Hello friends,

I'm beginning to research the w212 since I'm thinking about upgrading my 2003 w211. I'm strongly thinking of going from an E320 to the E550. I know that will be a huge upgrade. Before I do, I would like to know if there are any known issues with the w212 early models (2010, 2011) since I'm thinking about CPO.

I have had great success with my CPO w211 and would be comfortable doing that again...

I look forward to any info any of you might share.

Thanks!!

 

Check the two "sticky" service threads on this forum.

 

Thank you, I appreciate your response.

MD

 

only speaking from my own time with my 550: it's been a great car...
have not had any major issues to date that had to do with anything mechanical......(it's a 2011, built to my specs.....with 33K miles so far)
and anything that wasn't my fault anyway
I have really enjoyed the ride and the power......but after driving the newer
550 engine I see it has more power, good luck with the quest, lots of info here on the boards as you know

 

No real known issues with the E350's I think (E550's seem a little more finicky in some areas based on threads here). Overall the W212 is a pretty rock solid car.

 

Only two things that were replaced on my 2012 so far

- Interior trim panel A-pillar due to rattle
- Rear license plate light / back up camera trim piece. The plastic warped and didn't sit flushed with the chrome piece.

No drivetrain issues at all.

The flux capacitor activated early at 79mph instead of 88mph that one time ... j/k

 

Thanks everyone! I noticed that some people are still complaining about the musty odor from the A/C, which surprises me - I guess I hoped that would have been resolved by now. I have that problem with my 2003 E320 and try to keep it from happening by running the auto button often.

Glad to see there aren't any transmission problems (like the bucking issue I sometimes still have).

Thanks again to all of you for your input!

 

I can add to the "musty" AC odor issue.

There is an AC evaporator dryer fan,which runs for several minutes, starting about 1/2 hour after stopping the car. The purpose of that fan is to dry the AC evaporator coils which get wet during AC operation. This to eliminate any possibility of creepy stuff growing on the wet coils and making bad smells. The reason for the delay is to allow any ice on the coils to melt and drain out on the floor. (If you walk out to your car after parking it, you are likely to hear that fan quietly running all by itself. You can hear it in the vent at the bottom of the windshield on the passenger side.)

I am in the high desert southwest. Humidity here is typically in the single digits -- we have actually seen zero RH on occasions.

Several months ago, we found our 2011 E550 dead in the garage. The battery was completely discharged. MB came out and charged it and the car ran OK.

Took it in to the dealer service operation. The tech said there was a service notice that, because of a programming problem, the AC evaporator dryer fan could continue to run ad infinitum instead of cycling off, draining the battery over night. He said he "flashed" the program and all would be OK.

The last couple weeks, we have on occasion noticed the smell of manure coming out the AC vents immediately after starting.

THEN, IT DAWNED ON ME!! All these months I have not ever walked past the car in the garage and heard the dryer fan running. Off to the dealer with the odor and my suspicion. Yes, the service adviser said, the dryer fan had been programmed OFF! Oh, and by the way, the tech who did that is no longer with the dealership! So the program has been corrected and the fan now runs as it should.

WHICH LEAVES THE QUESTION: Was there a fix for the battery drain issue??? I hope I don't have to deal with that again!

But at least this explains that, even in the desert (much less Miami), you can get the bad smell if that fan does not run as it should. Another question would be, can a tech make it run longer if you are in a nasty hot, humid climate?????