Hi!

Figured I would post this for kicks to help me log what happens as well as share with anyone else that ever thought about importing a car from Japan because that's what I'm doing


Short story is I needed a family hauler now that we have 2 kids and we're running out of space for camping gear.
Out with the '04 Audi Allroad and in with the '07 R500.

Won the auction, paid the broker and now I get to wait ... so this thread won't see much action until it gets loaded on a boat in a month or two.
If anyone has tips, pointers, MODS! I have a laundry list of ideas to upgrade from headlights, to ecu/tcu tune, body kit and even maybe scissor hinges on the back doors

Oops the baby is awake .. life calls. To be continued...

 

Back for a few more details!
For myself I'm in North Vancouver, BC had a 2nd baby back in March. Car nut, love to say to my wife that 'I could build that!' when she wants to buy something.

Back when I worked the oil fields I had a WRX which was still one of my favorite cars ever. But when kids are the plan, that backseat was not going to cut it.
Switched to a BMW 328 which was nice, fit a car seat MUCH better. Blacked out the chrome and made a custom subwoofer enclosure for it hidden under the trunk.
Covid hit and I wasn't using it so I sold it and started my Japanese Import search for either an E550 or a Volvo V70R however a combination of being cheap with my bids and rarity nothing happened.

When I got the call to come in the office I assumed my station wagon dreams were over. Randomly found a super lower KM Allroad so I stuck with the German theme and picked that up.
It's been great and will be sold in the near future but 2nd kid came along so I started searching for something similar but bigger.

I think I originally saw an R63 video and was hooked. Figured an R550 would be much closer to budget but not realizing they only made them in Canada trying to find one in Japan was next to impossible.
I skipped over a lot of R500's searching for the impossible. More R63's were listed than R550's (4:1 I believe)

Adjusted my search and waited for the right one to come up, which was 60,000km with a light grey interior ... that I missed out on bidding too low
I still regret that as I loved the interior color and found out it's generally special order so pretty hard to find.

But for 1/3rd the price I found the eventual purchase. Black on Cashmere with 112,000km. Quite satisfied!
It starts and runs well, no abnormal sounds or smoke. There is 1 warning light : Active Light System Warning

That I researched which could be the ILS module worst case, possibly headlight replacement. Possibly couple stupid cheap things, will have to diagnose in a few months when it arrives.
Worst part is after all the fun of searching and bidding and hoping now I have to wait probably at least a month for it to get loaded on a ship. I hate waiting...

 

Oh and if any has any details on computer coding options if at all for the Merc?
I know there's diagnostic software you can get to check codes and such yourself but on my BMW you could go in and adjust settings for things, mostly cosmetic.
BMW you can code in Sport Mode even if you don't pay for it, same with Bluetooth connection which is a dealer option but you can just tweak a setting.
Same with my Audi you can adjust the base ride height for the adjustable suspension so the Level 1 is lower if you want.

Is there anything like that available? seems like German cars might all be similar. I just don't know what to search for exactly...

 

Nice. What Japanese auction site was used?

 

Oh I forgot to plug them!
JapanCarDirect.com

Yoshiro is by far the most patient and helpful man on the planet. Highly recommend them!

 

I didn't see any R-class on there? Is the site not fully updated?

 

Oh their site link to the auctions seems weird sometimes for checking the available auctions I would go through B-Pro or JDM Auctions websites.

Some days there are none. Mostly R350 RHD as well.
Usually only one R500 every month or two showed up.

 

Done plenty of mods to my R500. Biggest one done was swapping the engine for a 5.5L engine out of a 2002 CL55 AMG (old one siezed, probably because of leaking fuel injectors hydrolocking it). Replaced the crappy HID projectors first with aftermarket HIDs, and now with LED projectors. OEM tow hitch modified with 2" receiver and OEM wiring with aftermarket brake controller. Aftermarket 9" head unit with Android Auto. LEDs in the reverse, marker, and interior lights. Aftermarket LED fog lights. Spliced and heatshrunk all of the headlight wiring- I suspect this is the source of your headlight errors (insulation fell off and causing wires to short circuit).

To-do projects- replacing the mirrors with the facelift version (already have the mirrors). Wire in the 360 camera system that came with the head unit. Replace the transmission pan with a Weistec one for better cooling (towing in the mountains is hard on the car). Replace the springs in the door locks.

I bought a knockoff Xentry unit from Alixpress and so far it has done everything I need it to. Got the software from MHH. Able to read and clear codes, run diagnostics, and change programming/parameters.

Tips: electrically and mechanically the W251 is mostly identical to the W164/X164. If you don't find something in the W251 forum, you might find it in the W164/X164 forums. The ML500 is the R500's closest cousin.

 

Yeah I'm not swapping an engine any time soon but I've researched a RaceIQ tune I might start with plus intake and exhaust to stage 2 map.

May not be a ton of gains but even stage 1 tune is almost 10% increase in HP/TQ.

Dream mod is to find a donor car with a black bison body kit and swap everything and sell the other one.

Definitely want to upgrade lights so may poke you when the time comes, in my day job im a red seal electrician and I've fiddled with headlights in the past so I can probably sort it out myself if needed.

I don't think this has a hitch so will have to do aftermarket but only going to tow a small pop up tent and the odd trailer load for projects. Weistec tranny pan? When I tow it will be in the mountains to Kelowna most of the time.

 

My towing involves a 5000 lbs trailer into the mountains for a camping trip during the summer, which is why it's hard on the car. If you're towing a light 2000-3000 lbs load, you're probably okay. With an aftermarket hitch, you're definitely going to want to limit it to 3500 lbs. The aftermarket hitches are far weaker than the OEM hitch. I have added the auxiliary transmission cooler from the W164/X164 but it still overheated... granted, the engine was overheating too, it was a 110 F day that day.

https://mbworld.org/forums/r-class-w...-retrofit.html <- my thread on the projector retrofit.

 

Ah I saw that thread and was hoping there was something simpler but if I gotta crack the headlights open and reaeal then, well it's just another new thing to learn about.

 

So quick update. The broker goes down and checks on the car at the storage facility near the port while it's waiting for transport.

These guys take some extra pictures and the engine bay looks clean, no major signs of rust or anything and lo and behold I get a good surprise.



Looks like the rims and tires on the car are probably a summer set, they are nicer and I think larger.
Huzzah for winter set of tires!

 

Finally the next stage begins. It got booked on a ship and eventually picked up. It just landed in New Westminster this morning and really there's no real information from leaving to arriving so that part is boring.

Now it needs to clear customs and get unloaded. I'm using a broker and he takes care of basically everything and will text me when it's released so I can arrange a tow.

In Canada at least you need a Port Pass to pick up directly so a tow truck is necessary and with ICBC you need a special permit to drive an unregistered car and suffice to say it's easier for me to get the tow truck to grab it and hail it all the way to my inspection shop.

If it was a super expensive or nice car I may want to inspect the car before it goes to the shop but I may skip that step...

​​​​​More updates soon!

Side note is there a dash kit for the stereo? I need to install one and there doesn't seem to be many places to get a trim kit...

 

If you want to replace the stereo with an aftermarket unit, I would get one of the Android units from Aliexpress, ideally one that is at least Carplay capable. I ditched the stock Zlink (or whatever Andoid Auto app they use) for Headunit Reloaded because the Zlink app is incapable of automatically switching between day and night mode. I also spliced the USB cable to enable USB-C PD charging since I had an older unit that can only do 5 watt output (needs at least 12 to charge a modern smartphone). I have seen newer ones that are capable of more watts.

If you have the Harmon Kardon system (or whatever the premium system is called), you need the optical adapter. Before removing the stock stereo, make sure balance and fade is where you want it to be and volume is in the middle. The premium amp has its own internal volume system that is controlled by a digital signal from the stock stereo and nothing has been made that can communicate with it as far as I know.

 

I have a head unit that I was going to put in my Allroad but never did. I'm pretty sure it has the HK system and I'm stupidly hoping that the harness I used for my old BMW with HK is the same so I can splice in a subwoofer.

But the stereo usually requires a trim kit on every car I've done a stereo on, or does a double din attach to the original trim?

The unit has Carplay was pretty good a few years ago I picked up on boxing day sale
Once I get the vehicle I can verify the sound system but it has I think the premium sound code.
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https://navtv.com/products/NTV-KIT74...s-r-class.html

The Android head units can come with a 9" screen, which fills the space nicely. Mine looks essentially like this: https://a.co/d/3SQFtMM

 

Woof. Yeah I think I found that site.
$200 is a lot for a trim kit. Ugh.

 

Short update since I've got a sick baby sleeping on me plus trying to prep for vacay on Saturday.

So the car finally made it, huzzah! Overall process was easy the only annoyance was setting up with the dock for staging the car for pickup.

I'll post some details for anyone delivering to Vancouver about who to contact and everything.

Much to my dismay it turns out that anything that could even remotely damage the vehicle from the inside is removed and trashed before loading in Japan.
So my surprise full set of wheels and tires is in a dumpster in Kawasaki somewhere. Damnit.

Doubly bad because the 22" tires are shot to hell
Rims are good and other than a dead battery nothing major.
Lots of weird stuff but I'll get to that next week

So now I need a set of steelies or whatever 19" rims with snow tires I can find. Does anyone have any info on which steel rims fit? Can't get any details from Canadian Tire, Kal Tire etc.

 

See if a local junkyard has ML or GL wheels. They are an exact fit. Otherwise, any wheel that fits the ML and GL should work.

 

Does that apply to GLK?
Found a set on FB locally from a 2014 GLK.
Larger hub but can get hub rings for that.

But stock tire for the R500 is 19x8 ET67
The FB ones are 8.5" wide ET40.

I used to understand offset and such when I was younger but... I think ET40 sticks out more so with a wider tire that's the opposite of what might help?

Oh to be in my 20s again.

 

Sorry, I don't know about the GLKs. They are on a different platform but the bolt pattern might be the same.

 

Much delayed update for fun. Still no pictures, life has been busy.

I found a set of 18" wheels with Hakkapeliitta winters on them for $550 on Facebook, they have a good 75% life left in the tread so that should last quite a while and if I go anywhere outside of town winters are required until the end of May so worked out quite well.
The upside is that the massive rims on the car are 22" Wald Mahora M13-C Forged 3-Piece wheels that near as I can tell retail for $3900 USD.

If anyone wants a set in excellent condition with Mercedes center caps they are off the car and up for sale sitting in my basement. I'll put up a FS posting at some point.
The process getting the car in hand honestly was pretty easy except for ICBC and the required provincial inspection. The headlights had to be polished before passing which seems silly.
The larger problem was that one of the positioning light lens covers was missing and that took 3 weeks to arrive for some reason

After the battery, wheel swap, headlight polish and some tiny stuff the car was held up passing inspection from the stupid light cover for so long...
Registering insurance wasn't too hard but that I guess will vary by province/country. The guys were confused as they haven't ever done it before but overall painless.

Then the fun started! All was well until I noticed the front end was lower than the back end. Uh oh, airmatic problems
I also had the ABS light come on within a day, and the ESP inoperative. Double *****!
Got it up on the hoist yesterday and luckily the lines and airbags are in good shape, no leaks anywhere just the valve block is messed up thinking it's max pressure when it isn't so the front end won't raise up any further.
Other stuff was just a wheel speed sensor and those are cheap so overall dodged a bullet on those, should only be a couple hundred bucks.

Other fun things it has a radar that I can't understand as it's in Japanese and the symbols it flashes don't really make any sense. I'll post a video it's funny though
Downside is the radio frequencies seem to be different as the FM doesn't go past 89.9 and none of the local stations are that low.
As a result my older son keeps asking if daddy has any songs in his car. Nope sorry kid! Not yet.

First thing to do once repairs are complete is get the head unit instaled. @Tsumi you mentioned an optical cable required? It does indeed have the HK system and the speakers sound a bit rough though that could be the oddball FM signal frequency.
Might have to fork over the money for the trim kit which sucks that is a lot for a piece of moulded plastic

When I have some free time I'll snap pictures there's a bunch of little weird things. Hopefully the head unit install process isn't too hard, I've done it before though the last time my Subaru WRX apparently was notorious for having next to zero space for hands and mine are quite large so I'm hoping this vehicle isn't nearly so bad given it's a lot bigger than a sports car

 

You should have an aux input in the glovebox, if any of your devices have aux output (I know this is rare these days).

https://a.co/d/io0Wcgk <- Optical adapter for the HK system. If you really want a project, you can rip out the original system and replace it entirely. The HK amplifier/control system is located beneath the driver seat. I've been contemplating doing this because a 12" sub should be able to easily fit under there. A 15" might fit as well. And some of my speakers are starting to go out.

I would strongly consider going with one of the aftermarket Android systems. They integrate a bit better with the Mercedes electronics even though you may have to tinker with them a bit.

 

Ah yeah good info on the aux input, I can always get a bluetooth/aux receiver dongle for now so the ride isn't so quiet.
Though it's good to hear the engine and transmission for the first little while in case there's problems but so far nothing major on that front.

I'll post info on the head unit I have sitting in the basement when I can find it...

 

So I grabbed a dongle from Amazon to get something at least and turns out it was defective, got horrible crackling no matter what I tried.

Definitely the unit I bought as I tried a spare aux cable I had and also tried it on a Bluetooth speaker and sounded the same garbage.

There's a bit of crackling on the one radio station I get but I'm not sure if it's just the FM or speakers are dying/connection issues. You said yours were starting to go, is it just crackling or something else?

Gonna get a dash kit from eBay and the MOST harness on Amazon. $250 but then I can use the Song unit I bought at least. Even if speakers end up shoddy...
Will deal with subwoofer later.