Durell

I'm having problems with my 2011 E550 not turning over. It was real sluggish when I was able to get it to start. I drove it around for 15 minutes thinking it may be the battery, to let it get a charge. When I got it home, I restarted it and it started fine but a few minutes later my husband tried to start it and it wouldn't even turn over.

This just started today. When it did start, there were no warning lights, no maintenance-needed lights, nothing and everything was working fine. It did tell me my "blind-spot" monitor was turned off and I know I didn't do this and I'm the only one who drives it.

I haven't left anything on (lights). Not sure what's wrong.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Arrie

It probably is the battery especially if it is the original one from factory.

PeterUbers

You are still under warranty hopefully call Mercedes and have them come to the house and change your battery, otherwise if you can't get it to start you'll have to get it towed, call Mercedes roadside assistance and Theyll come right now

PeterUbers

And if you are still under warranty the battery is for free. That Is if you call roadside assistance

KEY08

What is the age of your battery? Get a battery check from your dealer, local shop, auto parts store; whatever is convenient. These cars absolutely demand a strong battery to operate properly. You will not get a warning for a dieing battery. They need to be checked at every service.

Durell

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Called Roadside Assistance and they're on their way.

I was thinking it was the battery but a friend who works for a dealership was trying to convince me otherwise.

Again, thank you & I appreciate all the feedback!

Durell

Roadside assistance just left. They said the battery was low but shows it just needed to be charged. He said the meter was showing something was still running even though the car was off.

The tech said a common problem with the E550 is the headlamp switch may be off but it will continue to send a signal to the car saying it's on and will drain the battery. Since the car is still under warranty they can write it up as warranty work.

PeterUbers

You are welcome

thefisch

That's great news if they can help figure out your battery drain as it will help increase the life of future batteries as well. Even better that you're still under warranty.

My 2011 E550 has a phantom drain or some other battery issue that I haven't diagnosed yet and I'm not under warranty. Battery tests good and continues to start the car regularly. However, every few weeks or months something gets it low and then it is slow to start or worse needs a jump.

Please let us know what they find as this could help me look into my issue.

KEY08

Hey Fisch, I know you have been trickle charging your battery for some time now. It may be time to just bite the bullet and get a new battery. These AGM batteries like to die a slow death and then fail when you least expect it. I'm thinking that your phantom drain is just a bad battery. My battery was showing weakness for a long time and I continued to trickle charge it every so often to bring it up to full charge. I finally threw in the towel and got a new battery. My starts are fast and no electronic glitches since.

thefisch

I've been thinking that too and started to key an eye out for deals for a DIY replacement.

Durell

Took my car in today to the MB dealership and according to the service tech, my cooling fan wouldn't turn off and was draining the battery.

It was a little surprising as you would think I could hear it running but I didn't and that was the problem.

Fisch, my car is a 2011 and I still have the factory battery. They ran a check and said the battery was fine, just needed a little charging. Luckily I'm just barely under warranty otherwise I'd hate to think how much I'd have to pay to get the fan replaced!

KEY08

Durell, can you print here what the service ticket said, please? I suspect it was the evaporator fan and not the cooling fan. The evaporator fan is very quiet and you need to be right up by the base of the windshield to hear it. This fan comes on after you park the car to help with elimination of musty odors into the cabin. In some cars this fan will run for an extended period and eventually drain the battery.

thefisch

KEY08, is the evap fan you mention the same as the blower fan for the climate control (near the base of the windshield inside the air intake for the climate control)? Just want to be sure I am not missing something.

Durell, mine is the factory battery also. It tested good, needs charging before but I still have issues. I would get them to charge the battery while they have it for the fan repair. That way you are fully charged when you get it back. Then I would have them check the battery again before your warranty expires just to be sure it is still holding a charge.

KEY08

KEY08, is the evap fan you mention the same as the blower fan for the climate control (near the base of the windshield inside the air intake for the climate control)? Just want to be sure I am not missing something.

The evaporator fan is with the evaporator core deep inside your dash. To get at it involves removing practically everything you look at when sitting in the car. Listen in your garage after 30 minutes or so when your car is parked at the base of your windshield in the center. It is a very soft humming fan. It dries the evap coil.

thefisch

I will have to listen for that. Don't recall every hearing it. One thing I did notice related to the evaporator is how much (or little) and how often (or infrequently) it drains. All the previous cars I've owned and most of the other cars I am familiar with have water dripping from the evaporator almost constantly when the AC is on. That's a given with the humidity in the south.

My W212 seems to drain from the evaporator when it pleases. I can leave it running with AC on parked in the driveway after a drive and there is no sign of draining most of the time. I have checked the tubes for signs of blockage and not found any. It always seems to drain after my car has been parked for a while - I wonder if that is related to the fan and the drying process. One time I was in the garage after it was parked for at least 30 minutes and I heard water running quickly. Looked under the car to see if had just started draining. Maybe it's too classy to drain all the time or maybe my car needs Flomax.

KEY08

You are killing me. ha! Mine is similar and doesn't seem to create the large puddles my other cars like to leave everywhere. Can't explain why. When my old E500 was dropping down on one side in the rear due to an Airmatic issue I said it was just lifting its leg like my dog. In any event, my understanding is the evaporator fan delay is to allow for any ice/frost build up to dissipate on the coil before engaging. The moldy smell issue has been something that has plagued MB cars for many years and this is one solution to end it, by drying the coil before moisture can create mold issues. In your environment, especially, this should be running after shut down. It is very quiet and you really need to be in a garage to hear it with your ear right along the bottom of the windshield.

PeterUbers

Unless you don't care about spending money left and right, never own these cars out of warranty

Durell

Here are the pages from the invoice showing what was done.

Hope this helps.

KEY08

Definitely replaced the cooling fan assembly, so you are correct. Thanks for posting that and happy motoring for many miles!

Arrie

Well, they all cost but looking at the OP's receipt it looks like it cost only $94 and change for this. Or am I missing something here?

thefisch

cost on receipt was just for the oil change I believe. OP, did the dealer share how much the fan replacement would have been out of warranty?

Durell

They didn't say how much the work would be out of warranty and I didn't ask. I was told when I first dropped off the car I was one month out of warranty so I think they decided to eat the cost for the sake of keeping the customer. I didn't want to push the issue so I just let it go. Our local dealership is known to be very owner-friendly which is nice since they're the only show in town (Monterey, Ca). I believe San Jose would be the next-closest MB dealership for me.

We did have the oil changed while we were there so that was the only charge. I don't normally have the dealership do oil changes because the cost but the car was there and it needed it so we did it. Next time we'll go to the local MB non-dealership garage who does quality work at a more affordable price.

homeofstone

Its still less expensive to own a used MB than a new one. Purchase a used S550 4 years old and save 60k and even if you spend 20k for repairs over 5 years you are still 20 t0 30k better off (including your depreciation) than the original owner.

Durell

homeofstone, you're right!

We bought our 2011 (with only 20k miles on it) for $33k. It came with the AMG package. We got a really good deal and are quite happy with it.

I see you have a '65 Mustang! I used to own a '67 Coupe...loved it. Had only one owner and everything was original except the engine. They pulled the 289 and dropped a 302 in it. Sorry, I'm getting off track...this is a MB forum.