When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Reset your TCU and you'll get your response back. This is a normal thing with Mercedes Transmissions. Specially if more than one person drives the car. It's just due from the system learning the driving habits of the driver(s).
On mine, a 2014 E 350, here is the procedure I do. Typically have to do it a few times a year when I start to feel it getting a little sluggish and lumpy.
Car completely off - press gas peddle to the floor and hold it there.
Turn ignition on to last point of starting the engine (where your a/c fan turns on). Keep holding that gas peddle down all the way to the floor.
Sit with the peddle to the floor for about 60 seconds.
Keep peddle to the floor, turn off the car..... then release the peddle.
Let it sit for a few minutes before you restart the car.
Mine is keyless, so it's two hits of the start button. The car won't start with the gas peddle down. It will only start if you have the brake pressed, so no worries there on this procedure.
What should happen is the TCU basically resets back to blank/factory. No "learning" in it's memory bank.
Take it for a spin and be aggressive (but not stupid aggressive) for the first few minutes.
You should immediately feel a difference after you've reset it. Should feel a good bit smoother, but the lumpiness will indeed return. But now you know the free trick to reset in less than a couple of minutes time! Makes a big difference in mine, and I can tell when it needs it because the transmission wants to race to the tallest gear possible, causing the lumpiness.
I will say, I recently had my engine mounts and transmission mount changed, along with the transmission fluid/filter replaced and the rear differential gear oil replaced (I'm at 50k or so on the clock). That made a very nice difference as well. Tightened everything back up. I had some lumpiness in the gear box/drive line that turned out to be some sogginess in the trans mount and was wiggling around. I could hear a rumble/vibration ever so often when it would go into 5th gear on a gentle acceleration that lasted for a split second but would reverberate throughout the car. Ended up metal contacting metal on the mount.
But reseting the TCU is a huge help regardless of anything. A great little trick!
On mine, a 2014 E 350, here is the procedure I do. Typically have to do it a few times a year when I start to feel it getting a little sluggish and lumpy.
Car completely off - press gas peddle to the floor and hold it there.
Turn ignition on to last point of starting the engine (where your a/c fan turns on). Keep holding that gas peddle down all the way to the floor.
Sit with the peddle to the floor for about 60 seconds.
Keep peddle to the floor, turn off the car..... then release the peddle.
Let it sit for a few minutes before you restart the car.
Mine is keyless, so it's two hits of the start button. The car won't start with the gas peddle down. It will only start if you have the brake pressed, so no worries there on this procedure.
What should happen is the TCU basically resets back to blank/factory. No "learning" in it's memory bank.
Take it for a spin and be aggressive (but not stupid aggressive) for the first few minutes.
You should immediately feel a difference after you've reset it. Should feel a good bit smoother, but the lumpiness will indeed return. But now you know the free trick to reset in less than a couple of minutes time! Makes a big difference in mine, and I can tell when it needs it because the transmission wants to race to the tallest gear possible, causing the lumpiness.
I will say, I recently had my engine mounts and transmission mount changed, along with the transmission fluid/filter replaced and the rear differential gear oil replaced (I'm at 50k or so on the clock). That made a very nice difference as well. Tightened everything back up. I had some lumpiness in the gear box/drive line that turned out to be some sogginess in the trans mount and was wiggling around. I could hear a rumble/vibration ever so often when it would go into 5th gear on a gentle acceleration that lasted for a split second but would reverberate throughout the car. Ended up metal contacting metal on the mount.
But reseting the TCU is a huge help regardless of anything. A great little trick!
^This 100%^ Oh, and nc211, I saw you mentioned that your system is Keyless go. The push button to start is literally just a button lol If you pull on it, it'll pop out, and you can put in your normal key as well. To make it keyless again, you just have to put that button back in, and push down all the way to re-sync.
@chassis here is also a good video I found that help explain the TCU and it's reset if you're more curious about it as well
New tires today, at 40,000 miles. There was about 1/32" left to the wear bar. I probably could have gotten another 1,000 miles on them. So that is a data point. This is the lowest mileage I have achieved on tires in 38 years of driving. The old tires were factory original Continental Cross Contact LX Sport in 265/45 size with 20 inch wheels. I bought the vehicle with 3,000 miles on the tires, and they were slappy and harsh from the beginning. Also, with the factory inflation pressure of 32 or 35 psi, they looked visibly underinflated and I experienced uneven wear across the face of the tire. Increasing pressure to 45psi cold cured the uneven wear.
The new tires are Continental Cross Contact LX 25. I chose them for better tread wear (longevity). Visually they seem to have far deeper tread than the LX Sports did when nearly new at 3,000 miles. The new tires have 11.5/32" (9.1mm) of tread depth. Interestingly, the tire shop aired them to 50psi without me asking for this. I will leave the pressure unchanged and see how the fuel economy and wear performs.
Time for the 40,000 mile oil change, which I will schedule next week or the week after.
Aston Martin Vantage, GLE 43 AMG, Volvo XC60, BMW X1 35i, Ram 1500, BMW Z4 35i
I've had good luck work Michelin Defender LTX Tires... my 2017 GLE has new 21" pirelli scorpion tires... I'll run then for about 10k miles to see how well they perform..
had continental's on BMWs and never was satisfied with ride nor perfomance and wear
Took the vehicle in for a 40,000 mile oil change. All good. The local dealer has no loaner or shuttle service, the reason given is the pandemic. So I brought the laptop and did my normal morning routine while waiting in the service reception area. One hour later I was back in the vehicle.
The vehicle was on a lift for most of the time it was in the shop. While I didn't put my eyes on oil draining from the vehicle, my take is that they drained the oil from below. Has anyone seen the dealer drain oil from below on a W166? To my knowledge, WIS states to suction the oil from the dipstick tube. My 2017 M276 engine has a dipstick and tube. I know the new inline six cylinder is a from-below oil drain procedure.
I gave the driveline and suspension a fairly careful visual inspection a few days ago, to see if anything needs to be corrected under the remaining warranty. I haven't found anything so far. The auxiliary/booster water pump below the main coolant reservoir and under the left (driver's side in North America) headlamp seems to be weeping or fluorescing coolant. I will mention it to the dealer but not hopeful for a remedy, based on a similar experience with small engine oil leaks that were denied repair.
The new tires are great so far. New tires are always a treat. The true test, for me, will be mileage achieved. I want to achieve 50,000 miles on these tires, and 60,000 miles would be nice.
I have ordered the cabin dust filter and carbon filters, and will change them myself. I have used up the prepaid maintenance contract, and will now use the dealer for engine oil changes and maintenance I don't want to do myself. I am a pretty advanced DIYer, but the desire to do the work is less than what it was in the past. I can envision changing all wipers, air filters, axles and transfer case oil myself.
I will leave transmission oil, brake fluid and spark plug replacement to the dealer.
I have two bikes in the back of the vehicle now, for an upcoming ride. They fit with no problem, with the seats folded down.
Took the vehicle in for a 40,000 mile oil change. All good. The local dealer has no loaner or shuttle service, the reason given is the pandemic. So I brought the laptop and did my normal morning routine while waiting in the service reception area. One hour later I was back in the vehicle.
The vehicle was on a lift for most of the time it was in the shop. While I didn't put my eyes on oil draining from the vehicle, my take is that they drained the oil from below. Has anyone seen the dealer drain oil from below on a W166? To my knowledge, WIS states to suction the oil from the dipstick tube. My 2017 M276 engine has a dipstick and tube. I know the new inline six cylinder is a from-below oil drain procedure.
I gave the driveline and suspension a fairly careful visual inspection a few days ago, to see if anything needs to be corrected under the remaining warranty. I haven't found anything so far. The auxiliary/booster water pump below the main coolant reservoir and under the left (driver's side in North America) headlamp seems to be weeping or fluorescing coolant. I will mention it to the dealer but not hopeful for a remedy, based on a similar experience with small engine oil leaks that were denied repair.
The new tires are great so far. New tires are always a treat. The true test, for me, will be mileage achieved. I want to achieve 50,000 miles on these tires, and 60,000 miles would be nice.
I have ordered the cabin dust filter and carbon filters, and will change them myself. I have used up the prepaid maintenance contract, and will now use the dealer for engine oil changes and maintenance I don't want to do myself. I am a pretty advanced DIYer, but the desire to do the work is less than what it was in the past. I can envision changing all wipers, air filters, axles and transfer case oil myself.
I will leave transmission oil, brake fluid and spark plug replacement to the dealer.
I have two bikes in the back of the vehicle now, for an upcoming ride. They fit with no problem, with the seats folded down.
I'm still surprised to not see anything in the Service Information booklet or the Operator's Manual on a recommended method of changing oil, but I did my 60,000 myself old-school from the drain pan. I've seen info online and know that through the dipstick method is popular, but I believe getting sediment and particles out is more important than just getting all the old oil out.
The belly pan (8 bolts I believe) is super easy to remove and having it off exposes parts normally hidden that I can now see and address if a problem is noted. I wanted an original filter with a dealer receipt while it's under warranty (just to avoid a potential argument "if" something happened) and the one I purchased from made it sound like everyone who bought a filter also got a copper washer too. There is a small and a large washer used and I had traced it out ahead of time so even though I didn't know it would help ahead of time, I still went home with the right one.
I had heard from a co-worker who knew a MB mechanic that some, not all dealers, use the dipstick for oil changes to save time and not because it's considered better.
Thanks for the update on tires chassis. We'll see how towing is on tire wear to see if I will need to replace the Dunlops that came with my CPO GLE350 this year or next summer. It will be good to hear how the treadwear is as I have an expectation of 50-60,000 mile tires for what they cost too.
Today at 42k miles I changed the cabin dust filter and two activated carbon filters. There are videos on YouTube and threads on this site that show how to do it. Very easy, 15 minute job, going carefully.
I ordered parts from mercedesbenzstarparts.com, reasonable price but with the pandemic nonsense FedEx fumbled the delivery date. In retrospect I should have gotten the filters from the local dealer, to keep the relationship going and even if they charged a higher price it would likely have worked out the same total cost.
I will post part numbers later. I found it easiest to remove the large rubber hood gasket first, this makes removing the plenum cover panel very easy and no bending of the panel is required. The dust filter itself is easy to replace. The carbon filters are easy to remove, but need some finessing and scrunching to install. That was the hardest part of the job.
Separate topic, when the plenum cover is removed, the corner bulkhead panel becomes easy to remove, which creates a method to rotate the engine air filter housing up and out without removing the Clic-R clamp on the throttle body.
The photo shows the plenum cover and HVAC inlet duct removed. The dust filter is visible, behind which are two adjacent carbon filters. The large rubber hood gasket is shown removed, and if you are looking closely in the flesh, you will see two screws that, when removed, allow the corner bulkhead panel to be removed.
After 14 months of owernship, a report is submitted herewith. I will update this over time.
Vehicle: 2017 W166 GLE350 4MATIC with P2 package, trailer hitch, LED lights, and Parktronic, standard steel spring suspension with 20" 5 spoke wheels. Black exterior and black MB-Tex interior. I purchased the vehicle pre-owned with 3,000 miles on it, and it has been dealer serviced during my ownership. It is now coming up on 30,000 miles.
Overall, I really enjoy this vehicle. I came out of a 2011 VW TDI Touareg that I put 238k miles on. I use a vehicle for highway cruising, both for work and for family trips, so comfort at speed and luggage capacity are priorities. Towing is another priority, because I pull a 3,000lb boat a few times each year. I have run several vehicles beyond 200k miles, and am familiar with what it takes to achieve high mileage, and I choose vehicles based on the potential to achieve high mileage. I prefer the German design ethos in vehicles, and have several German brands in the family fleet.
The GLE350 is a comfortable highway cruiser; it swallows up luggage, and tows a boat well. Suspension and seats are excellent for long 700 mile trips at 70mph-80mph. The climate control and infotainment systems do their jobs well. Towing is a very stable and secure experience, with capable steering and plenty of power. The Mercedes exterior appearance, while subjective, is a positive for me. Quality of materials and interior design are excellent, and body rigidity is very good. MB-Tex seating surfaces are rugged, comfortable, attractive and easy to clean. Subtle details like placement, direction and intensity of interior lighting are pleasant surprises. Use of interior dome and reading lights by passengers is possible, without detracting from the driver's night vision. This vehicle seem like it will be reliable, based on only one warranty claim so far - for a cracked wood door trim panel.
One of my favorite features of the vehicle is the harman kardon audio system - it rocks.
A few characteristics are, for me, neutral and unimpressive. The M276 3.5L naturally aspirated V6 gets 22mpg on the freeway, in the best of conditions. This is not impressive. I use 93 octane fuel, exclusively. Braking power when towing leaves something to be desired. The 7G-Tronic can be clunky in certain situations. 20" wheels and tires are not comfortable on poor surfaces, I know of no other way to say this. The Conti Cross Contact LX Sport tires have mediocre, at best, tire wear.
In summary, I am a generally satisfied owner, and see that this vehicle can run beyond 200k miles, with the necessary maintenance that all vehicles require.
Here are the parts I ordered from mercedesbenzstarparts.com, which is actually a Mercedes dealer in northern California that operates an online parts e-commerce site.
Part Number Part Name Price
166-830-72-01 Cabin Air Filter $51.24, qty 1, contains 2 carbon filters needed for the job
166-830-02-18 Cabin Air Filter $17.15, qty 1, contains 1 dust filter needed for the job
Two items to order, containing a total of three filters - 2 carbon filters and 1 dust filter. This is not entirely clear in the online parts diagrams.
Photo of boxes and old filters. The dust filter needed to be replaced, it was dirty. The carbon filters looked ok but also hard to tell, because they are gray to begin with.
Completed an 1,800 mile trip. I’m now pretty settled in with this vehicle. It took a while because for the past 18 months I have driven fewer miles than in recent years. This seems to be changing, meaning higher mileage looks to be in the near and medium future.
The Conti LX25s are excellent. Strong recommend.
Fuel economy is borderline poor. Not surprising but worth noting.
I will order Clic-R pliers and buy the engine air filter from the dealer, it’s time. Also almost time for 50k mile service which I think includes spark plugs. I’m 90% sure I will have the dealer do the plugs although I enjoy DIY.
The 7G-Tronic is poor, particularly the off throttle 4-3 downshift on deceleration. The only time the 7G does anything well is under acceleration with the gas pedal almost to the floor. Very poor job, Mercedes.
I used the MFD to deactivate attention assist. This was partially successful. It eliminated the interruption of the COMAND screen, but the annoying message still appeared in the MFD and needed to be dismissed. Poor job, Mercedes.
Seats are a high point for me. MB-Tex is excellent in my opinion. I am 6’ tall and at target BMI, so I fit in the seats well (my opinion). A high BMI or very small person will have a different view.
Summary: I like this vehicle, but don’t love it, yet. MB has not yet earned my business for the next vehicle. I will not touch the V167 GLE with a 10 foot pole because of their launch issues and MB’s generally poor customer treatment.
Leading candidates for me:
Porsche Cayenne
BMW X5
Toyota 4Runner
Porsche Panamera —> only if I sell the boat
BMW X3 M40i —> only if I sell the boat
MB is doing a great job at making sure existing vehicle owners never buy an other Mercedes again.
I agree, unfortunately. I really want to love this vehicle. But with the transmission clunks, weeping oil from a low mileage engine, poor dealer support, and horror stories posted on this site, I am not able to love the vehicle at this point in time.
The brand is not living up to its claim of best or nothing. Not by a long shot.
There are a number of features in M-B vehicles that are better than most or all other brands. But the overall ownership experience has not been the best so far.
14 gas ML350 4matic (basically a GLE) with steel springs. Handling of a BMW? No! Quickness of a Porsche/Audi? No! However in 100,000 miles, it has not given me any issues and is about as reliable as you will get in a German SUV. It is comfortable, well built and and solid and I feel good whenever my wife and kids drive off in it away from me. That’s what matters most.
MB is doing a great job at making sure existing vehicle owners never buy an other Mercedes again.
Originally Posted by chassis
I agree, unfortunately. I really want to love this vehicle. But with the transmission clunks, weeping oil from a low mileage engine, poor dealer support, and horror stories posted on this site, I am not able to love the vehicle at this point in time.
The brand is not living up to its claim of best or nothing. Not by a long shot.
There are a number of features in M-B vehicles that are better than most or all other brands. But the overall ownership experience has not been the best so far.
I'd have to disagree with both of y'all. Maybe it's because I have the 450 Coupe in regards to the ML line specifically, but my experience with all my Mercedes' has been nothing short of pure excellence. This includes trips to the dealer for all sort of items. Stretching all the way back to my first 87 560SL and to my current, this brand has won my loyalty with every vehicle. I'm sorry y'all haven't had a similar experience, but I do agree with their slogan every time I get into my car or think back on the memories of my prior Benz's.
@Skyline45 The common theme through many of the comments is that the W166 platform is better-than-average reliable, for Mercedes. It seems that you are having a good experience with the W166 GLE450 coupe. Not surprising, because of the W166 and M276 reliability.
Do you have oil weeping/sweating from cam sensors/adjusters or into the transmission bell housing at the rear of the engine? How does the 9G-Tronic downshift with throttle off when coasting to a stop?
Another point people are commenting on, and one that is disappointing for me, is inconsistent experience across M-B models, and even inconsistent experience within the same model. Inconsistency is the very definition of poor quality. M-B is does not have their arms around their own business.
After 14 months of owernship, a report is submitted herewith. I will update this over time.
Vehicle: 2017 W166 GLE350 4MATIC with P2 package, trailer hitch, LED lights, and Parktronic, standard steel spring suspension with 20" 5 spoke wheels. Black exterior and black MB-Tex interior. I purchased the vehicle pre-owned with 3,000 miles on it, and it has been dealer serviced during my ownership. It is now coming up on 30,000 miles.
Overall, I really enjoy this vehicle. I came out of a 2011 VW TDI Touareg that I put 238k miles on. I use a vehicle for highway cruising, both for work and for family trips, so comfort at speed and luggage capacity are priorities. Towing is another priority, because I pull a 3,000lb boat a few times each year. I have run several vehicles beyond 200k miles, and am familiar with what it takes to achieve high mileage, and I choose vehicles based on the potential to achieve high mileage. I prefer the German design ethos in vehicles, and have several German brands in the family fleet.
The GLE350 is a comfortable highway cruiser; it swallows up luggage, and tows a boat well. Suspension and seats are excellent for long 700 mile trips at 70mph-80mph. The climate control and infotainment systems do their jobs well. Towing is a very stable and secure experience, with capable steering and plenty of power. The Mercedes exterior appearance, while subjective, is a positive for me. Quality of materials and interior design are excellent, and body rigidity is very good. MB-Tex seating surfaces are rugged, comfortable, attractive and easy to clean. Subtle details like placement, direction and intensity of interior lighting are pleasant surprises. Use of interior dome and reading lights by passengers is possible, without detracting from the driver's night vision. This vehicle seem like it will be reliable, based on only one warranty claim so far - for a cracked wood door trim panel.
One of my favorite features of the vehicle is the harman kardon audio system - it rocks.
A few characteristics are, for me, neutral and unimpressive. The M276 3.5L naturally aspirated V6 gets 22mpg on the freeway, in the best of conditions. This is not impressive. I use 93 octane fuel, exclusively. Braking power when towing leaves something to be desired. The 7G-Tronic can be clunky in certain situations. 20" wheels and tires are not comfortable on poor surfaces, I know of no other way to say this. The Conti Cross Contact LX Sport tires have mediocre, at best, tire wear.
In summary, I am a generally satisfied owner, and see that this vehicle can run beyond 200k miles, with the necessary maintenance that all vehicles require.
@Skyline45 The common theme through many of the comments is that the W166 platform is better-than-average reliable, for Mercedes. It seems that you are having a good experience with the W166 GLE450 coupe. Not surprising, because of the W166 and M276 reliability.
Do you have oil weeping/sweating from cam sensors/adjusters or into the transmission bell housing at the rear of the engine? How does the 9G-Tronic downshift with throttle off when coasting to a stop?
Another point people are commenting on, and one that is disappointing for me, is inconsistent experience across M-B models, and even inconsistent experience within the same model. Inconsistency is the very definition of poor quality. M-B is does not have their arms around their own business.
No, I'm not having a good experience, but the best car ownership experience I've ever had lol. And I've owned a fair amount of vehicles in my life, not just in the Mercedes brand. Maybe I'm lucky, but out of the other Benz owners I know irl, only one person has issues. And it's on her GLS. I'm not saying I haven't had any issues, I have but all minor. Though, every time my dealer has taken very good care of me. From making sure I have a rental, to communicating what's wrong, their action plan, and the cost of services before they are rendered. The last two Mercedes I've had I didn't even buy from them, but their level of service never degraded.
For your oil question, no. There are no mechanical issues to date. The only thing I've had to take the Coupe in for is a warranty items on the spoiler coming off and the heated/cooled cup holders. No, the transmission shifts fine in all modes of Comfort, Sport, and Sport+. Sport+ is where the car really shines and the transmission feels quick and smooth when railing through gears. Though, my previous E series had this issue with the 7-GTronic. It was resolved though by a TCU reset and a software update, which I believe I've mentioned on this forum before. This is actually a very common "complaint" among most Bez models because of the way the transmission "learns" the way "we" drive. And by "we" I mean anyone in the driver seat, and this is where the TCU gets confused if there are multiple daily drivers/new owners.
As far as the inconsistency among models, this is not new. I remember my grandfather mentioned getting a 280SE way back in the day, and hated every minute of it. The AC never worked, always in the shop, and ect. And let's just gloss over the who AMG plague too if your motor was hand built. Mercedes ownership isn't for everyone. I mean the whole "A" series was supposed to be the "Mercedes for everyone" here in the states, and come to find out they're made in Mexico with Mexican quality parts and wiring. I drove one as a rental one time, and was insulted that they thought it was OK to put the Mercedes badge on that thing. I also think you would be hard pressed to find any car manufacture have the level of consistency among all of it's fleets that you're looking for. All cars take on a life of their own and with it comes their own personalities. All in all, I'm sorry to hear your experience with the brand has been sub-par. While I do love my GLE450, and it being my favorite Benz I've owned, these are not German built vehicles, but are made in Alabama for here in the states. Which nothing against Alabama as I do love my current Benz, but I will agree German built Mercedes that actually come from Germany do seem to hold more true to the quality you seem to be looking for.
Last edited by Skyline45; 07-12-2020 at 02:44 PM.
Reason: Spelling >.<
The biggest disappointment has been the poor transmission performance. Very clunky, rough, jerky shifting. I expect my transmission to shift smoothly on $75,000 vehicle. If my $30K Toyota can do it, so should Mercedes. Now, it’s acceptable to have issue, as long as MB addresses and fixes them. Apparently none exist to this day from Mercedes. Jerky shifting is something we have to get used to, since there’s no fix or software solution. Thank goodness we have choice and is someone doesn’t threat you right, you go straight over to the competition.
Most of your issues seem to be with poor dealer support (possible in ALL car brands) or brand of tires. My transmission doesn’t exhibit your same symptoms. Are there numerous posts on this transmission issue? Have you driven a comparable GLE to see if it behaves the same before trashing Mercedes? Could be as simple as a TCU reset, software update or replacing the fluid in the trans.
You are looking for the efficiency and cost of a Toyota in a Mercedes Benz it ain’t happening. Don’t be disappointed because YOUR expectations were false. Stop going to the overpriced dealer for unnecessary services and find a good German Indy shop. Get in a major car accident and tell me afterwards whether you’d rather be in a Toyota or in a Mercedes Benz? Fuel economy won’t matter at that moment!
The grass is always greener in the other yard....until you get in the other yard.You think the “competition” don’t have issues? You’re in for a surprise!!
The biggest disappointment has been the poor transmission performance. Very clunky, rough, jerky shifting. I expect my transmission to shift smoothly on $75,000 vehicle. If my $30K Toyota can do it, so should Mercedes. Now, it’s acceptable to have issue, as long as MB addresses and fixes them. Apparently none exist to this day from Mercedes. Jerky shifting is something we have to get used to, since there’s no fix or software solution. Thank goodness we have choice and is someone doesn’t threat you right, you go straight over to the competition.
@Roni07 Have you attempted a TCU reset or had another dealer that's actually franchised by MBUSA check for a software update? The issue you describe is certainly not acceptable, but is one that is very common amongst Mercedes. It's not technically an issue, because usually it's from the TCU being confused as to your driving style. This is why it's needed to be reset. Specially if there are multiple daily drivers of the vehicle or if you're the new owner. Here is a video I posted earlier that help explains this and will also show you the procedure so you can do it yourself. Once done, the Mercedes will reset it's learning algorithm, and your shifts will also change accordingly.
And you're certainly correct that you have a choice to switch to a different brand. I'm sorry you feel your experience has been sub-par, but Mercedes ownership isn't for everyone. If you're more prone to Toyota, there's nothing wrong with that. I have a very good friend who is a 4Runner fanatic, and has an amazing vehicle. The difference is he wants a rugged vehicle, while I prefer a more refined vehicle.
For me the bottom line is, I’m ok paying $75K for any vehicle brand but reliability, quality and ownership experience must be as high as the price tag. I’m from the EU and know what MB stood for. There was a reason why most large EU cities had Mercedes taxis 🚖. Longevity and reliability was the key, of course you can’t have longevity without quality. I’m afraid this is no longer the case for Mercedes.
I had a “popping” sound in the front end of the suv, ever time I went over a ramp. Had to go to the dealer 3 times and had their expert tech ride with me. It turned out to be a “loose chassis bolt”. This to me was an indication that Mercedes factory QC must be something of the past. I thought to myself “ I’m sure it’s not just one”. Sure enough, shortly after other “loose bolts were discovered under the drivers seat that the dealer had to go under and re-tighten everything. To me this is simply unacceptable,
For me the bottom line is, I’m ok paying $75K for any vehicle brand but reliability, quality and ownership experience must be as high as the price tag. I’m from the EU and know what MB stood for. There was a reason why most large EU cities had Mercedes taxis 🚖. Longevity and reliability was the key, of course you can’t have longevity without quality. I’m afraid this is no longer the case for Mercedes.
I had a “popping” sound in the front end of the suv, ever time I went over a ramp. Had to go to the dealer 3 times and had their expert tech ride with me. It turned out to be a “loose chassis bolt”. This to me was an indication that Mercedes factory QC must be something of the past. I thought to myself “ I’m sure it’s not just one”. Sure enough, shortly after other “loose bolts were discovered under the drivers seat that the dealer had to go under and re-tighten everything. To me this is simply unacceptable,
Honestly, sounds like you have a lemon if it's really giving you that much trouble. Again, sorry that your experience with the brand is sub-par but I'm on my 4th Mercedes and have loved every single one of them. Your experience also sounds nothing like my own or other I know irl. Or maybe the Mercedes that come to the states are better somehow? Like I said before, this brand isn't for everyone. It sounds like you should just sell it and move on lol
The US built MB's have been light years more reliable than the German built ones I've owned. The one exception is the E55. It's been darn solid with the only major repair being a transmission at +200k miles.
06-09-2020, 05:52 PM
