I received a phone call from AutoSaurus at about noon today. He was on his way home with the family from Orlando to Gulfport. He said he heard the familiar noise and lost power and knew he had another cooler hose event. He is able to drive it at restricted speeds and hopefully will make the 400 miles home. If it starts to overheat then he will be looking for MB help to get him home.

I contacted my rep about 2:30 or so and told him that I could no longer trust the GL 320 CDI engine and had lost confidence in the ability of MB to fix the problem. The "parts delay" a couple of weeks ago is rumored to be related to the hose problem and generated some major apprehension. But try as I might and as much as I like the GL, I will not put myself into a situation that I will always be wondering when the shoe will drop. I intend to take some long trips with this vehicle and the history of the past several months indicates this may not be the one I want to do it in.

Greg Weiler and Westminster MB generously returned my deposit and were great during the past 5 months of waiting. If someone wants a fully loaded GL diesel and feels confident about it, I would recommend you contact Greg and talk with him.

There are a great bunch of guys on this forum and I have enjoyed the "ride" but I will now return to the S550 board and see what is going on there. I will track this board from time to time also just to see if the BBQ meeting takes place...

 

I hate to see that happen Jack, but I would say it's MB's fault, not yours. You did more than your fair share.

I've enjoyed the figurative ride with you the last several months. Too bad it can't be literal.

Sound like time for an intensive letter writing campaign.

 

wow, MB really f'ed this one up. They clearly are implementing countermeasures to the public before they discovered the root cause. The poor quality that they allow to come out of 'bama is ridiculous.

 

Boy this really suks and I feel bad for everyone involved with this hose problem. Nevada, I imagine it took a strong gut feeling to call it quits and head down to the dealer after all this time waiting and being so close to delivery. I hope you find another vehicle that suits you well. Please let us know, best of luck to you!

 

Isn't this the third time Autosaurus' hose has failed? I would be BEYOND livid at this point!!!

 

Are you going to take the S550 cross country then? Dirt roads are dirt roads. Raise that Airmatic and tackle it like a bear. Horses used to drive buggies around, you've got over 380 of them, use them.

 

Jack,

If I were you I would have done the same thing (probably a month or so ago). Let them get the bugs worked out and then go get one. Thanks for all of the information you passed along to me during my purchasing process. If you ever feel the need to drive a GL give me a call and you can borrow mine......

Jeff

 

Enjoyed your comments on this board sorry to see you go. Any chance you may opt for a GL550?

 

Jack,

I may be getting my GL back today. If I am, I'm giving it a run up to Flagstaff, with hills and hot driving, round trip four hours nonstop. If there is another incident with what is supposed to be the new hose, I will let you know - and Phoenix Motor will be buying the unit back from me.

Having gone and taken one off the lot, I'm not in the position you were in to just say, "Give me back my deposit." But they're very close already to the Arizona Lemon Law limit, and I plan to let them know that. If I can see or discern any difference in the hose(s), I'll also do what I can to explain that. However, the fact is that I don't like this situation at all. It is destroying my confidence in Mercedes.

Steve

 

Guys, I have over 3000 miles on the clock including a couple of road trips without one single hiccup.

 

Sorry to hear that NJ, I know that must be extremely frustrating after such a long wait!

But I have to say, I'd make the same call. I know waiting for what seems like an inevitable failure like that would ruin the experience for me.

I suppose living with the S550 won't be so bad. But what about the GL550?

 

NJ, sorry to see you go but I totally understand your decision. I've almost pulled the plug myself. Hope to see you back on this board from time to time.

 

Jack, I think you made the right decision. In my case, I have not had any problems with my car, but all the problems discussed here have made me very gun shy about getting another MB product. Happy motoring in whatever you drive.

 

Enjoyed your comments NJ.......helped make my over 3 month wait for my 450 bearable Too bad about this diesel problem..........I thought that of all the manufacutures MB was the leader in that technology
The GL itself is a great vehicle........the gas mileage will not win any awards....but the overall quality ( and capability ) is beyond most of the rest of the field. Enjoy the S........it "ain't bad either!"

 

Thanks for all the support and kind words. I really wanted that GL and had Jack not had another episode I probably would have taken delivery. I came close with the "parts hold" and this was the clincher. Perhaps I would not have had a problem but just knowing that at any time I could hear this strange noise and lose power is not the way I want to travel.

Have no plans for replacing the S now in the short term...I'll see what is on the horizon. Not really interested in the GL550...just an overkill of power. Perhaps the Bluetec 320 GL will be more dependable but if MB doesn't get their act together to deliver in 6 weeks or so, I will be going a different direction.

 

What about the R350? I remember you ordered one and that deal somehow ended you up with an S430.

 

No interest at all in the R Class...that is why I bailed out on that one once I had a chance to see it in person.

 

Just testing my new MacBook connections...

 

+1 Being new to MB (well, since my '89 300E) I learned a lot from your input. Thanks for the knowledge, insight, and wit.

 

Well, I'm home now.....403 miles in a 'crawl'.....Never thought it would happen but it did.

See this new thread for a continuation of the 3rd mishap.

Thanks NJ for the post and giving everyone a heads up.

AutoSaurus
aka Jack

 

I can't say I blame you, NJ. I've got about 2,200 miles on my GL450 and so far, so good. Heading to your neck of the woods (Vegas) on Friday. Hope we don't have any mishaps, as there will be 4 of us in the vehicle.

 

Jack's gotta do what Jack's gotta do. I know it was not an easy decision for you especially after all that wait. We will miss your insights and informative posts but I am sure you will not be a stranger. Oh and thanks for pouring cold water on my thoughts for the 550

If ever in LA, drop me a line and I will do the same if ever headed to LV. Seriously, wife has been talking about how beautiful S550 looks

Jen - did you ever get your cargo cover from the dealer? Also, any update on the goo on the Visor?

 

Still waiting for the cargo cover -- should be here tomorrow (I have the tracking #). The first one they sent was for an ML It took them a bit over a week to get a FedEx return airbill to me & I returned it to them on May 10. They received it on the 11th & then "forgot" to send the right one. Thankfully, the sales rep. I bought the car through has been on this and hounding them.

When I took it in for it's initial service, I was in a rush & forgot to mention the gooey visor (yes, I'm blonde!) so it's still gooey. I am, however, starting to feel the funky transmission slips between 2nd & 1st, so I'll be taking it in to have the TSB done to fix that. I'll write down a squawk list and be sure to list the gooey visor!

 

Over 3500 miles so far and no problems with the hose yet...in fact, this SUV has been so great that I am thinking of selling my third car (545i) and driving the GL 320 all the time...I am really sorry for all the people having this hose problem...Does anyone have an idea how many folks have been affected nationwide?

 

At one point I had heard 400. I've not been able to confirm that though. Wouldn't surprise me.