Ha! No, I'm pretty easy on my car. I bought it out of my dealer's loaner vehicle fleet with 4900 miles on it last September. They did the service A on their dime when I bought it so I wouldn't be back in 5-6 months needing service. Plus I'm sort of old-fashioned on my oil changes so I didn't mind fresh oil in a new engine after it's first 5,000 miles anyway. My car has a Sept. 2010 production date so when I bought it in Sept. 2011 it was already a year old and with only 4900 miles on the clock it seemed the car spent more time sitting than driving. I was okay with the early service A in this case.

 

Yeah, it's ironic that if you let a vehicle sit, it ages just as much as if you drive it.
Good deal on your part for the maintenance.

 

Good thinking!

 

I love my GLK and drive it extensively in the mountains in Colorado.

It is my first Mercedes and for sure will not be my last.
I alternate tires between all season and snow tires. With snow tires, it is the best vehicle I have ever driven in snow. It has altered my driving style in snow because it is so good. All of the following comments are intended to make the next generation better.

There are a few things that are making me crazy.
1. Tire sensors. I had to have them completely replaced after one year of owning the GLK. The service department chose to replace them free of charge. That was a nice move on their part, but I thought it was a bit odd that they needed to be replaced. Exactly one year later, I was having sensor issues again, took my car in to get snow tires put on and one of the sensors had completely corroded, and fell apart as they were switching tires. This is the high performance tire shop in town. I cannot believe I have to deal with this again. Is anyone else having the same issue? CO does not use salt on the roads. The car is washed weekly year round and garaged every night.
2. Brake noise. My teenage son said that I drive the only Mercedes that sounds like a Pinto. I asked for them to address it the last two times I was in for service. Brakes are officially fine, but I still sound like I am driving a Pinto. Not quite what I expected.
3. Constant need for bulb replacement. It is a small but really annoying thing to get taken care of. I don't actually have time to deal with it. My brake light sensor is on now and I don't have a half day to drive to the dealer and it seems to trivial to have them pick up car and give me a loaner.
4. Ipod interface. Every car built after 2008 has a better system. It is truly awful. There is no way to navigate the music in your ipod and you have to build playlists for anything to not create a dangerous driving situation. I wish I had not paid $500 to have it installed. I don't use it because it just makes me mad, and then the fact that I don't use it makes me mad that I paid good money for a system that is ridiculously behind what is offered in even inexpensive cars.

Hoping I can get some help on how to deal with all of my issues and that it will help for feedback to the Mercedes design and development teams!
Still love the car.

 

When you say you drive in the mountains, is that off road, or on dirt roads? High speed rough driving can cause light bulbs to fail quickly. LEDs don't have this problem. Maybe a change out? You may have an over charging alternator which would also shorten bulb life. Have the dealer check the voltage output. A lose alternator connection could also cause voltage problems. I once had an E-type Jag that had the ground inside the alternator corrode which blew out all sorts of stuff. But that was English, Lucas The Prince of Darkness. 36k miles on a 2010 and yet to change a bulb.

Do you ever need to put air in your tires? You really shouldn't need to unless you have a leak. I know, temp difference cause the tire warning, but that doesn't need to be corrected if only a temperature change. If you do add air, where do you get the air. Compressors generate a lot of moisture, and unless there is a dryer in the line, will put that water in the tire.
As for the brake noise, that is typical. One of two repairs. Pull the pads and put the blue glue on the back and then reinstall, or change the pads to Akebono ceramics. The ceramics will be quieter (don't forget the blue stuff) and will eliminate the black dust completely from your wheels.
As for Ipod, personally, there is enough stuff on Sirius, that I wouldn't spend the time with a play list. But that is only my taste, so I don't know anything about the ipod interface.

 

MBRedux, any update on your 3rd transmission?

I had to take ours back to the dealer because it started making a nasty rattling noise upon accelleration. Took it back twice before the dealer determined it was transmission related, so they are "expediting" the part order. Meaning we jump ahead of the 3-4 month wait for new parts.

Supposedly a new transmission will be here and installed this week. We will see...

In the meantime we have a 2012 C300 loaner.

 

Extended warranty for sure. Who sells a good one and how much?

2010 w/23k miles. NO problems.

 

Probably a bit premature to report, but we've put 12k+ miles on our 2012 GLK in 8 months and everything seems solid as a bank vault. I've never in my life put mileage on any vehicle at this rate, yet I remain totally satisfied when I drive it - no squeaks, no rattles, engine is smooth, transmission is smooth, MPG is way above EPA ratings, exterior and interior look great.

My only complaint is that the friggin' turn signal gizmo with all of it's whistles and bells is mostly blocked from view by the steering wheel, so I have trouble seeing which windshield wiper function I'm looking for. It really is a pain, especially when it's raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock and I'm looking for the wiper sensitivity setting.

3.5L

 

Here's our list so far:


CD player did not work from the factory (2010) - replaced

Windshield washer tank leak (Mar 2012) - replaced

Rear main seal leak (July 2012) - replaced

Dead battery (Oct 2012) - replaced


FYI: bought the car new in July 2010, now (oct 2012) has 13,000 miles.

-Nick

 

Unfortunately, I've never been a big fan of early adoption. It never seem to have good data to support.

 

Update - new tranny is in, and no more whining! Hopefully we will have no more issues. Dealer was very nice and friendly through this process, so no complaints other than the hassle of going to the dealer a few times.

 

2010 here with 40,000kms. was stopped at a red light and the car decided to vibrate/shake for a couple seconds. no error lights etc and never happened again. Really hoping this is a 1 off. my list:

- creeking door handle (decided to live with it)
- thermostate replaced once
- one lifter replaced due to startup noise
- power tail gate sometimes won't open (fixed twice, one motor replaced, still does it sometimes)
- washer tank leak (no time to bring it in)

 

Congrats on the gr8 news ewc!

How long did you have to wait for the parts & install?
Was your GLK a 2010?
What's the feedback from the dealer about root cause?

 

I bought my 2010 GLK 4-matic in June 2010. Currently has 12,000 miles and whenever I press the brakes, it sounds like the car is a 15 year old bus (they screech). Its very embarrassing at lights especially since the car is so new. I;m going to take it in to the dealer, but its hard to believe that a car this new already has brake problems.


Other problems:
1) A/C smell
2) creaking door handles

 

I had the brake problem for several months. You're right, it's really embarrassing. Just fixed it this week. I think the service guy said that they replaced the discs; not too sure as it was in Korean and my Korean isn't 100%. Drives like a champ now but he told me that it will probably happen again in a few months

 

I got the brake noise too. during moderate stops it sounds terrible. AC issue happens everytime i start the car, smells funky.

Forgot to mention i had a loose heat shied that needed to be "tightened" as it rattled sometimes.

 

Folks, Add another issue to the list:

Last night, "rear right side market light out" MSG on the dash. Checked out the car and it's the little side market plus the lower red light under the turn signal. Figure i could change the bulb myself in the morning.

Fast forward to this morning and the lights are fine and the msg gone. Msg came back later this afternoon again though >_<. Will get it looked at and report back

 

haven't posted in while and saw this thread up so figured I should chip in.

What a great f'ing car this GLK is.

PROBLEMS:
As good as Toyotas we used to have. Since the adjustment, I never had problem with my rear hatch or any other problems for that matter. Build quality is great. Paint is like new, but the car was washed always by me (ok dealer washed it twice after service). Keeping for another 4 years, as I don't dig new GLK styling and it doesn't offer anything new that I care about.

TIRES:
The tires (20's) are ready to be replaced (33k miles of relatively hard driving), going to get winter set and try to squeeze another summer out of Pirellis. They are great tires, I hit a few bad potholes and tires are fine (no bubbles). I did get a nail once, and insurance that I bought through MB was great. One thing to notice is that it was front tire and others o the right, where new tire was. Thankfully it was because of the tihad 20+k miles so I had noticeable pull tre (not suspension), so after putting that wheel/tire to the rear fixed the problem.

 

Hey guys, I have an update on my car:

a) windshield washer tank will be replaced due to leak
b) They're switching out some wiring for the rear lights due to the light bulb out msg from time to time
c) AC will be cleaned under warrenty
d) They told me to brake hard a few times to get rid of the brake noise?, lol
e) here the kicker: transfer case whine, will be replaced along with transmission, ETA unknown.

My car: 2010 with 42,000Kms. it's an early build (Oct 2009). Once all issues are fixed, i'm giving the car to my mother in law. I ended up ordering an on route 2013 GLK today. Will create a new thread when i receive it early Dec.

Despite the problems, I do like my GLK a lot. I considered getting a ML but with a Cayenne for the wife scheduled for a late March deliver (6 months wait for the crazy thing), i wanted something smaller and less expensive.

I did not test drive the 2013 so it'll be a surprise when i get it. Here's hoping both cars will be trouble free going forward. Cheers!

 

the 4matic whine at 40mph is giving me concerns
the faux leather is cracking on the drivers side seat

 

Now at 42k miles back to the dealer cel caused by a faulty ignition coil, power steering noise when turning, vent on top of the dash popped off (they have to replace the dash, radio has no back light (they have to replace the radio) and driver leather has a rip for some time now just getting bigger ( might be my fault but have had many cars with leather interior and never had this problem). Really hate this Mercedes. Lift gate motor clicking again also

 

Just bought a 2010 GLK 350 4 Matic with 37000 miles on it. Three wks later the "check brake pad wear" message comes on. AND it seems the back end vibrates when I accelerate (almost like the shoulder road vibration you get when you go towards the shoulder of a highway). At the dealer now and curious if anyone has had this same?

 

So my 2010 started to make a whine only while moving. The whine frequency increases and decreases in direct accordance to the speed of the vehicle. I then found this thread. Started to get pretty worried after reading about all the trannies being replaced. My vehicle has 107k on it so there is no warranty. Our local shop had a listen with a stethoscope and the noise is coming from the transmission of course. I'm thinking I am basically screwed at this point and will have to front the bill for a new transmission.

So I ask you experts for any advice that you can give to me before I take it into my dealer. What can I expect $ wise for a transmission replacement? Is it possible to repair or would it be better of being replaced? Since Mercedes seems to know that these transmissions/transfer cases are very commonly defective, is it possible that there will be some sort of price break on a replacement? I'm in Canada in case that matters to anyone.

Thanks for any help or advice you can give. I really appreciate it and look forward to hearing what you have to say.

 

I've got a whine too. It appears somewhere from 30-40mph. For a while it would be only at 40mph exactly. Now it seems to be random in that speed range. It also occurs at 75mph. Took to dealer and they said they couldn't hear it. Weird thing is that now that it's cooler the sound is less obvious.

 

You're taking a VERY pessimistic approach. It's quite unlikely that you will be forced to replace the transmission. Hard to judge what the problem could be as a whine could mean almost anything, most likely a bad bearing or gear. The tranny can be taken down, rebuilt and be good as new. Have no clue of prices in Canada, nor the expertise to tear it down, but a dealer shouldn't have too many problems. Wild guess is that you could looking at $2500 for a rebuild, on up to maybe $7000. The labor will be the biggest thing and it depends on what your technicians make up there. That also varies wildly. Labor here runs anywhere from $70 per hour to $120. Multiply by the time it takes to remove, replace and tear down, and that will give you an idea. Maybe 25 hours? The labor will be the biggest part. While the parts aren't cheap, you'd probably not require many, unless it's been run low on lubrication and stuff is floating around in there damaging otherwise good parts.