Maybe it’s me. Maybe I am, as so many New Yorkers are, too much of a straight talker than is necessary but I must say something to the folks at MB. (Anyone listening there?)

I had a 2002 E430 and in the winter, the reservoir used to drip on my driveway when I filled it. I brought it to the dealership (Herb Chambers in Natick, MA) and they told me, and I quote, “lots of them do that. Just try to ignore it.”

Fast forward; today I have an S550 4Matic. This reservoir does exactly, and I mean EXACTLY, the same thing.

So, I posted it right here for this group to consider. (https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...container.html)

I got 15 responses. Most responses I ever received for a post. Some said that it is normal. I called a different dealership last week, spoke with a service advisor who told me that this is not uncommon and they are sorry. (They are sorry? What does that even mean?)

I guess, I am thinking that a hundred-thousand-dollar car should have a washer fluid reservoir that WORKS. My Honda Accord at $22,000 has one that works. My other car that is a piece of junk has one that works.

So tell me, MB, if so many people know this is a problem, you must know it is a problem as well. Armed with this information, I am thinking that, and I am trying to be polite here, maybe you need to sit down with the project team and fix the damn thing so this does not go on forever.

As a child, I was taught that you do NOT live with the problems you can fix. YOU FIX THEM. Why is this still a problem? It is little more than fancy milk container type structure that has a few parts and powers the washer fluid. Really now, you can’t get this right? My wife has to ask me why the driveway is soaked with washer fluid and I have to try to make her understand that in reality, it is a great car. She asks me, if it is a great car, why can’t they make a fluid reservoir that works? CAN YOU SEE WHERE this is going?

Is it really so hard to fix this? Are you unaware that this problem exists? If you indeed aware of the problem, why does it go on year after year?

Here is my proposal; you fly me to the factory, and I will explain to senior management why living with tiny little problems that annoy people is a bad idea on a hundred grand car. Do you think as the owner of this car, I should be sitting up at night and posting questions to this group on this? (My fees to work with Senior management are quite high but to show you that my heart is in the right place, I will do it for free). If you need me to sit with your engineers and work out a fix, I can do that too.

Really now, you should be ashamed. The system, as is, is crap but that is not the sad part. the sad part, is that nothing will change.

 

Perhaps every 10k miles when you have scheduled service, you might specify the dealer or whoever in addition replace the washer pump grommets.

If this were treated as a regular maintenance item, you’d likely never see a leak.

In any event, there could be worse problems.

 

In lieu of them making one that is world class, I think your idea is a good one. I will have it looked at when I bring it in for service.

Thanks for the response. You are quite right about the the fact that the problems c Ould be worse, I just see fixing this as low hanging fruit. The ability for them to say Hey, we fixed it! Seems like an easy way to look good. One e again, I agree with you.

 

Awesome POST and goes for more then leaky washer bottle.... goes for any issue on your car.

For that much money it should be designed better and have little or no issues...

Amazes me people put up with issues on these expensive cars.

I hope you get resolution even if it takes some mechanic to take the bottle out and fix it with bubble gum or epoxy!

 

Hi Bklyn,

I really enjoyed reading your open letter to MB.

Unfortunately, I am affected by the infirmity of the MB - the leaking washer fluid reservoir. I am one of the 15 victims of the total MB's deafness in the group you created (https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...container.html).

I agree with you 100% that "(...), I am thinking that a hundred-thousand-dollar car should have a washer fluid reservoir that WORKS."

The sad part is that it is not the only issue with these expensive cars.

My wife's E350 has a problem to this day. I wrote the Headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany (not to mention MBUSA and MB Canada Head Office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada). It has never been resolved. I was simply brushed off with their lame excuses.

Anyway, you have my full support, Bklyn.

Thank you,
Pitek

 

Add me to the list too.

 

Pitek, your story is sad to me because it makes them sound like they do not give a damn. I saw that once before in the 1970s through the mid 1980s when the big 3 American auto makers did not give a damn either. Japan came in and the rest is history. All successful companies believe that they are either too big to fail, too smart to fail or too necessary to fail. Then, the perfect storm hits and life changes forever.