carpersn

Even though i had my dealership CHECK MY HOSE/CLAMP TWO WEEKS AGO (and my ticket is marked "has latest Q2 hose version), my wife was stranded on the interstate this morning. She began describing and i stopped her, knew what it was...i went to get her and to meet the tow truck and opened the hood where i could VIEW the loose hose and i pulled the clamp out into my hands.

Benefit of the doubt is well exhausted on my part-i absolutely LOVE MY CAR, I LOVE MY DEALER, but at this rate, MB SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF NOT NOTIFYING ALL GL320 OWNERS TO COME IN AND GET ALL THE HOSES & CLAMPS REPLACED.

OBVIOUSLY MOST OF US WITH GL320's ON THE ROAD NOW (except BLITTLE I hope), ARE AFFECTED!!!!

blittle

I can imagine your frustration..........agree - comeon MB do the job! My 450 is behaving properly, thank you..........go in for my complimentary service tomorrow and have nothing to complain about although I think I'll ask about the tire pressure monitoring system. Somewhere on this or the other forum I read that you can get a more sophisticated version of that activated by the dealer?

boxboss

According to this post yesterday, there has been a recall. https://mbworld.org/forums/showpost....&postcount=101

Nevada Jack

That is Danno's sales rep talking so one cannot assume on that authority of a formal recall. I strongly feel MB should have done a formal recall on all produced GL320CDI's back in Jan/Feb when the problem started. But they have not and even with the fix they have not found a solution that works even on new hoses being used on the production line.

I have some very negative vibes with this situation...more on that later.

AutoSaurus

I guess either mine is the correct fix or I am just lucky.

I'm off to Orlando on Thursday. My dealership, MB and anyone within a few hundred feet of me better hope I don't have hose problems on this trip or there will be hell to pay! I kid you not. I was so close to tanking this thing back in February that anything at this point would put me over the edge.

mbslk350

This ongoing situation is totally unacceptable. With every new hose failure, my enthusiasm for the GL320 diminishes. I'm almost glad that my build date was pushed out to July 9. Maybe they're figure it out by then!

carpersn

Well, my car is on it's way back to me...updated with an "updated version of the Q2 hose and clamp". Said they just got the part about 1 1/2 weeks ago (after i was in)...but i still maintain they should've called me to come in.

My dealer is pretty good though, as they are driving the car back to me 60 miles away, same day that the truck took the vehicle to them at 1pm...

AutoSaurus

Somebody catch me up....has any GL built after Feb/Mar been affected?

boxboss

I called my SR today about a 320 recall, even though it doesn't effect me. Remarkably, no recall yet. This was his reply:

No formal recall. I searched the Netstar service tab for open recalls on the 320cdi.

mbslk350

A letter is going out today to the President and CEO of MBUSA. I would encourage others to do the same. The address is:

Ernst Lieb
President/CEO
Mercedes Benz USA
1 Mercedes Dr.
Montvale, NJ 07645

StevethePilot

Today, I limped back to the dealership about 1/2 an hour after picking up the GL320 from Phoenix Motor Company. This time, instead of my wife driving back from Albuquerque to Phoenix in the middle of the night on Mother's Day, it was me driving and I physically heard and felt the clamp give way and the hose come off. My SA just now called me and told me it'll be 5 working days because it "has to come from the Fatherland" because there are none in the US. (Those who aren't familiar, that's Germany it's coming from.)

I've only just gotten this car (picked it up on Friday of last week) and I do love driving it. I trust Phoenix Motor (Schumacher in Scottsdale tried to tell me all 2007's were BluTec, which is a lie) and my SA's said this is the first he's heard of it. He was also glad to hear that a recall was coming through and said he'd watch for it on his computer. What I'm hoping and praying for is that I don't have to wait for them to re-design the unit before they send it. I didn't pay this much money to drive a car half that value that I'll be hit for cleaning of if I get any food or drink or pets in it. I do plan to tell them I am not paying for the loaner car, as this is fully not my fault and in no way a normal service call. I've really lost my sense of humor about this now.

S

carpersn

They brought the car back to me yesterday afternoon, with a new part. Here's the invoice-I don't know who the EDAC is, but they were obviously in contact and follow-up with them about this issue.

Danno4x4

Thats a bummer. Funny thing is that I actually was going to buy from Phoenix Motors since they had the best price. But the SR that I was dealing with who was referred by the Costco Auto Program was a complete and total A-hole. I was supposed to walk in, show him my Costco card, and he was supposed to show me the invoice price and the Costco price. He left me sitting by myself in his office for 20 minutes while he talked with his manager and then when he revealed the Costco price he stormed out of his office and said "the deal was off" when I told him that I wanted to talk it over with my wife and get back with him.... Turns out... It was not the Costco price! He was 2000 bucks over! I spoke with the owner of the dealership telling him that he permanently lost a customer and blew the whistle on these folks with Costco, and with MBUSA...

StevethePilot

I checked with Costco and (what I was told) they don't cover the GL. Someone who says "the deal is off" because you want to talk it over with your wife, really is a major butt hole! The SR I worked with gave me the equivalent of the Costco price, the lower financing, and the Costco price on the chrome wheels as well as the BlueTooth unit.

It was also the first time I'd seen a Maybach in person. If I hit the PowerBall on a big jackpot ... maybe. Maybe not, too!

Danno4x4

Hmm interesting... Maybe because the 320 was so new, it wasn't yet in the database for the Costco pricing. I can tell you that the 450 was under the Costco program as of November 06... Costco confirmed this when I talked with them... Phoenix Motors initially agreed to give me the Costco price on the 320 with the difference being the cheaper base price for the 320. I found out that they were trying to pull a fast one after the fact when the Costco Auto Program Director told me what I should have been offered...

By the way, where are you in Scottsdale... Im in McDowell Mtn Ranch (FLW & 101)

StevethePilot

Yeah, if I'm remembering properly none of the CDI's are in Costco's pricing plan. So it's not the GL I was told about but the 320. Mis-spoke, yet again!

I'm at about 110th St. and Shea. When my beast comes back, I'm starting a GL club to do some off-roading like I did with the Land Cruiser (aka "LX470")

S

str8line

As one of many that have been stranded(even with the new hose!), I couldn't agree more. They are knowingly jeapardizing the lives of their clients. Wait till the press has a field day with this...

mbslk350

EDAC is "Enhanced Diagnostic Assistance Center"

StevethePilot

Calling about parts and installation costs on some of the fun stuff I want to put on the GL, my service guy mentioned that - and I quote - "ONE of the hoses came in!" One, I asked? Why are we replacing both? "Just in case!" In case of WHAT?!?! (on the inside, anyway)

S

StevethePilot

I got a call back today from the Service Manager at Phoenix Motor Company. I had talked to him yesterday morning, called him back this morning after not hearing from him, and finally got the call back. Along with a few really *****ly questions (like "I hear you've read about this on the Internet already" and one which really grated on me, "I don't doubt the hoses came off and I don't know what situation you were driving it in") he informed me that a new hose, crimped differently and with a different clamp, would possibly be shipped from German on the first of June. Yes, folks, the first of June, 2007 (of course, I am assuming the 2007 part), but he will "see what he can do" to get it expedited sometime next week.

I think what's going to happen is this; I am going to ask to have a sit-down with the owner of the dealership, and as many other people as I've dealt with as I can get together. The Service Manager said that Mercedes will be paying my first payment, which I think is a given. I'm really not sure what I feel about the Service Manager's comments, though I do tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. I just know that by the end of today I do not plan on driving a C230 out of there. I might be anyway, but I don't plan on it.

I am officially obsessing about this now. As a person with certain impulse control problems, this could get a little ugly. Stay tuned.

Nevada Jack

Point out to the Sales Mangager this TSB (T-B-09.41/2MY2007 Model 164.822 (GL320 CDI) Check Engine Light Illuminated / Code 2359-001 or 2355-001 Check/replace charge air cooling hose, replace with level Q2) that was published in April as a result of numerous cases of the "hose problem." Also point out to him that the factory had a parts hold on in the 3rd decade of April for this problem and the parts were received on May 7th. Production then resumed on the 320's.

Stay cool but firm...:-)

oknish

I echo what NJ said. Stay cool but firm. Don't make it personal since you will have to deal with the dealership later on as well. Trust me, keeping it at a professional level will work better for long term.

StevethePilot

There are three MB dealerships in this town. PMC is much further away from me than Schumacher European (now, I think, Scottsdale Mercedes). With the little comments the Service Manager said, I think it is they who should think about wanting to keep me coming back to them for service. I have other MB-certified choices. Frankly, I have no problem with service (other than how I feel I was treated by management today), I have no problem with the sales person. I do have a problem with how they are handling this whole situation, and how completely unempathetic they are being towards someone who's already spent the money. They sure as hell aren't trying to get another sale out of me, that much is clear!

StevethePilot

There's a tunnel, and there might be a light. I got a call back from the GM of Phoenix Motor Company. He understands my frustration. The Service Manager found a part, supposedly, in New Jersey. Without it, according to them, it would have been June before I saw one. I mentioned the production stop (and that I got the information from about three guys who have GLs on order) and I got the hem-and-haw about how rare the GL is, etc. etc., we're so stunned that there's a problem with the diesel at all, etc. etc., yadda yadda, blah-blah-blah, short to long I may or may not have my car, fixed, on Wednesday at noon. Ish.

I'm very tired and very grumpy, so here's hoping they get this crap right this time. I do not want to be driving down the road in the middle of nowhere towing a boat and here that pop and feel that power loss again, ever. They've been selling this thing in Europe for two years now, this is really just MB not being on the ball and shipping a load of these hoses when they knew there was a problem. Oh, and they do have a bulletin on it. I don't know when it came out, I didn't ask.

Now my wife is tired of consoling me and would like me to drop the subject for a while, so unless my kids keep complaining about the anemic rear seats in the back of the C230 (hey, we're big-n-tall folks here!) I'll let it go for a couple of days. If I hear anything, I'll let you guys know. If you hear anything, thank you in advance for the info.

boxboss

Any MB dealer can do warranty work. Have you considered calling the other dealers in your area and asking if they have the hose? Or maybe get better treatment?