Hello, we are in the market for a 2019 GLC and wanted to hear experiences from those that own one. I realize the 2018 is a refresh cycle but figured this has been out there since Fall 2017 so some may have 20-25k miles on it. Can folks please share their experiences it will help us in our decision as we plan on keeping it for at least 8 years and plan on purchasing the ELW. I realize US news gives it 4/5 however first hand experiences are usually more telling. Thanks

 

I've had my 2018 GLC300 4Matic since Dec 2017, and she has just over 30k miles on it. It's actually my wife's daily driver...and she likes to drive fairly aggressively (and tailgates, but that's a discussion for a happy hour.)
So far, here's what I've had done:
- 10k: replaced oil and filter
- 20k: replaced oil and filter, replaced engine air filter
- 24k: replaced run flat tires with Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring since the Pirellis were completely shot. I also had an alignment done as the wear on the Pirellis showed some uneven wear. New tires were a huge improvement and led to a much quieter ride.
- 25k: replaced cabin air filter

It's been rock solid for us so far.

Good luck on your purchase, and keep us informed on how it goes for you!

 

Great timing! My 2017 GLC just turned 100,000 miles and I plan to do a write-up on it for the forum soon. Unlike blockage, I've had a number of problems with it which I'll write more about in my post, but I'll post the bottom line now.

Your plan is a good one: get the extra warranties. The only suggestion I might make is to buy a low mileage CPO plus the extra warranties for a total of seven years unlimited mileage protection instead of six.If your car turns out to be anything like mine, you'll need it.

 

I have had my GLC since May of 2017. Unlike ChinaBob, I drive very little, currently just turned over 14,000 miles and 3400 of those where during a month long European Delivery. Other than standard maintenance and recalls I have not had a single problem. Even the Continental Tires still have a lot of miles left on them, unlike others that post on this site. Just anecdotal evidence from reading other posts seems to indicate the Continentals wear better than the Pirelli tires.

I'll be interested to read ChinaBob's report, with 100,000 miles his experience is most likely the most relevant to your question.

 

Rare to see another MB Euro delivery owner. Let along GLC. Where did you go for a whole month?

 

Started in Stuttgart of course, then the major city stops were Paris, Barcelona, Rome and back to Stuttgart. Lots of one and two night stays in small towns throughout. It was a blast, I even had fun driving in Paris and Rome. It is true what they say about Italy, the stop signs are just a suggestion. That is, if no cross traffic is close, then just keep driving without stopping.

 

While in some parts of Europe a traffic light changing from green to amber means 'slow down and prepare to stop ' here in Ireland it means ' speed up and get through before, or soon after, the light turns red'!

 

Amindu,
I feel it would be a solid decision purchasing a GLC. We have a 2016, which if I am not mistaken, has the same base engine as the new 2019's? Mercedes-Benz likes the engines enough that they have now added them to the 2017+ E-Class as well. I would search the forum for common problems. Every car out there (yes, Toyota and Honda I am even looking at you) is going to have issues over a long ownership. Mercedes-Benz vehicles have WAY more computers, microswitches, technology, and complexity than a lot of other brands. These are meant for safety, comfort, efficiency, handling, etc. And when you add those areas up, it's tough to beat a Mercedes-Benz. If you are looking to save money, then look elsewhere. When parts start aging, you will definitely spend a bit more to maintain it properly. Now with that big disclaimer out of the way, here is our experience with our nearly 40,000-mile GLC300 4Matic:

* brake squeal issue when reversing in cold ambient temperatures - covered under warranty, and they have modified the parts once or twice and the complaints of this issue have fallen dramatically from most
* check-engine light, which turned out to be something like a breather tube related to the PVC system - covered under warranty. I've been told this part has now been redesigned like the brake pads. This doesn't render the car inoperative, but obviously needs attention. The mechanic needs to remove a number of parts to get at this. In other words, it's about a $1300 fix and is almost all labor cost.
* Windshield wipers are known to not wipe as smooth as they should at less-than-highway speeds. The fix for me has been using denatured alcohol on the blades every month or two. No problems since.
* Extended-mobility tires just suck in general and will NOT give you a good ride. We switched out of them at 19,000 miles or so and went with a standard Continental tire. I added a GLK350 (2010-2015) model spare tire and emergency kit with inflator in the lower trunk for protection. We actually got a flat a few months after switching to this combination and used the spare tire. Mercedes-Benz is not the only company that utilizes the extended-mobility tires. As others will confirm, getting rid of them will improve the ride immeasurably.
* I've read about people having issues of the tires skipping and such during tight turns in rain and snow at slow speeds. In fact, I read there was a lawsuit in the UK or something. Here's what I have found: The front wheels on this car turn much more than any other car I've ever owned. This allows one to make a very sharp U-turn. BUT, you have to be careful with slick tarmac and NOT turn the wheel all the way to the limits when the tarmac is slick.
* You'll read about people not getting good rides. Most of the complaints are because people's tires are WAY overinflated. The recommended cold tire pressure is something like 46 for the rear and 38 for the front. I consulted with a dealer and we agreed 38 all the way around. Probably a bit less in the winter if driving in snow. 46 psi will guarantee you a rough ride.
* The transmission would lag when you coasted through a turn and then applied gas coming out of the turn. They fixed this with a software change a couple of years ago and should not be a problem on any of the 2018 or 2019's.
* Mercedes Me iPhone app is unreliable and slow, but every Mercedes-Benz owner can tell you this. They even sent an email out to owners to apologize for the app not being up to their standards. I've got it to work about 90% of attempts or more on remote starts, but the damn thing can take nearly 2-3 minutes to get the start signal to the car. With that said, a true car person will tell you that idling your car for more than a minute is not the best for your engine (or the environment). It dumps more fuel into your cylinder and enriches things a bit more than desired and reduces life of the engine. So, we don't use the feature unless we are coming to the car in sub-zero temperatures and it's been sitting all day or more. This isn't very often for us.
* The other thing I would recommend with these 4-cylinder turbo engines is change the oil more often than what the manual says. 10,000 between oil changes is too much in my opinion. The synthetic Mobil 1 oil used looks like water when it comes out at 10,000 miles - not good. I feel it is worth the long-term health of the engine to change the engine oil every 5,000 miles. If you don't drive much, never let the oil go more than 1 year between changes, as time can impact the quality of the oil as well.
* The engine from the outside sounds a bit like a diesel engine, albeit a quiet diesel. However, once inside the cabin, you won't hear a peep.
* Some people are annoyed by the run stop engine. You can deactivate it after every start, or purchase an OBD II chip off eBay for $100 or so and permanently disable it (although I would do this until the car is to of warranty, but that's just me). Putting that much wear on an engine with all of the extra starts just can't be good over a 15-year period. Not to mention the increased chance of having a starter motor replacement within 10 years.
Some are annoyed by the touch-sensitive controller AND a rotary knob. Personally, we went into Settings and disabled the touch-sensitive controller. It's nothing but a place to rest your hand while using the knob now. Not sure why Mercedes-Benz still has two controllers next to each other still.

Now for some positives:
I just drove home from work last night after midnight and drove near the speed limit (45-55 mph most of the way for an hour) and averaged 35.6 mpg in Eco mode. And that was even with the AC on for about the first 90% of the drive. So, if you drive slow and steady, this car is massively fuel efficient. Of course, I had the advantage of no traffic at that late hour. Wife averages about 23.5 mpg for her 4-mile trip to work on city streets (lots of stop signs and stop lights). Car gets about 28-29 mpg on the highway if you do 70 mph.
The car is VERY quiet. The front 3 panes of glass are "acoustic glass", which seems to help.
The doors close better than any door I've every closed in my entire life. This isn't on all Mercedes-Benz, mind you. The 2016 E-Class doesn't close as well. The 2014 S-Class doesn't close as well. Although the newer versions of these last 2 probably close as well as ours, there is something they figured out with the doors that they started doing on the recent few years of models.
The car makes a lot of little purrs and quiet motor and fan sounds as you leave it or even approach it. The tech in this car just amazes me.
The door hinges are bolted and welded - not normal for car companies to do that
The subwoofer speaker is mounted on the firewall above the driver's feet - brilliant.
The rear seats lay perfectly flat when you put them down. Why can't most car companies design this into their cars?

 

All thank you so much for your responses truly appreciate it. It is still in our top 3. Thanks again

 

I have a 2018 with 15K miles on it and so far so good. Getting ready to do the "B" service and my only real gripe with it is changing the brake fluid. At less then two years old, I'm confidant the brake fluid is fine but what can you do?

Dennis P.

 

Tell them you want to do Service A again. Brake fluid is fine 30-40k miles. Change outside cabin air filter under passenger side hood its easy look on YouTube cost 15 bucks from amazon to get a Mann cabin air filter. It’s the same one Mercedes charges 75 dollars. The Inside cabin air filter under passenger footwell is fine let them change that when you do the 40k mile Service B. Trust me save some money and do the Service A now.
And at 50k miles change engine air filter by yourself 10 minutes to change again look on YouTube. Dealer wanted $150 to change. Mann air engine filter on Amazon 20 dollars.

 

I had a 2016 GLC300. The squealing brakes never got completely fixed. Also:
The satellite radio wouldn't work some mornings. Fix: Turn the car off, get out, lock it, walk far enough away the car doesn't sense the key, get back in, it works.
3 times one of the front parking lights came on while parked in my carport at night.
A clattering noise developed in the dash behind my left air vent on cold mornings, like a vent valve or door was trying to open. Lasted maybe 2 minutes then went away.
Light behind my fuel gauge was too bright, one behind temp. gauge too dim.

I assumed this might be because 2016 was the first model year and mine was one of the first built (my previous lease was up). When the GLC lease was up, I went to a 2019 GLE 400 (I had leases 3 MLs before the GLC). .

 

The noise behind the outboard air vent is a known issue. Took to dealer under warranty and it was fixed. They just had to add grease to something...it's been silent for a year since the grease was added.