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I just got a call today from the dealer telling me that my 2020 GLE that's had so many issues since leasing last Sept actually had paint sprayed on all the wiring (it was painted after wiring instead of before). They are rewiring everything but have to take a lot apart to do so. My old post is not too far down with a list of the issues in case anyone else is having the amount of issues I was. I'll post again when I get the car back to see how many of those issues go away once they make this fairly big repair.
Not sure what sort of lemon laws Texas has and how they would apply to a lease, but I'd want nothing further to do with that car! It almost sounds like a salvage vehicle.
Not sure what sort of lemon laws Texas has and how they would apply to a lease, but I'd want nothing further to do with that car! It almost sounds like a salvage vehicle.
I just got a call today from the dealer telling me that my 2020 GLE that's had so many issues since leasing last Sept actually had paint sprayed on all the wiring (it was painted after wiring instead of before). They are rewiring everything but have to take a lot apart to do so. My old post is not too far down with a list of the issues in case anyone else is having the amount of issues I was. I'll post again when I get the car back to see how many of those issues go away once they make this fairly big repair.
Hope the info is helpful to someone!
kudos to the quality control crew at Alabama in case they are reading...
Call me skeptical, but it sounds to me like your vehicle was repainted and then passed to you as new. Most dealerships and paint shops have a small handheld device that they can use to test paint thickness that will tell if it has been repainted.
kudos to the quality control crew at Alabama in case they are reading...
Incredible at this price tag.
Exactly. MB pumping out these SUV's like candy. They slap an MB badge on it, add a bunch of fancy tech, charge a premium and done. ML/GLE lines have always been riddled with inconsistency. Need to get lucky when you purchase, as you can easily find yourself at the shop regularly. Never surprised with these threads.
Call me skeptical, but it sounds to me like your vehicle was repainted and then passed to you as new. Most dealerships and paint shops have a small handheld device that they can use to test paint thickness that will tell if it has been repainted.
I agree, either damaged and repainted or maybe an excuse. The Assembly line is fixed in the way vehicles are produced. The painted shell is done first....you can watch the process in numerous YouTube videos.
I would start by questioning the painted wires story on its face. I don’t see how painted wires would cause a problem? It’s possible that paint could cause a short circuit but that wouldn’t be intermittent. More likely an electrical component might be damaged but that wouldn’t require replacing the wires. Now if paint got on the exposed wire ends before assembly that’s possible but could be removed easier than replacing them.
Something doesn’t add up, IMO.
I agree, either damaged and repainted or maybe an excuse. The Assembly line is fixed in the way vehicles are produced. The painted shell is done first....you can watch the process in numerous YouTube videos.
I would start by questioning the painted wires story on its face. I don’t see how painted wires would cause a problem? It’s possible that paint could cause a short circuit but that wouldn’t be intermittent. More likely an electrical component might be damaged but that wouldn’t require replacing the wires. Now if paint got on the exposed wire ends before assembly that’s possible but could be removed easier than replacing them.
Something doesn’t add up, IMO.
Agreed. Another thing is I believe that all new car manufactures use an electrostatic paint process where the paint is given a positive charge and the vehicle is at negative potential. The paint is attracted directly to the vehicle and there is no over spray.
I just got a call today from the dealer telling me that my 2020 GLE that's had so many issues since leasing last Sept actually had paint sprayed on all the wiring (it was painted after wiring instead of before). They are rewiring everything but have to take a lot apart to do so. My old post is not too far down with a list of the issues in case anyone else is having the amount of issues I was. I'll post again when I get the car back to see how many of those issues go away once they make this fairly big repair.
Hope the info is helpful to someone!
@tjobi Have you seen the painted wires? Do you have a photo that you can post on this thread? This makes no sense at all. It is a very large red flag. As commented above, vehicles are painted before wiring is installed. Your comment needs significant clarification.
Not trying to jack the post.... my whole front passenger side door panel just came off with a pull to close the door.....See my post......
Just saw that, unreal. I don't care what anyone says, year one GLE's are no different than year one ML's, just loaded with issues and poor build quality.
Call me skeptical, but it sounds to me like your vehicle was repainted and then passed to you as new. Most dealerships and paint shops have a small handheld device that they can use to test paint thickness that will tell if it has been repainted.
It had 9 miles on it when I bought it from the swankiest corportate MB dealership in Houston. To be fair, they said it was all the connectors that had paint on them so they had to take out interior seats and carpet to get all connectors clean of any paint. So far, so good. But I'm taking her on a road trip to Dallas this weekend so we'll see if anything weird comes up.
@tjobi Have you seen the painted wires? Do you have a photo that you can post on this thread? This makes no sense at all. It is a very large red flag. As commented above, vehicles are painted before wiring is installed. Your comment needs significant clarification.
According to the dealership, it was the wire connectors that had paint on them. The order says they removed carpeting and seats then checked and cleaned paint off of connections that had paint. Something to do with robotics at factory. I accidentally deleted the text with the link to the work order report but just asked them to send a new one. I'll post here as soon as I receive that for clarification! So far, working great again minus just the door locks (unrelated and known issue).
I agree, either damaged and repainted or maybe an excuse. The Assembly line is fixed in the way vehicles are produced. The painted shell is done first....you can watch the process in numerous YouTube videos.
I would start by questioning the painted wires story on its face. I don’t see how painted wires would cause a problem? It’s possible that paint could cause a short circuit but that wouldn’t be intermittent. More likely an electrical component might be damaged but that wouldn’t require replacing the wires. Now if paint got on the exposed wire ends before assembly that’s possible but could be removed easier than replacing them.
Something doesn’t add up, IMO.
Paint was on wire connectors and was removed after taking out seats and carpet. Something about the robotics at factory. Working great so far (over a week) and driven a lot since getting it back. Will post work order report here with error codes and notes from dealer once they resend it. I accidentally deleted when trying to get it for y'all!
For those of you requesting the service receipt on the paint on ground wires of my car, here it is....had some trouble getting a copy of it from dealer.
Paint was on wire connectors and was removed after taking out seats and carpet. Something about the robotics at factory. Working great so far (over a week) and driven a lot since getting it back. Will post work order report here with error codes and notes from dealer once they resend it. I accidentally deleted when trying to get it for y'all!
I’m at a loss for how this could happen, unless there was repair work done at some point, When the body shell goes through paint it is bare of any equipment or wiring,.
I’m at a loss for how this could happen, unless there was repair work done at some point, When the body shell goes through paint it is bare of any equipment or wiring,.
Yes, the dealership was surprised also. They said robotics were the only explanation. Good news so far is - it's been working fantastic since the repair. Fingers crossed.
Maybe they mean the grounding point?
After the car is painted, I assume there is a process to remove the paints around the grounding point to allow for a good contact between the wiring and the chassis.
I would think a painted over grounding wires wouldn't cause any issue if the connector is making good contact between it and the chassis, but if the paint on the chassis around that grounding point wasn't removed when installing the grounding wires, it would cause issue as the wire/connector isn't making good contact.
Maybe they mean the grounding point?
After the car is painted, I assume there is a process to remove the paints around the grounding point to allow for a good contact between the wiring and the chassis.
I would think a painted over grounding wires wouldn't cause any issue if the connector is making good contact between it and the chassis, but if the paint on the chassis around that grounding point wasn't removed when installing the grounding wires, it would cause issue as the wire/connector isn't making good contact.
If you scroll up a few posts here I posted everything the service dept did and they refer to multiple "grounds" and they had to take apart the inside of the car to remove paint from all of them. I am not very knowledgeable on how they all work, but they did say it was more than one ground wire connector. I think at the connectors of the grounding wires, paint can cause a short? Someone else who knows more about power could probably explain better, but this is how they explained it to me and I understand it. Posting for anyone else having strange battery and power issues.
If you scroll up a few posts here I posted everything the service dept did and they refer to multiple "grounds" and they had to take apart the inside of the car to remove paint from all of them. I am not very knowledgeable on how they all work, but they did say it was more than one ground wire connector. I think at the connectors of the grounding wires, paint can cause a short? Someone else who knows more about power could probably explain better, but this is how they explained it to me and I understand it. Posting for anyone else having strange battery and power issues.
I think this is what they mean:
(not mercedes but just grounding in general)
Cars use the car chassis as the grounding (negative). Instead of having all the wires from all the electronics connected to the battery negative, they all connect to the car chassis. Then near the battery, there is a wire connecting the car chassis to the battery negative terminal.
In order for the grounding point to work correctly, it must have good contact between the connector (the metal "ring" you see in the picture) and the car chassis. If there is an layer of paint in between, the wire connection will work poorly or not work at all.
Most factory (I believe) after painting the car (since all wires are connected after the painting), they have a separate process to remove the paint around the grounding point so that there is a good contact between the wire connector and the car chassis. So I believe what most likely happen in your case, is that process wasn't done correctly (or possibly missing all together), which create a poor/non-functional grounding point.
See also the attached document which your service report refers to. Bottom of page 1 has a suggested remedy in case chassis grounds are painted over:
Disconnect and inspect all chassis grounds such as W15/5, W15/7, W16/3, W16/4, and W16/5. If painted over, remove all paint such that ring terminal can press flush against bare surface.
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