Cyber GS

At this time trading it in isn’t an option (lease). Besides as much as I think the new interior is beautiful I don’t like the exterior design. I’m sure it will grow on me and my wife, especially when we see one in person but as of right now the current design in my opinion is 100X better.

And after all of the problems I have had I would also prefer to wait anyway so that MB has time to work out the inevitable first year “kinks” that usually come up during new model production runs.

Cyber GS

Here is another update.

The ML went back in for service visit number 8 since taking delivery in Nov 2010. The ML was with MB for 4 days this time due to some of the same issues I have described here before and also for a few new issues.

One of the new issues was with the driver’s side mirror. The mirrors are set to fold when the ML is locked and for some reason all of a sudden after the driver’s side mirror would fold the motor would keep running for approx 10 seconds. The mirror was replaced due to a bad motor.

They also needed to replace the inside chrome trim in the cargo area near the rear door. It seems that during the June service visit this was damaged. No biggie.

Back to the ongoing issues. The windshield creaking noise seems to finally be gone due to a fix I did, but who knows how long this will last.

I wanted to make MB aware of what I had done so that maybe a more permanent fix could be done. Numerous MB tests drives verified that the noise was in fact present but no matter what MB had tried in the past they could not figure out how to make the noise go away.

During a drive one day I realized that the windshield noise seemed to be coming from the rearview mirror area so I had my wife drive while I kept listening. What I noticed was the that the plastic housing that is between the mirror and windshield just sits there and is not securely mounted so as you drive the housing will occasionally vibrate.

After looking over the housing it became more apparent that there really was no way securing the housing so that it wouldn’t move. So what I did was buy those tiny 3M Rubber Bumpers or Feet that you would usually see under a toaster, coffee maker etc.

The rubber bumper looks similar to these -
Self-Adhesive Rubber Feet Cylindrical Clear Bumpers (50 | eBay

I applied one of the bumpers to the top of the review mirror (can’t see it at all) and by doing so when I adjusted the mirror into position the rubber bumper pressed up against housing and held it into place. Well low and behold it has been over a month now and we haven’t heard the noise.

When I explained this to MB they told me that there really isn’t any way of fully securing the housing and it is designed to just sit there. It was decided to just leave the housing alone at this time and see if the noise comes back.

If it comes back we will address it at that time and my service advisor even put notes into the MB system explaining what I did and the notes were printed out onto my repair order for future reference.

The clunking noise in the cargo area had gotten so bad that all you needed to do was barely move the ML and the noise was present. When we took our service advisor (who is great by the way) on another test drive we didn’t even have to leave the smoothly paved MB parking lot for him to hear how bad the noise was. We literally drove around the building and parked.

I explained that what we had noticed is that the noise doesn’t seem as loud when there are passengers in the back seat and much louder when no one is in the back. MB verified what we had been saying and after numerous test drives a technician finally determined that the noise was coming from the left rear seat. He unlatched the seat back and during another test drive the noise was gone..

MB claims that the left rear latch that holds the seat back in place was faulty and causing the noise so a new latch was put it in and as of right now anyway the ML is noise free..

I just hope this is it, and if nothing else maybe this info can help someone else who may be experiencing similar problems..

hiend

May I know name and address of your dealer, please.

hiend

Headlights/Taillights - Although the headlights and taillights turn on during the day and cannot be turned off I was given the standard answer most auto companies’ use when they cannot figure out what is wrong. “The lights are operating as designed”


I HAVE ABSOLUTELY THE SAME ISSUE when DRL is active. Plus xenon low- beam headlights cannot be turn of manually at night time by switching at position “0”.
It is obviously not malfunction on my car or on yours; everyone with DRL-On will present with issue. So what is this Germans engineer’s uncompleted work? One single switch? maybe should be 2 switches separate: One for xenon headlight low beam, another one for DRL-led.

Cyber GS

Hiend - I sent you a PM, good luck..

cscheney

Hi Cyber,

I bought my wife a 2011 ML last weekend for her birthday, got home, and it made the same noise from the rear cargo area. After sitting in the cargo area while my wife drove me all over Orange County, I pulled the back panels off, removed spare tire, etc, until I simply folded down the rear seats and the noise stopped. I then got a piece of neoprene hose, sliced it open, and covered the metal pin/rod that the seat latch connects to. The noise has now gone away, but it is a short term fix as the hose gets cut when you latch/unlatch seats. A small strip of fabric wrapped around oin works to. I plan on bringing it in to MB to repair, but my luck with them is pretty poor.

We had a SLK that had front headlight washers (stupid feature). Every once in a while we would accidentally hit the button and the passenger headlight washer would extend out the front of the car and get stuck. I took it to Fletcher Jones MB 4 times to get it fixed, every time they told me nothing was wrong. On the 4th attempt, I went to pick up my car and the service receipt said that customer didn't know what he was talking about. I couldn't believe it. I went to service rep to wait for my car, and as the service rep was telling me there was nothing wrong, the car pulls up with the washer sticking out the front of the car. I pointed to the car and asked...what is that? He turns red and replies, oh, we thought it was driver side washer. It is funny now, but at the time I was furious. Great cars, poor service.

Best of luck with your ML. Thanks fro your post. Once I hear our noise, I googled the problem and found this thread, which helped me cut to the chase. take care.

Cyber GS

Cscheney,

I’m really glad that my post helped you to isolate the noise you were experiencing. I know how frustrating it can be especially since it took us 8 months to find out where this was coming from.

The rear clunking noise that was fixed a couple of months ago is back. This is the noise that was coming from the left rear latch that holds the seatback in place. MB said the latch was faulty and causing the noise so a new latch was put it in and the noise was gone for about 2-3 weeks.

As soon as we heard the noise again I pulled over and put the seatback down and the noise was gone. I found it funny in your post that you mentioned using a piece of cloth because here is what I did.

I took a small piece of black material (interior is black) from an old tee shirt approx 4” square and placed it between the clamp and the latch as an insulator. You can barely see the material because it blends with the interior and I made sure that the seatback was firmly locked in place and guess what. It has been over a month and so far the noise is gone...

I called MB and they told me that if the noise is gone “leave well enough alone” and let them know if the noise comes back. They added my fix to the service records as I requested so let’s see how long this lasts.

If the noise returns I may try your neoprene hose idea but as of right now it is quiet. And I won’t even fold the left side rear seat down unless absolutely necessary. But thanks for the idea. We should start writing TSB’s for MB. LOL

Good luck with the new ML I hope your wife enjoys it.

iankayem

Glad to hear you are finally fixing your problems, though you shouldn't have to. I have had problems with Landrover, Toyota and Subaru so I know how pissed you are.
About the lights (what are DRL's) my lights come on in broad daylight, but only when the sun is low, ie when there is a risk of sun glare. I was annoyed at first but now appreciate the feature.
My only rattle was a broken brake pad retaining clip, which was replaced on the first visit.
Further, we did not buy the Lexus partly as the sun visor fell off on the test drive!

Sharkster

VelociRaptor

The two piece mirror covers pop into place. The piece that connects the roof to the mirror pops straight up into place(be careful and not snag the material) and then the last piece pops straight back onto place infront of the mirror. There are already two round rubber bumpers on that piece that rests up against the winshield down on the lower edge.

Cyber GS

iankayem,

DRL's are Daytime Running Lights which make the vehicle more visable during the daytime hours...These are low voltage lights on the front of the vehicle.

The problem that I have experienced as well as many others is that when the DRL's are set to the "ON" position in the main menu it will occassionally cause the full Headlights and Tailights to come on during the day even when it is bright and sunny outside..For no reason

I hope this answers you question..

iankayem

DRL's are not available in Australia. But when the sun is right, I will check how the off switch works and advise.

Grau E350

i have the squeek too coming from the tail you hear it over every bump. i lubed everything i could get to with a high-grade gun grease. i worked for a few days.

after my last wash, a lubed the tailgate latch with Boeshield...problem got worse. it's gotta be the latch assembly. your hear it on acceleration, braking, bumps.

bierry

a

joshinthecity

Huh ?
I have a 2011 ML300 CDI and it certainly does have LED DRL strips in the bumper.
j. (Sydney Australia)

iankayem

Sorry Josh, I stand corrected. I notice they are now supplied with BiXenons. I have the old model (2009 update) whith BiXenons but no DRL's.

But I now have checked the lights and the come on automatically when there is bright sunlight low behind you when set to "Auto", but they go off when turned to "O".
This is not what some others have experienced.

Cyber GS

FYI - the windshield cracking noise is still there and has not been repaired. The ML went back in for service on 10/27 for the windshield and brakes because the brakes have begun to make a squealing noise when coming to a stop.

The ML was in for two days and although the windshield noise was once again duplicated during the initial test drive, they could not duplicate the noise again when tech began working on it and nothing could be found wrong with brakes. We were told the brakes were quiet during their test drive.

Now I may be crazy but I drove the ML the night my wife picked it up and the brakes were squealing and still are. I understand that it may be brake dust, but I can’t believe I have to live with yet another noise coming from this vehicle.

Another service visit is scheduled for 11/28. (The 10th in a little over a year, just for the record the 1st service vist was the day after delivery).

BTW- the DRL's still come on occassionally for no reason at all but I've learned to live with it and don't even bother asking MB to check them anymore when it goes in for service.

DC-IT

Man I feel for you Cyber GS.
I'd go crazy if I have so many issues with my ML as you do.

Some one on the W166 forum posted that he saw a W166 with full headlights on during one sunny afternoon so it's possible that the new ML may have inherited the same auto-lighting issues as our ML!

Like you I've just learned to live with the auto-lighting lighting issue.

Cyber GS

Yeah I sometimes feel like just exploding, but what will that accomplish, aside from making an A$$ of myself. As I have mentioned in previous posts my dealer has been great and I think that is why I haven’t really "lost it" yet.

I have to start checking the W166 forums, it would be a shame if the W166 has the same headlight issue. Think about it, MB clearly knows that there is an issue with the DRL's, I mean just on this forum alone there are people from all over that are experiencing the same issue. So if MB produced the W166 with the same DRL issue that would be disgraceful.

YT-1

I am in Canada where DRL should be on. My 2011 ML Bluetech swiches low beam light when it is sunny outside most of the times. Switching DRL poff is not an option here and low beam off switch does not work at all.

So far MB service department staff are giving me a run around saying this is not a safety issue. Changing sensor will not help. There is definitely a problem with their computer system software. Although this is not a safety issue it has to be fixed by MB: not being abloe to open a trunk or windows or not having AC working is also not a safety issue, so waht, let's drive without AC and not being able to open a trunk or windows?

The other issue is that these lights are extremely expensive to replace and, oblviously, iif they stay on longer they need to they have to be replaced more frequently: why should owners be paying more for design manufacturing problems?

Overall this definitely spoled my experiense of owning ML350 and doubt I ever buy Mercedes product again. Rest assured, I will not go away and will keep you posted on what happens.

YT-1

Cyber GS

Yeah I can understand how you feel, my MB experience has definitely been bad also. They still haven’t been able to fix the windshield noise that I have written about in this thread and the brakes are still squeaking so much it sounds like I’m driving a bus!

The last time it was in for service they found nothing wrong (surprise, surprise) and I was told that if the brakes make noise again I should try the following to de-glaze the pads.

Ready, this is what I was told to do, I’m not kidding. Find an empty road and get up to about 60 mph and then repeatedly brake from 60mph to 15mph applying various amounts of pressure without coming to a full stop, do this six times. And the last two times brake hard enough to engage the ABS.

I told them that they should do this so that if any damage is done it’s their problem. Of course they refused, basically they wanted me to “Bed the Brakes”. Can you imagine, MB doesn’t want to do this yet they tell their customers to do it, they are out of their “F-ing” minds.

It’s funny that you should mention in the post above about the lights/bulbs needing to be replaced more frequently if they stay on longer than needed.

A week ago today the right headlight bulb burned out. I called MB to see if they would replace the bulb free of charge since I have complained numerous times, and it has been documented during my many, many service visits about the headlights staying on when not needed during the day. My service advisor told me that he would have to charge me since bulbs are not a warranty item, which I knew but figured I would ask anyway. I told him no thanks.

So I purchased two Sylvania Silver Star Ultra bulbs and replaced both headlight bulbs myself. Although the bulbs aren’t as bright as the HID’s on my previous Lexus or current Acura they are so much better than the OEM bulbs that came with the ML. BTW, these bulbs do not throw a Blue light (which IMO look terrible) they throw a White light which makes a big difference at night.

I have never needed to replace the bulbs on any of my cars or SUV’s that were only 14 months old, I replaced a DRL bulb in my wife’s previous MDX but that was almost 3 years into the lease.

I understand that bulbs go bad and it’s not a big deal. But I just can’t help but think that the “FREAKIN” headlights being on during the day 80% of time didn’t have something to do with the bulb burning out so soon.

Good luck and keep us posted..

paulybagadonuts

I really have to tell you, I give you alot of credit for putting up with this situation and think you are an extremely patient and optomistic sole.

I would have definetly lost it by now. I'm really sorry to hear about your problems but you do know they are not typical of the ML.

I owned an '06 for 6 years and it was flawless. Quiet as a tomb, rock solid and one of the nicest vehicles I've ever owned.

I really hope you get this sorted out. Your dealer sounds like a good guy but you'll wear your welcome out after a while I'm sure. I would cut bait and move on if possible. I hate to say it but I don't think you'll ever have the peace and quiet you deserve in that car.

What are your options for moving up to a 2012 as someone suggested?

It really is a great vehicle. I'm just afraid you've gotten a lemon.

Cyber GS

I may be patient but not so much optimistic anymore. I really don’t think that any of these issues will be fixed, in the beginning I was hopeful but not at all anymore.

The only reason I haven’t lost my mind is because my wife drives the ML 90% of the time and she can “tune” things out a lot better than me, even though it does bother her. If this was my daily driver I may have driven it through the showroom already LOL. That’s why I stick to driving the Acura or Vette as much as I can.

I also know that just because I am having issues with the ML it doesn’t mean that all ML’s or Mercedes are terrible. Every line has good and bad and I have mentioned that in one of my earlier posts.

There are no options for dumping the 2011 (Lease) and moving to a 2012 at this time, it wouldn’t make financial sense and the only one making out on it would be MB. Besides, I would rather not purchase a first year new model anyway, then again how much worse can it be.

cyclebob

I have a 2011 ML and indeed they don't turn off when set to off. This is because in the 2011 setup you can setup daylight running lights. If set to on your low beam headlights will go on at a reduced level if the daylight is bright enough. If not you will see the green headlight indicator on the dash and the beam will be full on low beam. This is the way it is supposed to work at least on the 2011 series year.
Bob
I'm sorry for all your trouble but I have to say my ML is the best car I have ever owned and enjoy every minute I drive it. This is not to make you feel bad as I would have not been so calm as you have been but there are good ones out there. I'm afraid you got a lemon.

ojr

Hello,

I had a similar problem in ML 350 CDI 2010.In my case was the bolts from the shock absorber (right side) that was not attached from factory.Take a look this.