Could this have killed me ?
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E350 4MATIC 2006
Could this have killed me ?
Hi everyone, first time posting here, I have a 2006 E350 4matic, my fuel pump failed last year and i had my mechanic fix it as the car wouldn't start anymore. After a day or two i got the car back and everything was fine. Before all this happened i always had an issue when i would fill gas more than halfway, there would be a gas smell in the car and in the garage. That stayed the same after the fuel pump was fixed. During that same year i had other issues with my car and by that time I had changed mechanic because i moved to another city. I ended up telling my new friend that i was tired of having the gas smell and not being able to fill my car up all the way. After a quick look he saw a bent hose that was maybe leaking the smell and he fixed it. The smell stayed, it was reduced a lot, i was now able to fill gas all the way but the smell was very minimal, i would say 15% of what it was before. I called him back and said the smell didn't fully go away and i was having other issues as well so i brought him the car yesterday. He calls me today and says after he opened the fuel pump compartment he saw something he couldn't believe. He said it wasn't installed properly at all and could have killed me as the wires were loose and if they came in contact it could have caused a spark and basically blew up the car. I'm pretty pissed at this situation especially since i have been using the car everyday and i drive my kid to daycare back and forth.
Here are the pictures posted above
Can you please tell me what you think? Any mechanics can chime in please ? By the way money was never an issue for this repair and i was ready to replace the whole pump.
Thanks in advance
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Joined: Feb 2018
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From: Central NJ
2018 E400 4Matic
Personally, I think you were crazy to be nonchalant about this issue. I had something like this on a newly delivered Audi. I called the dealership and described the problem and they asked that I not drive the car, they would come and get it. There was a small leak in a fuel line.
It also sounds like the help you got were not very competent, which is not on you. I almost never take my cars to the dealership for service, but there are times when that high price is justified, and things that can blow you up qualify in my book.
Glad you are safe, most of all.
It also sounds like the help you got were not very competent, which is not on you. I almost never take my cars to the dealership for service, but there are times when that high price is justified, and things that can blow you up qualify in my book.
Glad you are safe, most of all.
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E350 4MATIC 2006
Thank you, and thank God i dodged a bullet too. But this got me thinking, you buy a used car, what if this was done to a used car and you would never know until it's too late ? If i had taken the car to the dealership for a diagnostic test and check up would this have come up in their results? Do they routinely look in there if there is no error codes or issues ?
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From: Sweden
S213
Real life isnt an action movie, you would need conditions to be just right for an explosion to occur, also cables are always located that way in the fuel delivery unit, there is no way a short could happen unless the cables were heavily damaged.
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From: MA
2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
You should have taken it to the dealer. The tank would have been replaced for free including the fuel pump which was covered under a 15 year extended warranty no mileage limit.
And yes, it's unlikely to have blown you up. You need the right mixture of gasoline vapors and air plus a spark to have an explosion. If the wires weren't damaged, then no spark. You should watch myth busters, they fire bullets at gas tanks all day and it doesn't explode. That's just the movies, you need the right condition for it to happen.
And yes, it's unlikely to have blown you up. You need the right mixture of gasoline vapors and air plus a spark to have an explosion. If the wires weren't damaged, then no spark. You should watch myth busters, they fire bullets at gas tanks all day and it doesn't explode. That's just the movies, you need the right condition for it to happen.
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E350 4MATIC 2006
Good to hear that but my mechanic said that for mb parts, the wires attach with clips(sealed), whereas my wires were exposed and no sheath around them as someone got creative. But most importantly would the dealer have found out during a diagnistics appointment? if i had not complained or anything. How thorough is the diagnostic appointment ?
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E350 4MATIC 2006
if you look at second picture it is the yellow and blue clips that are installed with those tie wraps that are not conventional mb installations. He said if blue and yellow wire touch it would spark. They could have gotten loose.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
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From: MA
2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
Mercedes had an extended warranty just for the leaking gas tank. That 15 year warranty applies to all W211 that are not Pzev cars. You just tell them that you smell gas in the car and if it's from the gas tank, they end up replacing the gas tank and the internals which includes the fuel pump. People have even gotten a rental from them too.
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From: MA
2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
It's not a recall, just an extension to the original factory warranty. You didn't have to pay for anything. The fuel tanks were basically defective but instead of replacing all of them, they only replace them if they're leaking. Cheaper than a recall. They only do it if the fuel tank is leaking. Sounds like yours might be, but then again maybe it was just from that hose which would mean they wouldn't have covered it. You'd have to take it in to the dealer to diagnose it and if they said it was the leaking tank, everything is covered by Mercedes, but if not, they'd probably make you pay for an hour of diagnoses which is probably in the $150 range. Normally you just tell them you smell gas when you fill up the tank and they usually take off the back seat and if they see gas pooling on top of the gas tank, they replace the tank. Make sure you fill the car up with gas before taking it to them. There's many threads on here about it. Just search for leaking gas tank.
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E350 4MATIC 2006
Ok that's good to know. I just called my mechanic, he says the fuel tank wasn't leaking as it's "plastic" and did not break. He says the smell was because the way things were installed and "retrofitted", it wasn't sealed properly on both ends and he is going to fix it for me by placing the correct parts. When he pulled off the back seat there was gas pooling on top of the tank but he says because there is a pressure sensor ? which was broken, which allowed the gas to go over ? I see we have similar taste in the E class 
i can't wait to upgrade mine to a recent one !! That's why im still driving it because i didn't want anything else. Hardheaded yes. I'm really dissapointed that people would do that to someone for no reason ? (wrongly install the fuel pump), especially if they know it's dangerous ? I mean why on earth would you do that if I told you i'm ready to pay for a new pump ? Still didn't get anyone to tell me how dangerous this really was...
i can't wait to upgrade mine to a recent one !! That's why im still driving it because i didn't want anything else. Hardheaded yes. I'm really dissapointed that people would do that to someone for no reason ? (wrongly install the fuel pump), especially if they know it's dangerous ? I mean why on earth would you do that if I told you i'm ready to pay for a new pump ? Still didn't get anyone to tell me how dangerous this really was...
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From: Cape Cod
E450 wagon, C43 AMG Cpe, GLE AMG 63S
Lesson for the day: One trip to the dealer with a report of gas odor would have solved your problem quickly with a correct diagnosis and repair with proper parts. Penny wise and pound foolish comes to mind.
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From: MA
2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
Fuel tends to leak past that gasket and you get the fuel smell in the cabin. Once the dealer sees that, they end up replacing the entire gas tank.
Good luck with the 2006, that was a bad year because it still had SBC and all of them could have had a manufacturing flaw with the balance shafts that wasn't corrected til sometime in 2007. Although maybe you'll get lucky and either won't be affected or it was already replaced.
Good luck with the 2006, that was a bad year because it still had SBC and all of them could have had a manufacturing flaw with the balance shafts that wasn't corrected til sometime in 2007. Although maybe you'll get lucky and either won't be affected or it was already replaced.
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E350 4MATIC 2006
pdeacon Please don't tell me that most of us mercedes benz owners go to the dealer for everything ? Life would be great and simple if we all had that luxury. I trusted the wrong person, who said they would/could fix it properly. My mistake, but in my line of work, I would tell someone if i couldn't fix their problem and send them in the right direction. This issue can be fixed by many many mechanics and one does not necessarily have to go to the dealership for these things. One bad experience can't make you generalise this for everything.
cetialpha5 so far so good knock on wood. 124k miles on it and going. Hoping to drive it for about 1-2 years before i take the leap
I trusted the wrong person, who said they would/could fix it properly. My mistake, but in my line of work, I would tell someone if i couldn't fix their problem and send them in the right direction. This issue can be fixed by many many mechanics and one does not necessarily have to go to the dealership for these things. One bad experience can't make you generalise this for everything.cetialpha5 so far so good
knock on wood. 124k miles on it and going. Hoping to drive it for about 1-2 years before i take the leap
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From: MA
2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
Actually you're in the wrong forum, this is the W213, you have a W211. Most people in this forum probably have the car under warranty. The fuel tank coverage is one of the few things that still have an extended warranty from MB on a W211. Most of the time you should ask the forums first. That mechanic just didn't know that MB agreed to an extended warranty on the fuel tank which happened a couple years ago. Otherwise a good percentage don't take their car to the dealer, but a bunch still do. I go there once in a while for things only they can do like firmware updates.
