M-Class (W166) Produced 2012-2015

Just bought a 2012 ML350 BlueTec!

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Old Mar 27, 2017 | 09:33 PM
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ML350 BlueTec
Just bought a 2012 ML350 BlueTec!

26k Miles, like new, first MB! Can't believe how buttery it drives for the weight. Any "musts" for this thing? Any major maintenance issues to watch out for? Glad to be part of this community!



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Old Mar 28, 2017 | 09:54 AM
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ML350 BlueTec
I figured as much - what for though? I tend do work on my cars myself. Reading a bit on here makes me think these all seize at 50-75k miles for no good reason lol
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Old Mar 28, 2017 | 10:24 AM
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'14 ML350, '13 C220 CDI, '07 C280, '98 ML320
Originally Posted by DasSchnitzel
I figured as much - what for though? I tend do work on my cars myself. Reading a bit on here makes me think these all seize at 50-75k miles for no good reason lol
With proper maintenance, I am confident these vehicles will go well over 200K miles without major overhaul. I said I am confident, I am not asking others to change their opinion :-)

Since you work on your cars, I don't need to tell you that paying attention to and identifying problems early is the key.

I like the engine bay of my ML350. There is plenty of room to work with.
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Old Mar 28, 2017 | 05:30 PM
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GLE350d, Porsche TE
Nice Car!!

Most bluetec engine problems are related to oil.

Emission system wise Cold temperature stop/go is the worst!

Even MB shops have no idea about the oil they use, and how crappy it is for the bluetec. add the extended drain interval and Arizona weather and you have a perfect repair $$$ timebomb under your MB hood.

If you're planning on keeping it forever drain the oil every 5000 miles max! and remove the heatshield under the motor.(dust pan)

Don't want to turn this into an oil thread but if you ask any tech with Bluetec experience they'll tell you to drop the oil even sooner. heck some even recommend CK4 or 10w60 type oils just to deal with the dillution issue on Bluetec.

Bluetec will have no problem making it through the warranty generally, just don't expect 300SD longevity without some shorter oil change intervals.

Extended warranty is your friend.

Last edited by nookie; Mar 28, 2017 at 05:42 PM.
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Old Mar 28, 2017 | 07:22 PM
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ML350 BlueTec
It's still CPO For now. I'll do the oil more often. I'm in FL. What kind of oil do you guys use? Are the oil cooler issues less frequent after 2010? Plate is coming off this weekend - read about that.
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Old Mar 28, 2017 | 07:25 PM
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ML350 BlueTec
And what kind of numbers are we talking about here? 75% failure rate by 100k miles? Having a hard time finding many of these with 100k+ miles to compare with.
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Old Mar 28, 2017 | 07:31 PM
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Congrats, what specs/features you have on it?
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Old Mar 28, 2017 | 09:38 PM
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ML350 BlueTec
Originally Posted by drwolf
Congrats, what specs/features you have on it?
Premium 1 (not sure exactly what came with that), lane assist, blind spot assist, nav, keyless go. The car is like new inside and out. Well it has one tiny speck that flaked off one steering wheel button but I'm well familiar with this coating on German cars for years. I've had a 2004 BMW 325Ci that I bought with 12k miles in 2008 that now has 110k miles and is going strong with 0 trips to the shop (probably saved 10k+ doing all the work myself).

Something like the oil cooler - don't think I've got time any more to do this kind of lengthy job since I'm in residency. Hard to confirm the prevalence of that kind of failure some seem like they were misdiagnosed turbo seals.
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