dpm7471

Hello folks,

I went any test drove a nice 2011 S550 yesterday and was impressed. The car was in excellent shape from the outside and inside and appeared to run well.

My question to all of you is ....what known issues are there on this model year or the W221 that I need to look for/at? I heard there may have been a "head bolt" issue?

Any input is sincerely appreciated. Thanks.

superpop

I have a 2012 with 48K on the clock. It has been pretty much flawless in the 2 years I have owned it and I don't think the previous owner had any issues with it as well. Have replaced brakes, battery, and tires and done service twice now. I did get an extended MB warranty with mine that will cover me for another year but I have only used it a few times. Once for a back up cam issue and once to replace a few o2 sensors that had failed. I will probably just buy another used one in warranty next year and buy the ELW for it. They are great cars but not cheap to fix if they do have a problem.

S430AMG

a) call just about any Mercedes Dealer and ask Service Advisor if they can provide you service history of the vehicle. They can pull it up using the VIN. We purchased 2 S Classes past year and dealer provided us with the ENTIRE service history.

RULE OF THUMB: Life and reliability of ANY car (and especially German car) is more reliant on Maintenance than the actual "reliability".

I would not even recommend purchasing or considering ANY car without obtaining service records.

Most people that buy these cars service it well (from what I find) and at MB dealer!

b) pay $200-300 bucks to have it inspected by MB Dealer. In my area that's what they charge. I'm sure they will nit pick at the car (which is normal as they want service) but just find out if there is anything major going on (Air Suspension, Engine or transmission codes). This is what I call "protecting your investment". DO IT!

c) Inspect as much as possible yourself. Make a checklist and go thru the entire car and make sure everything works.

Good luck!

slcbbrown

I bought my 2011 two years ago and have put about 40k miles on it to bring it up to 65,000 miles. I've had no maintenance issues, two services and put on a set of tires.

The Thomas J

I have a 2010 that had 64,000 miles I picked up almost 15 months ago. I bought a 4 year 36,000 warranty with it. I have put just over 10,000 miles on it. To date I have had one trip to MB for a wheel speed sensor, driver side axle (the boot was torn) and tilt sterring wheel motor. $3500 all covered under my service contract. Out of pocket expenses have been a service and one tire.

It's a great car. I enjoy driving it very much.

Jason B

It seems these are much better than the w220 from what I've seen over the years.

supralance

I've had my 11 S550 for 2 months, 45k on the dial, no problems yet. The car had good dealer maintenance records. I think that is important. If you don't do your own mechanic work, think about a warranty. Dealer maintenance is $$$

Nuru

OP you can search this forum for "issues" and see the issues that owners have had.

The Thomas J

I don't consider a bad speed sensor or torn boot out of the ordinary failures. These are maintenance items that are exposed to the elements. I have seen them last the lifetime of a car, I have seen them fail in a few years. The tilt motor seems to be an issue across the line that is a labor intensive fix that shouldn't occur and should have a bypass if the wheel is stuck in the up position.

1bad540

I had my steering wheel column replcaced under cpo bc the wheel got stuck. Annoying and a 3k fix.

wilassasin

Knock on wood no issues.