Ok, just bought myself an 2011 R350 at auction, have been eyeing W251 for a while, and couldn't bring myself to buy a 2007 R63 for the wife and kids, so this guy is it. Thought about Bluetec but was having a lot of trouble finding good ones so went with the gas model. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance. This thing is quite well-optioned and it took us a while to find one that had the stuff we wanted, and we're very happy so far. Pano, blind spot, parktronic, P1, P2, rear entertainment, "AMG styling" (or maybe just 20 inch AMG wheels, not sure), really just missing cold weather options, 7th seat (didn't want), maybe the lighting package (not sure?), and a few other small things.

Heated seats were a must have and this was supposed to have them, so we got a credit from the auction company and will just use heated seat covers in the winter. Aftermarket in the seats with airbags seems like a bad idea.

I still have my W211 wagon and in the past have had W220 and W221, so am generally familiar with M-B but have a few model-specific questions. I've done a lot of research but I apologize if I overlooked anything on these issues. Also ordered an owner's manual off eBay but haven't received it yet.

I'm disappointed that this car does not have airmatic, at least there are no controls for it, I haven't poked around under the car yet. It can be a hassle and maintenance issue but I think that the ride is superior on cars this size and weight and the Arnot hardware has been great as replacements on my other cars. The R is pretty floaty front to back without it, especially over train tracks and speed bumps. Any thoughts, ideas on this and how to improve the ride while under warranty, or later? I didn't even realize that it was made without the airmatic, was it an option or a production timing think?

The cargo cover was in place in the rear position, and it seems like it pulls out more and there is a forward spot for it. On one side of the cover, there hangs off the end an extension piece which seems designed to fill the extra width when moved to the forward position, but even with this in place it doesn't reach. Is there supposed to be an extension for both sides? If so, anyone have a part number?

Am I nuts or is there no way to semi-permanently set the rear hatch not to go up the way? Trying to remember to catch it every time before it bumps into the garage door is a hassle, although luckily our door has a trim piece on is that is soft and plasticy, so no damage yet on the missues.

Any ways to REALLY fix the wind whistle when the rear (well, middle) windows are done. This thing is under warranty for another year, so I won't do anything myself on it until then, but I'm already feeling like the dealership won't be able to do anything about it, from what I've read. Anyone messed around with an Exacto knife on the weatherstripping? It seems like an obvious design flaw and I just can't believe that no one has figured it out.

Tires are shot - not too surprising even after just 22k miles, after all, it's a 5000 lb car. Any ideas on what is good for a replacement tire? We're in a cold weather environment - are people running all seasons on the 20" wheels or two sets of tires and wheels? Have to deal with this soon - I'll look but I'm not sure the existing rubber is even all season. Haven't pulled it out, but the spare seems very weird, although maybe it's just flat. Will have to check it out more.

More later - thanks in advance, just happy to be able to haul everybody around - the back seat is WAY more adult friendly the the W211 wagon!

 

When you get the owner Manuel you should find it. My 2006 has it in the vehicle screen. I use it a lot in parking garages. Hope it is still an option on the 2011.
I would miss the airmattic option if I did not have it. I understand your disappointment. Mine came with Sumitomo HTR sport 255 55 18 they are a good all around tier and handle the snow well

 

Here's a link to the digital owners Manual on the MB website. Should help you with the height adjustment on the rear hatch. Owners Manual

I've gone through tires pretty fast too. Two sets of the OEM Contis until I got smarter, one set of Michelin Latitude Tours (expensive and still less than 30K miles total), not sure what I'll try next, probably cheaper then the Michelins since none seem to last too long.

 

I think on the facelifted R they got rid of airmatic as a USA option.

Yes your cargo cover should have one extension on each side for two total extensions. These can't be purchased separately from rebuying the whole cover (about $300).

Don't go with aftermarket heated seats- just do an OEM retrofit (I did an OEM retrofit of the ventilated seats and it worked well). I even added heated seats to the third row using all OEM parts from a G Wagen/E Class/C Class.

Yes you can limit the height of the trunk. It's either set through the speedometer settings menu or with the trunk buttons itself (I don't know which for your specific model year). You're lucky in that older models like my 07 only have two heights, full and very short, but newer ones like yours you can set a specific height.

There's no AMG styling for facelifted cars- only the AMG rims.

Your car has lighting package if it has xenons. Does it have the LED strips in the bumper? Quad fogs on your car are indicative of halogen lights and no lighting package. (I think LEDs mean xenons but not 100% sure for the facelifted R).

 

I now have 70k miles on my 2010 and it has been great with almost no repairs. I drive from Ohio to Florida 3 or so times per year and it is a great highway cruiser at 80 to 90 mph.

There is no known solution to the noise from the rear windows with all windows lowered. It can be helped a little at some speeds by experimenting with putting the windows at different heights.

I would have loved to retro fit the ventilated seats into the car. That is probably my biggest or only gripe with the car. Hot sticky seats in hot weather. I will probably try adding the beaded seat covers like the old cab drivers used to have. The seats have a lot of mass and when they heat up, take a long time to cool off.

The rear hatch is easily set to different heights. Check the manual. The manual is easily downloaded from the MB website.

I don't notice the car getting "floaty" over bumps. Maybe because I have the tires pumped up to the high end. I think around 38 psi cold all around. My tires also last around 45 to 50k miles. First was the original Conti's and now Goodyears. All weather tires get me through Ohio snow and summer. The spare IS actually flat. It is a small "doughnut" tire and your car has a compressor to inflate it if needed. If you had a diesel, then you would have run flat tires and no spare.

 

Unless you are talking about a different wind whistle with all of the windows up. That is not normal. My car is very quiet.

Airmatic was a special option to lower or raise the car in different situations. It turned out to be very expensive to own with expensive repairs and was not a popular option in later years. All of the R-class cars have air leveled rear end to keep the car level with various loads.

 

congrats.
Anyone upgrade all the interior and side mirror bulbs w/ small LEDs yet...or is that tacky?
PL

 

I did that with AZN Optics bulbs from this forum. They're much brighter and I like the cooler light vs. the warmer stock bulbs.

 

Hi, sorry for the long delay, the twin boys who were the reason we were buying a bigger car arrived a little early, so I've been JUST A LITTLE! busy with them and their older sister! So far the R has been great for moving all these kids around!

On the cargo hatch extenders, anyone know if these are a Mercedes standard, or if they are unique to the R class? I see them for MLs as well, and it looks like I could find just the extenders on eBay for an ML. I might end up with an extra cargo cover otherwise...

I found the hatch height limiter procedure in the manual (now it's all done by the hatch buttons), but it didn't work the first few times. I finally held both buttons down for 10 seconds and then it gave me a beep, seems to reset it, and then the manual procedure worked fine.

The wind whistle, it's definitely just with the windows down. I may harass the dealer about this a little bit, see if they can figure something out. It's pretty annoying at first, but I guess you get used to it after a while. I have a similar whistle at my hose from two external wires rubbing together. We don't notice it any more after a few weeks of "I've made a huge mistake" when we first bought the place.

For the spare, is the pump an OEM accessory? I'll have tio dig around and find it, and look in the owner's manual on that point.

More later on the lighting and potential OEM heated seats retrofit...

 

The air compressor for the spare is in a small bag not attached to the car, but in the area of the spare. It definitely came with the car from the factory and is essential to use the spare tire. It is part of the car's safety equipment and should have been supplied to you. If you can't get the dealer or previous owner to cough it up, I'd guess any quality air compressor run off a 12volt plug would work. I'd imagine Mercedes would charge an exorbitant price to replace it. Just make sure the compressor can get up to the required high pressure.

 

MB doesn't sell the cargo hatch extenders for that trunk cover separately of the cargo cover. The car, from the factory, comes with the extenders attached to the cover. Unfortunately my car is also missing these extenders. Let me know how it works using the ML extender, and if successful I should go that route as well. Too expensive to buy the whole cover again just to get those dumb attachment pieces.


Spare tire air pump should be in the styrofoam tray in the center of the spare tire. This pump came with the car and if you have to get it from the MB dealer after the fact, it's over $200!!! I basically told my dealer to order me a pump when I brought it in for service expecting it to be cheap, and I saw this ridiculously priced pump on my bill. Oh well.



You're absolutely right. Regard my message above.

 

My MY2012 R class can't really drive with the windows down... wind buffing would be too strong. But with the windows up, everything should be pretty quiet.

All US MY2012 come with air suspension just for the rear, with auto-leveling. A full airmatic setup can be ordered as a special factory option (it shows up only in the dealer's ordering tool... and probably required a secret handshake). But I don't know if anyone used it... I *may have considered it if I knew, but my car was already too far in the build process when I found out and I did not want to be a jerk and cancel the order

 

Ok, have an ML cover with extenders on the way, so I'll let you guys know. My guess is that it's probably an easy mod if it doesn't fit initially.

 

Another question, I have factory warranty for another 7 months and 28k miles or so. I am taking the car to the dealer for a few things after I take it to my standard Mercedes mechanic to give it a once over and download the codes and everything. Anything in particular that I should have them look at. My local dealer seems to find a lot of things to fix under warranty, so I'm not too concerned, but just wanted to know if there is anything that I should really plan to try to address under factory warranty.

In the past, in similar situations, I have been able to get them to replace parts and fix faults based just on historical codes by Star diagnostic, so want to be aggressive with them to get it all sorted out while under warranty.

What are peoples' opinions on MB extended warranty for the R class? I've been quoted around $3k and will shop it online, but not totally sure if it's going to be needed.

 

I've got National Warranty on my R and could not be happier. Shop around and see what prices are comparing MB and aftermarket and make sure it's a reputable aftermarket company if you choose to go that route.

 

I purchased a loaded 2011 R350 with airmatic. Awesome option and already had the car lowered via SDS. I only saw one other 2011 with airmatic when I was shopping around.

Nice car and congrats. Please post some pics!