Hello!

My name is Charlie, I am 21 and I am the new owner of a Smoke Silver 1992 Mercedes-Benz 600SEL. It only has 91k original miles. I traded my '92 400E with 175k miles for it, no cash involved. I have loved the brand ever since I purchased my 400E for $2,000 a year ago and I've always wanted an M120 Mercedes. I have crept on the forums for a year or so but this is my first thread since becoming a member in January when I got the 600. I am proud to say it isn't perfect and it does have some electrical gremlins, but I have all of the service records up to 85k and it gets me to work and back and then some. I have no complains other than the fuel economy but what does one expect with twelve cylinders. I do have some questions specifically about the problems with my car and about the 140 series in general, but I'll get to that after I do some more searching.

Here are a few pictures, enjoy! They are from a few years ago and now the car is missing the V12 badges and has a lovely deep scratch along the hood. It has different plates now so I wasn't worried about hiding them. I have also posted this on Benz World, Mercedes Forum, Benz Forum, myMBonline and PointedThree, so see you there!

 

Sweet!

 

Thank you!

Here are the issues I am having with the 600SEL:
- electronic throttle actuators ("drive-by-wire throttle bodies") need to be rebuilt or replaced
- rear hydraulic suspension accumulators ("bladders"/"*****") need to be rebuilt or replaced
- some of the climate control buttons do not work
- both orthopedic front seats do not work
- both front head rests do not work
- head lamp knob needs to be replaced
- auto-up for the windows do not work all of the time; causes windows to auto-withdraw
- rear-passenger-side window will roll up but it will keep trying after it is closed
- climate control fan does not blow much air out of the vents
- rear defrost does not work, or I do not see it working
- stereo does not work, throws "error E2" code

For more in-depth explanation:
For the ETA's, the car makes the fluttering sound and sometimes kicks into limp mode, sometimes with the ASR light on and sometimes without; sometimes the check engine light comes on. The rear suspension is stiff and the ADS light is always on. Orthopedic seats will work for a moment then seem to lose air out of the driver's seat. Both head rests make noise but do not move. I broke the head lamp knob; parking and head lamps still work but I cannot use the front or rear fog lamps (knob will not stay out) or the standing lamps (knob will not turn. All four of the window buttons on the center console are somewhat recessed; all auto-up and -down work except sometimes they will retract with the auto-withdraw. If you do not use the auto feature they will all roll up. If you roll up the rear-passenger-side window manually (without the auto feature) it will continue to try to roll up once it has closed and will make clicking sounds. The climate control works and can get extremely hot or cold but it will not blow much air out of the vents. At first and when I turn the climate control off, it will blow a lot of air but even on "high" it will reduce to very little air - even less than my 400E's wimpy system; is this a flaw or do Mercs not blow a lot of air? Not much compared to my mother's and my friend's Audi's. Rear defrost button is fine and the light comes on but the window only clears from the front vents warming the car up (if the windows do actually get frosty); there are no lines on the rear window, are there supposed to be or does the 140 use vents for the rear window? Stereo hisses loudly when you turn it on and turns itself back off after showing the "error E2" code. I have read that this could be from a bad amplifier or a bad fuse.

I know that a lot of these questions might already be answered in other threads or other forums and I am continuing to search for them myself but I think I will get faster responses if I ask here, too.

 

Should I just take the car in to get diagnosed?

I ended up cleaning out the throttle bodies with carburetor cleaner, then I ran Seafoam through the intake. When I first bought the car it would idle fine but hesitate under load. Now I can smash all I want but it idles rough. The car still makes the fluttering sound and it goes in and out depending on how fast I am going. There is also a heavy odor of fresh fuel. It has not gone into limp mode since I cleared the throttle bodies and cleaned the intake. The rear driver side window regulator has also failed so both windows make the "chunking" sound when you roll them all the way up or down, and both struggle to roll up so I don't even open them anymore. I have realized that the climate control works normally. Rear defrost still does not work; the defrost lines are there (extremely small) and the light on the button will go on but the window will not clear up. I have rerouted the stereo receiver around the disc changer and the system started working!

I have two new questions:
What kind of other additives similar to Seafoam can I run through the car? Air intake? Fuel system? Things like injector cleaners, et cetera. I assumed to avoid these sorts of products because it is a Mercedes V12.
How do I remove the cover to the rear dome light? Is is the only interior light that does not work now (rear reading lights were merely unplugged) and I'd like to fix it just to fix it.

---

After a wash and a photoshoot!

 

Great pics Charlie. I just bought a 1999 S500, it arrives in a few days from Cali. I'm in Texas so I'm kinda anxious. You're a brave young man to take on a 600SEL at 21. The expenses are going to be great my friend. Good looking car though. I'd find a good independent shop and fix them as you can. Anyone here know what replacing the leather on one of the seats would cost? The dealer I bought mine from had a 1992 500SEL that is in such great shape, but I was really hesitant about going back that far. Brave man.

M

 

find out if wiring loom has been replaced.It might be OK for a 92.Maint. cost should be the same if you do it yourself.Join all the good forums,like the w140s group at benzworld.
If your after more power NOS is a good way to go,you should be able to add,250 hp wet shot safely

 

I have a '99 S500 Grand Edition and the front seats need re-finished. I was quoted $1800 to have them restored back to OEM by an independent restoration shop in Jacksonville.

 

Hi Charlie,


One way to size up the challenges ahead for your 600 SEL is to take it to a Mercedes Dealer and have a service A done. It cost about $250 and they will go through your car and tell you what is wrong and what it cost to do the fix along with a basic service. That should be your worst case scenario for cost. You may want to look at these, http://www.strutmasters.com/Mercedes...it-p/mw1rb.htm , for your rear struts. Mine are bottoming out and Mercedes wants $2200 for rebuilt and $2800 for new. I just did the accumulators( the little *****) for around $800 so it is wise to get rid of the Hydraulic self leveling system. I am getting ready to order mine when I get time to mess with it.

 

Thanks for the info. I tried to find a Grand Edition for the longest. Truly a rare W140. My "regular" 1999 S500 arrives Monday.

M

 

Well, the car gave up on me. I took it to Barrier Mercedes-Benz of Bellevue and the car threw 32 codes and was dumping so much fuel into the cylinders that it overflowed into the manifolds and built up in the catalytic converters only for the gasoline to ignite there. I loved the car while I had it - I wanted one even since I started driving - but I guess this one just wasn't for me. If I could get my hands on a full parts car I might be able to save it but for now it will be posted online for an enthusiast to delve into.

It was great while it lasted. Maybe I'll be back one day with another Benz. Later!

 

Aw man I'm really sorry to read that.

M

 

I ended up purchasing a 1992 Geo Metro XFi. Definitely on the opposite end of the car spectrum from a 600SEL. At least I get to keep my Benz until I find a decent parts car. Until then she sleeps in my carport...

 

Alright, now that the Metro is out of the picture, I wised up and purchased a Brilliant Silver 1998 S320 LWB.

 

Great news! Any pics?


M

 

I live in Seattle area too, have some great mech. If you want. I have a 97 S320 LWB w/ 113k, rebuilt everything I can find so in it about 9k, but I love it. I've done a lot so if you have any questions shoot...good luck, post some pics!

 

Help with a Mercedes is always good help! I actually live in Renton, about two miles out of South Seattle. I've got a list of things that need to be repaired and replaced. I will post pictures once I get a nice day and can get the lead sled washed.

 

I have some not-so-good news about the S320. A few days ago on the way home from my birthday dinner a Lexus GX with a roof rack full of stuff came whipping around a corner and if you know about the early GX's you know they have a very high center of gravity and lean around corners (and often roll over lol) so all of the crap on top of it fell in front of my car at 80mph (40mph+ for each car oncoming). I was hit by a cooler, a tool box and a whole lot of other camping gear or whatever. I was on a four-lane road with no shoulder and no center turn lane and there was traffic so I couldn't turn around until the next intersection and by the time I turned around a headed back where the Lexus was going but by then it was long gone. They didn't turn around to pick anything up, I drove around the area several times - they must have been scared or not known at all. I took my car to one of the three Mercedes-Benz authorized body shops to get an estimate for my insurance and it came to $9,600 which exceeds the 75% threshold for totaling the car (Washington State's value of a 1998 S320 LWB is $12,500). We also did an estimate with reconditioning the parts already on my car that we could (instead of just replacing everything) and we got the total all the way down to $4,800 but I forgot to ask the adjuster if the $4,800 job would give me a rebuilt or salvage or branded title or whatever. I called and left a message today, yet to hear back.