spdracer53

i second momsbenz's thoughts.

you should call in and see if you can speak to you rep's supervisor to see if your case can be reviewed by someone more professional.

and if you do get a hold of that person, see if you can speak to the rep in the letter i emailed you. maybe mombenz has her letter as well she can email you the name of her rep.

MomsBenz

I will look for my rep's name! I think it is with all my "lemon law" paperwork

Edit: Found it! PM sent to Tammy

spdracer53

Cool!

Any chance your reps name Kenneth?

TamZ

Thanks guys... after I posted that, I literally had to go load up my car with a bunch more teenage girls and take my JV girls basketball team players to a game. (we won and I just tried to put all of this behind me...Its so frustrating!

I do have copies of Kaila's (momsbenz) letter and her reps name and Speedracer53 sent me more information. I have a call in to the attorney we use for business stuff to get an idea of where I should start looking. I'm not sure he would handle a lemon law claim or not, but he can head me in the right direction for proper representation should we decide to go that route.

I was REALLY irritated when I posted this afternoon. My husband and I talked later and he said it's not that the adjuster guy was "rude", it's just that he literally is just...a guy who answers the phone and tells you he can't tell you anything. He offers nothing and seems to know nothing.

All I know is, my husband is going to deal with it from now on, or an attorney. I can't handle the stress of all this and dealing with 3 kids in sports that keep me running around like a chicken with my head cut off after 3:30pm..Sigh. I am just not getting home from our game and its 11:15pm.

I've calmed down a bit from this afternoon, I was fuming!

Thanks again Everyone,
T.

MomsBenz

My Rep was Justin. Not even sure if he is still there, it has been 3 years since I had to deal with him.

Tammy I will PM you the name of the Lemon Law attorney my dad used for both his Fords. He is in SoCal and did very well for them.

TamZ

I know I should just let this go but my 9:30am class canceled so I am back at it-- LOL

Okay--I am seriously trying to decipher this airmatic issue so when I bring it in on Tuesday to the dealer again, I can have some ideas and show him a few things.

About 3 weeks ago (about a week before I brought it back to the dealer this last time) it started to make this "hollow" whine sound. I wouldn't even call it a buzz, its just a solid whine...sounds sort of hollow...It is noticeable at all times to me, (because I know what I'm listening for now) my husband and children can all hear it. It's constant but when you turn a corner or hit bumps, it definitely changes it (maybe a little louder, or "jolts" it a bit, not sure if that makes sense.) and then it goes back to its regular steady hum/whine. This constant hum/whine is not as loud as the more grinding and sputtering compressor sound at the stop signs, however, I have noticed that when the hollow whine/hum sounds gets a little louder, I absolutely know it will then send out that burst of air at the stop light/sign. It's so odd. But even on the freeway at 65mph, I can hear the hollow whine/hum. It does occasionally release bursts of air even at these speeds driving down the road, but it is much less noticeable because of road noise and the horrible wind noise I have from the front. The whine would be MUCH more noticeable were it not for the constant wind noise from the front, so at least the wind noise masks that somewhat.

My question about it is...this morning, when I was in the parking lot, I pushed the raise/lower button...it "releases" a small burst of air..then compressor comes on and sounds normal..and I can feel/see the vehicle start to raise..I can hear a bit of that "hum" sound...and then a small squeel which sounds like metal parts that might just need lubed, and then it stops..says "raised" on my dash...and then releases ANOTHER burst of air....then the compressor comes on again. I timed it as best I could with my dash clock and the compressor stayed on again for over a minute....but it did not say "raising" on my dash and I couldn't feel the car raising anymore...but then the compressor stops again.

The last time someone on this board had me do this,

1) the compressor nosie was not nearly as noticeable to me as it seems to be now.

and 2) I don't remember it raising...and then releasing a burst of air? then saying it was raised and the alert turns off on the dash...and then a few seconds later, the compressor starts again for such a long time.

I absolutely hate to ask anyone to do this but if you THINK about it the next time you're in your GL, could you hit the raise/lower button and tell me what it exactly does? I don't USE that button but since it is related to the airmatic compressor/air thingy bopper, I was messing around with it today trying to duplicate sounds, etc. Each time I did it, the compressor comes on twice and releases air (which seems counter productive to raising the vehicle LOL)

Just want to know if this is normal operation, so I can wipe that off my list.

Tam (who someday may just aspire to be a MB mechanic I guess. NOT.)

P.S. I realize I am a big ole pain in the butt for you guys...lol..but I thank ya all

MomsBenz

Tam, when I pick up my lil one from Kindergarten I will do this. I can honestly say on my other two GL's I never heard the compressor, evening when raising it up I will see what this new one does and get back to you!!

TamZ

Awhile back, someone on here told me to go do this..had me test it out..and I did this and I think I remember coming back to report that I didn't even HEAR the compressor then. (I don't have time to go back through the thread to locate my actual response.)

Now, when I push the raise/lower button, the compressor is loud as day..with air releases, etc. I just don't remember it being this way originally. So strange. But I'd expect to hear the compressor a little bit, sitting still with the car not driving, because the conditions are quieter. What is amazing is I can hear it driving 65 mph LOL You KNOW how loud the run flats and my wind noise is! LOL!!

MomsBenz

Ok, back from kinder pick up When I raised my car, I could hear the compressor click on...when it got to the max height I heard it release air, then compressor turned off, then back on and stayed on for about a minute then shut off. I had to roll my window down, turn off the radio and air vents to hear it at all. Hope this help (and that it doesn't mean mine is broken too!)

TamZ

Well it sounds as if at least my raise/lower is working as it should then. That's good. (I think? LOL)

I tried to record the compressor noise and air release that happens so often when I stop. As luck would have it, today I decided to record it and it happened at all 4 of the stop signs I encountered as I drove..so at least it gives you an idea.

I used my little cell phone to record this so it is NOT good. It doesn't SEEM very loud on the recording maybe, but let me just say that this compressor noise and air release is very audible even from the back seat and 3rd row when you're listening for it. Not sure how I can record it to let you know how audible it is. I tried to stay under 35 mph so there would be no wind noise too and it still didn't turn out exactly as I'd like, but you can hear it and hear the woosh of air at each stop--lol.. All windows are up, etc. To give you an idea of how quiet the car really is when stopped and windows are up, I was sitting in my car today waiting for my oldest and as she and her friend walked up to the car as I sat in it with the windows up, etc..I could tell they were talking but couldn't hear a word. So the compressor and air release is pretty loud, because it's very audible inside the closed car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCVSxKwZpA8

now that I just listened to the youtube and can hear how loud the scratch was when the phone slid a bit..I think I might have had the microphone facing down instead of up, which is why it is a bit muffled.

Now....I am going to pack for Vegas!

MomsBenz

That is pretty loud. I want to say that is about how loud mine is when I hear it from standing outside the car. I have never heard that from inside the car. So crazy!!!

LEOSOPHIE

This has been going on so long I have forgotten if your car has ADS. My 550 never makes compressor noise and the only air release I hear is when I touch the keyless go buttons. I always raise my car when parking so that other parked cars hit my running boards and not the doors and there is no compressor noise when raising or lowering. The reason I asked about ADS is that I assume it would be a different system.

TamZ

I know, once this finally gets settled (i.e. they buy it back or I drive it off a cliff) you guys will be glad to get rid of me.

I don't have the ADS. I can't adjust my "ride" etc. The only button I have is to raise or lower it.

I could almost accept that it was normal to do this in a "behind the scenes" sort of way (i.e. the people in the car don't hear all the things going on to keep the airmatic running) but having to hear the hollow whine it has now (which is very hard to hear on my recording, I admit) and of course that compressor sound you can hear at each stop followed by the loud release of air, is a bit much. Every once in awhile, I hear it from outside if I open a door, etc while its parked but I'm standing there by the wheel to hear it. It's so odd to hear these sounds each time you come to a stop. It's a Mercedes? LOL

LEOSOPHIE

We don't want to get rid of you, we want you to enjoy your car like most of the rest of us. My advice is when they buy this thing back get a gas rig with ADS and have some fun. Like your business I have a yard full of heavy diesel trucks and tractors and the difference in fuel economy will slip through the cracks. My advice is only worth what you are paying for it. Best of luck.

TamZ

I needed you there to convince my husband. I will not get the GL350 again, I've already broken that news to my husband!

spdracer53

just fyi, all gl's have ADS which automatically adjusts the the suspension.

ADS II which is an option and standard on 550's allows you to adjust the settings to sport or comfort.

spdracer53

get the 550! you'll love it. =)

TamZ

Made it to and from Vegas and didn't break down.. No major issues except the constant wind noise and the compressor running all the time. My husband drove most of the time and I was glad because I am always the one telling him about the issues. Well, he is shocked about the wind noise, even though we hear it constantly...until you go on a 5 hour drive and get to listen to it constantly, I don't think he truly understood. Now he does.

He also did a lot of driving in Vegas without me (stop and go) in the car with him (to point everything out) and he came back to the hotel and informed me my car is @##%$#$'d up. Me: Oh really!? In the end, it didn't strand us, just annoyed the heck out of us, and now we are once again taking it back into the shop today at 9:15am. They will have another loaner for me as usual. My husband is going in this time to take the mechanic on another test drive.

Of course, we are still waiting to hear back from Mercedes and will now be without our car for most likely another week. It's okay..we'll be heading on up to 40 days here pretty soon without the car in the first 18 weeks of ownership. I guess at this point, the more it is in the shop, the better it is for me. But it is still a huge pain in the butt.

Someone wanted to listen to the wind noise with someone talking, etc to gauge it better. I hit record while all 5 of us were in the car, my husband is yacking on the phone doing business, my daughter and I are chatting and the radio is on at a decent volume... I set the phone on the dash, not held up to the window and let it record.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kszkKUF2SXw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFJUZ_hqdNA

I'll keep everyone up to date about this latest trip to the shop.

Tam

pteam

Man 16 pages of misery for a brand new car that cost $70,000.

This is a shame.

I feel really bad for you...

and it is not ok for Mercedes' case managers to not call people back...

Merecedes should be ashamed..

TamZ

Thanks Pteam.

I don't even know what to say/think anymore. After this next visit, if the airmatic continues to do the same thing, I guess I will just let it do it's thing and wait for MBUSA to get back to me on the buyout. We'll see what they say about it after this next visit. Nobody denies it's doing what it's doing, it's sort of hard NOT to hear it--but what they are trying to determine is whether that is "normal" or not.

I can totally see why people give up when dealing with large companies, or car things like this, etc. It's tiring. It drags on for weeks...I would be willing to bet that eventually most people give up and live with things, or trade the car in on another car without completing the process. They make it so frustrating. In the end, I think its about 90% my car having issues and the other 10% is me, now completely unhappy with the way my vehicle started having so many problems so quickly, now I am extremely sensitive to all things about my car. The mechanic and I talked a bit about this today. In the end, we don't feel we got the vehicle we paid for and I guess all we can do is leave it up to "MBUSA" to decide if they feel the same way. If they don't, then I guess I will hire an attorney and let him help them decide.

Something GOOD about the car on the trip, since I always say the bad things. It was our first long road trip--and as much as I dislike the run flat tires on our horrible pot holey roads around our town....I had NO problem at ALL with the way the tires performed on the smooth open road again...they aer REALLY smooth on the freeways. The only thing I noticed was, boy...on the 215, heading out to Hoover Dam leaving Las Vegas, the freeway was really really "grooved" and boy those tires "whistled" along that whole stretch. Still smooth but whistled away. So..my "good" thing about the GL this trip was that it was smooth (albeit noisy) sailing...a comfortable "ride" for sure. Sigh...

P.S. on a different note, the Ad Blue clunking issue...is becoming a BIG issue with Mercedes. Apparently they have opened a "special" investigation into it. TONS of complaints. So at least I am not nuts about that!!!!
Tam

Fourdiesel

I hope SOMEONE is able to get this thread to MB Public Relations/ Marketing/ Sales. Over 10,000 reads and very little good to say about the way Mercedes Corporate has handled the issue(s). SHAME, SHAME, SHAME

TamZ

When I think about this entire thread...how long this has been going on, etc etc. Even though my problems began much earlier, I was actually assigned a buy-back claims representative on 12-13-10. That is the date that Randy called me in regards to the buy-back process beginning. It is now February 1st, 2011 and to date, not a SINGLE person has ever called me to speak with me about my buy back, from MBUSA. Not one. Randy only called my husband back after we called the 800 # again and complained to someone else. This is disturbing to me; one would think that they would at least get a hold of the consumer to talk to them about this issue, find out information, etc. It just seems odd to me that nobody as MBUSA, regardless of what "they" feel is or is not wrong with my car, has not been in contact with the actual owners of the vehicle. So strange to me. When I talked to the SA about this, he seems equally perplexed. I guess that is just how they do things at MBUSA.

I too, am entirely disappointed in not only vehicle but in MBUSA's customer service in general.

ddruker

I actually forwarded a link to this thread to the sales guy I worked with at my dealer, and asked him to have the owner of the dealership forward this to someone senior at MBUSA. The title of my email to him was "Embarrassingly bad PR for Mercedes"

He didn't want to touch it with a ten foot pole, and his reaction was to be defensive about how much better the service at his dealership is.

Interestingly, he also said that people from MBUSA do read these forums, but I see no evidence of this - they couldn't possibly let this thread go past 10k views without at least sending you a private message.

Here is what I would do -

Call the main mercedes benz usa corporate number - 201-573-0600 - and ask for the office of the president, Ernst Lieb. There will almost certainly be someone in that office who can handle an escalation of something like this. Don't let them transfer you to customer service, insist on talking to the office of the president.

TamZ

I have no complaints about my service department of the dealership I am working at. What I am going through seems to be a Corporate Customer Service issue, not an individual "dealership" issue (in my opinion.) The Service manager at the dealership we are getting service at, has already recommended that MBUSA BUY BACK my vehicle. They told me this again yesterday when I dropped my GL back off to the shop. So I'm not sure what else they can do to facilitate that process more than they already have, but then again, I'm not privy to all the inner workings of how they all go about a buy back.

I agree, 10,000 people have seen what I've gone through. They've all probably told at least one person about it too. I didn't start this thread with any intention of telling everyone about Mercedes-Benz's substandard customer service. Fast forward a few months and multiple shop visits and here we are.

I will tell my husband to call that #. Today I sent off two more certified mail packets, one address to Ernst Lieb himself. I found his name on the internet today as the President. Not sure what good it will do but I sent him EVERYTHING, pages and pages of it.

Buying our GL has turned out to be one of the worst decisions we have made. Not sure what else I can add to that.

Now..I have more pressing things to do: Our cat ate my daughters fish today. I get to break the news to her in a few minutes. Gotta love life!

Tam

MomsBenz

Good job Tammy! I sent a package to Ernest Lieb too! I thought you already had, sorry. I got a call from his secretary and she said my dealer would be contacting me (and they did that same day) Hopefully this will do it for you!