gfspencer

We have had my wife's 2017 for just over a year. It has been nothing but problems. It has been back to the dealership so many times that I have lost count. It won't turn off. It won't turn on. The control screen is nuts. I have given up on this car. I have a case file number now. I am waiting on Mercedes USA to call me.

Is anyone else having problems? Are there good cars out there?

Proeliator2001

You'll never get a good picture of the good to bad ratio from a forum. People are quick to complain but slow to compliment.

I'm on the bad side unfortunately with lots of gripes and niggles and some safety concerns too (tyres wearing down to threads on inside edge whilst rest of tyre has 20k miles left, plus something off about the ride and how unsettled it is on uneven roads -both of which the dealer tells me is normal). I'm putting it in to have what I think are the front brake rotors assessed and if it comes back as not a warranty issue then I'm selling it and I'll never touch Mercedes again. W212 was great, zero problems, this early build w213 had given me constant grief and worse, "fixes" usually take three dealer visits to enact and still don't damn well fix the issue (witness steering column that still jams upright, door seal that still lifts up, seat that still creaks even after all of them were replaced). I've had dozens of cars, from old bangers with moon and back mileage to a string of brand new cars and everything in between and this, now, has been back to dealer about as many times as all those cars put together. It's an early build though and I believe later ones are much better sorted.

Maybe it's just the more complicated modern cars that are a nightmare today. General reliability is great, it starts all the time (unlike yours by the sounds of it) so is a big improvement to cars of old but the sheer quantity of networked equipment and half a ton of trim does no favours keeping the more minor gremlins away.

Hope you get some resolution with yours whatever the outcome.

ua549

I've had my E300 for almost 2 months. Surprise, not a single problem or issue. This car is much better than my 535i was when it was new.
I did have an Irma related flat, but MBUSA replaced the Pirelli tire on a Saturday afternoon at no cost to me.

c4004matic

My e43 has been perfect so far (6000 miles). I could not say the same of my c400 which had mutiple problems with the suspesion (2) and the audio system. Nothing critical but annoying nonetheless.

cetialpha5

I guess it might still be true about what they say about not buying a first year car. Tires wearing out on the inside is a common problem, was always an issue even on the W211. I guess they have it set up to go 100+ on the autobahn, but you don't do that, the insides tend to wear away, only fix is to maintain the rotation of the tires. Plus with larger rims and low profile tires, the ride is going to much harsher, they're done for looks not for comfort. Supposedly it's done for sporty handling too. Hard to say about the brakes, people complained about the E550 and E63 brakes too, some did have initial manufacturer defects, but it may be that the factory pads/rotors aren't that good. Some reported better results with aftermarket stuff.

c4004matic

Just a heads up, all AMG cars will eat the inside of the tires, its a result of the use of negative camber. Furtheremore, AMG cars are equipped with summer high performances tires which have a much shorter life than all sesson tires further compounding the issue.

makris0000

I've had my 2017 E300 for about 9 months and i have had a few problems here and there but the dealership has been able to fix almost all of them. The only thing they could not fix was the parking sensors and the blind spot assist beeps were too soft and my main key died on me once and wouldn't start the car or anything. The battery was not dead but the dealership could not recreate the problem and it hasn't happened since.

Other than that I have not had any serious issued with my E300.

Proeliator2001

Quite brilliantly Mercedes have chosen to fit different size front and rear tyres AND a tyre design that has a marked inside and outside edge (Asymmetric) so it's not possible to rotate them! Genius way of increasing tyre manufactures revenue.

My fronts were way past safe by 21000 miles despite then having 5mm of tread left across more then 75 percent of their width (my w212 did over 40000 miles on same set of fronts and was rock solid at speed). Merc can set their cars up to be as stable as they like at 150mph but our national limit here is 70 so I call bull**** on their inability to recalibrate camber to the local market.

Destroying tyres with less than half worn tread like that is ludicrous and the bloody dealer was blaming me saying I'd run them under pressure. Though I hear it's common for German marques to blame alignment of the planets for causing an issue before they'll fess up and admit it's a design fault!

makris0000

It depends on the model you have. I have a 2017 E300 with the 19 inch AMG wheels and my tires are not staggered, meaning they can be rotated.

Proeliator2001

Still doesn't help inside wear when the tyres are marked INSIDE. Maybe the rear will wear a bit better inside than the front, maybe not. My colleague has a 2015 c class and his rears were just replaced with dangerous inside edges (cords showing round most of circumference). Just not a great design pairing.

makris0000

True, but it will help the tires wear more evenly. Also what kind of tires does he have on his C class?

jamesmhood

We own a E 400 2017 wagon. The car has 6500 miles. There have been zero problems. It has a P3 package which has worked without any problems. It is a luxury model with 18 inch tires. The ride is very smooth. It has an acoustic package and it is very quite. The acceleration is adequate. Gas mileage on highway varies between 30-35 mpg depending on speed.

Proeliator2001

Only helps when out wear across the font/rear axle so you end up changing all four at once. Does nothing for wear across the tire which was my issue.

I think he's on 17 inch non run flats (he's got comfort model) which surprised me as I thought it was low profile stiff run flats most impacted by the camber.

Mbracer26

Go through my posts to see all the different problems my car has had in past 10 months of ownership. it has spent 4-5 months of that in service. All quality control issues.

ItalianJoe1

Most of the tire concerns can be solved by adjusting the alignment to the far edges of the "in spec". Minimal toe-in and camber while still being green can greatly extend tire life and doesn't really have any adverse effects.

The first time you align a 205/222/213, it's always got way more toe than it should have, and the first set of tires will be eaten up at 10k if not corrected. Not sure why this is happening, but it def does.

Paul Lenkowski

I have had my e400 wagon for 3 months and have had many problems as well. I do think they have quality control issues. The car had issues from day one with the driver door window switch. Also the center console metal fell off and cut my hand. Multitude of other issues. I called MBusa and they essentially said that there is nothing that they can do. I think mine is a beta test car and they were hoping I would not notice the bugs and problems. They at one point told me they could not fix the problem so that I would just have to live with it until they could 'figure it out'. After I told them that was not acceptable they some how found a fix. So it has been in the shop for a week at at time on several occasions. My car has been in the shop longer than my previous 5 cars combined. What a waste of time.
I will see how this evolves but so far I cannot recommend the new E class wagon nor any MB product.

jesnola

Out of curiosity, is your wagon a MY 17 or 18?

Paul Lenkowski

MY17

surfah

Wife drives a 2017 E300 7 months old 3000 miles no issues so far knock on wood.

Mbracer26

Haha the center console metal is a POS, it also cut my hand. The first year of any car is a beta tester, but for a mercedes these shouldnt be acceptable. My biggest issue is with the front door hinge and how little tension there is, it always swings back and hits you in your leg, the dealer has the ***** to say it was designed this way. What such bull****

ua549

I checked my E300. It appears to be all plastic with rounded edges. There is absolutely NO metal or other sharp edges exposed in the center console.

I find the door tensioner is near perfect. It works well with the soft close doors. Do you not have your hand on the door for ingress and egress?

ItalianJoe1

The chrome trim comes apart and lifts up, it's razor sharp when it does. Just like the seat folding handles on the 204/207 coupes. Slices your hand very easily.

c4004matic

Consumer reports released its annual survey. MB as a whole was average. Its most reliable car was..... drumroll....... the E class.

epd00

Mine had a boot joint that needed replacing. I had them check it out since I noticed oil/grease on the wheels. Might be worth looking into.

gfspencer

My wife got in her car and pressed the start button. Nothing happened. The screen said to remove the key from the key fob and insert the key in the door handle. What????? She was already INSIDE the car. THERE WAS NOTHING TO UNLOCK!!!!! The car is going to the dealership Friday for a 4th recall so I will have them look at the key fob too. What a piece of junk!

My wife has been driving a Mercedes since 1989, We have never had any problems with her previous cars. This one is terrible. The car has been in the shop for over 20 days. On three occasions I have had to make a second trip to the dealership because they didn't have a part or because they could not connect with Mercedes Germany for a firmware update.

I've talked to a Mercedes USA rep. I am supposed to talk to him again after the service on Friday.

If the new E-class is Mercedes' most reliable car they are in big trouble,