I bought a 2006 R500 with 14k miles. Please see this thread:
https://mbworld.org/forums/r-class-w...ml#post3270750

Another quick update.....had the car, van, whatever you call this thing back for a few weeks. It was ok until yeasterday when it wouldnt start. My wife tried to start it and nothing happend at all. She called MB (at least we have it on speed dial now) and the dealer called back and asked her to try it and it started. Keep in mind that she tried to start it at least 10 times before calling MB. Anyway, we are driving it this weekend to see if we can recreate the issue. We are keeping both keys with us thinking maybe it is an electronic key thing. Who knows. Anyway, as I have said before, the dealer has been great and is trying everything to correct it. Hopefully we can figure it out. We like the car just wish that it would start on a constant basis. My BMW's have
NEVER done crap like this and I have had over 20 of them. Anyway, this is DEFINATELY my last MB EVER! Unfortunately since the value for these drops like a rock and I just bought it I have no equity in it so we are stuck with it for awhile unless I want to write a big check....

 

sorry for you.
every now and then there's a lemon somewhere.
i also had an '01 x5 and it's strong even after 90+k. i prefer bmw's free maintenance within warranty, for most of their big items are due after 50+k.
My R350 will need tranny service at 39k and too bad they do not provide free maintenance.
Try escalate it to mbusa and send them legal notice for this.
best luck to you.

 

My X5 has 88k on it without any issues. My old 540i sport wagon went 120k without any issues and my 2000 subaru has 220k without issues. I cant believe that this mercedes is having thes issue with only 17k miles on it now. I understand that things happen and the car was gone for nearly 3 weeks the first time. I really wanted to like this car but how do you like a car that your wife is scared to drive for fear that it wont start. When she had to go to the store this afternoon she took the X5. Anyway, I need something with 3 rows for my wife and the R is the coolest of the minivans. Hell, I should have bought an odyssey...and I hate hondas. Anyway, not sure if I can do anything since I didnt buy it new. It had 14k miles but it was never damaged or anything. Just a used car with factory warranty. I am going to give them one more shot to correct it but I am hoping that MB gives me a call. It would be much easier to be mad if the dealer wasnt any good but that isnt the case. They honestly tried everything they could to fix it the first time. The other car with a 3rd row we like is the GL but there is no way I will ever buy another MB even if they fix this one. If only BMW made a minivan etc.....Ok, Im done whining now. We need to go to a kids birthday party later tonight and since I am also going we will take the R. Hopefully it messes up again and we can track it down to the key or something.

 

we had a 2000 X5 4.4i sports fully loaded - biggest POS in the world(except for the SAAB). we had AC problems, engine start issues, and even the car dying on I5 in the middle of CA during a roadtrip. BMW ended up putting in a new engine at 30k miles. We tried to resell it at lease-return, and even the BMW dealer told me the car was worth less because it HAD to have a new engine. bottomline, good thing it was a lease.
as for MB's, i've been very pleased with workmanship and i think i'd rank it higher than the BMWs. before buying a pre-owned MB, however, i always run a VMI from MB service to i know the car history. it's not a guarantee, but at least i know what problems the car had in the past, and whether there's a history of repeat/unresolved issues. good luck.
Patrick

 

Patrick, Im sorry about your experience. I have heard the same thing about the first year X5's (2000) and that is why I waited a year and bought mine (a 2001) in 2004. I have a friend that works at the BMW/MB/Ferrari/Mini dealer in Columbus and he ran the vin on the R500 before I bough it and there wasnt anything special. It had one roadside assist and all the updates were updated. I dont know what else I could have done. Like I said earlier, cars have problems and I accept that. I may have been lucky with my BMW ( and the many before) but it really bothers me that this R500 is still not starting from time to time. It sucks that I have a top of the line minivan (whatever) that Im scared to have my wife and 2 daughters take out for fear that it will leave them stranded in the cold. I am a car guy. I have had many porsches, M3's etc and I insist on having a car (even a minivan) that after I get out of it and walk away I want to turn around and take a look at it. That is just how I am. Cars are more than transportation to me. If they were just transportation I would have bought a honda. The problem is that when it wont even transport I have a problem. I honestly hope that can fix it. I dont know what I can replace it with that is entertaining to drive. Hell, I bought my R500 from a place 1000 miles away just because it was the only one I could find with the sport air suspension and alcantera interior. I can live with the sub par interior plastic etc because it is fun to drive and fast (for a minivan).

During the holidays we have a large Christmas parts and also a new years party. The car was at the dealer for all of those. Everyone asked "Where is your new car?" and it was really nice to tell them that it was at the dealer because it doesnt run. I wanted to show people how cool it was and show my fellow car guys that it had the killer interior etc but I couldnt. I can tell you that my best friend was looking at GL550's and decided to order a new X5 4.8 instead. Anyway, Im sure they will fix it and it will be fine. I really am not here to upset people I just want a car that starts. As I said earlier, we are stuck with this car and if they can make it start on a regular basis Im sure we will love it.

 

Sorry to hear you have a bad luck with your R that you had bought used.
For me, I always buy it new (with big discount) not used so I know the history of my vehicle.
My 2007 Acura RL (Honda) has 20K miles and had no problem so far (bought new too).

 

The problem isnt that it was used, the problem is that it isnt a good car. If it had been a lemon prior I would have known since I had a friend from a MB dealer look at the records. As far as buying it new, the only difference is I would have paid $60k for this thing instead of half that. Either way it still wouldnt start.......For the record, my BMW,Subaru, last 4 porsches were all bought used without incident. I will leave the new cars for the rich guys

 

Carrerax,

I hear you.
OK, It is a bad car. There are a lot of problems (bugs) in 2006 R class (1st year production vehice).

Hope the dealer will find the problem and fix the vehicle under warranty.

 

I owned a 2006 X3 3.0i and with 15k on the odometer the car would not start. Called BMW service, had them tow it to the dealer, they would not see any faults, and re-charge the battery. This cycle lasted about 6 times until finally they replaced the battery. I never had the issue after that. Have they tried replacing the battery?

 

I highly suggested that they replace the battery the first time and they didnt. They ran all the tests' and said it was ok. I tend to agree with them that it isnt the battery because there were 3 scenarios when it wouldnt start.

One was that NOTHING would happen when you tried to start it. By this I mean no dash lights, no lights when I opened the door, no nothing. THe car was in the garage and I know that a door wasnt left open to drain the battery. I put the car on a charger while waiting for MB to come over and it started after the battery charged. As I kept trying to start it (while it was charging) you could tell the battery was totally drained and it was charging. I mean that after the charging started it would start to crank and then a few minutes later it would crank more and more until after several min it started.

The second scenario (which we had at the dealer the first time when they thought it was fixed and I went out to start it and it was DEAD...no dash lights and I went in and grabbed the head mechanic and had him look at it and it started right up) is that it simply isnt getting a signal to start. I mean that you twist the key and nothing happens and the next time it starts up perfectly.

The third scenario is what we had on Friday. Wife went out to start it and it had dash lights etc but wouldnt crank. She tried it several times and nothing. When the dealer called they asked her to try it again and it started right up.

Anyway, Im sure they can fix it but it is just annoying. We have driven it 2 times this weekend and it has been ok. I really dont know what to do at this point except keep driving it with both keys and try to figure it out if it is a key problem. Thanks for all your opinions.

 

I had the same symptoms in my BMW. They did all their tests and it never showed a bad battery but I knew all along it had to be the problem. Once they replaced my battery never had weird starting issues. I'm not saying getting a new battery will fix your issue, but it's worth giving it a shot. My dealer didn't believe me until I started getting mad and asked they at least try giving me a new battery.

 

I will insist that they replace the battery the next time it goes in! It is worth a shot!

 

I heard your frustration but I did have a BMW 325i and X5 3.0 and had so much problems with them. I was so pissed and I don't even want to talk about them.

Now, my wife is driving a C300 and my car is a R500 and they are great so far. My point is I always thinks reliability of cars are very much crap shoot and sometime you are luck out and sometime are not.

By looking at your problem, I think you have a very high expectation because even so called high quaility Japanese car can have problem such as yours. A lot of time the problem is caused by the part suppliers.

By saying all these, I hope MB does the right thing for you and get this fixed quickly. End of the day, I think R500 is a great car and I hope your family enjoys it quickly because my family does.

 

I agree 100% with what you said. We really want to enjoy the R500 and Im sure we will after it gets fixed. I like the car as a whole and it is very un minivan like.