Hello all,

This is my first post here. I've browsed through some of your threads and I'm glad to see an active community with good info, just as the BMW and Audi forums I've been accustomed to.

I'm interested in purchasing a 2013 ML350 BTC with the options below. It appears to be a rare build that's practically fully loaded. Though it's not CPO, I think I can offset that by purchasing a third-party extended warranty (heard great things about Route 66).

I've never owned a diesel before so I'm not so sure how the maintenance and repair costs will compare to a gas vehicle. I've read about oil leak issues on W164 ML350 but haven't come across anything on the W166. Was the same engine carried over? If so, I hope that MB at least used better quality seals! Should I be concerned about diesel particle filter maintenance?

Also, the reliability of the Airmatic suspension worries me a little since after 6 years of ownership, my dad's 2005 W211 E500 began having issues with it.

I plan on owning this vehicle for at least the next 5 years and will probably hit about 100k miles by the time I'm in the market for a replacement. I typically DIY basic maintenance like oil changes, brakes, etc, but I want to make sure I'm prepared for ownership of such a vehicle before I make the jump.

Thanks in advance for any input you can provide!

ML350BTC
799 Diamond White Metallic
P01 P01 Package: Auto-Dimming/Power-Folding
R55 19" Twin 5-spoke Wheel
SPC Special Order
235 PARKTRONIC with Active Parking Assist
252 COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST (Std.)
282 2nd Seat Row Pass Thru (SPC)
286 286 designo Auburn Brown Leather: design
319 319 Lighting Package: Bi-Xenon Headlamps
399 Driver/Passenger Multi-Contour Seats w/M
401 Heated/Ventilated Front Seats (SPC)
443 Heated Steering Wheel
468 ACTIVE CURVE SYSTEM (SPC)
489 489 AIRMATIC Air Suspension Package (SPC)
610 Night View Assist PLUS (SPC)
729 Anthracite Poplar Wood Trim (SPC)
864 Rear Seat Entertainment System
872 Heated Rear Seats
875 Heated Washer System (SPC)
876 Multi-Color Ambient Lighting w/ Illumina
883 Soft Close Doors (SPC)
889 KEYLESS-GO

 

Wow, that looks a nicely loaded car. How much are you paying for it? Post some pictures after the purchase dude.

 

There is a thread somewhere about a seal leakage problem under the turbo on the 2012+ ML350 Bluetec. It seems to be like all seal/ gasket problems: the gasket is the easy thing to fix... the difficulty is taking a significant part of the top half of the engine off to get there. Not sure I want to DIY that one. That will be the last thing I have the dealer check before the warranty expires.

Oil change and brakes are fairly standard - if you've done them on other vehicles, the MB will feel very similar. I bought a mityvac for our first oil change - while it worked well and I got the right amount of oil out, I think I'll use the drain plug next time. It'll give me a better feeling that all the oil is gone when I see it stop dripping form the drain plug hole.

Adding the diesel exhaust fluid is a non-event & quite cheap these days.

I bought an e-manual on ebay. It was the only manual I could find for the W166, and appears to be a copy of the actual MB manual. It's a pain to install, but very complete once you get it to work.

Amazing vehicle - its my wife's car and she's very happy with it.

 

Glad to hear that your wife is enjoying her vehicle. This ML350 would be for my wife as well. I am still a bit apprehensive about her remembering to use the correct fuel...the diesel nozzle is supposed to be different size so it won't fit in gas vehicles, but will a gas nozzle fit in diesel?

I'm not too worried about the DEF...it's easy enough to find these days and simple to add. Though does it require a complete drain and fill at particular service intervals? Also saw some issues about the AdBlue heater element going out...about $3k repair! Another potential major expense seems to be the diesel particulate filter (DPF) clogging over time, which supposedly requires the entire exhaust system to be replaced for $$$$.

Since I would be handling oil change, filter, brake maintenance, is there any reason to visit the dealer for a service other than transmission flush at around 40k - 50k miles? I would definitely invest in having the dealer service right before the warranty expires.

 

Looks like a good list! DIY will definitely help save you where money can be saved. Good luck with the purchase! And welcome!

-Luccia

 

No. An unleaded gasoline pump nozzle will not open the safety flap valve in the filler neck. It must be an auto diesel pump nozzle. Truck nozzles won't fit either.

 

Nice. Almost like the 2012 I recently bought. Except i have P02/Pano roof/active suspension and 20" wheels.
I have the dreaded Adblue heater issue. But it is a CPO and still have factory warranty left for the piece of mind.

 

I would not let the warranty expire

 

I ended up passing on this vehicle.

Unfortunately, the Mercedes dealer did not disclose the level of body repair performed on the vehicle before I drove down 4.5 hours to see it in person. The CarFax was clean so I assumed everything was fine. However, the passenger side lower rocker panel was slightly discolored (maybe bad attempt at paint match or yellowing clearcoat?) and it was obvious that the body filler wasn't shaped exactly to the factory contour of the fender and crease. In addition, the passenger side mirror housing was broken. The pre-owned sales manager was a real a**hole...didn't even shake our hands to acknowledge us, starts looking at what I had pointed out to the sales associate and gets on the defensive. He started to explain how used cars aren't perfect...blah, blah...that we should look for a new car...blah, blah..then walked away.

Then upon closer inspection under fluorescent lights in their shop, I saw that the clearcoat respray actually extended from bottom to top of the entire rear quarter panel. You can see tiny bubbles and I could feel overspray where it was taped off. I tried to haggle lower so that I could have it repainted properly, but they wouldn't budge on the price. Who knows -- maybe that's a good thing because I could have taken a bath on it in the future during trade-in or resale.

Highly disappointed that it was an otherwise clean and rare build. Lesson learned. My search continues for a low-mileage ML350 Bluetec.

 

Sorry that particular one didn't work out for you. I have a '13 with 55,000 miles on it and recently purchased extended warranty through Endurance. I got their exclusionary coverage which pretty much covers everything except normal wear items. Covers me up to 100K.

Haven't had any real issues with the vehicle except that the eBrake partially turned itself on (I never use it) and caused some extreme brake pad wear and rotor warp but that was covered under warranty. They went so far as to replace all four pads and rotors, along with two new tires.

 

Hi,
If you are still looking for a 2013 ML350 BlueTec, make sure to get extended warranty. We have had a very rotten luck with fuel injectors on our 2012 ML350 BlueTec. All of ours had to be replaced. And that was the last resort. We had 5 Check Engine Light trips to the dealer due to these fuel injectors. So if you are on the market for a BlueTec, definitely get yourself protected with at least 100K warranty, unless of course you are planning on getting rid of it sooner than the manufacturer warranty which is 50K. Otherwise the car is great. And it tows beautifully.
Thank you.