Ausmbtech

There is a not so well known problem with the ML and GL's with the battery not getting fully charged so any minor battery drain or short period without use will cause a non-start.

The alternator will charge at 13.5-14v but there is upto 1v voltage drop between the alternator and the battery. 1v drop means 12.5v at the battery, this isn't enough to recharge a AGM battery.
To test, run the car at idle with all lights on, interior fan on full, rear demister, and radio on. check the voltage at the alternator and then again at the battery and also at the jumpstart terminal in the engine bay. If there is a voltage drop of more than 0.4v then there is a fault, most likely cable between the alternator and the first main terminal.

MomsBenz

Wow, thanks! Do ya wanna come work on my car You sound like you know more than the service department I will have my dad take a look at that, he is car smart. They have put on every RO that a draw was detected and they are guessing what the short is by the latest TSB available. This is also the second time this battery has been completely drained (no volts available to read) shouldn't they of replaced the battery as well? Roadside told me that once the battery dies once it is never the same again and here mine has died twice) They replaced it 3 trips ago to the service department. I even asked for a new battery this time and they said once it was charged it tested fine. Whatever. Also the car never sits more that 24 hours. I am a busy mom with busy kids Would it drain to a no start in only 24 hours? Usually even less. Last time it drained in 12 hours.

MB Fanatic-Thanks for making me feel better about picking up the car. They are taking me for someone stupid, which I am not. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when they get their letters

neodoc

Hi, Kaila and everyone:

I've read this thread about your ordeal and I'm frankly not surprised that you've had so much trouble getting your truck fixed properly. Mine is still in the shop after it "lost its mind" two weeks ago. Thanks to a thread on this forum, I directed the search for the source of my computer death to water leakage from the sunroof. Since my truck died on several occasions for no apparent reason months before the computers got fried by water accumulating under the driver's seat, I'm wondering if your vehicle's problems are not related to mine, just in a very early stage. When I told my SA about this problem with the sunroof, he blew me off. It was only when I spoke to the Body Shop Manager, who took my vehicle under his wing to water test it after being accused of being responsible for the water leak due to a previous repair his team did, that I got someone to listen to me. He tested it and lo and behold, it was "Niagara Falls" in there. If no one looks, the problem may go undetected until something catastrophic happens to the computers and you get smoke from the dash like I did. It may not be what's causing your problem, and others here who know more than I can certainly support or bring down this theory, but it's worth keeping in mind. I wish you well with your ordeal. I know how you feel about not trusting the vehicle. I too am leary about the truck now that it will be coming back repaired and I'm counting the days until the lease is up next fall. After all, it's my elderly parents who drive it and I must protect them.

MomsBenz

Joe, at this point anything is worth looking into. I have not had it for a winter yet and it is garage kept so it hasn't had too many chances of water on the roof. I do wash is it though so that may be enough. I wonder how they test for it? I will call down to my SA and see if they take a look. (although I am not ready to give my car back up ) I do need it fixed or replaced. I am sorry your parents are going through this. I wish my lease was up next fall. I am not up until 12/10 Hopefully I don't have to deal with this until then, but if I do it is nice to know I can hand them the keys and walk away, after all it is their car

B200Turbo

HI
I have a 2008 GL 320 CDI it was standing in the garage in summer for 8 weeks without starting or being used at all and dealer told me the battery will be dead you need the battery charger.
I did not use the battery charger.
The car started on first time after 8 weeks sitting in the garage no problem at all.
My B class was standing on the airport for 8 weeks in winter time (-25C). Same story car started immediately no problem there either.

If you do not use your GL for more than 72 hours certain system will get shutdown to prevent battery drainage. It is described in the manual.

If your car is for lease even better for you to deal with MB. Call the lease company and tell them about your problem.

Get everything in writing all the time.
NO phone call conversation. Calls do not resolve usually anything.

Comfy_Couch

This is probably a dumb question, but is there any chance your kids are fooling with the second row reading lights and leaving them on? (My 3 year old has done that on a couple of occasions, but luckily I saw it and turned the light off). Not sure if there's a cutoff that would prevent battery drain if a reading light was left on.

Really sorry to hear about your difficulties!

MomsBenz

I actually did a little experiment to see if this was a possibility. The dome lights/reading lights do have an over ride or cut off. If you leave them on after about 15 minutes they shut off. You can leave a door open or the rear hatch open and the same thing will happen (the lights shut off) The RSE shuts off after 30 minutes if the vehicle is not started. I wish it was something this simple. Then I could just bust my kids I also found that you can turn the headlights and fog lights on and NOT turn them off. If you turn off the car the shut off as well. Just and FYI. Believe me I have put this car through the ringer trying to figure out if it was something "I" was doing wrong.

B2-Thanks for the info. So 12-24 hours should be nothing.

neodoc

Kaila, from what I understand, they put the vehicle in a high pressure water chamber and blast all the openings. Then, they check for water where there shouldn't be any. My truck lived in the garage until my CL63 arrived and then it was "banished" to the driveway. The CLK cab always is garaged. It took less than a year for anything to start happening. About three months ago, it went dead. My parents called roadside and the repair guy came out and replaced the battery. Then, a couple of months later, the tailgate stopped working. This was followed by another episode of dead GL. The truck started once I got there and we drove home together. A few days later, I noticed the parking lights would stay on, even with everything in the off position and the vehicle locked. Later that day, it suddenly shuddered and died at a shopping mall. After a few tries, it started up and ran in limp mode for a few hundred feet before dying again. Once restarted, I managed to get as far as five miles away from the dealer, with the wipers starting and stopping, the radio turning on and off and the lights flashing, not to mention no A/C, until I smelled ( and then saw) smoke . The rest is history. Several thousand dollars of warranty work later, the truck has new computers and I should be getting it back in a day or two. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for myself and for you.

MomsBenz

Wow, your chain of events sounds similar to mine. Dead, battery replaced by roadside, tail gate not working, now dead again and towed to MB. I haven't had any weird events yet. But I am going to be watching for them for sure. I will call my SM and ask if they will test for water leaks for me. Thanks again for all your info. I hope you get your GL back soon and it is as good as new. I will keep you updated on mine.

MomsBenz

All 6 letter when out certified priority mail today. I will let you know when/if I hear back. Wish me luck!

dieseldoc

Good luck, you should not have to put up with this. I hope they take care of you properly.

MomsBenz

Thanks, me too

alx

jesus guys (and gal) you are noisy...

drive your truck, if the problem is fixed- walk away and dont get wrinkles over it.

if the truck breaks again in the same fashion- go get a lemon law lawyer. dont deal with mb usa, dont deal with the dealer. get a pro to represent you.

make sure your kids havent done anything stupid like dropping aluminum foil, coins in the power outlets, your phone charger is disconnected, your mp3 player is disconnected, etc. in other words rule out "user errors".

good luck

alex
few cars

MomsBenz

Alex, first off these guys are not being noisy, they are being helpful. Quite a few have had problems themselves and are here to help someone else out. Secondly, you have to follow the guideline in your warranty book to get MBUSA to even hear you. Jumping straight to a lemon law attorney won't speed things up as he will have to take the same steps and I will have to pay him to do it. And lastly, no my kids or myself have not done anything to make this happen. When it gets towed in and the dealer shuts everything off it is still showing a 4.86v draw on the battery.
Thanks for your concern!

alx

kaila, you missed the point of my post. entirely.

good luck in your effort.

alex
few cars

oknish

FWIW, she wasn't the only one. Maybe it was the opening about people being noisy that is throwing every one off.

alx

i will try to explain.

it takes certain type of person to fight the dealer/mothership and get a new vehicle through the lemon law channels. kaila does not strike me as such type of person. no offense. they will dick her around until forever just like they have been doing it up to this point. it will be both fruitless and frustrating for her. to add insult to injury - she has met all the prerequisites for a lemon law car (i dont know what are the exact laws in the republik of kalifornia, but they will be more consumer-oriented than in any other state methinks). the problem is that mbusa and the dealer are on the same page which means their defensive stance is very strong for some reason. hence - my advise to go get a lawyer before she loses all her nerve cells on the this stupid (as life things go) matter.

alex
few cars

MomsBenz

alex, thanks for clarifying. I agree they are not taking me serious. I have every intention of hiring an attorney, just trying to get through some of the steps of the Lemon Law that California requests (ie letters to the dealerships and Corportate offices) I will give them a week to respond then let my attorney take over. Just didn't see the point in payinf him to send out these letters when it is something I could easily do.

LEOSOPHIE

In my brother's case the dealer painlessly got MB to rewrite the lease on a new ML charging him for time used . As I said before he was able to exchange for the new year improved model. This was a family owned dealership, Herwaldt Mercedes Benz of Fresno, which has since been bought by Asberry Corp. Maybe things have gotten more difficult in the last 8 years or so. Good luck.

MomsBenz

Thanks! I would love not to pay an attorney, but I think they are not taking me serious because I am a woman. I would LOVE to just rewrite my lease on a new one. I would even take another 2008. Like I said, I will give them the week to respond to the letters and then I will call back the attorney I spoke with and sign the retainer agreement. (oh, Walter's MB is family owned as well, Walter Kienle is the founder, his son Steve is now GM of the dealership, I am not sure about Caliber aka Anaheim Hills.)

DTMBENZ

i hope u get your car straight mombenz.......

MomsBenz

Thank you. I just checked the tracking numbers and everyone has their letters The clock is officially ticking (tick,tick,tick)

MB Fanatic

This is getting good. We wanna see you rolling aound in a new GL450.

MomsBenz

Me too! Me too!!

MB Fanatic

Nothing pleases me more than watching the big corporate guys having a fire lit under their asses. Hmm 5 failed attempts to repair a vehicle, left stranded over 5 times, and stupid local MBUSA rep...smells like a clear lemon to me.