WTH! Broke the Turbo Shaft on my 2011 R350 Bluetec
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2011 R350 Blutec
WTH! Broke the Turbo Shaft on my 2011 R350 Bluetec
Last week I was driving home. I pulled out in to traffic and needed to punch it to get up to speed quickly (nothing crazy, just needed it to go). I heard something "give" and next thing I know I am in limp-home mode (can't drive over 15mph). I immediately pull over, got out, and noticed that white smoke was billowing out of both exhaust ports. I turned the car off and had the vehicle towed to my Indy. No check engine light or warnings of any kind. The next day my Indy sends me a photo of a broken turbo shaft. He said he, nor any of the other technicians there, have ever seen this happen before. It is going to be an expensive repair - checking to see if it is covered under the MB Emissions Control System warranty. How the hell does this happen? Car has 60K miles.
Member
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 229
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From: Akron, OH
2006 R350
All I can muster for you is.... HOLY SH*T!
Mercedes won't fix it? It is only 5 years old with 60K miles....
4 year 50K power train is the reason... heck, Honda has a better new car warranty...
Not normally a griper like this but that is BS.. Even if you beat on it, you would have broken something else.. not a turbo shaft.. that had to have been a faulty cast that they didn't see....
Man I feel for you...
Mercedes won't fix it? It is only 5 years old with 60K miles....
4 year 50K power train is the reason... heck, Honda has a better new car warranty...
Not normally a griper like this but that is BS.. Even if you beat on it, you would have broken something else.. not a turbo shaft.. that had to have been a faulty cast that they didn't see....
Man I feel for you...
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From: Miami, FL
2003 CL 600
Based on the other oil failures on the bluetecs, i'd wager the turbo oil passages are caked up and the shaft overheated and failed. Post pics?
If there was any clogging of the oil passages, MB would deny warranty due to lack of maintenance anyway.
If it's just a broken turbo, just replace the turbo and carry on. Should be under 3k total. If you get some insane repair bill, look at a rebuilt turbo and have it installed outside of the dealership.
If there was any clogging of the oil passages, MB would deny warranty due to lack of maintenance anyway.
If it's just a broken turbo, just replace the turbo and carry on. Should be under 3k total. If you get some insane repair bill, look at a rebuilt turbo and have it installed outside of the dealership.
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Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 179
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From: Southeast Florida
06 SLK55 AMG, 12 R350
Based on the other oil failures on the bluetecs, i'd wager the turbo oil passages are caked up and the shaft overheated and failed. Post pics?
If there was any clogging of the oil passages, MB would deny warranty due to lack of maintenance anyway.
If it's just a broken turbo, just replace the turbo and carry on. Should be under 3k total. If you get some insane repair bill, look at a rebuilt turbo and have it installed outside of the dealership.
If there was any clogging of the oil passages, MB would deny warranty due to lack of maintenance anyway.
If it's just a broken turbo, just replace the turbo and carry on. Should be under 3k total. If you get some insane repair bill, look at a rebuilt turbo and have it installed outside of the dealership.
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2011 R350 Blutec
Follow-Up
So it turns out to be a bad turbine. Indy could not really give me a root cause analysis. He said is was full of oil (good thing) - so were the pistons and exhaust. They replaced the turbo (with a used E Class turbo with 9,000 miles on it). Obviously they had to pull the glow plugs to drain the oil, but they did not remove any exhaust components. They did bore scope the exhaust and other areas of the engine and could not find any issues or metal shavings, etc. After replacing the turbo, they drove the car around the parking lot for a while to burn off the residual oil. The mechanic said it took several laps before most of the smoke was gone. They then let it idle for a while.the mechanic also drove it over the weekend to ensure everything seemed OK. I got it back today. Trying to decide whether or not to keep the car. Only had it 5 weeks (bought at 50K miles) and have had the crank shaft position sensor, a pulley, and a turbo replaced. I also had issues with not being able to get the Adblue (16 starts remaining) warning to go off. My Indy had to reflash all of the software to finally get it to clear. What do you guys think? Keep it or sell it? 
Last edited by Che Che; Jan 16, 2016 at 09:42 PM.
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Thread Starter
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2011 R350 Blutec
MBWorld Fanatic!
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From: Miami, FL
2003 CL 600
I feel it's like the head bolt issue on the 6.2 AMG engines, it happens rarely enough that MB doesn't do much about it, and in reality it's not a big deal, but can be expensive if you are one of the unlucky ones.
For me, if I bought a Bluetec, I wouldn't wait 10k miles to change the oil, maybe 5-6K instead. The lubrication system just isn't ready for the longer intervals in my opinion.
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From: Miami, FL
2003 CL 600
Although, you'd be totally justified based on the level of problems you've had in such a short time of ownership.
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From: Akron, OH
2006 R350
Sorry to hear that, i'd take it back to the indy and see what the issue is, if they were just that far into the engine, it could be a simple issue of them not replacing a needed gasket or something similar, may not be enough to justify getting rid of the car.
Although, you'd be totally justified based on the level of problems you've had in such a short time of ownership.
Although, you'd be totally justified based on the level of problems you've had in such a short time of ownership.
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Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Nova Scotia, Canada
2023 GLK250, 1987 560SL
The best thing you can do with any car before the warranty runs out, is explore forums to see the problems/symptoms everyone else is having and go to your dealer and tell them you;re having these problems. Even if they can't find an issue, its on record as having been stated prior to warranty expiring - small claims will rule in your favour every time.
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From: Nova Scotia, Canada
2023 GLK250, 1987 560SL
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2011 R350 Blutec
I thought I would provide you all with an update.
The oil leak was coming from the recently replaced turbo. Indy replaced the o-rings and supposedly stopped the leak. The other codes were related to the preheater. It was around a $1300 part, so I purchased a refurbished part for $650 (with $150 refund with the return of the bad preheater). Should have the car back this week. Not sure if I am selling it or not. I am concerned that with the turbo issue and oil going through the exhaust that I may need to replace the O2 sensors or cat soon. Thoughts?
The oil leak was coming from the recently replaced turbo. Indy replaced the o-rings and supposedly stopped the leak. The other codes were related to the preheater. It was around a $1300 part, so I purchased a refurbished part for $650 (with $150 refund with the return of the bad preheater). Should have the car back this week. Not sure if I am selling it or not. I am concerned that with the turbo issue and oil going through the exhaust that I may need to replace the O2 sensors or cat soon. Thoughts?
