shaw01

Gotta love it when everything happens at once, makes life more interesting!

Let's see, my baby (2001 S500) is having issue and she'll be at the Dr's later today or tomorrow, but I don't like going in with no idea at all what it should cost and getting screwed (doubly). I tend to trust (most) of the people here so I'm hoping for some wisdom ..

New issue, instrument cluster .. backlight went out last night, flickered and went dark, but the gauges were all still working and I still had milage, etc .. then this morning driving to work it all went, no lights, mo MPH .. nothing. I'm assuming this means it's dead, what am I looking at cost wise? Irecall an instrument cluster recall, but I'm assuming it's just too late for that, no?

New issue #2, low oil pressure warning came up .. of course I'm having that addressed too. My question is, there's a humming starting at around 60mph and up .. I thought it was the back tires getting to the end of their life so I replaced them, but the humming persists. Could these two issues be connected?

Last and old issue .. left front "ball joint" (I'm trying to remember the diagnosis) is bad, throwing the car our of allignment and allowing about 4-5 inches of play if you wiggle the weel when the car is on a lift .. any idea of the cost here, and if I'm correct when I say "ball joint". It is fun to say ball joint, but I don't want to sound like the idiot I probably am when I say it!

All this said, she's an S500 with 122k miles .. still love her .. just want her fixed!

Thanks in advance!!

M

whoover

The instrument cluster won't cost you a dime. It's covered by a ten-year warranty extension. Do a search.

shaw01

And now it's clear why I posted here! Thanks whooever, I'm searching (should be working).

whoover

Here's a big thread. Posts 125 and 126 document the warranty.

https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w220/141872-instrument-cluster-recall-s-class.html

Oxygen

I got a notice saying I have to bring my car in because there is a recall on the cluster and they need to replace.

Problem is you might have to leave the car over night as they can not and will not order a cluster until they have your vehicle in their possesion.

Skylaw

There was a recall initiated, and many of us with certain VINS in the specific year groups got the recall letter. It applied to specific VIN ranges of '00-'02 and '04-'05 S-Classes and CL Classes. It meant replacing over 36,000 clusters in a short time (of course, stressing the supply of clusters). Under the recall, the cluster was replaced whether it malfunctioned or not.

Mercedes reconsidered the recall, and supplemented it with an extended warranty from 10 years from date of initial service on all W220 S and W215 CL Classes in the U.S. - regardless of the year or VIN. In this case, the cluster is replaced only if it fails, and the warranty covers virtually all of failures - not just the lighting problem at the root of the recall.

Some dealers are only aware of the recall and not the warranty extension. If they start telling an owner that the problem is not covered under the recall, tell the dealer to do his homework, and look up the extended warranty. Many of us were given letters, together with a sticker for our warranty booklet, concerning the extension.

shaw01

Thanks for the info on the cluster .. I'm dropping her off at MB of Oakland tom.. the lady said she does not know if they have a cluster and they won't order one until they diagnose the issue, which is annoying.

She said there is an extended warranty that covers my year but can not say if this will fall under it, I think she's just not sure so I'll not argue it unless they try to say it's not covered.

Will get the oil change then too, hopefully that will fix the "humming" at higher speeds, which would be bad in it's own way because that would mean oil was very low ..

Taking her to a seperate place for the front end work, stealerships just cost too much

whoover

Be careful. That front end is attached to a very sophisticated suspension. I personally wouldn't let anyone but a dealer or specialist touch an Airmatic or ABC supsension. The typical frontend shop does a poor job in dialing in the alignment on these cars as well. And you can't be sure of the parts they use. I shudder at the thought of riding on second-rate control arms.

newton22

My car will be 10 years old next year (purchased 6/99). The original cluster is still working. I'm thinking about lying and telling them that my cluster goes out intermittently, thus insisting for MB to replace my cluster. Reason being is, I trust a cluster from a 2000 W220 will eventually bust.

Thoughts on my decision?

shaw01

True, I'll get a quote at the stealership .. it should just be the ball joint so it shouldn't be that bad and I know of a good mercedes-non stealership mechanic .. but your point is valid.

Anyone have feedback on All Merceces in Oakland? All the reviews I've read are very good.

my06clk

It funny you mentione that Whoover.. And not to discount what you were sayng or anything, but in fact to amplify your point about the suspension and alignment..
I had a bolt kit put in my car with an alignment a while ago, to me it just drifted to the right a bit..Shortly After I, changed tires I took it back for them to checked the alignment again and they did ( for free ) drove it, and said all was fine..
To me it still drift to the right... So I went back a few weeks ago for something else and though I'd throw is a little complaint about my car drifting..
They (again) guaged my alignment and said it was perfect.. Then stated that Al of these cars tend to drift ever so slightly to the right.. Well.

I can say that my tires have outlasted ANY set I've had since the alignment so I know for a fact its correct.. I was still thinking something was wrong till I spoke to fellow member Newton About his S and he stated his does the same thing.
It's not a hard drift by any means I just never noticed it with any of my other benzs but this one..

To your point Whoover,,
Imagine if I had opted to go to my corner alignment shop...Oh boy... there is just no telling what I might be riding on after swapping Am parts just to try to correct something that doesn't need correcting. This was a technical issue that i would have only gotten resolved at the dealer level I am positive.

whoover

They won't buy it. The failure is in the cluster power supply, and it's not the sort of failure that comes and goes. You might get a little blinking before it goes out, but you won't see it start to blink and then become fine for a day. They can also see burn spots on the bad board when they fail.

sessayan

My cluster was fine but they decided to change it out anyway just because I mentioned it.

Try floating the recall thing and see where it goes.

MBS430

Mine actually flickered only on the first start in the morning (cold start). I brought to the dealer along with the 10 yr cluster extended warranty letter. The SA told me, they will apply the warranty only if they can reproduce the issue. Hence he required me to leave the car overnight. Fine by me.

But later that day (~4PM), he called informing that they have put the new cluster and the car is ready for pickup.

When I got there, I asked the SA if he was able to reproduce the issue and he said he did not need to as several of his techs have been doing a lot of cluster warranty and is a "common problem".

sounds good to me .... new cluster ... couple new reading feature and couple missing (documented in other thread)

whoover

Sounds like it's worth a try. Depends on how hardnosed your service manager is.

newton22

I'm gonna give it a try. My cluster went black once before, but this was a few years ago.

Oxygen

I wish someone would "accidentally" swap out my cheesy 160MPH cluster for an AMG one...

shaw01

Funny, looking like it's time to swap out my S500 for an AMG one (S55) .. lots wrong with my girl, nothing critical but a lot of ticky tack stuff. Instead of putting more $$ into her I think it's time to step up with the big boys .. hopefully in a few months (or less?) I'll be back with pics .. hopefully!

whoover

Yep. 220 for a 220.

newton22

Well my new SA was easy to deal with (she had great legs too), and went ahead and replaced my cluster. Nothing seems right with the new cluster though. The mileage is wrong (20k miles off), the speedometer ring seems dimmer, and the transmission and clock display is crooked. Hmm, I'm gonna go send it back.

my06clk

Great legs.. and bad service.... that's what made Hooters millions..LOL

IT seems that everyone that had this cluster replaced has had new issues with the new cluster or the job nationwide.. I wonder whats up with that??

How did the valve block replacement go on the Airmatic?

newton22

She said it no longer leaks. I'm gonna sit the car for two days and see for myself.

The new cluster is really irritating me. It also has an annoying chime upon ignition now. On the plus side, I'm loving the realtime speed readout.