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One case out of tens of thousands doesn’t prove anything.First cylinder head issue I’ve heard of.
My GLE 350 4matic cylinder head failed at 29K miles. It was replaced under warranty. This is not an isolated incident. My SA told me the M264 engine is known to have this problem. In my opinion, MB should offer the extended warranty to any vehicle that has this engine.
My GLE 350 4matic cylinder head failed at 29K miles. It was replaced under warranty. This is not an isolated incident. My SA told me the M264 engine is known to have this problem. In my opinion, MB should offer the extended warranty to any vehicle that has this engine.
There are enough issues with them to make you worry a bit.
We have a 2019 GLC300. It's perfect for my wife's Daily.
It's reputation didn't cause us to get rid of it after the factory warranty. We just have an extended warranty and don't worry about it.
(I'm more worried about not having a spare, since we got rid of the run flats right away. But not enough to buy a spare, for our use.)
the big thing I'm learning from my SA is don't cheat on service intervals/fuel quality and for gawd sake change the plugs at 50K. Remember it is an overpowered engine luggin around a 6600 lb. vehicle. and turbined to boot. On the 350's think oe them as a luxury minivan and drive it as such. I saw a tear don't of an engine with 57K miles on it. and you can tell it was abused big time. Spun bearings on the crankshaft and sign of pre ignition on the piston and scored cylinder walls. The funny thing was the oil looked fine. Those of us that have them, just don't push them like a 6 cylinder.
Last edited by FireRx Captain; Dec 14, 2024 at 09:42 AM.
We also had an issue with our 2020 Mercedes GLC300 ... with just over 50k miles we had to replace a cylinder head and because the vehicle was just 3k out of warranty we had to pay the bill to the tune of $7,358. Apparently this is a "known issue" with this engine (in not only SUVs but also Sedans) yet it has not been a formal "recall" by Mercedes. Mercedes offered up $1k to assist but would not stand behind their vehicle and pay for the repairs! Very frustrating and very expensive indeed! The worst part is that I was out of town on my own and had to leave the vehicle for 2+ weeks at a local dealership for the repairs and then go back and pick up my vehicle 8 hours from home! Did Mercedes do anything to help? No they did not!
We would be curious who else has had this issue on their vehicle, either inside the warranty time frame or outside of it?
I just started searching for messages about this topic as it recently happened to me. 2020 GLC. 40,000 miles and 4 months past the 4 year warranty. Engine starts to idle rough out of nowhere, quickly followed by check engine light. Was 1200 miles from home. Went to Mercedes dealer in town I was visiting. The only 2 error codes said the same thing. "Cylinder 2 misfiring beyond acceptable limits". Service writer said I needed a new cylinder head. Total cost over $12,000. I asked why not new spark plugs or a new ignition coil. His answer was "because Mercedes HQ said to replace cylinder head for this code". I shipped car back home at great expense. My own mechanic running tests. Mercedes dispute specialist said it's out of warranty and not their problem. Meanwhile, I heard they extended warranties on engines for GLA and GLB, but not GLC. They know it's defective, but refuse to take action to protect their customers. Should have stayed with a Lexus.
I have been reporting in the 2 other threads reporting cylinder head issues, but I wanted to bring attention to this on another thread and highlight a few points, plus ask a few questions. I am attaching my invoice for reference.
- I was shocked to see the labor price at $6436.88 and would like to know if anyone is clued into the hourly rate. Is it fixed or dependent on the tech? Does each location choose their own rates, and does MBUSA regulate that in any way?
- I took my vehicle in for diagnosis on 2/26/24 already knowing the codes but had to have them diagnose and the next day I received the estimate for cylinder head replacement and was told there could be additional problems after, but they hoped the cylinder head replacement would fix the other codes (Control unit fuel pump, Control Unit Drive Train, Transmission Control for 9-speed transmission).
I left a message with my SA on 2/27 asking for the results of the compression test, and asked what other diagnostics were ran. He called on 2/28 and said since there was a misfiring in different cylinders it proves it is definitely the cylinder head. I asked if they checked the injector, the plugs, and other components and I never got a straight answer from him. He also claimed that they run more extensive tests with their Xentry system. Meanwhile, I was told he would get me all of the logs so I could have all of the info I needed and then I didn't hear from him again.
Finally, on Monday 3/4/24 I called to follow up and ask about the tests and when he called back, I felt like I was given a bunch of lines, plus he told me it would be 3 more labor hours to run the tests I had asked about. I had a ton of questions that he was not prepared for so he connected me with the tech, and we spoke for about 15-min. I have all of these calls recorded, but the tech said it was a misaligned valve seat that is a manufacturing defect made worse over time. He was super positive about this being a "GREAT" vehicle after dropping the money on the new cylinder head.
I called the Indy shop I had gotten the original diagnosis from to talk to the SA there and he had been getting a quote ready for me, but I wanted to know what diagnostics they actually did so I could make the best decision. He said the moved the plug to isolate the problem to cylinder 3 and put a borescope into the compartment to verify if the valve seal was sealing and they confirmed it was bent, and they ultimately gave me the confidence to believe the cylinder head was the full problem. They charged me nothing for this work,
I did not agree to the job until 4:35 pm on 3/4/24 and the job was completed (per the paperwork) by 3/5/24 @ 3:58 pm.
My SA called on 3/5 @ 4:04 pm to tell me my vehicle should be ready tomorrow and that my tech was working really hard to get it completed quickly so he can go on vacation (makes me feel really great about that). He also said great news he was able to get some discounts and the price would only be $10K When he called, I would assume the vehicle was already complete.
3/6 @ 12:50 pm: My SA calls to tell me the vehicle is complete, and I can pick it up whenever. I asked for the invoice, and he gave me the run around about the system being down and he would just email it; however, I never received it.
3/7 I ask about the invoice a few times; he tells me the price will be $9983.94 but does not send. Finally, @ 5:04 PM after talking about the invoice several times he finally sends it, but says the discounts are not on there until I come in to pay. At this point, I politely brought up the idea of a Goodwill request, and he said no because the Tech was working on your vehicle really late because you needed your vehicle back (probably forgot he told me about the techs vacation). He went as far as to send pictures of the engine out at 10 pm, but the time stamp was 5:55pm on 3/4.
With the very small amount of time my vehicle was actually worked on, how can the labor be nearly $6500? If he worked for 24-hours straight the labor would come out to $268, but we all know that was not the case.
I would love to hear any thoughts on this. It seems like everyone with this issue is quoted a large range in pricing, but I want to put my pricing out there and see what others have paid or been quoted. It should be illegal for vehicle service techs to be commission based.
If you have had this issue, please report you concerns to the NHTSA (I think that is the correct spot, and if not, someone tell me where to report this). We need to stand up and push Mercedes to make the GLE a part of the extended warranty coverage they have already afforded to the GLA, GLC, GLB, and A-Class. Additional test, not sure what this means, but somehow this says I need the cylinder head or a mixture bank. The SA was jumping back and forth.
This just happened to me on Xmas Eve in my 21 CLA 35 46k miles. Early this month had $3k in pads, rotors, etc. done I’m now getting my car shipped back to Florida and figuring out how the hell I’m going to get covered under warranty / trade this car in ASAP.
I have a cert pre owned GLE 350 2021, and a Model Y.
SO far the MB has been trouble free, but man seriously compared to Tesla, the MB is just prone to wild service bills, I am afraid.
But the wife can't stand to drive Tesla. There is nothing like MB luxury inside the Tesla, either.
But still, self driving, even with its faults, makes me take the Model Y on daily work commute, every day.
Same situation here. Wife hates the Tesla, loves MB luxury.
Same situation here. Wife hates the Tesla, loves MB luxury.
The Tesla will have lower service bills than most other vehicles, not just a Mercedes. That said, the longer I own my Model Y, the more I hate it. The menu system is overly complex and simple things like changing the channel on the entertainment system take too many swipes and clicks. I bet a significant portion of Tesla accidents involve someone trying to do something that should be simple and spending too much time heads down, looking at the screen.
Just had cylinder head replacement on 2021 gle 350- work order attached
I didn’t know this car had the same issue across the board until I started researching it because it happened to me. I heard the service advisor say it was $15k in repairs but thankfully I have an extended warranty.
attaching what they actually did for my car. If anyone knows anything was this all necessary? Also… they never test drove it bc it was same miles in and out so I just question the integrity.
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