Thinking of buying 2017-18 GLE
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e500
Thinking of buying 2017-18 GLE
My wife just had her 2018 Q7 totaled in an accident. She loves the Q7 but in my opinion nothing but headaches. I'm thinking of buying a GLE between 40K-60K miles. I was curious if current owners can comment on reliability and there experience with the GLE as the miles add up. I suspect the GLE is a much more reliable vehicle than the Q7? Thanks in advance.
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From: Chicago, U.S.A.
2016 GLE 350 4-Matic
Do a search in this forum for this thread and you will see lots of good information
2017/18 GLE350 reliability
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From: unbegrenzt
2017 GLE350 4MATIC
My wife just had her 2018 Q7 totaled in an accident. She loves the Q7 but in my opinion nothing but headaches. I'm thinking of buying a GLE between 40K-60K miles. I was curious if current owners can comment on reliability and there experience with the GLE as the miles add up. I suspect the GLE is a much more reliable vehicle than the Q7? Thanks in advance.
The 3.5L NA engine is solid. The 17/18 years are beyond early build year chain tensioner issues. All MB engines from this time frame are susceptible to oil leaks from front cylinder head covers, cam sensors and cam magnets.
The above mentioned oil leaks are addressable and not fatal if caught early enough. Open the cam position sensors on any GLE you are considering to see if oil has started to leak. It’s fixable at an Indy shop or DIY.
The rest of the W166 is solid: body, suspension, steering, brakes, interior, audio, etc.
The 7G-Tronic transmission must have oil changed every 50k-60k miles. Otherwise it gets clunkier and balkier than it normally is (it can be clunky when new).
Overall a great vehicle. Not perfect but as close to perfect as MB can muster.
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Joined: Oct 2023
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e500
Late model W166 with M276 engine (GLE350 and GLE400) are among the most reliable MBs in the last 15 or more years. I ran one to 105k miles and it was free of major problems. All German cars have smaller problems that Japanese brands generally are devoid of.
The 3.5L NA engine is solid. The 17/18 years are beyond early build year chain tensioner issues. All MB engines from this time frame are susceptible to oil leaks from front cylinder head covers, cam sensors and cam magnets.
The above mentioned oil leaks are addressable and not fatal if caught early enough. Open the cam position sensors on any GLE you are considering to see if oil has started to leak. It’s fixable at an Indy shop or DIY.
The rest of the W166 is solid: body, suspension, steering, brakes, interior, audio, etc.
The 7G-Tronic transmission must have oil changed every 50k-60k miles. Otherwise it gets clunkier and balkier than it normally is (it can be clunky when new).
Overall a great vehicle. Not perfect but as close to perfect as MB can muster.
The 3.5L NA engine is solid. The 17/18 years are beyond early build year chain tensioner issues. All MB engines from this time frame are susceptible to oil leaks from front cylinder head covers, cam sensors and cam magnets.
The above mentioned oil leaks are addressable and not fatal if caught early enough. Open the cam position sensors on any GLE you are considering to see if oil has started to leak. It’s fixable at an Indy shop or DIY.
The rest of the W166 is solid: body, suspension, steering, brakes, interior, audio, etc.
The 7G-Tronic transmission must have oil changed every 50k-60k miles. Otherwise it gets clunkier and balkier than it normally is (it can be clunky when new).
Overall a great vehicle. Not perfect but as close to perfect as MB can muster.
