207,000kms bought the beautiful 2007 GL450 in june2010 in like-new condition
 

207,000kms bought the beautiful 2007 GL450 in june2010 in like-new condition. Novelty still hasn’t worn off. It’s my first Mercedes and I plan to still be washing it in my driveway 20years from now. It’s a timeless classic

2010 GL 550 with 148000KM, bought in Oct 2019. First MB in the family and still "new" to us. The only thing I've done so far was clean/lube the height sensor linkages, and wash the dirt/salt off on a nice day. Ah, yes, and put gas in. The car came with an oil change, new battery, and new wiper blades (all MB spec'd, surprisingly). :)

Planned upcoming maintenance is new spark plugs and coilpacks, tranny and diff fluids, new air filters for motor and cabin, and possibly starter brushes (slow first crank, then cranks/motor starts after 5-6 turns; on rare occasion, the motor cranks upwards of 10 before firing). Things I'm keeping an eye one - Airmatic elements and windows, which are super slow to roll down/up when the weather is below -10C.

212k

I’m about to replace the manifold actuator, any tips tricks or advice you can offer? Seen a yt video where the guy didn’t have to completely remove the whole thing he just propped it up to access the linkage and actuator. Is it a big job? Cpl hours?

Starter brushes?
 

my 07gl450 also cranks slow and has been for years but always starts up. Can you tell me what the starter brushes are? I’ve had a few mechanics try and source the issue including the MB dealership at first. None of them could locate the problem. Apparently it’s not the starter not the battery or alternator. They’ve all assumed it’s somewhere in the wiring... any advice?

Good n bad
 

2007 GL450 with not quite 98k. Bought in 2016 with 66k.
Converted Airmatic to coil springs, have the tumbler flap issue unfixed since 2017, sagging headliner sine last year, and a host of minor issues that need attention.

love the v8 power, smooth ride and looks. Too many sensors and other niggles they ding the reliability.

Driven less than 10k miles per year on average, this thing should be pristine. Window moldings are shot, headlight wiring insulation is flaking off(!)

We love the space and utility but some of the engineering fell way short of the quality mark.

Go ahead and replace the headlights or the wiring inside the headlight before it shorts out. I replaced the headlights in my 2007 a few years ago since most of the wiring insulation had fallen off and wires were touching and causing issues. It's not a quality problem but is made to decompose, from what I gather, from a recycling initiative in Germany. It just decomposes a little faster than they probably planned. I'm hoping the interior wiring is more robust. Otherwise, these are disposable.

i believe it was on its 3rd tranny...

didnt check the exhaust generation./ scr modules, but they visually seemed intact

Why not just change the starter? They seem to go sluggish, but then struggle on, in the mid 100K's.

Just picked up an 07 - 37k miles!
Fun times ahead!

My '09 320 Bluetec is pushing 305k km on the original motor and tranny...the boddy is starting to show its age but I absolutely love it so I`m slowly fixing all the little things that the previous owners neglected...I got it tuned and deleted a few months ago and am working on getting rid of the third row seating which I don't use and the AdBlue system to free up some storage space...currently dealing with an Airmatic issue due to a completely flooded controller - who in their right mind put that under the driver's feet is beyond me...I've got an annoying "whine" from the transfer case area so I got all new fluids all around but that didn't resolve it...hopefully it won't grenade itself over the next few years before I drive the truck in the ground...I also switched over to 275/55/20 tires which are a LOT easier to find and cheaper to purchase because every monkey and their uncle with an F150/Ram is taking their brand new OEM tires and swapping them over....win win :)

Wow, that's really low mileage!

Very low indeed. My 2007 GL500 has completed today 55,917 miles

Same here.

​​​​​​We bought our 2010 gl450 with 72k miles 5 years ago and now at 130k.

90k - replaced all 4 shocks with arnott and compressor
98k - replaced front two again with arnott - paid for by dealer since the first set fails so quickly
110k - new tires - Pirelli Scorpions
112k - new Thermostat
115k - New front air struts from Amazon (off brand that has been solid for the last 15k miles)
116k - New aftermarket head unit - original one ate to many DVDs.
118k - Front End Links
120k - New pads, rotors, plugs, MAF
125k - Transmission Fluid & Filter

Regular Maintenance throughout @ 10k intervals incl brake fluid, filters, oil, etc. Gonna start doing engine oil every 7 now since FCP Euro has a lifetime warranty/replacement on it.

Upcoming - mostly preventative:
Oil cooler housing gaskets
Belts, pully and tensioner
O2 Sensors
Hoses

I will say that after ~90-100k it seems to be one thing after another. I enjoy working on it and the issues have been fairly minor/easy to fix. Plus, it's now paid off so the freedom of no car note is a plus!

Just checked the compression. Engine is in very good shape. I guess this means I will continue maintaining it. 166K miles.

Accumulated repair expenditures, including tires, since purchase amount to $0.14 per mile. Rolling cost is about $0.30 per mile. I wouldn't be surprised to see 250K miles.

Garaged since birth, so it's in great shape.

I'm already at 250k miles. Yes, should be no problem.

hi, my wife had 2007 gl450, got the same problem as yours, cranked slow and been for 1-2 yrs even with new battery. stopped crank one day w/o notice. (I did researched and read, they said maybe a ground cable to the starter), but Problem Solved after replacing the Starter.
I have gl550 2010 130k miles just replaced the starter 3days ago. ( replace once at 50k miles from dealer))Check starter brushes inside the starter coil, if wearing out, but coil, gears and solenoid still are in good shape, then just replace a new starter brushes ($35-40) from MBonline or dealer.
Good luck..( don't pay out of pocking for towing home if you have full cover insurance).
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Hi,
Does anyone have issues with the sensor network? I had the front and back replaced, and now the door handles won't open with the proximity keyless go function.
Anyone have a suggestion?

Yes, I have put ~20k into this over the last 80k miles.
struts/oil pump/thermostat/oil pan/transmission pan/ sensors/ gps unit/

thanks,
terry

Alhm, reached over 200k mi recently, despite the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown surprisingly. Recently replaced spark plugs, air/cabin filters, and engine oil.
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If you have never replaced the CPS's, you should. It's about that time.

Looking forward to my 200k service on my '07 later this summer - planning on a intake manifold pivot arm, new plugs and CPS of course.

312,000 miles so far on my GL450 , 2008.
Purchased it CPO in 2010 with 26,000 miles and it's still running smooth, quiet, powerfully, like it's only driven 40,000 miles.

Haven't used my local MB dealership for 5 years now as they tried cheating me. Three attempts by them to bring the car in for unnecessary fake ($700, $1,500 and the last one a whopping $6,000) work was enough for me. I was disgusted after so many years of being a loyal customer. (It used to be 3 visits a year for oil changes at least with 35k miles per year).

So I fix the things that wear out, (all cars have things that wear out huh? I have no complaints about the reliability of my GL450).
Totally recommend Pirelli Verde Plus tires too- best for quiet and I can get 40,000 miles for a set easy.

(The $6,000 MB Service breaker was a quote by them for changing the torque converter!) I had a very slight (once a month shudder in the transmission running up hills). It turned out to be a misting rusty transmission coooling line. I fixed it myself for $450 including a full transmission oil service I did myself.) The MB dealer had not even been under the car or they'd have seen it.

Wow, really glad to hear of this! I hope it lasts even more iA with your good maintenance/upkeep. I'm assuming you're still on the original engine/transmission?

Yes, it still has the original transmission and original engine both running sweet so far.

The engine has had 2 Thermostats and 2 Cam Magnets and I had to replace the triangular link in the front of the Inlet manifold with an aluminum one. I also saw a very slight oil leak in the Oil Cooler last year so I took the whole Oil unit off and replaced both o ring sets (Less than $25). But amazingly that’s it for any repairs to the engine. It’s had Mobil1 all its life at 13,000 intervals, always a MB Oil Filter each change. I do the spark plugs every 100,000 miles (not difficult to do at all), new engine air filter every 50,000 or so.

The transmission had a fluid change at 39,000 (per the service recommendations of MB), then the next fluid change was at about 270,000 when I had these transmission cooler lines misting and I’d lost about 1 liter of Transmission fluid. So only 2 transmission oil changes in 312,000 miles makes me think ‘Lifetime oil’ is not really a lie. The transmission does run perfectly smooth still and I tow a 20’ boat in the summer too.

The Front Air Springs and Shocks have been replaced at 130,000 and 260,000 – Eerily the same mileage (130k) per set. (Maybe 390,000 is the time for the shocks and bags to go again…). The rear shocks changed at 130,000 and then at 305,000. Rear air springs at 130,000 and no change since then.

I’ve had four wheel bearing replacements Left rear is still original though.

The Air Matic level sensors and the arms to them were also changed a few years ago. All four over a period of time became soft (the plastic part) and the sockets seized up too. Using the ICarsoft OBD kit that helped identify these issues.

As I said, I’ve very happy with this ‘do it all’ vehicle. Great for the highway, comfy in town, unbeatable in the snow (with the correct winter tires of course), quiet, and wears really well. Nothing lasts forever but this car is certainly lasting a very long time.
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GL450 2008, 312,000 Miles

My 2008 GL320 CDI is at 108K miles. Owned it since Nov 2017 when it had 98K miles. Roadtrips from Portland to Coeur d'Alene, up to Whistler BC, and down to Santa Barbara have been flawless with 5 of us and using a rooftop box for storage. Average mpg for highway driving tends to be 23MPG with the roof box.

I've replaced all air suspension myself, replaced the fuel filter and air filters, cleaned the DPF using a home-built sprayer, did the resistor mod on my Swirl Motor, replaced the DPF differential pressure sensor, and cleaned the EGR. Such a serviceable and straightforward vehicle to work on.