daniwheel

Hello there
I’m about to close the purchase of a 2009 GL550, one owner, dealership maintained, great service record, with 89k miles.
While I expect a complex vehicle like this with this age and mileage to have some things needing to be fixed once in a while, I’m yet to find anyone on the internet who hasn’t had super high number of reliability issues (like replacing the entire air suspension and transmission every 50k) - thus my question: has anyone here had a good/normal experience with the car’s reliability?

I also own a 2005 E320 Wagon with 170k miles and it’s been tremendously solid, and that’s what got me considering the GL in the first place.

Thanks
Daniel

BlownV8

The airbag and transmission issues are the same across the 164 GL lineup. Other than the common issues, they are reliable. The oil cooler may start leaking around 150k to 200k miles but that is an easy and cheap fix on the 550 engine. Buy struts from Arnott since they carry a lifetime warranty and if you keep it long enough you will replace the replacements.

daniwheel

Thanks much for the response. I went ahead and ended up buying the car... so far I've spent some 400 with minor repairs and fluids change... there's a super annoying clunking noise coming from the front end and I was quoted at 2.5 to 3.5k to repair (replace engine mounts, front/lower control arms and sway bar), I hope it stops there. If this thing starts needing 3k every other month then I'm out.

BlownV8

The clunk typically comes from the struts.

Jason B

Just BUY an extended warrarty! Problem sovled and it will pay for itself in a year with those miles.

mefferso

I think that quote was from someone trying to make money off you. Motor mounts shouldn't be causing any clunking. Could be struts as mentioned above. My clunking was from the sway bar end links. ~$50 for a good quality set. Easy to change yourself if you have any amount mechanical skill and time. I confirmed it was the links by lying on my back just behind the front wheel and pushing up and down on my GL. I could hear the clunking right in front of my face at the link connection.

SndsoftheSbrbs

Finding a good extended warranty with a 9-10-year-old car with 89k miles is next to impossible.

Jason B

Are you sure? Try USAA.

BlownV8

+1 if you are a member. They will only cover the car for around 24 months and 24k miles and it will be around $4.5k if my memory is correct. Given the miles on the GL, you are probably due for a valve body, struts, and a few other things. May pay for itself.

SndsoftheSbrbs

I don't know about USAA's offerings. I could not even consider them because I am not eligible. However, after looking at their eligibility criteria, I think there is only a small chance that the vehicle would qualify.

Bimmer777

I just picked up a 2010 GL550 with 71k miles. It has a slight clunk from the front as well but I am fairly certain its the swaybar links. At least thats the first item I will replace when doing oil change. So far love the truck however. Its an amazing bang for the buck at current price. I was able to find one with off-road package as well whcih I was very excited about even though it wont get used much.

YodaSyrup

I've had two X164's ('10 450 & '11 550) - both have developed the suspension clunk in the right front. Both were solved by replacing the right front strut.

There's an older thread with more discussion about the clunk https://mbworld.org/forums/gl-class-...ion-clunk.html

tmurphy25

The major issues I have had. GL 550 2011. 83k miles A) blind spot sensor network. $1800 B) all 4 air struts had to be replaced $4000 C) Thermostat @53k $850

luxcar

My GL550 has 181k on it. Replaced all struts, front axle, oil cooler seals, radiator. Did thermostat and V belt with oil cooler seals. Also repaired navigation LCD.

As others have mentioned clunking is generally due to strut. For struts, don't go with cheap brands. I ended up spending more money in labor than parts due to faulty parts. OEM or Arnott is the way to go. You can buy front pair of OEM Bilsteins for $834 (rockauto.com).

4everalone

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences, great info. My list since I bought my 47K mile 2014 GL550 in 2016 (got MB extended warranty to 90K miles):

1. Turbo coolant line: started as a very small leak on my garage floor and immediately took to dealer, replaced under warranty.
2. Driver seat thigh support motor literally broke and was hanging under the seat, possibly had been like that since I bought it. Fixed under warranty
3. Glove box compartment lever broke off, was surprised to see how flimsy the pins holding it were. Entire glovebox door had to be replaced for this one with matching Designo leather. Fixed under warranty.
4. Rear door (don't remember which one) opened (but still latched) twice within a week's timespan while vehicle was in motion, never happened again. Dealer refused to do anything since they couldn't replicate it. They couldn't have cared any lesser about owner experiences I shared with them on this issue.
5. Passenger seat started moving on its own. This one was a headache as dealer made me visit so many times to diagnose crap that they couldn't anyway. They eventually changed out the seat adjustment buttons on the door under warranty, which was my original suggestion. Too many visits for too simple a problem.
6. Rear view camera was too dark during night time, researched issue and made appointment for software fix. Then they said they would keep the vehicle overnight to diagnose and only then fix it the following day. Yay! more visits! I told them to consider my time and just update the firmware, which they begrudgingly did. It helped a LOT! This issue affects ALL GLs of that my model year. Not sure why they needed to diagnose this by keeping overnight.
7. Vibrations at 65mph+ only when engine cold, dealer said engine mounts could be the cause and replaced under warranty. Problem re-surfaced within a week. I doubt the dealer's competence on this one and dread more appointments.
8. I am close to my next service visit for 80K service. My passenger seat memory button #3 is stuck in the depressed position. Gotta get that checked out. This will most likely end up being 2 visits again........if I'm lucky.

Overall, I like that they at-least covered everything under warranty so far, but the only reason I've been able to get all this fixed on time and done properly is because I work from home. I feel bad for people with day jobs that have to deal with the non-service visits. MB really needs to value their customer's time lost because of issues. I have no suggestions for a better approach, but I can say at this point that there needs to be one. Also, my service advisor from one visit has already left the company by next visit. I wish they would keep the turnover to a minimum so customers have a chance to build a relationship with their SA. This is a dealer issue, but has affected my experience with MB for sure. There are other dealer issue I've stated before in other threads, so I'll leave them out for now. I will update this post if I remember anything else.

SndsoftheSbrbs

A 2014 Mercedes-Benz GL550 is not an X164. It is an X166.