Hey all,

I have a '13 GL450 V8 with 85k miles and I'm trying to figure out whether to hold on to it or sell it for something more reliable. I'm coming off a '02 Audi Allroad MT6 which I drove to 160k so I'm a big fan of driving European cars way into the 100k mile mark but I'm just not as familiar with the GL and I don't know what might go wrong next. That's where you all come in :-)

Aside from local grocery trips, the main purpose of our GL is to transport my family (wife, 3 and 7 yo kids, large dog), from SF Bay Area 3-5 hrs to Tahoe. We're avid skiers and there are always a few 5-7 hr drives in the winter during full-on blizzards. Breakdowns are really not an option because we have young kids and AAA is already maxed out pulling Miata's out of snowbanks.

I bought the vehicle at 45k where it had been meticulously serviced at the dealer. AFAIK, it spent the first 30k of its live in the DC area. Since then, I've used a well-respected indy and brought it in for all the services that lit up on the dash. When an airbag started leaking 10k ago, I replaced all four including the struts.

Last summer, an o-ring on the coolant hose near the radiator went and I limped into an indy in Truckee, CA. It was a quick fix but two weeks later, a coolant hose just popped off shortly after driving and drained coolant into my driveway. No biggie -- the guys at the the shop didn't attach it tightly enough (?) and I just re-attached it.

Then, another coolant hose failed -- this time the plastic nipple that inserts into the hose broke off so I had to tow it to my shop. Luckily it exploded in my driveway again.

The vehicle is not garaged and I'm sure that contributes to parts getting brittle over time but still. This all seems odd.

Suggestions on what might go bad next? I've read a number of posts here that say once you figure out the initial bugs and get to 100k, the next 100k are smooth sailing. I like the sound of that.

My indy suggests they pressure test the coolant system to see if they can get something to fail but you just never know.

Apologies for the long post but I know you all love details!

 

Is this a V8 or V6?

 

V8. I added it to the original post

 

I bought my '14 GL450 as a CPO with 43K on the clock. At 89k I traded it for a '17 GLS550 CPO with 43k on the clock. The '14 had a left front thump while driving. Dealer put it up on the lift twice and could find nothing wrong. The engine was developing a ticking sound when starting. The tranny sometimes wouldn't upshift, and it would downshift when coasting downhill. Since 2 of these items were constantly noticeable, and with the 278 engine being suspect at 100k, I dumped it. Yes, the '17 has the same motor, but I intend to have the oil changed more than once a year. Will likely average 8k or less yearly now.

 

Have you had sensor issues yet? From oil in the engine harness? If you haven't had that yet, that's my guess for "what will go bad next". Search around here for how to check for the oil, what sensors to replace, and how to clean the oil out of the harness.

 

Oil in harness from compromised cam position sensors and cam magnets. Extensively written about on this site.

Cylinder scoring, a hallmark feature of this engine. Use a borescope now, or when you change spark plugs next.

 

My 2013 GL450 has 156K on the odometer now. Daily errands, plus a few long trips every year - picking up and dropping off kids in college. At about 140K the chain in the transfer case started skipping - this was the first major problem since new. Replaced the transfer case with a rebuilt one, the cost was about $1,500. Plan to drive it to at least 200K

 

What were the symptoms you noticed when the chain started skipping?

 

It started manifesting one day on hard acceleration up the hill. Left the gas station, hit the gas to get to speed and felt harsh vibration, accompanied by noise and lack of acceleration. Hard to describe, but felt exactly like you would expect the skipping chain to feel. I drove it for a few thousand miles after that, as it happened right as I had to drive the kids to colleges AND move from NJ to NC. As long as I didn't accelerate hard from the stop, the car drove fine.

 

This is great. Thanks all! It doesn't sound like any of these issues are catastrophic. In other words, I should be able to get to get home and limp into the indy.

Has anyone else had random coolant hoses/connections fail? That feels like a hairy one. I believe I drove my Allroad until it was 15 years old and I don't recall hoses failing out of the blue.

 

Definitely going to have the coolant lines fail. They get extremely brittle due to heat and age. When one goes just replace them all as well as the coolant reservoir as they will all start to fail soon after so might as well do it all while you have the coolant out. Not extremely difficult other than getting the fittings off the turbos but if you take your time you will be able to get it off. When mine failed I did all 5 lines, Thermostat, reservoir, serpentine belt, idler pulleys, as well as the upper radiator hose.