tusabes, I cannot imagine a more exhaustive discussion of the recall/extended warranty information than this thread. Please read the entire thing (not just skim it), and pay attention to the extended warranty information and to the discussion of what to do with a recalcitrant dealer.

 

copy/paste the bulletin from top of this forum/post...many service advisors are clueless and know less about your car than you do.
PL

 

Take postings 125 and 126 to dealers who don't know the score. Ten year guarantee on instrument clusters of all S class 2000 to 2006.

But sadly not in the UK (we had a recall for particular Vin numbers).

 

My fathers 2001 S430 with 133k miles instrument cluster went dark with no gauges working yesterday while driving. I am aware of the recall 06V028000. Called dealer and they said the car was beyound the campaign window of 10 years. We would have need to get the recall done by 2011 since it was a 2001 model year. But if the letters were not sent out until 2006, then should we not have until 2016?

Any input would be great.

 

OK, to try to distill this into something comprehensible - but the following applies only to owners in the US.

There were two matters affecting the instrument cluster lighting: 1) a recall and 2) an extended warranty.

The extended warranty was for 10 years, and of course your dad's car is well past that.

Recalls DO NOT expire. Some dealers confuse the extended warranty term with the recall. They are separate. If your dad's car was one of those that showed up on the RECALL, MB must still fix it free. However, the particular car would have to be on the list of those recalled; your dad's car, as an '01, was probably not on the recall list, since it applied to '02 and later. You can check the recall documents - either in this thread, or in the ones below (excerpt is from the W220 S-Class Encyclopedia on BenzWorld):

Extended Warranty vs Recall - The instrument cluster on SOME 00-02 and 04-05 W220s and W215s were subject to a recall, by VIN, for lighting-specific problems. For specific VINs covered by the recall, see posts 17 and 21, http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...s-class-2.html. The recall does not expire. The recall was supplanted by a 10-year extended warranty on ALL U.S. W220s and W215s that does expire 10 years after initial date of service. The extended warranty applies to all defects and is NOT limited by VIN. See the extended warranty letter at 58 Instrument Cluster Removal - Page 3 - MBWorld.org Forums. See applicability of recall vs. extended warranty, and some repair sources, post 4 at http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...t-cluster.html.

It is far less expensive to repair the cluster than to replace it, and there are many companies that advertise that they can make such repairs. If you are not covered by warranty or recall, see posts 8 and 17 at Instrument Cluster Removal - MBWorld.org Forums and post 4 at http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w220...t-cluster.html Also see Mercedes Comand Repair M and B Specialist - Mercedes Electronic Repairhttp://, and http://www.benzworld.or...r-service.html for additional repair sources. That will give you a start; repair also avoids having to reprogram the cluster, which is an additional expense.

 

Thanks so much for the info. I opened the PDF and am alittle confused about the model numbers (215.373 etc..). Not sure how to decode for his car (I don't have much info about his car as he was 2nd owner and passed away in May of this year). I did find something that said W220.070 1998 - 2006 S430 Sedan and W220.170 1998 - 2006 S430 L Sedan. His VIN ends in A201453, which if I have the models correct would suggest that it is covered by the recall. Can you help me confirm his model?

 

W220 would be an S-Class. The "L" designation indicates "Long wheel base," which is what was usually exported to North America. The VIN does fall within the range. It would be worth a discussion with the dealership, and ask them the check the original RECALL, not the extended warranty. If necessary, print off the recall documents and take them to the dealership. If the dealership does not cooperate, elevate the matter the the Area Representative.

 

Thanks again. I did find and print off TheWorkshopMB_InstrumentCluster_Recall-1.pdf. As you confirmed the VIN does fall in the range. I am trying to further build my case by going on the Safercar.gov website and use the search for recalls by VIN. Entering his VIN, the results show number of open recalls:0. This conflicts with the VIN serial number list from the recall campaign bulletin. Any suggestions?

 

Could it show that he answered the recall, and the cluster was replaced?