I purchased the car in August 2009. It had 36,000 miles on it. I brought it in to Mercedes Service and had it inspected for any major defects...none found. A few months later little issues arose here and there. My door locks went crazy while I drove, my trunk would not open or lock, my clock reset itself for no reason, radio would turn back on when I would turn car off and remove the key..Heat stopped working, felt like it was going to stall..I told my service rep that I could hear water coming in through somewhere...all these issues only happened on rainy days...
Well now my warranty is up and my car is back in service for strange activity happening again during rain..except this time they find a $2400 issue..my rear sam unit has water damage and corrosions...can anyone tell me if this is a normal wear and tear thing>? What exactly is a rear sam unit and why isnt it protected from water? How much does this part cost?? and should I be responsible for this when I have brought the car in from the first month of purchase to fix all these issues and they never detected such a big problem?

Sorry for your trouble. SAM stands for Signal Acquisition/Activation Module. In essence it's a control center for things like windows, door locks and lighting. There's usually a front SAM and rear SAM, usually hiddent in trunk compartments, under carpetting, etc. Pricing will depend on vehicle, but I'm sure the $2,400 includes labor and programming (I'm certain a new SAM will require dealer programming to set it for the options on the car). There are people out there that can rebuild SAM modules and provide warranty instead of buying a new one. But sounds like yours may have some shorting issues or water/electrical damage. This is not an uncommon things with SAM. However, the water/leak issue is certainly one you need to address.

How long after the dealer did not find anything that you took it back to get the $2,400 bill? Was it the same dealer? My position is if it was within a reasonable amount of time and the symptoms are identical, they should make an exception and fix it under warranty, period. You may need to escalate the issue and scream and yell a bit, but that would seem to be the right thing to do.

But before you pay to fix anything, you need to find the root cause of the problem and if you do have a bad seal somewhere causing water to enter into the effected area.

I purchase the car August 14th, 2009 and the first service at the mercedes dealership was on sept 9, 2009. It has been back to them with all the same issues 6 times in the past year and half. The last time being march 2010. I actually just put a claim in with my auto insurance to see if they would cover the water damage? It's worth a try...right? I finally got a call back tonight from the service manager asking me to call her in the morning. I was really upset when I spoke to my service rep. I thought it was really shady that they detected a $2400 bill after my warranty was up. Thanks for the advice...I'll keep you posted as to what happens.

Best of luck. Problem I see is if it is water damage, then I would guess it's not covered under warranty.

I have the same problem with my 2007 ML 320 CDI. warranty denied for water damage. They make a faulty light lens, it leaks and they deny warranty. what a rip. anyone know how to fight this ? They want me to make an insurance claim

How is the water getting in to your sam unit? Did you have body work done outside of mercedes dealership done? Any damage to the car? Yes def put an insurance claim in..mine is covering only the sam unit...not to fix the reason for the problem but anything is better than paying a $2600 bill .

I got same problem last year. The culprit is the passenger side rear window leaking, soaked the SAM. The dealer replace the glass, rubber joints and the SAM under new car warranty (mine is an 08 ML). They also replace the main battery which was dead by the faulty SAM, making a chain of Christmas lights inside the truck.

Mine was bought as a certified pre owned and is still in warranty but they wont cover it for water damage. I want to do my homework before making an insurance claim. I think MB should cover it because they cant keep water out of there cars and they dont put in drain holes if water does get it. I only have a 12th grade education but I figured that out all by myself.

they say water is getting in through the right rear tail light. A class action suit might be the only way to hold there feet to the fire

'08 ML350 here and I got the bullsh*t $2,400 SAM chip pricing also albeit for the front one. Damn idiots @ SF Benz spilled COLA on my front chip and then demanded $2,400 to replace a part THEY broke. I hit up a garage the specializes in MB's and was quoted $300 for the part with no labor (since my uncle financed and insures their business).

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Thanks mb Techman. I gave up the fight and went through insurance and paid my deductable. $500.00. I was at intercar in Newton NJ. I should have fought more but they just wore me out. Had the car back for a week or so. seems ok. the rear hatch does not open with the key. it will unlatch but not go up. it works using the handle. The whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. I dread ever having to go back. I would have gladly driven to NYC had i known there was a qualified tech there.

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it is a power tailgate. the key will unlatch it but the motor wont come on and push the gate up. it works fine if I lift the latch at the door. could this be a function of the sam ? could I have gotten a bad sam ? Thanks a bunch.

ah, another set of issues with the 2006 ML 350. Now I know what to look forward to. So far, new front end diff. bearings- $4200. and be ready for hatch lock not working- $650. and be ready to drive to dealer with hatch open. Only 60,000 miles. So fix it and remember why you bought it- that helps because when it runs-it is sweeeet.

HI Newbie here. Please check and make sure your battery is good, alot of times the system will not tell you to check the battery etc.....

Sounds like battery -lots of low voltage signs usually thats the case. Thanks.

I will never buy a mercedes again. I had the same problem with my ml350. If they can't build a car to keep the water out, might as well buy a regular car. When I spend that much for a car I don't want to spend money on needless service.

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Dont get me started. I am so disappointed with this car. Its not worth near what I paid for it. For the same money as I paid for this used 2007 W164 I bought a new 2012 Chevy Silverdao 4x4 1500 crew cab. It rolled of the line with no leaks , squeaks or rattles. Everything works. The only bad thing is the 16 MPG.

My friend has replaced 5 SAM units in 2006-2009 Mercedes ML350's. I suggested to him to have me Parylene coat the boards to prevent future failure. We coat alot of military and medical electronics to resist harsh evironments.

hmm that doesnt sound good at all I'm going to email my dealer and see if this is a common problem

My dealer said it was an "isolated" incident. By reading these forums you are in many ways more educated than your dealer.

I have experienced same water intrusion into rear SAM board that has caused me much grief and big expense.
Everything electronic in the car shut down.
At first I thought it was the battery but later found out that it was much greater then that.
Mercedes dealer in Palm Beach said that it was caused by a previous accident.

This is so completely false due to the fact that I found a recall inn 2009 for a faulty rear light that allows water to penetrate to SAM board.
This is the second recall I had to remind my service tech about.
They never disclosed it on their own.
PLease contact me if you have further questions.
Mercedes has disappointed!

I have water coming in from the passenger tail light and i was wondering if anyone knew what needs to be replaced to stop the leak.

front and rear sam is a common mercedes problem. esp on e 2001- c class. w203. also too often on the ml 164 age considered