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I am happy to report that our 2013 GL 350 rolled over the 200K mile mark several weeks back. My parents purchased this vehicle new, and my wife and I purchased it from them in 2019 (at 115,000 miles).
My parents had the vehicle serviced exclusively at the dealer and followed Mercedes’s maintenance schedule. Personally, I have performed the maintenance and most repairs myself. I was mostly a beginner when I purchased the vehicle, and I have learned a lot from working on it. I have followed the following maintenance schedule:
3-4K mile OCI’s (Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30)
Fuel filter and engine air filters every year (with turbo and intake seals/O-rings)
Driveline fluids every 30K miles
CCV assembly every 100K miles
Coolant every 30K miles
Brake fluid every 2 years
My mindset with the vehicle is to drive it - a lot. We are careful to take a long trip at least once per month. The vehicle sees mostly highway driving (it is my wife’s daily driver).
Two big repairs that we had the dealer do were the oil cooler seals & leaking injector (132K miles) and AC compressor (199K miles).
The other “non-routine” repairs that I have DIY’d are listed below:
Radiator (189K miles)
One wheel bearing (171K miles)
One CV axle (192K miles)
Oil filter housing (157K miles)
Rear air bags and shocks (150K miles)
I overhauled most of the front suspension earlier this year when replacing the CV axle (upper & lower control arms, ball joints, sway bar links, and outer tie rods).
Some interesting details about the vehicle:
It still has the original front air struts! (Probably will need to be replaced soon.)
It has ACS (code 468), and the system has had no issues or faults. That is remarkable to me, and it is impressive how the system impacts handling.
The average fuel consumption for us is 24.7 mpg (26-27 highway mpg still blows my mind).
I expect the next repair will be motor and transmission mounts.
The GL has been an awesome vehicle for our family. My wife loves it as her daily driver, and to me it is the best road trip vehicle. We have taken good care of it, and of course we have had good luck, too. At this point, it doesn’t owe us anything. We plan to keep it as long as it is reasonable. The parts are expensive, but to this point it beats purchasing another vehicle. I am a huge fan of the chassis and powertrain, and we hope for many more miles!
Last edited by mercbusky; Dec 28, 2025 at 04:49 PM.
Yes, it's always great to share and read success stories! I really love the x166 chassis. I feel like it is robust and rewarding to drive. I recently had a '25 GLE 350 loaner, and I preferred the x166 (the current inline four motor is quite a let down).
I like both the OM642 and M278. My dad had an S-class (W222) with the M278, and man - that motor was just proper. Unfortunately for the M278, it looks like the bore scoring is the biggest threat to high mileage (based on what I've read).
I have grown to really love the OM642. It for sure has its problems (and the emissions equipment is always the elephant in the room), but that thing just works. I do think the commercial use of Sprinter vans has also helped a lot with support of the motor, too.
Last edited by mercbusky; Dec 30, 2025 at 04:29 PM.
I too have a 2013 GL350 and have done all of the stuff on your lists. I did switch over to Delvac 1 ESP 5W-40 when I purchased the GL @ 96k. I know that’s not the right stuff but I’m way more interested in engine protection than DPF protection especially since there are now aftermarket DPF options. I know the cost per mile is a little higher than other cars but I’ve had great success with mine. I’m not sure of the mileage since the gauge cluster crapped out at somewhere around 280k miles about a year and a half or so (time flies). I think the mileage is around 315k.
If you keep up with your current maintenance rituals you’ll get a bunch more miles out of her. To me it’s a known car and if you were to buy a replacement you’ll be spending $8-1000 a month for a replacement anyway so why not spend it on a comfortable car that you like.
I’m so hooked on them I just bought a 2015 GL350 with 130k miles. It took me 6 months and a bunch of looking but I found a one owner, 100% dealer maintained LOADED one. Distronic, massage seats, trailer hitch. Plus the previous owner pretty much did everything the service advisor suggested (brake fluid flushed 6 times in 11 years, trans service @ 66k & 123k, transfer case and differentials at the same time. The only negative is it was an in town car and only serviced every 10k and has some sludge (took off the inspection pan to have a look). That was a gamble I was willing to take. I’ll run the Delvac and it’ll clean it up over time since I drive 30-40k miles a year.
I look forward to keeping up with how your GL does but I’d say you’ll be fine doing what you’re doing.
Awesome! Glad to hear both of your diesels have been solid. 315K miles is great! Out of curiosity, I have a few questions for you about it:
1. Is it on the original turbo?
2. Any injector replacements or regular cleaning?
3. Have you regularly cleaned the intake manifolds?
In my mind, I feel like the biggest catastrophic threat to the engine (outside of hitting a deer) would be having a turbo grenade itself or having an injector stick open and melt a piston. I know these are regular issues on the domestic diesel trucks, but not sure how common on the OM642.
I understand your decision to switch to the Delvac. I know choice of oil is heavily debated and people tend to have strong opinions about it.
I agree with you on keeping these vehicles long term (within reason, of course). The devil that you know! You know how it has been maintained, and it definitely beats purchasing a new vehicle. Pretty cool how well these trucks perform at this age, too.
Looking forward to following how your two GL’s continue to rack up miles!
I've had a bunch of gas-powered MB's, well over 1 million miles, and all have been dead solid reliable engine wise. It's everything else that goes bad. I avoided the M156 and M278 as I knew those had serious issues. Even the bi-turbo V12's engines I owned were reliable with the exception of the coil packs.
I've had a bunch of gas-powered MB's, well over 1 million miles, and all have been dead solid reliable engine wise. It's everything else that goes bad. I avoided the M156 and M278 as I knew those had serious issues. Even the bi-turbo V12's engines I owned were reliable with the exception of the coil packs.
Awesome! Love reading success stories. That is also a testament to you doing a great job maintaining your vehicles, so well done.
Out of curiosity, what has been your favorite MB vehicle and (if different) your favorite MB engine?
Yes, as much as I love the M278, I wouldn’t consider owning a vehicle with that motor long-term.
I hope that the current M256 proves to be solid (I have no experience with it yet). Unfortunately, I’m skeptical based on how the M254 has turned out. I do wish MB still offered diesel motors in the US.
As much as I love MB, I also love BMW, and I firmly believe BMW has better powertrains currently in production. I would be much more inclined to go with a B48 or B58 than M254 or M256.
X164 GL450 I took to almost 300k miles before it died. It flooded after the windows rolled down by themselves in a torrential rainstorm from water getting into a SAM. The 164 has some serious leak points that flood the car where electronics are exposed.
Favorite GL/GLS is 166 GL63. I have about 140k miles on it, and it still runs like a raped ape. Favorite MB engine would have to be the bi-turbo 12's but would never own another ABC equipped vehicle. The ABC suspension is the car's Achillies heel and will bankrupt you if you take it to a dealer and not DIY. Most reliable and cheapest AMG to own is probably the W210 E55.
I do love the gas 166's as I currently have three of them. They are safe, well built, and so far, all have been durable and relatively trouble free.
X164 GL450 I took to almost 300k miles before it died. It flooded after the windows rolled down by themselves in a torrential rainstorm from water getting into a SAM. The 164 has some serious leak points that flood the car where electronics are exposed.
Favorite GL/GLS is 166 GL63. I have about 140k miles on it, and it still runs like a raped ape. Favorite MB engine would have to be the bi-turbo 12's but would never own another ABC equipped vehicle. The ABC suspension is the car's Achillies heel and will bankrupt you if you take it to a dealer and not DIY. Most reliable and cheapest AMG to own is probably the W210 E55.
I do love the gas 166's as I currently have three of them. They are safe, well built, and so far, all have been durable and relatively trouble free.
Thanks for sharing!
Sad to hear about your x164 - what a shame! I didn’t know about the leaking issues on the x164s. Good to know.
The GL63 sounds like a blast! Is that the M157? Definitely a goal of mine to have an AMG one day (probably will be a retirement thing for me).
Yes, totally agree on the ABC suspension systems.
For your other gas x166’s, glad to hear they have been solid! Are they the M276 or M278?
Awesome! Glad to hear both of your diesels have been solid. 315K miles is great! Out of curiosity, I have a few questions for you about it:
1. Is it on the original turbo?
2. Any injector replacements or regular cleaning?
3. Have you regularly cleaned the intake manifolds?
In my mind, I feel like the biggest catastrophic threat to the engine (outside of hitting a deer) would be having a turbo grenade itself or having an injector stick open and melt a piston. I know these are regular issues on the domestic diesel trucks, but not sure how common on the OM642.
I understand your decision to switch to the Delvac. I know choice of oil is heavily debated and people tend to have strong opinions about it.
I agree with you on keeping these vehicles long term (within reason, of course). The devil that you know! You know how it has been maintained, and it definitely beats purchasing a new vehicle. Pretty cool how well these trucks perform at this age, too.
Looking forward to following how your two GL’s continue to rack up miles!
So sorry I’m just seeing this post.
I have replaced the turbo but the issue was a weird one. The hole that the vane actuator arm goes through got “wollered” out and I got tired of smelling exhaust in the cabin. The turbo worked just fine.
The injectors are fine. I have (1) that has a high trim number when stone cold (2.1mm) but once it gets 1/2 way warmed up they are all pretty close to each other with the highest trim being +0.88 and -0.57, engine runs smooth.
I had to do the oil cooler seals at around 150’ish and my mechanic cleaned the intake and they have been working fine since (weren’t stuck then). As a matter of fact I was changing that dam# fuel filter last week I took a long screwdriver and moved the swirl-flap actuator. Everything seemed to be just fine, no binding & no CEL so I’m going to say all good.
I did have a flipping plastic fitting break going down the interstate. It was to the right of the turbo looking at it from the front. Judging by the size I’d say it fed the heater core. That was a catastrophic failure and believe it or not I fixed it beside the road and kept on riding. I’m not removing the piece of copper tubing I used either. I also finally broke that little line that goes from the thermostat to the radiator & the expansion tank. It should be here in a few days.
Transmission shifts great, rides great, good mileage, just a nice car. I don’t think it cost any more than currently available junk on the market to own. The days of adding fuel, changing fluids & doing brakes are over for them all.
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