Wife has had it with her Honda Hybrid. We test drove a couple SUV's and after hating the GLK, GLA for being too small and the GL for being too large she fell in love with a 2014 ML. She wants a 2014 or 2015 ML350 4Matic. No need for AMG or anything larger engine wise. This is our first Mercedes SUV ever so what is there to watch out for on these ml350's? Preferably low miles under 30,000 we want. Options she is not too picky. Test drive went great and she fell in love with it.
Tire life?
Brake life?
We do not drive much so fuel economy is not a real concern.

 

Those trucks are mostly just fantastic. A 350 with steel suspension is probably one of the most bulletproof vehicles MB makes, they almost never have issues. The higher trims have airmatic, which has higher maintenance cost with age, but the M276 engine is extremely reliable and those trucks are as well. I want to buy one as a daily driver myself when they drop down into my price range, they are great trucks and drive very well.

 

+1 for steel suspension, I bought mine without airmatic because of lot of issues with it.

We have bluetec, bough it used with 34K, in 3-4K check rear break light showed up. I think dealer lied to us, they had no rights to sell car with worn breaks.
After replacement, I have 70K now and all good.

Tires, car came with Pirelli Scorpion, at 70K now I still have enough for another 5K as minimum but going to install new this Friday.

Love the car, wish I bought gas, didn't do my home work right. But with gas model I will be paying + $130 each month for premium vs diesel.

 

timing chain tensioner noise

 

I bought my 2014 new and love it, just turned 31k in it no problems. I think 2014/2015 was the sweet spot.

definitly try to get xenon lights, makes all the difference, and upgraded HK Radio, the plain stock is just to tinny. I have a lot of other option such as hearted steering wheel, lane keeping assist, lane departure, keyless go, crash avoidance, auto leveling head lights, blind spot assist, folding mirrors, etc.

 

Hey Dan, why the regrets?

 

That was corrected after a certain engine serial #, the bulletin shows which ones have the check valves and updated tensioners. Most 2014 models will already have them.

 

Oil cooler leak
Adblue heater
Timing chain

I didn’t have those issues but they are very common with OM642 engine.

Much higher maintenance cost, but its a very good car. Very comfy and cosy. Plus safety ratings are very high.

 

Gotcha.
- The tensioner issue was resolved and was more of a annoying noise problem than actual damage every time you started the engine, though any time a lack of oil causes noise, it can't be doing any good LOL.
- The Adblue tank can freeze if you don't keep it topped up, according to what I've read on that Stephen's Garage site, maybe topping the tank up also spares the heater?
- The oil cooler; is it cooler itself, or just the line?

The shop across my business is always telling me that a cooler line of one of our fleet of GMC Savana service vans has to be replaced 'cause it's leaking at the rubber hose/metal clamp. I just have them cut through the hose at the crimped area, remove the section of now-cut rubber and re-install using a regular hose clamp. Works every time.
As far as higher maintenance costs, I agree with you there. I guess they figure if you can afford their overpriced crap, you can also afford their overpriced maintenance. MB has changed....

 

agree with the xenons and HK7 system, also get parktronic and the SVC 360 camera, assuming you are in tight spots alot

 

+1 to dr comments. Also the aluminum running boards, if so equipped, easily stain. If you are going the CPO route, which I recommend, look carefully at them. The CPO process says cosmetic issues will be dealt with. Also +1 to Rainers comments. And a trailer hitch can be really handy. We bought our '14 ML350 2w CPO in Sept 16 with 30.5k on the clock. Virtually trouble-free since.
Here's a nice one at our local dealer. No hitch but leather interior because it has ventilated seats. https://www.mbotw.com/inventory/cert...da5jb4fa518512
Here's the orig window sticker info. https://www.ipacket.info/4JGDA5JB4FA518512#MSRP

Happy Hunting!!

 

Mine is 5 years old and drives very well. On a 4matic there are Flex Discs in front and rear that will fray and wear out in time. $490 to replace each, but warranty will cover it. If You can purchase an extended warranty, it will benefit you in the future. My main battery lasted 4 years before being replaced at the dealer $440. My auxilary battery is still going strong. I am on the third set of tires and they have worn well. Handling and acceleration are perfect with the 4matic. It operates well in mud and snow and sand. The parking assist is ausome for urban parallel parking. I installed AMG front locking pins that are flush with the door when locked because the factory plastic locking pins stabbed my arm in drive-thru windows at the bank and fast food restaurants. The key fob battery has been replaced multiple times because it is always near the car and is in constant communication with the car. I have not found a metal box to place it in over night. The sun roofs have been great and free of issues. I love this car.

 

All of the "typical" issues with the W166 Bluetec MLs were corrected by the 2014/2015 MY models. As for the AdBlue heaters, yes, they do fail after 4-5 years (the AdBlue fluid freezes every time you leave the car outside so the constant freezing and thawing does its part) - but the money you'd save on fuel alone over five years (diesel vs. gas) pays for that particular repair 10x over. And, if you ever intend to tow with it, the torque on the diesel is second to none. I'd take a well-optioned 2014 or 2015 diesel ML (that hasn't been neglected) over any other W166 including the new GLEs.

 

Bought our ML350 new in 2014. Have had no issues with it. It's my Wife's daily and she loves it. Perfect for hauling 2 kids and a Great Dane. Did front pads at 32k and still going on original set of tires.

 

Boy oh boy was I out to lunch on the leaking oil cooler line fix. Just read up on it. Where it's mounted the o-ring seals have trouble handling the heat, even though they've revised the composition of the seals once already, if not twice.
Stephen's Garage suggestion about removing the belly pan and engine cover due to excessive heat baking the seals seems to be on the mark. Adds more credence to his opinions and advice, IMHO.
Next spring, they both come off on our truck for the summer.

 

Speaking of covers:
I have asked that question here

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...=670274&page=1

Interesting discussion ))

 

I have a 2013 that had this issue and my local MB dealer fixed it under warranty. I told them there was a TSB for it and they gave me a loaner GLC for the day while it was corrected.

 

How can I look up if my engine was corrected or not?
Mine is 2014 but build in 2013.

 

I purchased a 2015 CPO ML350 and now have 45,000 miles on it. It has been trouble free so far. They only thing I wish I had was the parking assist package. The backup camera is OK but it would be nice to have the surround view. I average about 21 MPG on mid grade gas, do not use premium. One think about a CPO it adds one year and up to 100,000 mile warranty to the original in service date. Normally the MB come with 4 year and 50,000 miles. Good luck

 

Doesn't apply to the bluetec, i was talking about the gas V6

 

FWIW, Stephen's Garage is not an authoritative source for all things MB and has in fact been known to give incorrect advice. It is one person's opinion who hasn't kept up with the progress in technology, materials and manufacturing over the past two decades, and as a result the advice posted is often detrimental to anything made during the last decade. If you have a mid-80s 300D then everything he says may be applicable, but it doesn't translate well for the newer cars and more often than not it actually causes more problems than it solves.

 

From what I've gathered from reading some of your posts, you are in a certain position of experience, either running a fleet of trucks or working at a dealership. So while I don't discount your opinion, I don't discount everything from Stephen's Garage. His claim that the oil spec'd today by MB and others is based more on what'll make the EPA happy, not what's best for the engine. Same thing with the amazing increase in supposed engine-oil life. Especially with a diesel, which turns oil into a black mess within mere hundreds of miles after being replaced. This, from a manufacturer who's ready & willing to fake emissions tests along with VW & BMW.

Please excuse me for doubting the sincerity of these manufacturers when they prescribe seemingly sub-standard oil and their replacement intervals. 30 yrs ago, you could barely find anyone griping about German manufacturers. Yes, technology was simple stoopid back then, but their **** lasted. Now you're expected to bleed cash for high-end vehicle maintenance and repairs, "just 'cause". I call bull****.

 

Peter - I am an engineer and do not work in the auto industry, so I definitely don't have a horse in this race. What I know about cars is primarily a result of being a curious wrench monkey and avid motorsport hobbyist, although I do have partial silent ownership in a local indie performance shop that specializes in VW/Audi/Porsche so I have a somewhat larger sample size to base my conclusions on than the average individual.

I have never claimed that all of the automobile manufacturers' design, product and production process changes are made only with the vehicle's fitness and longevity in mind (quite to the contrary). What I do claim here is that a shop like Stephen's is way behind the times and that some of the "MB doesn't want you to know that this is better and will make it last longer" advice they peddle around is at best only applicable to a very specific issue or component, and that nowadays more often than not it actually ends up damaging something else as a result of the vehicles becoming more complex. Sure, the inclusion and complexity of various vehicle systems is required by the EPA (like the DPF and SCR in the diesels) and MB does what it can to comply with said regulations - but while running that unapproved "Stephenson's Special" oil may be a tiny little bit better for some seal or bearing in the motor itself, it will shorten the life of other components that are now part of the cars (like the exhaust after-treatment system for example) by a very significant amount. Would you rather MB built a car (and prescribed maintenance for the same) that will last for 200K miles as a package, or one where the engine seal or bearings will last 300K but you will need to replace the exhaust after-treatment system three times at a cost equal to or greater than the service to the engine each time?

As for MB faking emissions tests along with VW & BMW, you're either operating with information that the rest of us aren't privy to yet, or are regurgitating speculation and sensationalism that passes for news these days. I mean, having a 6L AdBlue tank on some small European MB and BMW models qualifies as cheating and collusion? As in - you need to spend $2.75 on DEF twice a year instead of paying the entire $5.50 once? You realize that at this time that's the gist of the "cheating collusion" argument, right?

I do agree with you 100% on one thing though - the fact that back then $#!+ lasted and now it doesn't. It is called planned obsolescence and is now built into pretty much every single product you can buy from light bulbs to cars. Companies don't make money if they don't sell their products, so if they sell one light bulb every 2 years vs. one every 20 years, they'll make 10 times as much - and in turn employ people like you and me that live from that additional light bulb profit and will in turn spend our money on other "semi-perishable" goods like cars, appliances and electronics. That's fact of life in a consumer-driven society and capitalism in general. We haven't had a massively profitable world war in over seven decades now, so seeing as there are no people that were bombed and need a gazillion light bulbs, the money has to come from somewhere... planned obsolescence that forces everyone to buy ten times as many light bulbs as we did 30 years ago.

Does that adequately explain my position and my argument?

 

Yes, your position and argument is clear. Doesn't make you right, but I understand what you're saying.

I applaud your caution in regards to what the "fake news" spews on a regular basis. There has been much misinformation doled out due to that, no doubt. But after reading articles regarding MB and their decision to not fight certain allegations in regards to emissions fudging, opinions will be made. And I don't know where you got the Adblue factor as being the main beef, none of the articles I read mentioned it.

I think that all things considered, neither of us know for a fact whether or not Stephen's Garage is talking out his a$$. I do know that having sludge build up in a crankcase after relatively little mileage is not normal. Having 10k miles oil boil in a hot engine to the point where the oil is nothing more than a mist....is not normal.
Having an oil filter smaller than my fist on a dirty diesel engine, is not normal. The bean counters and lawyers clearly have veto power over the engineers, who probably cry themselves to sleep every night.

Just my opinion...

 

Regarding the alleged collusion between VW/Audi/Porsche with BMW and Mercedes, the only source that I am aware of was the Der Spiegel article that came out in July. The only other allegation it makes in addition to the 8L AdBlue tank is a conspiracy to limit the vehicle speeds at which roofs on convertibles will close to 50 km/h (and we all know that vehicle speeds at which the roof will safely close on a convertible couldn't possibly have anything to do with safety, and is furthermore the most important thing when buying a convertible), so unless someone had just farted in the car, it is not related to emissions at all. The link to the Der Spiegel article is http://www.spiegel.de/international/...a-1159471.html and was undoubtedly written by Sean Spicer himself.

As for whether Stephen's Garage is talking out of his a$$ or not, I am afraid you have definitely drank the conspiracy Kool-Aid and have an axe to grind here. Oil sludge buildup in a crankcase after relatively low mileage shouldn't be normal, and it certainly is NOT characteristic of Mercedes diesels in general and the OM642 in particular. Oil boiling - again, any oil in any car - is also not normal, and again NOT characteristic of Mercedes diesels in general and the OM642 in particular. Sending your kids to David Koresh's summer camp or having your dog teach you to speak, read and write Chinese is also not normal, but again, neither of those is characteristic of Mercedes diesels or the OM642.

So - what is your point? We gather that you believe in conspiracy theories and that Stepeh's Garage knows better than the combined knowledge of hundreds of designers, engineers and scientists at MB and the companies they use to develop products for them, but so far you have not provided a single shred of evidence to back up any of your claims, or for that matter even offered any advice to the OP on the topic (regardless of whether said advice is well-informed and correct or not). All you have done is b!tch about how MB is overpriced crap and their service a rip-off and nothing more. I am sure there is a support group you can join somewhere that will be a much better venue for you to air out your frustration and get some help with the resentment you hold toward MB. If you had said "Hey - I bought a 4-year-old used MB with an expired warranty that I can't afford to own and service, so keep maintenance costs in mind when buying a used expensive car", that would have had some educational value for the OP. This way you're just being an a$$ and a nuisance.