Hello everyone,

I'm the new owner of a Mercedes GL350 2012 with 240 000km. I bought the car a few weeks ago for a good price (20k$CAD, around 16k$US) but it has several mechanical troubles so I wanted to post to get some tips and suggestions. I have lurked a little on the forum for the past 2 weeks, so I got some information about the oil cooler trouble.

First, here in Quebec a 2012 GL350 is sold for 28K$-32K$CAD, so I consider I got the car for a fair price considering the troubles (no accidents, very clean body, no rust, very clean inside). Also I plan to do many repairs by myself (otherwise the price would not be worth)

Here is the list of problems:

- Oil cooler leak on the motor
- 2 parktronic sensors damaged (1 front, 1 rear, I have located them)
- 2 NOX sensors damaged
- 1 strut airmatic damaged
- Air lumbar support not functionning
- Left power mirror closing motor tired (doesn't properly fold the mirror)

I got a complete new set of struts for 650$US (no brand) I will install those this weekend. I don't know if the difference in quality between Mercedes official struts and the no brand ones is abismal, but the price was abismal, so I went for the no brand ones. I have enought mechanical knowledge to replace the struts, the NOX and the parktronic by myself.

As for the oil cooler, I have done a similar repair on a much simpler motor (ford mustang gt 99). But I got an extended warranty on the motor that should cover the oil cooler replacement, so this point I should not worry about.

So please guide me a little as this is my first Mercedes:

- Did I do a bad choice with the no brand struts ?
- Suggestions for the oil cooler trouble (the warranty should cover it)
- Suggestions for the NOX (I should wait until the oil cooler is repaired I guess as currently it's burning some oil, also I will try to clean them before declaring them dead, it's possible they got burned oil waste on them)
- The parktronics ?
- The lumbar support (I don't care very much about this point, but one day I will tackle this point, last on my list through...)
- Should I dissasembly the exhaust and clean them a little ? I don't know how many km the old owner did with the oil troubles, my guess is that the exhaust must be very dirty inside, hence the NOX troubles)
- Is there a book similar to Haynes ones for my GL350 2012 ??

Thank you very much for the suggestions and tips.

 

Be prepared for constant issues. I just finally sold my 2011 GL450 yesterday. Worst vehicle I have ever owned. I had it for three years and it was a money pit after it turned 70,000 miles. Only had 100,000 miles when I sold it. Not only did I spend about $10,000 on it in repairs over the last 18 months but when a sold it, it wasn't worth but $18,000 when I sold it. Extremely disappointed in Mercedes. I will never own one again.

 

Not very encouraging story...
When I visited the car there was another mercedes, a 2011 GL550, it had less troubles but was more expensive (25K$CAD with 180km), one of my friends told me not to get it because gas motors would break easier, he told me The diesel one was a better bet. I wonder if this is true.

In any case I have never got a luxurious car before, so this is for me a test, maybe in 2 years I will be in tthe same situation as you trying to sell it. Time will tell

 

So Today I replaced both rear struts ( 4 hours work) to do it I deflated both airmatic ballons. After all the install was done I started the car and it fully inflated one side and not so much the other Now the car is unbalanced. I will replace the front struts and deflate all 4 air ballons and try to see if the car rebalances itself, if not I guess I will need to visit garage to rebalance it (unless someone has a trick to reset the airmatic system.

If someone is interested in prices, I bought the 4 struts for 750$US (1000$cad) and currently it took me 4 hours to replace both rear, so I expect another 4 hours for the front ones.

 

Hi, first when you work on the suspension, you should remove the fuse from the electrical fuse box under the hood, they are 40 and yellow, and before lowering the car completely reinstall the fuse. second to balance the suspension once the compressor is activated and the car is completely lowered activate the suspension, cycle it (raising and lowering it before driving it)
The problem I had with mine was related to the ABS, which resulted in the complete replacement of the wheel brgs. And this due to the fact that the ABS sensor read off a magnetic band that is attached to the wheel brg. And since the surrounding of the wheel brg is bare metal the rust dust is attracted to the magnetic ban, and after a while the accumulation of dust get between the ban and the sensor and the magnetic band gets damaged and generates the fault code. the permanent fix is painting the bare metal with a good rust paint. that seal the rust out Recommend "SEAL" by KBS
I have replaced rear struts with ARNOTT parts lifetime warranty !
Also I would also recommend GERMANPARTS.CA for your parts need, fair price and excellent service. and always use lubricant that are specked to your vehicle.

 

Well, I didn't knew about the fuses, so that I simply deflated the ballons, installed the rear struts and putted it all back together. The rear right ballon doesn't inflate anymore, I tried to restart the car several times and raising it and lowering it, the right ballon never inflated at all Someone at work told me about the fuses, so I tried pulling out the fuses, starting the car, got airmatic failure message, reinstalled the fuses and tried raising and lowering the car again. No luck.

The person at work told me to verify the level sensor on the right wheel, even to try to swap the sensors from right to left to verify the problem was not the sensor and try again the fuse procedure. I will try those this weekend.

I will check germanparts.ca, thank you for the input, it's very apretiated. I have never worked on a mercedes car, so I'm learning and having a lot of new experiences

 

Take Allybear21's comments with a grain of salt. Theirs is not a typical ownership experience. I am not sure what was wrong with their vehicle. It had a few unusual problems, according to a thread I read.

 

Well of course his comment worried me a little, I bought a GL with several troubles already, so that I worry I may have done a bad choice, on the other positive or negative comments will have no incidence on my choice as the choice is already done, so now I'm trying to do the best of it

 

As you note, the decision of owning a mercedes gl has been done, as I have taken a similar decision tree years ago! And my experience hasn’t been to bad, I have been involve in dealership all my active life,and the last 20 as a HT specialist, so I should know a thing or two.I have been getting acquainted with this tech.and have been amazed by the technology but not impressed by the execution or assembly.It seams as the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing! Example the magnetic ban on the wheel bearings in a rust environnement ! And try to keep away from the fancy dealerships,they are out there to take you to the cleaners. I can’t imagine going to a dealership with all their menu pricing at $$$$$ rate. Therefore you must invest in a Ical code reader so you will be able to diagnose any problems that comes up. Secondo follow the maintenance guide to the letter and only use products that meet the Mercedes specs. If you can, try to meet an experience mecanic so that if you are questionning yourseft or that you would like to have work done at a decent labor rate price.Believe me, I have done that and I’m very happy I enjoy doing preventive maintenance and I’m sure it pays off and I enjoy driving this vehicle at a decent price!