GL Class (X164) 2007-2012: GL320CDI, GL420CDI, GL450, GL550

MB GL450 problems!

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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 08:45 PM
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MB GL450 problems!

Hi, This type of site is new to me, I hope I am posting a note on the GL page? I purchased an 07 GL450 about 2months ago. I've put on about 2000 miles, and I've made some observations: 1. the car often DOES make an "puff of air" noise when you park. The actual height or level of the vehicle doesn't seem to change. When I loaded it up with about a ton of landscaping rocks, I DID notice an automatic leveling. 2. TRANSMISSION: My transmission is very rough shifting at times, expecially downshift on low speeds. I've had it to the dealer and they can't "find" the problem. Anybody else?? 3. It seems dangerous to me that you can accidentally shift the car, while driving, into park, or reverse! Anybody?? 4. The painted finish of the car seems poor, I don't know if the clear coat was applied incorrectly or what? 5. How do you clean the fabric they put around the edges of the door, etc? Does anyone have a solution for covering the rear bumper to protect from scratches? 6. Radio reception poor, anybody have this problem? Or am I just incredibly picky after spending another $75K on one of their cars?? By the way, it took 2 days for the dealer to install the running board, they said it's very difficult. There are different styles, look in the accessories book for the one made by MB. It's like a silver pipe with two black steps, not one long black step.
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 09:34 PM
  #2  
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I believe you can only shift the car into different gears at below 10 mph or around that speed.
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 09:40 PM
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2019 Volvo XC90 Magic/Amber, '95 E320 Cabriolet Midnight,'14 GL350 Lunar/Almond was '07 GL320CDI
Originally Posted by THEDIAMONDDEPOT
Hi, This type of site is new to me, I hope I am posting a note on the GL page? I purchased an 07 GL450 about 2months ago. I've put on about 2000 miles, and I've made some observations: 1. the car often DOES make an "puff of air" noise when you park. The actual height or level of the vehicle doesn't seem to change. When I loaded it up with about a ton of landscaping rocks, I DID notice an automatic leveling. .
I take it this is NOT a problem...sounds like the standard airmatic just doing its "thing"...

Originally Posted by THEDIAMONDDEPOT
2. TRANSMISSION: My transmission is very rough shifting at times, expecially downshift on low speeds. I've had it to the dealer and they can't "find" the problem. Anybody else??
Thought they had this fixed...on the early ML's, it was a software fix or a new transmission unit...DEMAND action.

Originally Posted by THEDIAMONDDEPOT
3. It seems dangerous to me that you can accidentally shift the car, while driving, into park, or reverse! Anybody??
If you can ACTUALLY CAUSE THE TRANSMISSION TO SHIFT, you have a problem. I suspect you just think you can, but the transmission itself is smarter than allowing that to happen (at least the 7G is supposed to be).

Originally Posted by THEDIAMONDDEPOT
4. The painted finish of the car seems poor, I don't know if the clear coat was applied incorrectly or what?
You failed to say what's wrong with your car-including what color it is?

Originally Posted by THEDIAMONDDEPOT
5. How do you clean the fabric they put around the edges of the door, etc? Does anyone have a solution for covering the rear bumper to protect from scratches?
With fabric cleaner or degreaser/are you loading lumber into the back or what???

Originally Posted by THEDIAMONDDEPOT
6. Radio reception poor, anybody have this problem? Or am I just incredibly picky after spending another $75K on one of their cars??
AM reception on all Benz's sux...never had a problem with FM, though...sorry to hear it. Try another GL on their lot to see if yours is different...

You seem to be unhappy, that's too bad...most others seem ecstatic with theirs, and i anxiously await mine.
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 10:49 PM
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Depends where I'm going.
Call me crazy but none of those things sound like problems. The tranny thing sounds more like user error. Make sure you are not rolling before shifting just like you would any other car. Why would you shift into reverse or park while moving anyways? Is it really any different from a standard shifter stalk? It too can be shifted while you are moving.

As far as the paint. I'm not too sure what you are referring to but the paint on my GL is the best paint that I have ever had on a car. It is the new ceram-coat nanotechnology paint and it's VERY scratch resistant. It has a shine like no other and tremendous depth with metallic paint. The only drawback to it, if you can call it a drawback, is that you need a special polishing compound especially made by Mezerna for Mercedes Ceram-coat paint. I won't be needing it for awhile but with my obsidian black PE and those with straight black, swirl marks are a fact of life no matter how scratch resistant the paint is.

My GL has been perfect and I don't have any complaints. (knock on wood)
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Old Aug 18, 2006 | 04:36 PM
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polish for GL

I have the metallic type black, it's a metallic black they charged extra for. The liitle specks in the paint make it look like the car is dusty all the time, even when it's clean. There is no super shine on this finish. I have another benz, regular black, that shines beautifully. What type of special polish are you refering to and where do I get it? Or where can I have the car polished with it? The detail dept at the dealer is terrible, they hire kids with no experience.
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Old Aug 18, 2006 | 08:26 PM
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Depends where I'm going.
That's a common comment regarding obsidian black. It's kind of a catch 22. The paint looks great and has depth to it most of the time. Under certain light though the paint has so much metallic in it that it appears to be dusty. My wife commented on that as well. The paint is actually covered with a clear coat that is just as shiny as any other Mercedes paint including black. They all use the same clear coat and the only difference is the paint underneath the clear coat. Although there is a special polish for this paint made by Mezerna, it will never take away what you are seeing.

That being said, I have the same paint as do the other PE owners on this board. Obsidian black is beautiful 99% of the time and as I said, it has tremendous gloss and depth. If you don't like it, you probably should have taken a better look at it before you bought the car. The "dusty" appearance under harsh direct light is a characteristic of any metallic black whether it's Mercedes, BMW, Porsche or any other manufacturer.

There is one other issue that sometimes arises. Mercedes ships their cars with white protective film covering most of the car. Sometimes moisture gets under the film and causes the relatively soft fresh paint to fog. It almost looks like there is something on the paint that won't go away. These spots can be polished out with the special polish. If this is what you are referring to, it would be on one spot of isolated spots on your car not the entire car.
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Old Aug 20, 2006 | 07:59 PM
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2010 ML550, 2010 E350 4M, 1966 Corvette Convt C2
The other posters have answered your questions, however, if you actually put a ton of rocks into the vehicle you have certainly loaded past the design and safety limits.
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Old Aug 20, 2006 | 08:11 PM
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Originally Posted by sosh
The other posters have answered your questions, however, if you actually put a ton of rocks into the vehicle you have certainly loaded past the design and safety limits.
I think "a ton" refers to "a bunch" or "a lot."
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