When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
My 2015 GL63 briefly misfired on Monday and produced code P0357. It's currently at the service center and they found "oil in the engine harness." The car is at 42k miles now. Can anyone speculate?
My 2015 GL63 briefly misfired on Monday and produced code P0357. It's currently at the service center and they found "oil in the engine harness." The car is at 42k miles now. Can anyone speculate?
@SndsoftheSbrbs Yes, this is unfortunately not uncommon. Oil wicks via capillary action into the harness, starting at the leak source and going into the harness. One leak point that is mentioned is the cam position sensors/solenoids. On some models/engines, a jumper (extension) harness is a fix. Search will bring it up. I'm not convinced this issue is 100% fatal in all circumstances. Many of the Mercedes connectors are disassemble-able. If the oil penetration is found early enough, and the connectors are thoroughly cleaned with contact cleaner, in my view a solution could be at hand. The leak also needs to be corrected, which is a separate project.
@SndsoftheSbrbs Yes, this is unfortunately not uncommon. Oil wicks via capillary action into the harness, starting at the leak source and going into the harness. One leak point that is mentioned is the cam position sensors/solenoids. On some models/engines, a jumper (extension) harness is a fix. Search will bring it up. I'm not convinced this issue is 100% fatal in all circumstances. Many of the Mercedes connectors are disassemble-able. If the oil penetration is found early enough, and the connectors are thoroughly cleaned with contact cleaner, in my view a solution could be at hand. The leak also needs to be corrected, which is a separate project.
It's so weird because this car has been so problem-free. It was last at the dealer in June for new tires, and a comprehensive inspection was done in December. They didn't report any leaks or anything.
It's so weird because this car has been so problem-free. It was last at the dealer in June for new tires, and a comprehensive inspection was done in December. They didn't report any leaks or anything.
@SndsoftheSbrbs It doesn't surprise me that the dealer didn't mention a leak. My dealer didn't mention obvious leaks at the cam covers and cam position sensors/solenoids, and between the engine and transmission. My experience is that the dealer ignores obvious warranty defects like this, in order to leave them an opportunity for repair work after warranty expiration. Also, they pushed back on my complaint about leaks until I provided information from another member on this site, that M-B covers the leak I complained about under warranty. Sorry if this sounds negative. It's been an appalling experience for me, dealing with my dealer. Others on this site post similar experiences.
Do some searching and you will see the oil-in-the-harness problem. Your engine/vehicle may have a field remedy available.
I just got a misfire code and checked the two cam shaft sensors for leakage. I had a dealer mechanic tell me they should be replaced as maintenance. Mine are dry, so it must be something else. . It would take about 10 min to replace them.
The code is for one of the coils failure. Could be faulty coil or faulty wiring (but i would doubt it). These ***** diagnosting oil in engine harness in every car they work on to rip of customers or insurance.
The car had a slight stutter and the code went away. 5he stutter may have been a function of the traction control, I was accelerating through a downhill curb.
It would be great if there were a way to get a bluetooth obd code reader to see what is going on live.
2013 GL450, 2023 Tesla Model Y LR, 2024 Outback L XT
The Autel AP200 is relatively inexpensive and reads vehicle specific codes. but it is tied to your phone and you can get the software for vehicle make. Using it on a different make will cost you 10 bucks.
Seen this issue discussed extensively on W212 pages. I made this pic showing that it's easy to see the common leak areas that affect the oil in harness problem from the top of the engine. This is the M278 550 biturbo engine. GL63 and the 450 V8 turbo engines would be similar variants of this engine. These sensors and solenoids are right on top, both sides of engine. I do my own oil changes and basic maintenance, so I check around these frequently for any signs of oil leak.
Seen this issue discussed extensively on W212 pages. I made this pic showing that it's easy to see the common leak areas that affect the oil in harness problem from the top of the engine. This is the M278 550 biturbo engine. GL63 and the 450 V8 turbo engines would be similar variants of this engine. These sensors and solenoids are right on top, both sides of engine. I do my own oil changes and basic maintenance, so I check around these frequently for any signs of oil leak.
This area also leaks on the M276 DE35 non turbo variant, but harness issues related to oil penetration seem less frequent. It could simply be time, meaning in the future the M276 will experience oil-in-harness. I will give this area a thorough look through and keep and eye on it.
Any Mercedes engine with variable cam timing (all recent and current engines) are potentially prone to this phenomenon.
This is great information. I had oil in all my camshaft sensor connectors after checking. CPO covered changing all of them.
Anything else I should check out before my CPO expires in December?
so far:
1) cylinder 5 miss fire, engine out replacement of cylinder sleeves/pistons
2) transmission, transfer case - full replacement
3) rear door actuators failing/not working
4) 360 camera module went out
5) bunch of recalls
This is great information. I had oil in all my camshaft sensor connectors after checking. CPO covered changing all of them.
Anything else I should check out before my CPO expires in December?
so far:
1) cylinder 5 miss fire, engine out replacement of cylinder sleeves/pistons
2) transmission, transfer case - full replacement
3) rear door actuators failing/not working
4) 360 camera module went out
5) bunch of recalls
@Chedman13 Regarding the cam sensor connectors, did you get the sensors replaced, or the harness (connectors), or something else?
This is great information. I had oil in all my camshaft sensor connectors after checking. CPO covered changing all of them.
Anything else I should check out before my CPO expires in December?
so far:
1) cylinder 5 miss fire, engine out replacement of cylinder sleeves/pistons
2) transmission, transfer case - full replacement
3) rear door actuators failing/not working
4) 360 camera module went out
5) bunch of recalls
Dang, that's some terrible luck. Maybe the engine / cylinder issues are on the AMG variant of the engine, putting out more power from essentially the same engine design. My E550 M278 has no issues at 103K miles. The only thing I could mention is that the turbos have always made the clatter noise at cold start since I bought it at 65K miles.
@Chedman13 Regarding the cam sensor connectors, did you get the sensors replaced, or the harness (connectors), or something else?
You seem to be an expert! Here is my receipt, appreciate the help. Maybe you can make more sense of this. If this was just a "band-aid" let me know and I'll ask my dealer to try and do more.
Dang, that's some terrible luck. Maybe the engine / cylinder issues are on the AMG variant of the engine, putting out more power from essentially the same engine design. My E550 M278 has no issues at 103K miles. The only thing I could mention is that the turbos have always made the clatter noise at cold start since I bought it at 65K miles.
I agree - but the positive is I have a lot of brand new parts for "free" (covered under CPO). I haven't added it all up yet, but I think it's close to $30,000+ in warranty work. ELW CPO paid for itself...
I'm hoping no more major issues and just your "standard" AMG repairs.
The repair bill says they replaced all 4 cam sensors and cleaned the harness of any leaked oil. Sounds like they believe it was caught in time to be able to clean the end / connectors of the harness.
The repair bill says they replaced all 4 cam sensors and cleaned the harness of any leaked oil. Sounds like they believe it was caught in time to be able to clean the end / connectors of the harness.
Thanks! I know they said they checked the ECU and they found no oil there. So am I good? I hear once it reached the ECU you have to replace the whole wiring harness and ECU which is engine out warranty.
I agree - but the positive is I have a lot of brand new parts for "free" (covered under CPO). I haven't added it all up yet, but I think it's close to $30,000+ in warranty work. ELW CPO paid for itself...
I'm hoping no more major issues and just your "standard" AMG repairs.
That's why I'm good with the 550 model and don't want to mess with AMG costs. On my E550 I never even tap the full stock power, only once I've taken it to the drag strip. My daily driving consists of mostly 30mph speed limits in urban streets, with one short stretch of 45mph where I might gun it if I get stuck first in line at the light. Now with work from home I barely even drive it.
That's why I'm good with the 550 model and don't want to mess with AMG costs. On my E550 I never even tap the full stock power, only once I've taken it to the drag strip. My daily driving consists of mostly 30mph speed limits in urban streets, with one short stretch of 45mph where I might gun it if I get stuck first in line at the light. Now with work from home I barely even drive it.
The Master MB Tech tried to explain it to me - something about the manual press when they push in the cylinder sleeve into the M157 engine was off - so it wasn't pressed in all the way correctly in Cylinder 5. So anyone who used that machine will eventually have a leak in the M157 engine - which has happened 2-3 times at my dealership, all around 50k-70k miles.
I believe I got all new pistons and a bunch of new parts as my entire engine was out (PS there was a lot of carbon build up so it was nice to get them replaced).
My car is never raced - it's a family hauler=) I'm pretty sure my wife has never even taken it out of comfort mode.
This is apparently a widespread problem for Mercedes across models and engines. As far as I have read, the root cause seems to be the cam position sensor, which itself is exposed to oil and does not prevent the oil from passing through itself and into the harness, where it is taken up via capillary action and ultimately finds its way into the engine ECU.
I just checked my 2017 W166 with M276 DE35 with 50k miles and can’t easily remove a connector to get a good look. The passenger side exhaust cam sensor is accessible if I remove the air filter housing. I will do this when I have time and report the results.
The Master MB Tech tried to explain it to me - something about the manual press when they push in the cylinder sleeve into the M157 engine was off - so it wasn't pressed in all the way correctly in Cylinder 5. So anyone who used that machine will eventually have a leak in the M157 engine - which has happened 2-3 times at my dealership, all around 50k-70k miles.
I believe I got all new pistons and a bunch of new parts as my entire engine was out (PS there was a lot of carbon build up so it was nice to get them replaced).
My car is never raced - it's a family hauler=) I'm pretty sure my wife has never even taken it out of comfort mode.
Sound like your mechanic bs you a lot. Sleeves are no pressed in Alusil blocks. Technically there are no sleeves unless someone trying to rebuild trashed engine block.
You seem to be an expert! Here is my receipt, appreciate the help. Maybe you can make more sense of this. If this was just a "band-aid" let me know and I'll ask my dealer to try and do more.
Interesting that the new sensors put into the engine are 276-905-10-00. Four of them, which means they are the same for left and right intake and exhaust cams. I just checked EPC and this is the same part number for the cam position sensors for the M276 DE35 3.5L non turbo engine.
The current sensor 276-905-10-00 was preceded by 276-905-11-00. It's an interesting project to see the earlier history of the ***-11-00 sensor. If someone has the 11-00 sensor, it seems like it would be a good preemptive move to change to the 10-00 sensor.
Interesting. I used a VIN for a 2014 GL63 from Cargurus, and plugged it into EPC. It appears as if Mercedes knew they had a problem with the sensors, based on the revision history.
A2769050143 (original sensor installed at the factory) replaced by A2769050800 from engine 60012750 from date 15/5/2012
A2769050800 replaced by A2769051100 from engine 60012750 from date 15/5/2012
And the above service invoice suggests **1100 was replaced by **1000.
Does anyone know when the earliest example of oil in the harness was experienced? Was it on an E-Class W211 or W212? It doesn't seem to be mentioned much on the W166 sections of this site.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
