So long story short, Feb 15, I woke up on my birthday, made a rash decision, and bought a 2002 S500 with a bunch of goodies, that didn't work. lol. Only thing that was solid was the engine and transmission. its been almost 2 weeks and this is what has been done to restore it to its former glory


P.S. I have had a 2000 S430 and 2001 S55 so getting a 2002 s500 was not a new experience. I knew I loved this car. The repair stuff though is new though as the 2001 s55 was brand new so I never had a problem with it, and the S430 I only owned for 7 months and then I had to sale it shortly after.

I bought the car with no sound working, half the buttons messing up, radio inoperable, voice control not working, Dirty as heck inside and out but clean. driving on the road however, it felt brand new. Oh, and after parking for 10 minutes it would be flat on the ground. Yeah, I know, this should have made me run for the border.

Day after purchase, pump and airmatic module went out. Replaced pieces for $1000 along with a new inlet adapter for one of the airmatic struts. I didn't know that top little part unscrewed. Also, having had both airmatic and the ABC suspension, I actually like the airmatic more. Personal choice here.

5 hours in the car I managed to get everything working electrical by replacing the battery and bypassing some box in the trunk (some silver box) and the sound came back and changer worked along with the rest of the radio functions (minus Voice control which has never worked but I know I have the equipment and is my guess that's the box that's bad). Thanks to the sticky, I diagnosed the fiber optic wires till I found the bad unit.

$165 car wash and oil change later, High speed buff on paint, interior detailing, toothbrush on the vents (Q-tips), not a speck of dirt remained inside or outside the car. Even smells new again. I do need to order floormats to be perfect. Oh anyone tried using toothpaste to get rid of yellow lenses, works great.

Tires are brand new Goodyears, but, there H rated. I don't do anything speed crazy anymore but God, I didn't know the 500 had this much pick up. insanely more than the 430. its been 10 years since I had the S55 but it was non super charged So I don't feel that drastic of a difference. Maybe its because I went from a 55, to a 430 , and now to a 500. Either way power wise im happy. To happy

As is right now the car looks and runs great. hard to believe its 11 years old. I still have 5 things to take care of, I feel like these five may be around for a minute as im tired, lazy, and perfectly content at the moment.

1. LEFT and RIGHT side mirror flashers are out. Need to replace.
2. I need to pick up a washer reservoir cap. not sure what happen to the old one.
3. srs light is on. did the search, when I don't feel like being lazy I will get the $25 bypass module
4.need floormats.
5. Eventually I would like to diagnose the voice control system and get the Bluetooth puck. My ML320 has the puck but it uses the v60 and the S class has the startac so I need a few more parts.

(not really a problem but its debaged. no s500 on the back, just the Mercedes symbol. I like it, im keeping it that way for now.)

All in all, im happy with my purchase and this is a great car. Its a shame it cost so much when something does go wrong, but , if you have a little know how, and don't have to visit a dealer, then this can be a great car. Just like to thank the board for all the help so far and because of it a fallen S class has been restored.

 

Can you link me to the srs bypass part? My 2001 s500 light remains on at all times

 

Haven't been around here for a while and this post popped up on recent posts due to Lazy's reply (BTW, are you really THAT lazy that you can't find the part...GOOGLE IT!! Sheeesh...). Hard to believe that no one has commented on this thread. Mystikil is this car's savior and should be applauded for his efforts.

Sounds like mystikil has saved another w220 from a mundane and debilitating existence and returned it to most of its former glory. Yes, it is a beautiful car and yes they are expensive to maintain. However, as has been pointed out, if you have the chops to get into it with your own set of tools the maintenance and repairs can be mitigated with a little know-how.

Good job Mystikil on saving this car.

Keith

 

Agreed , great job op
Car looks awesomeness

 

Hey guys, thanks. I finally did get everything to work correctly. Including the linguatronic which I had to bypass the Tel Aid which is irrelevant cause its analog. and I had to Replace the SAM unit on the passenger side too( my air pump was not coming on and thank you donor car from a local shop ). I can only imagine what a dealer would have charged for all the repairs

But, its back on the road and getting compliments everywhere I go. I think leaving it factory was the best option for it. you don't see to many none tainted ones in Atlanta. Plus, after all the work I am way more appreciative of it and I know everything on the car backwards and forwards which also brings me more comfort. Happy motoring to us all, Ill contribute where I can.


P.S. SRS light, after moving my seat all the way forwards and doing some intensive cleaning even on the seat belt itself, my light left and never came back, I never needed to by the part

 

I just purchased a w220 2000 s500. it rides way better than any other Mercedes Benz I have owned a 1999 e320 4matic, 1995 w140 S420. the only thing wrong with the car is it has a little rust on the bottom of each door and for some reason the audio was not working other than that its perfect. I started looking at different MB web sites they all seem to have the same problem cd player not working. so I went on craigslist found a S430 W220 doner that had been in front end damage the owner told me his cd changer worked so I agreed to buy for a $100. it worked in my car automatically after installing his cd changer my audio worked thanks to GOOGLE I was able to fix my no audio in my W200 S500 I am told if 1 thing in your audio don't work you will have no sound

 

That's great lacasteve, yeah, the stickyin this forum is what helped me diagnos and repair my audio. I really wish it was a regular analog setup. It's not even loud enough to support all digital connections I think , but hey. I'm not complaining , it still sounds great. And your right about the ride, nothing , not any other car in the world , is comparable