC shroud (and filter?) at the passenger side rear of the engine compartment. I'd have to rip the shroud off to get at the actual battery terminals.

Terminals for jump-starting are visible --- the negative terminal on the frame is tight, the positive terminal is under a sliding cover and appears tight. But those are not the actual battery terminals.

I should have added, KeylessGo.

listerone

A dead battery would be my (unprofessional) diagnosis.Perhaps it's a faulty battery,an unusual power drain or a defective alternator.Call the nearest dealer in the AM,have them send a tow truck and demand a loaner for the duration.My BMW had a faulty alternator at about 22K miles.Took them a week to get the part in from The Fatherland.Stuff happens.

BenzMan369

That alien whirring sound is probably a related clue, but that's only a shot in the dark.

Mercedes Roadside Assistance is your friend in such times of need, Live Oak. Beginning in January, 2011, FREE towing to the nearest Mercedes dealership service dept. is included with your car.

1-800-FOR-MERCEDES or call your dealership directly and tell them to "come and get it." Although they may want to try a battery or other on-site diagnosis first, before they take her away.

And if the time needed to effect repairs is going to hamper your activities for an inconvenient period, tell them to ship your free loaner right behind the tow truck!

My dealership would do this. Hope yours will too.

Good luck getting past this with as little inconvenience as possible and please let us know the outcome.

Live Oak

Thanks so much, BenzMan. Your message is most comforting.

Now we'll see if my comfort is justified.

This morning, I set my alarm for 7AM to do just as you suggest. We are a one-car family, and need all the support we can get. That's why we spent the big bucks on a Mercedes E 550.

In the 40-some years I've been buying ~many~ new cars, I've never had one simply die, with no warning. Part of the rationale for buying new. Now, I spent far more money on a car than ever in my history, with the assumption I'm buying quality and reliability, and I've had outage after outage, stuff I've never experienced with Ford and Mercury and Chevy and, in the last 28 years, Toyota and Nissan. So, today, to top it off, an outage, with no warning, 47 days after a complete B service, leaves us stranded.

It will be really interesting to see how Mercedes reacts to this.

I'll keep you posted, of course.

(I wonder if the "whirring" sound was the black Toyota helicopter drone . . . )

hyperion667

geez brother.......condolances......

it'll work out

MinnBobber

Guessing a faulty battery.
Had a ML430 1999 to 2005, original battery with no problems.

Bought 2005 ML500. At about 15,000 miles it wouldn't start after bike ride.
I called MB Roadside Assistance who said they'd bring out new battery. I said it only has 15K, probably just needs jump.
They came, they tested, they replaced

It seems batteries either last for many years or there are the rare marginal builds that crap out way early.
Hope it's just the battery.

Tjdehya

You do realize that you bought a Benz right? There is a number you can call and someone will come and figure it out for you... for free... well kinda... in other words you already paid for such a luxury.

steph280

We also had our battery died of early death in our old E320. Called roadside assistance and they showed up and replaced it immediately. No warranty prorate hassle. Had a chat with the tech and he says he replaced batteries so often, they always carry spares with them when getting called.

Good luck, hopefully your issue is as simple as a dead battery.

BudC

We had to have the battery replaced on our 2004 E320 in less than two years. It was replaced by roadside assistance (no charge). I attributed it to buying a car out of a dealers inventory that had been sitting on the lot for quite a while. Since that time, I order my cars from the factory so I know I'm getting a fresh car.

Arrie

Did they move the battery to the front? In my 2010 E550 battery is in the trunk next to the spare wheel.

If you can jump it and it starts normally it probably is a battery problem.

I understand you are located in the New Mexico. Doesn't it get pretty hot there at summer times? Brand new battery can short out from heat, which could very well be what happened to you and to tackle this problem you need a battery that does not do that. Usually batteries that come with the car are not the best ones you can buy (as the main business for the car company is not to build and sell batteries) but as it probably will be replaced by the dealer you will get the same brand.

If you have the battery in the trunk (have you checked) i would recommend replacing it with a third party battery made for high temperatures if the same thing happens again. This is what I will do if my battery shorts out.

bigh123

I understand your frustration. This could happen to any car. My civic's battery died a little early. Also if you just got your car serviced, I would check the terminals. That happened to me once. The mechanic must of done some work and then didn't tighten it well.

steelgrey

I had the battery die in my 2010 E coupe (2 yrs old in May). Took it to the dealer...battery was faulty and would not hold a charge. Battery was replaced under warranty. As mentioned above just call roadside assistance or if you have cables with the jump setup on the Benz it's very easy to jump start then take it in.

Live Oak

Only a few days of 100 degrees. We are at 5,300 feet.

Roadside Assist arrived 30 minutes after the call and jump started the car. Said he thought the battery had been drained. I've since driven it for 20 miles, 50 minutes counting the idle time after the jump, to recharge the battery.

The battery is under the hood, under the AC air shroud. (I told the tech it was under the hood and he said "No, it's in the trunk" and insisted on looking first in the trunk. Wasn't there.)

The night before, the car had been shut down after a 25 mile drive, all doors closed, nothing running. We always get the "Be sure to take your key" message and would have noticed if that didn't happen.

The tech says "sometimes the radio can turn on after the car is stopped, draining the battery." I'm an electronics guy . . . it would take many days for any radio to drain a car battery.

He then talked about the "computers talking to each other" in the middle of the night draining the battery. . .

I suspect the techs are given stuff to say in these situations.

So we'll see how it goes.

Thanks to everybody for their advice.

RobbieRob

That sucks Live Oak, I hope everything works out for you. It just sucks(imo) that after spending high dollar on the car the battery goes after only a year and a half. And on the techs, they are like robots, if its not in the manual, they are clueless. Good luck, Keep us posted.

Arrie

If your battery drained over night it is faulty / shorted.

Drive to an Auto Zone. They will test it for free.

BenzMan369

That's good news Live Oak. Glad to hear it was a simple fix, so far at least. Let's see what happens after it's been turned off a good while.

I still wonder about that one-time brief whirring sound you heard though.

******************

He then talked about the "computers talking to each other" in the middle of the night.......
Now that's spooky! Especially if you're sleeping in a house with an attached garage. I hope they come in peace.

ttoE550

Yes, it is faulty. I'd personally never rely on a battery that has gone dead for no obvious reason. It's a good way to get yourself stranded someplace - take it from experience.

Mine recently went bad. I bought the car a couple of years ago. I had mine tested, and it showed no problems. The dealer replaced it for free. That's the first time I've ever gotten a free battery under warranty!

BenzV12

About whirring noise, your car is E550 and it suggests me you have air ride control - Airmatic . May be sensors or something related to whirring noise and it lead to draining battery

Sometimes, when I sit in my dad's car I hear similar noises as well . Bear in mind , that car is only equipped with AC Delco regular shocks lol
I asked about this noise and they said the compressor was kicking air

May you have no more drama about your car

Live Oak

Maybe it was mixing me a Margarita?

Live Oak

Yes, the car has Airmatic, and we've heard a wide variety of noises from it over the last 18 months. The one second "whirring" noise, though, was so different that it instantly got both of our attention --- we looked at each other with a "WHAT?" And that was before we knew it wasn't going to start. And it seemed to come from the hood area, although the car is a bit of a ventriloquist.

Thanks for the kind words, all of you . . .