Hi there... I'm relatively new to this forum so please be gentle . Anyhow I recently was in the market for an R500. Being limited to just 06-07 I ended up picking up an 06 with 109k miles on it for dirt cheap. Now I know that most buyers will lie 99.9% of the time so I had to go with my gut and how the car felt when I drove her. Other than some cosmetic wear and tear she looked and felt good.

According to the dash, no warnings are on and the next service (service C) is not due for awhile. I plan on taking it to my trusted mercedes mechanic to go over the vehicle later this week to go over the areas that my eyes are simply not trained for.

I'm aware of the issues that plagued the R350 and by scouring this site I am aware of the few issues with this version too. The main one seems to be the control body for the tranny. My questions are;
1. What maintanence right off the bat do you all suggest I get done right away?
2. Is there any preventative measure I can take to safe guard against the tranny control body?

I have other questions like radio upgrades (suggestions of course), headlight upgrades (I really wanted HIDs), and bluetooth connection options so any info in regards to those creature comforts will be appreciated too.

 

Headlights-- I went with the Morimoto 5000K 35w HIDS / can-bus harness for the low beams. Just swapped to OSRAM 65w Rallye for the high beams. Lots of options out there for HIDS but Morimoto from Retrofit seemed to be of a better quality than other units I looked at. No flickering and a light color that matches the Morimoto DRLS I installed where the OE fogs were.

 

Nothing you can do about the throttle body. It's simply something that will have to be done at some point (if not done previously) and something only the dealer can do. Cost is about $2,700ish (depending on your labor rate).

Bluetooth- if you open your upper armrest (in the center console) is there a black plug thing sticking out/module in there? If so then you can buy a bluetooth module and plug it in there for the car to have bluetooth calling. Audio is very quite though. If you don't have this plug then you're out of luck aside from spending big $$$ to retrofit it.

 

Thanks for the replies... Yeah I am still on the hunt for the HIDs. There was a site that my former retrofitters of HIDs swore by, DDM Tuning. Very cheap HID kits. I was thinking of trying them actually...

Sucks to hear about the throttle body. Oh well. I did take it to my mechanic over the weekend. I got the tranny fluid replaced, spark plugs replaced, and added a quart of oil. Future things he recommended was the replacement of a worn control arm bushing and the replacing of the shocks all the way around. Overall though, the car is in good shape

Oh and I don't have that plug so no bluetooth for me

Now going back to that radio and its command software, has anyone truly been able to upgrade the firmware or am I just going to have to suck it up and get an aftermarket radio? And if so, what radios do you all suggest?

 

Oh and I forgot to ask, are the R500 parts interchangable with 06-08 MLs and GLs? Specifically the steering wheels? Mine is worn and I would like to replace it with a wood/leather one.

 

Yes steering wheels are interchangeable between those year ML and GL. I've actually got a wood/leather black wheel from my R63. I've since swapped it for a different wheel. Would you be interested in buying it? All you have to do is transfer over the airbag and buttons which is all straightforward once the wheel comes off.

 

Yes I would be. Can you PM me some pics and name your price.

 

Sorry a bit OOT, anyone knows if our shift buttons are interchangeable with shift paddles? I've seen few OEM ones (black with +/- markings) that were cross marketed for the w251 as well.

 

PM sent.

Yes- I did it on my car. Check my build thread (somewhere within the first 6 pages I think).

 

OK so its been a few weeks now since I've had this beast and here are my impressions so far...

Car seems a little sluggish off the line but once it hits the higher RPMs I can definitely hear the air being sucked into the intake which in turn gets the car going quite nicely. At first I thought it was a loose throttle cable only to learn that there is no throttle cable so there went that thought. The tranny is not jerky nor is it holding its gears so I guess its just something I need to get used to. The thing is a fricken tank afterall.

Brake pedal feels loose. I find myself having to really press on it to get the brakes to bite. I'm thinking I just need a brake service unless swapping out pads and maybe re-doing the fluid is an easy DIY job. More to come on that and suggestions welcome.

At highway speeds on occasion I notice that the tail end seems to sway. Not sure how else to really describe it. Has anyone else felt that?

On the exterior I had to re-condition the headlights since they were severely hazed. After several hours of wet sanding and applying new clear they finally look decent again. Soon I will be upgrading to some 55w 45k HIDs for better light output.

The interior overall is nice. I like the black with the wood grain trim however I have noticed some oddities. It seems where the sun has hit the wood over the years those pieces have discolored. The radio bezel and upper radio trim are noticably lighter than the door trims, but that is after really looking for the difference. However I also have noticed some cracking on some of these pieces too which sucks. I've seen someone here take them all off to get them carbon fibered up which looked great, but I don't have the r63 so I want to keep the wood grain look. Are there ways to repair the cracks or is replacing my only option? I am a bit surprised that these pieces cracked after these years. I've have other cars that never had this issue that were much older.

BTW, I got the light blue exterior color with black interior R500. I will eventually post some pics.

Near future mods:
55W HID 45ks to replace the dim halogens
Blacked out housings (I have not seen anyone try this before)
Steering wheel swap for a wood/leather one (when I get the funds )
LED fog/running lights

 

Post a pic of your new ride.

I bought my 2007 R500 almost 2 years ago. It has the AMG appearance package. The only complaint I have is the inconsistent throttle body response from stopped. Within weeks after purchase was slammed from behind in traffic. MB did the repair and I think the tail gate shuts smoother now. The car looks and drives like it never happened.

My Command (radio) display went black - pulled the radio and sent to a guy in New Jersey. He installed a new display and returned the Command unit within 10 days. The guy is familiar with most radio problems.

I picked up a Bluetooth device on eBay. System works great. I wish it would play music from my iPhone. The rear seat entertainment DVD player will play most non-Blueray movies, but is getting more finicky as time goes on.

I've done most maintenance items like filters, brakes, oil changes, service message resets, rear air suspension bags, etc. on my own with simple hand tools. This vehicle is easier to work on than a Ford or Chevy, and almost as easy as a BMW. Bought a 4 ton jack and an oil extraction unit.

When I bought the vehicle it had an AMG badge on the rear tailgate and took a ration of poop over its existence when I showed a pic of my traffic accident. So be careful what you post here, the **** types can be nasty on this site.

I've changed a number of bulbs to LED. The Canbus system is finicky about which it will accept. Thinking of adding HID low beams. Post here your results.

Next plans are to install HR front coils and adjustable rear air spring links. Trying to find a good set of wheels is a challenge too. The offset of factory wheels is 53mm. Any offset less than 40mm may cause the wheels to stick out.

Regarding the rear sway. Have your rear suspension checked out. Mine feels firmly planted at all speeds and always tracks perfectly. And the engine responds well to new air filters, so that may help with your off the line issue.

 

To answer some of your questions, I drove my R500 for more than 5 years and never experienced sway at the back. For the brake, I think it is a known issue to the 2006 for the spring underneath the brake pedal to be bad. I believe it is not very expensive to replaced but not cheap.

Regardind the HID, I got my 55W 50K with error code cancelers from DDM back four years ago and they worked perfectly until I sold my car back in this July. You do need to paid attention to the "metal clip" that hold the bulbs in place. You need to make some modification to it, so the HID bulb will be secured in place. I was trying to buy the clips from the dealers but they don't sell them as a separately.