So I started hearing a noise from Sasha on start up last week and had my fears I had the dreaded oil check valve and timing tensioner issue.
We made an appointment for Tuesday the 30th, the girl who made the appointment was bewildered about why we needed an appointment for a noise issue on a 2014 with less than 400 miles. Needless to say we insisted on an appointment.

Upon arrival the service advisor was very friendly, he actually recognized me from over 13 years ago when he used to buy speed parts from my shop for his car. Knowing my background he immediately had the shop foremen come over and introduced us and made sure he was involved. The ML was warmed up and had no noises when I had arrived. I described what I was hearing as best I could and let him know I knew there was a bulletin concerning the M157. The shop foreman asked if I could leave it til Thursday morning so it would be cold on start-up and determine if that's what it was. My wife was upset because she loves her ML63 and was just getting used to driving it and was really bummed to hear it would take that long to hear back. Of course we got a loaner, a 2013 C250 and was sent on our way.

The SA called me today to tell me my worst fears were coming to fruition
He said they heard the noise and it was definitely the tensioner issue. The shop foreman had taken a video of it and sent to to MB and they confirmed it. He ran through the list of parts which seemed to be right and said they would have parts by tomorrow (Friday) and should be done by Saturday but want to keep it til Monday to be sure all is well.

We are totally bummed right now, less than 400 miles and it needs a major repair. I know this will be fixed right and this is the dealerships chance to earn my business back after the damaged hood mishap. I got a great vibe from the foreman and we are hoping things turn out well. Just bummed Sasha is back at the dealer so early.

Have any other M157's here had this issue? And so close to new?

 

Well that certainly blows !!
Mine has been flawless other than the typical traits..hesitation into first and I had the dealer do surgery on the drivers seat bottom (contour sport)and remove some fasteners that gave me a pain in the ****..( took two visits but good now)
And how did the damaged hood issue resolve ? I missed the final outcome...at least they didn't give you the run around claiming the ole "can't replicate" response..g/l

 

A year ago, my neighbor's 2012 ML-63 engine blew on the road. His odometer was below 3000 KM. After long and painful debates, MB replaced the car with a 2013 model instead of a reconditioned engine. We use the same SA who told me candidly those hand assembled AMG engines are not as perfect as MB likes to advertize. They are seeing more and more problems because of the high production volume. My engine is still running well after one year. However the dealer replaced my front brakes at 300 KM (187 miles) due to defective AMG pads. Delivery period for those AMG pads: 6 weeks. The dealer was appalled to note the factory actually installed knowingly defective AMG pads.

 

I accept the fact these are machines and therefore are liable to fail like machines will and do and what's worse is they are built by humans making the likeliness of issues more so ..one can only hope our selection in this vehicle limits the odds of an unfortunate event.
Time will tell if the popularity of the 157 aids in the resolution of any shortcomings or the effects of mass production brings out the human weakness.
I find it interesting I have two completely different vehicles both with hand built engines and anticipate favorable service from each..

 

Yeah it does blow, we had planned to take it out of town and put some highway miles on it this weekend. I haven't had an issue with my seats yet, then again there hasn't been much time spent in them lol Did you have them remove the C clips altogether or replace them?

The hood issue was resolved and it came out pretty much perfect. The overall experience was less than stellar though.

So far the service dept has been great and I know service really well, let's just pray it stays that way.

As far as "hand built" AMG motors go you are right they are built by humans so anything can go wrong but with the aide of mechanized torque wrenches and computer aided sealant applicators and all the other tools they have it really becomes monotonous and repetitive for the engine builder. Muscle memory takes over and only a complication or distraction could pose an issue for them. I have noticed when watching the one man one engine videos there is virtual silence in the shop making for a distractionless environment.

In my case Moritz Bartel did a perfect job, he was supplied with an imperfect series of parts hence why Sasha is sidelined.

 

Chris,

I sent you a PM.

Thanks,

David

 

People are taking note of the decline in quality of the once fabled German brands and it is being reflected in sales. Even in Germany itself the Reuters news agency just this morning reported this, "Germany's premium car makers BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi each lost market share, suffering sales declines of 5.8 percent, 1.4 percent and 5.5 percent respectively". Guess who gained sales in Germany last year? You are correct - Mazda, Hyundai and Kia. What does that tell you?

 

You are familiar with these "C" clips ?...yes had them removed completely and that helped 90%..I wonder if anyone else has had this issue

 

You used a key word there, "premium", the German economy is down and some people are buying cheaper cars.

 

David YGM!

 

Completely different markets in a down economy. That tells us nothing other than people having less money in their pockets. People don't cross shop high end luxury with low end economy.

Hmm, I really love this ML63, but I just can't decided between that and a Kia Sportage.

 

Of course, there are a hundred reasons why these cars are not selling as well as they use to across the pond. The economy and money in the pocket factors are valid, among other things. The article quoted does not give a definitive reason for the downturn, only that it is happening. Is it possible too that some people are seeing greater value in other brands because they have become more reliable and at the same time cost less? Certainly. We simply will never know for sure but my guess it is a variety of factors, not just economic.

 

seeing value? if you are looking for a premium SUV... the Cayenne is probably the reliability winner....I wouldn't be caught dead in an Asian SUV..I am positive that they are more trouble free...But I'm sorry.. I just need more style.

 

We picked up Sasha after a long stay at the dealer today. We arrived late in the day as we were not able to leave work early and I am really upset that i did that.

Right off the jump when we arrived they had it parked in the service drive ready to roll out which was great except as I approached it I noticed it had what looked like dried coolant water mix laying on the lower valance like it had been sprayed there while the vehicle was being worked on. It also had water marks all over the black grill. I quickly pointed this out to the SA thinking all was going to be ok after that was fixed.

Little did I know that would be the least of my problems.

As I pull out of the dealership the traffic on 41 was ridiculous, bumper to bumper and very slow moving. I navigate through about 4 miles and about 10 minutes of this until I can actually get out in front of traffic and when I get my chance I step on it... and for a split second nothing happens and slowly boost started to build and she moved forward but not as briskly as it was before I dropped it off. I brush it off thinking maybe it was me so I wait til I come to a stop and try it again. I did not boost launch it, I just gave it about half throttle off the line looking for that same feeling it had previously and it's just not there. As I am slowly coming to a stop at the next traffic light we feel a clunk as the trans downshifts (never have I felt a clunk in the trans) just before we brake to a stop. This happened twice on the ride home. All the while I am driving in comfort not sport mode.

So I give it a go in S mode, acceleration is definitely improved but still feels off... Someone tell me I'm crazy but I think it's not timed right. If it were a tooth or two off how would this motor operate? Would it fall on it's face or just run a little indifferent?

It did not go into limp mode or trip any codes cause there is no CEL on... Any one who has experienced the timing tensioner issue please chime in and let me know how yours felt after being "fixed"

 

Oh oh...this doesn't sound good

 

Chris,

a couple of things to make note of...

1. the comfort mode should be called dog mode...it really drives like a different car. Certainly not one that you would expect from your AMG. I only use mine in C for the snow or when my wife drives. Also... the Eco cutoff thing would be working in that mode and it might have been intervening and you might not have noticed that the engine actually shut off.. the transmission also shifts and operates completely different too.

2. after you switched to Sport.. the transmission will hold RPMs completely different... I will tell you that in the first 1000 miles or so.. my tranny would thump around and make weird shifts.. but now it shifts fine. (other posts have commented about the transmission "break in time".... I also think that it takes time for the transmission ECU and other systems to "learn" your driver style.

drive it today and let her warm up (all blues off on AMG dash) and then see how things go and update us.

dhp

 

Chris it should rip like a raped ape..unless t/c kicked in you should be blown away with the torque and how quickly you reach triple digits...if not there is something amiss..these things generally do 60 in 5.5 secs give or take...you can't miss that acceleration..

 

Dave, I know for sure the ECO mode was off because I always turn it off. I can't stand that mode in my city, too many lights and traffic! But thanks for the thought. I'm thinking the trans and computer might be getting used to my driving style again.

Well we drove it to work today and took it on some errands and have seen an improvement. I am not sure if they had turned the crank to line up the marks while the ignition was on and maybe that may have thrown some sensor off and it needs to re-calibrate but that's the feeling I'm getting today.
Sport mode feels strong today and no thumps from the trans so I'm beginning to feel better about the repair.

I hope to god its better than 5.5 to 60 or I wasted my money lol. Should be more like 4.4-4.6! I am gonna take it for a hard drive this afternoon and report back tonight.

 

Good to hear...0-60 here at 2500' you may see high 4's but more likley low to mid 5's..not sure where you're at..
I bought a vbox sport and will test mine out when summer hits

 

wait till you at least get to 1000 miles before you really pop her cherry! (unless of course you leased her... and then run the hell out of her... and tell us about it!)

I do think that their is a fair amount of learning by the ECUs in the car to the driver.

So are you thinking mid 5s? do you have the 550 horse? MB quotes 5.9 for the GL63 and it comes standard with the bigger engine (and red calipers )

 

I'm at sea level here so I expect to have pretty close to MB rated times of 4.6 or better.

I was looking at the Vbox sport on line, it looks really interesting. Does it data log? and is that performance info downloadable form your iPhone or iPad to a computer?

Back to Sasha...
I dropped it back off last night. Too much trans bumping going on. Plus now it has developed a squeal/squeak to one of the pulleys. The SA is a great guy and offered to start up the new ML63 they had on the sales floor and listen to it so he could understand exactly what I was hearing.
Funny thing is mine is quieter now (sans the pulley squeak) than the one sitting on the floor, SA looked at me while it was running and laughed cause they know the one sitting on the floor needs to have the same repair done as mine lol!

 

Actually I have not even taken the Vbox out of it's box but I do think it logs data of which is accessible to download.
I would be happy to see low to mid 4 sec 0-60 times with tune up here at 2500 ft

edit ..actually I'd be happy to see high 3's but I know that's not going to happen

 

These trannies are less than perfect..at least mine often displays incidental call them "brain farts"..you can almost induce odd behavior by releasing the throttle just at the right time then getting back on it..these odd instances are almost always at very low speeds between 1/2/3...
MB a dual clutch would be most welcome !! (and a fix to the 2-1-1-2 hesitation)

 

Chris looks like Vbox data logs to on board SD card
http://www.vboxmotorsport.co.uk/inde...ers/vbox-sport

 

From the reviews this looks to be the most reliable for the money. A definite buy for me!

Thats exactly what the SA had told me on friday when we picked it back up. The pulley squeal was gone and when we took it for an extended test drive it performed better than the day we first drove it. Seems to really become a monster the more that we drive it now. Looks like things will be looking up from here on out!