mbvt

Instrument panel went black yesterday after I smelled something burning. Told at dealership that we have replace the entire instrument panel for $2000+. Does this make any sense? Hard to believe such an expensive car would have such a major blowout at 70K miles. Help! Then the dealer offered to check the fluids (free of charge - said recommended by MB) so I said yes. THEN told both differential fluid and transmission fluid are leaking (though car has been driving fine and we have noticed no leaks). MB dealer is telling us these are fixable for thousands more dollars. What is going on?

nauticalx

something must have burned up in the instrument panel, id ask them to pull the panel and identify the burned component and see if that is not a separate component able to be replaced seperately for a lower cost. never heard of this, but im not a s owner. seems to me something that would likely happen if the vehicle interior was exposed to water. dont know if you recently bought the car or are in a "sandy" area but if not, then its probably just one of those fluke things.

mbvt

That seems pretty reasonable. It's just a regular NYC car, usually garaged, spends time in Vermont. We bought it new in 2007. Could be a fluke thing. Any thoughts on the differential oil and the transmission fluid? We haven't noticed anything wrong with how the car drives or any leaks. When I went to drop the car off to get the instrument panel fixed, they told me that it was a MB thing to check for leaks and would be free of charge to me. Now they are telling me both diff oil and transmission are leaking (told me it took more than an hour to clean up one of the leaks) and that the charge to fix this is well over $2000+ (though they admit the rings that they are replacing costs only $50-$200 - which seems expensive for rubber rings). Thanks!

desired_speeds

first of all, they wouldn't clean your leaking car's underbody if you haven't even agreed to fix it, let alone spend an hour doing it. Additionally, ask them to point out which "rings" are leaking. Take it to an independent shop and have them put it on the lift to get a second opinion.

nauticalx

i would ask them if its a fast leak or slow, if slow, ask them to clean up the components and top off the fluids, just monitor your garage floor or put white paper under the car that will alert you to a leak. if its dripping id get it fixed, if not and just very slow, you could probably just leave it. you wont be able to check the differential oil level easily. im not sure if the 07 s550 is a sealed system, if it is then you wont be able to monitor it either other than keeping a look out under the vehicle and on your garage floor.

nauticalx

i agree, makes no sense that they would clean anything up unless it was the taco bell sauce stains the tech left on your dashboard when he had his lunch in your car while blasting the music full blast. (seen this happen before)

desired_speeds

I'd like to add that usually diffs leak when the fluid gets thin when it break down over time. If you haven't gotten a flush done yet, I recommend doing so. It only takes about 1.5 quarts of fluid. It's a cheap thing you should get done next time you go in for a service A. Don't bother doing it at the dealer though, they'll charge you $200+ a 15 min job that uses $30 worth of fluid.

jbondox

Id say my garage floor is clean... what did they do to my car ???