E430 Cooling fan problem

Dec 7, 2001 | 12:01 AM

Darkmann

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E430 Cooling fan problem

This is getting annoying. It's an '01 E430. After washing it earlier this evening, I took it out for a ride to get the rest of the water out of the nooks and crannies. I hit 125 on a straightaway and stay on for about 10 secons, coast down and get off my exit. I park the car, go into a supermarket and as I get out the auxilliary cooling fans are howling. This thing has just 6K miles on it, the coolant is reading 80F and the ambient temp is about 60F. What in the world is wrong here? i drive around at 60 for a good while hoping the cooling fan will just go away. No way. For the next 2Hrs this thing is howling in my garage. called Teleaid and the have a tech on the phone (great system BTW). Tech helped me disconnect the fan (I don't want to run the batteries before work tomorrow) and he thinks that water might have goine into the fan control system. This is a $50K+ car for goodness sake!!!!

Dec 7, 2001 | 12:20 AM

linh

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From: San Diego

99' SLK 230 & 01' CLK 430

I totally agree with you Darkmann. It a $50 plus car !!! I used to hole down my Acura and nothing happen. The worse had yet to come Darkmann. What happen when it start to RAIN.

Dec 7, 2001 | 12:33 AM

mbtech208

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From: Bloomington, IN

1997 Toyota Tacoma 4x4

It always irks me when people tell me "I paid "x amount of money" for this car!! It's not supposed to break!!"
Fact is, it doesn't matter if you paid a cool million for the car. A car is a car, and any car has the ability to malfunction. That's what technicians are for. Murphy's Law: If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. About your cooling fan, I don't have an answer for that. Could be water in the connector for the fan, could be a bad ME control unit, could be something entirely different.

Dec 7, 2001 | 01:34 AM

Darkmann

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You Have to be Kidding Me!!!

MBTECH, I am an engineer. I design stuff, complex stuff for that. I have a 91 Integra with 123K, a 89 300ZX Turbo with 125K, a 95 Nissan Pathfinder with 128K and never, I mean never, have I had any problems with them. I am talking here about a $55K+ vehicle with a reputation for reliability with only 6K miles on it!!! Yes things break, and that I can understand. Buddy, all i did was wash the car!!! Am I not supposed to wash it anymore? Get a grip man. I don't know what your performance standards are, but this is intolerable. For one, I have to get the car to the dealer tomorrow - which means I will either miss work or be quite late. Then there's the uncertainty of how long it'll be at the shop. Whether you like it or not, and I don't care how much money you have, at $50+ for a car, it should be perfect the first 50K miles. That's the standard, period. If MB can't take the heat then it should get out of the race - and, by the way, I haven't told you about the other problems that came at less than 6K miles, have I???????

Dec 7, 2001 | 01:36 AM

linh

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From: San Diego

99' SLK 230 & 01' CLK 430

mbtech208...i understand your point but our's point is that little things interior bulbs burn, interior paint peeling, fuel pump, molding fall off, ESP/BAS intermitted problem, engine can't start when it hot,coolant fan stay on, Navigation system don't with 3 miles on odometer etc. and so ON. This kindna problem you don't expect on a new car specially Mercedes, German made !! You don't see problem like this on a Honda. What we meant the a $50,000 plus car, we should expect more QAULITY like LEXUS ! Oh well, Mercedes rank # 10 in JD qaulity and Buick rank #5. Something is wrong here.

Dec 7, 2001 | 02:11 AM

mbtech208

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From: Bloomington, IN

1997 Toyota Tacoma 4x4

Don't get upset at me, I didn't do a thing to your car. Maybe washing your car had nothing to do with the cooling fans acting up. Maybe you had no problems with your Nissans, Acuras, Lexuses, Hondas, etc... but there are also people with Mercedes that haven't had a single problem either. On the flip side, there are people with Japanese cars that have had nothing but problems with them. If your Nissans and Acura are so perfect, why does every one of the dealerships have a service department? Surely not just for oil changes and brake jobs? If Mercedes-Benzes never broke, I'd be out of a job. Fact is, these cars are state-of-the-art. These cars are years and years ahead of Hyundais and Chevrolets. Cars are made by people, people are not infallible. Also, I've found a chamois works better for drying your car than a 125 mph blast down the freeway will. Less chance of bugs and rocks damaging your freshly washed paint.

Dec 7, 2001 | 12:21 PM

Darkmann

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No Problem

Ok, thanks. And by the way, I used a chamois. The blast was just the fun factor kicking in!!! I disconnected the fan last night (following instructions from an MB tech via Teleaid - love it!!!) and when I reconnected it in the morning, everything seems fine. I have tried unsuccessfully to reengineer the problem - including a rewash and the 125 blast. I think water just got into a connector and something probably shorted out and it was just a matter for it to dry!!! Weird. And you are correct, not all Hondas, Acuras and Nissans run problem free - just check their boards!!!