I've always loved German cars, I've owned 3 VW's now but I need to step to a 7 passenger vehicle as we plan on expanding our family with more kids. I was looking at new car options such as the Ford Transit Connect Titanium but honestly I just don't think I'd be happy with something like that as for one, its a van, and 2 I'd be taking a huge hit in build quality and likely comfort.

So I started looking at alternatives to vans in the 7 passenger category and came across the GL series. I immediately was drawn to the GL350 due to the Bluetec Deisel and the crazy nice looks compared to other large SUV's. But I don't dive into anything without some research.

So here it is, I'm looking into possibly purchasing an 09-11 GL350, I'm curious of the major issues that I'm likely to encouter with the vehicle (having owned 3 VW's 2 of which were B5 series passats I'm no stranger to the little German quirks)? I'll likely end up with an extended warranty but I'm going to try and find something with under 40k miles as well.

So far through some reading here it seems that the 2011 models seem to have a bad run of timing chains or something and many have needed replaced. Other than that I haven't seen anything too crazy? Any help is greatly appreciated, I've got about 6 months or so before I'll end up purchasing a new car but I like to be well informed before I make my final decision on what I want.

 

Shop Shop Shop.
Drive a few so you know what a good one feels like.

 

Ok, I think I'm going to look at some GL450's as well, I calculated the fuel cost difference between the diesel and the gas engine and honestly it's negligible or even non existent with what diesel costs around here. That coupled with the fact that the 450's are up to 10k cheaper in some instances used makes me a bit more interested.

 

I went for the diesel because we tow.
I am not sure I would care as much if I didn't.

 

Well I'm interested in getting a travel trailer eventually but the v8 shouldn't really have an issue with those either, of course the fuel economy would probably take a bigger hit. I'll just have to see what's available at the time as prices will likely go down some more over 6 months.

 

In short, don’t do it.

I was in the exact same boat 2+ years ago. Wanted a nice 7-seater. It came down to the Q7 and the GL; both hadbad consumer reviews, but the Q7 was a bit worse and the GL’s interior wasroomier, so I decided to roll the dice with a CPO GL350. I loved this car at first and still want tolove it, but being honest to myself, it is the worse vehicle I’d ever owned…worsethan my first car which was an ‘85 Buick Century.

I bought a 2010 GL350 CPO in December 2012 (almost 2 yearsago) with 27K miles. At first, onlyminor issues popped up (like Airmatic needing to be replaced etc). It was CPO so I still had warranty which willexpire May 2015 (either I misunderstood or a mistake was made as I thoughtwarranty should have expired May 2014). Other minor issues popped up but I usuallywaited until schedule maintenance to get it taken care of (power windows had amind of their own: won’t close on first try…won’t open and had to use my remotekey to open driver side, etc).

Up to 60K miles, it was more of an annoyance thananything. Then the **** hit the fan inthe last 10K miles. Broke down TWICE onthe freeway within a 5-day span, with wife and 2 young kids in tow. Brought into Rusnak (Arcadia, CA) after thefirst one and despite being under warranty, I was quoted $500 in repairs(problem: screw/bolt which held a hose in place had fallen off, so hoseconnecting to power train was cut off). Was told this is not covered as it was a wear/tear part. Got my car back on Thursday afternoon and thefollowing day, lost all power on the 60 fwy in rush hour traffic. I do think Rusnak sabotaged the car but I haveno proof. Still, fuel was gushing outand I could not even start the car to pull over to the shoulder. Luckily, a paramedics was behind us andhelped pushed us to the shoulder and called CHP for us as well. Still, frustrating as hell. Brought car into Penske (West Covina, CA) andat first was quoted $80 for some new hoses. The next day, got a call and said, nope, it’s actually $500 as these arespecialized hose which included sensors. Ended up bringing car into dealership 4 times that month (rear hatchwouldn’t close and transmission was acting up…only it was thetransmission. Basically, the car feltlike someone some a banana in the tailpipe when going at slow speeds or aboutto come to a stop. Brought it in and they couldn’t find the actual problem butsaid it might be b/c we had missed a software update).

Just so many problems, it was getting embarrassing. Co-workers kept seeing my C-Class loaner in theparking lot and would ask “car trouble AGAIN”? I keep asking myself how can a German made Mercedes be this bad? Then I realize it’s actually Chrysler made…fromAlabama.

Pros: Great range; nearly 700 miles all highway whichmakes trips great (but I can’t take them with this car anymore since I don’ttrust it out of the county).

Cons: Too manyproblems to list, here are some: poor design (a single bolt/screw used to holdup crucial hosing?), airmatic, hatch, electrical, transmission?, coolant leak,super expensive maintenance, $3,000 for new tires, alignment and front brakepads, MB stealerships are the worst and on and on….

 

Somewhat opposite;
Bought a 2008 with 96K miles form a private party in Jan 2013.
We now have 120K miles on it, and it has only a handful of little issues, I wish it did not have, but realize it is a complex and high mileage vehicle.


Original owner did at least a one if not more air springs.
Sure wish they lasted longer, but not much different from any other air-spring vehicle and between the ride and the self leveling for towing well worth it.


Have a (not very often) recurring limp mode problem which with help from the forum I am very sure is a $50 sensor I can replace myself on a warm day in the garage. (Would have been replaced if it caused any serious problems. (Goes into limp mode (Low power) and resets when restarted.)


Nagging oil leak from cooler (Will try to get this fixed under extended warranty, but in reality it drips so little oil, I am not concerned.)


One small electronic module failure, Glow Plug Controller, all of $135 and it was plug and play. (Was probably bad when I bought it but did not throw the code till I hit freezing temps)


Now, it does seem there are a LOT of incompetent dealers that act like the service departments job is to screw up your car enough so you buy a new one.


As for the above, if a bolt comes loose and causes a failure, I am not sure how that is a wear item and not warranty (unless you were mixing self/indy service with dealer service and expecting the dealer to fix others issues.)


On top of that, yes, it sis a diesel so acceleration in low gears feel slow and engine braking as you slow down to a stop is very noticeable.


So, if you want a very nice SUV that is not low maintenance get a GL. but if you want a sort-of nice SUV with nearly no maintenance get a Honda Pilot.

 

My 2011 GL350 has been in the shop for the past month. First it was a stretched timing chain, worn main bearing, and defective torque converter. Then a faulty intake manifold. Picked it up, and the engine is still running rough, so back to the dealer for more work this week.

My advice is if you do decide to buy one, make sure you have a warranty. And get a good price on it, because it's not worth paying too much for all the headaches.

 

I am not doubting your problems, but when I see a list of unrelated issues I always wonder;
1) Do you have a dealer that keeps "guessing" as to what the real problem is.
or
2) Did you keep driving it with problem 1, 2 and 3 till #4 finally made you get it serviced.

 

I would skip the diesel, period. Way too many issues. Also to maintain it, it's more than double the required gasser requirements. The US is not ready for diesel technology yet in small trucks.


The fuel is taxed to death. More than premium currently and usually a lot more when the price of diesel was up!


The only good thing is you get more bang for your miles per gallon. We would get upward of 700+ miles per tank. Great towing as well.


Federal Emissions warranty sucks for diesels too. The pump alone is several grand. The DEF is a joke. Even though you the consumer could pour the DEF fluid. It always required the dealer for a reset as it said it was XX amount of times until it would not start.


We lemoned ours as it was so bad. The lemon process only applies to new not CPO or used. Many people are confused by that process. I can't tell you how many times we had it towed. I had the Dealer GM on speed dial. And the rental car bills, over the top!


Go with the gasser!

 

Everything was fine at the last dealer service ~61K miles. Then the engine started running rough at 63K, so we brought it in. I've got a 6yr/125K extended warranty, so I could care less if they want to spend their money guessing. There was 35 hours worth of labor (covered under warranty) and 2 pages of parts on the invoice when I picked it up last week. And it's still running rough when cold. I doubt Mercedes would pick up the tab for all that warranty work if it wasn't really broken. The engine runs perfectly when warm now, so whatever is going on when it's cold is probably a minor fix in comparison.

 

Maybe, but it seems MB has an awful lot of fat built into their parts and labor prices.

Besides as long as they get the warranty to sign off, it is free money to the dealership.

 

The diesel is great when it's running. I get between 21 and 28 MPG city/highway, which is a lot lot better than any other SUV out there. My former Land Rover LR3 got between 12 city and 16 highway. And it was equally a POS as far as reliability (which is why I bought an extended warranty with my GL350 after the LR3 experience).

As far as taxing diesel, I don't understand why the idiot politicians don't offer some incentive for diesel drivers? Isn't clean diesel more efficient and better for the environment? I guess they just can't afford to forgo all the revenue from the 18 wheelers.

 

We could not drive ours. Dead on the road. P E R I O D!! When it died it died hard!


After the power steering went, I called them and told them to come get it. Not driving it any more. Ever try and drive one without it? We were going slow when it let loose. If we had been going high speed it could have been a disaster.

 

How is power steering a diesel issue?

 

I and others could never tell it was a diesel. Not like the old days where the black soot poured out of the tailpipe, and the black billow of smoke would cloud your vision.


In Virginia we can get the taxes back by submitting them to DMV, but it was a hassle. The receipt had to have your name on it and whole host of other info to do it.


Some claim it's a truckers tax. Don't know. The refining process for the fuel is a whole lot less than unleaded gas so I'm floored how they can charge what they do for it.


I learned a lot during that time we had it. Our biggest issue was the servicing dealer. Once MB was on the case they insisted that we use only that dealer so they could track it. It was pages of parts and labor charges and rental car too! We were off the road for 90 plus days at a pop. Parts were forever on backorder, ect.


I'll stick with a gasser.

 

The power steering was just another notch on the pole of trouble for this vehicle.


The other stuff was minor considering the diesel problems.


I've owned a diesel before in my Ram 3500. Never gave me a bit of problems during ownership. That was bullet proof compared to the Benz.


We had no issues presenting the case to arbitration. I had a timeline of events. Starting at day 3! They did not even argue any of it. We had three choices: 1) Buy it back and 1500 bucks in our pocket to boot with all monies returned, 2) Exchange it for a 2013, 3) Extend the warranty 7/100, a year of SAT radio SiriusXM and make the 6 payments already made and keep the vehicle. We had 3 days to make the selection. What ever we decided the dealer and MB were obligated to do it. We took the #1.


Also had we chosen the #3, and it continued to be problematic we had no recourse. We were stuck with it. #2 we would have to relemon it if it turned problematic too. Reading from others we got out of Dodge!

 

I see you have a GL550, any issue with so far.

I have a 09...

 

Stitching in the left middle row has come out. 1400 bucks under warranty.


Left rear wheel has a secret past. MB wants 1600 bucks for new wheel.


Dip stick was missing. Questionable 20K service done! The epic was reset, but oil was coal black.


New tires, brakes, rotors!


Chrome under the cross bars is missing or helped off?


I paid for the 20K service again. All fluids changed and air and cabin filters changed.


Fob batteries replaced last week.


Lighted door sill cover keep popping up!


Fit and finish on it not very good. My 2011 was much better.

 

CBR, Seems like you have bad luck, are hard on your vehicles, or have a really bad dealer?

 

I think I'll try a bicycle and see where that gets me! Less moving parts!


My servicing dealer is a Penske shop. Does anyone have any background on how worthy they are. It's a hop and skip from the house, 15 mins tops. The other Penske shop is a good 45 mins to an hour depending on traffic. The other shop is a good 1.5 hours in traffic.


The vehicle came from MB Financial TX. It was a lease out of New York. If it's anything like Virginia the Registration is NY and the Title is TX. I finally got the registration last week as the temp one expired, but the title is still not found. Banks problem, I'm tired of asking for it. If they want it so bad they can start beating on the dealers door for it!


I did find someone to fix my wheel. Will provide a warranty for as long as I own it. I have to drop it off at a shop close to home. Also have to dismount the tire too. No big deal. Beats the 1600 bucks route.


The seat cover is special order. That was 1400 bucks retail. I think it would have been a lot cheaper to farm it out, but is there call. Can't wait to see what I get back on that!


On my Lexus and Infiniti I never got this type of crap! I always left with a cleaner backside than when I went in with! They wash the car, ect... None of that here.


It's going to be a long relationship I can tell!


Scott

 

Holy crap, is anyone happy with theirs?

 

Probably lots of people who never come here.

 

We love our 07 GL450 and we're at 153K miles. We plan on getting a GL320 within the year because we tow. The 350 seems to have to many issues.

 

The diesels ar very reliable. The only factor that can sabotage them in the U.S. is the quality of fuel sold at certain gas stations. The v6 diesel is the heart of many commercial vehicles that routinely exceed 500k miles on virgin engine internals.

Other than that the x164 platform suffers from the same weaknesses across all models- airmatic legs and compressor, 7g valve body, front hvac fan failure, rear lid motor/ assembly... All pretty benign problems. The supposed bad run of timing chains on some '11 350 trucks might or might not be a fact. I have not seen enought proof to think that all '11 diesels are doomed.