Hi guys. I've been looking at this 2011 S550 with 120k miles, so what are some things I should be looking for? From what I've read mostly suspension issues, but recently I've been seeing all kinds of issues. Is this car pretty reliable? Thanks in advance.

 

they are the most unreliable car ever manufactured.... if I knew what I know now.... I'd never get one

 

Oh man, I'd pass........totally pass!

 

i have 2013 s550 no issues yet!

 

Thats a lot of miles. I'd pass. Sorry.

 

2011 is with the NA engine that is very reliable. I have that engine in my E550 with 179000 miles and it still runs like new. Does not burn a drop of oil between changes.

But if you are afraid of the Airmatic suspension then don't buy it unless the air springs have been replaced on it. They go out in 8-10 years. Mine lasted 10 on the E.

 

Are you being serious? What year do you own? I got the impression that '10-'13 years were much better than the previous years.

 

Oh you guys cracking me up!
Screen name?

 

lol I know I made one real fast couple years ago. im gonna change it though.

 

You people get scared off too easily....That mileage is nothing for that N/A motor. If the price is right and maintenance is up to date, go for it.

 

Lol, OK....

 

Own a 2012 s550 4matic. Bought it one owner salvage title at auction with 77 k miles and rear driver side quarter panel and bent control arms. Will be 4 years in October. It now has a122k. Excluding those repairs of course, and on top of regular maintenance, it has needed the following so far
- airmatic compressor
- front lower control arms - squeaky
​​​​​​- sway bar and links - squeaky
- recently, upper bladers in driver seat.
If it only had distronic....... it would be the perfect car. Did I mention 27 mpg highway?

My 2 cents, you need a trustworthy independent mechanic shop, or be a dedicated DIY 'er.

 

When I decided on the S550 here is how I went about it-
Took my time finding one with:
NO 4matic - mechanics suggestion
NO Turbo - mechanics suggestion
Less than 60,000 miles - my suggestion
Not dark interior (failed on that one)
And narrowed it down to the years 2008 - 2013 (I think?)
Took a MB mechanic with me to check out the cars and had him do full once over.
I ended up with a 2011 I absolutely love! So, since I bought it last November, I have only had to replace aux battery.

 

My 2008 S550 with 134K miles is all serviced up and looks runs and drives like a brand new car. I have had it over a year now and all I've done to it was motor mounts, tranny mount, and spark plugs, all filters, and oil change. Reliability? great. Repairs cost? Nil. What a colossally awesome car. I only wish we had the super thick windows like the W140, those always impressed people. Some people get abused cars and have issues. I have been lucky, i guess. My W221 S550 is very happy next to my SL600, SL550, GL450 and SLK230 and parked right behind my Maserati 4200 Coupe which is solid as a bullet and reliable as a 67 Chevy Impala, and maybe even better!!!!

 

I have E 550 2010 and the engine is still running pretty good... id say it depends on how it was serviced.. but in general it's been pretty reliable , except airmatic and oil cooler seal along with water pump. 157k miles.

 

I put +125k on my 2012. Car ran great the entire time.

My "repairs" were wearables. You must verify all repairs and scheduled maintenance. Pass if that can't be done.

Absolutely verify when tranny had its fluid changed.

With that mileage, motor mounts and trans mounts are due, front end suspension parts can be worn needing replacement(front end is heavy and takes a beating) and possibly struts.

I traded for a 2017 that is my DD.

 

I have 80k miles on my 2012, and the car has run great the entire time, too. Like Donnymac wrote, my only repairs were wearables, although all the scheduled service was done as recommended, either at the MB dealer, or now at my local independent shop here in San Diego. Absolutely love the car, and urge all my friends to consider one. My only problem is that my family has grown, and I now need something like a E-wagon or GLS that seats 6, so am going to have to sell the W221.

 

2008 S550 4Matic with 41K miles.
Have owned it since 40K miles, but I can relay the repair records on a 12 year old car.

Front air struts replaced when one lost pressure.
Purge Valve replaced. Cheap and easy DIY.
Induction system serviced (?), probably the intake tract linkage which is very common on the M273 engine. Aluminum linkage fixes this for life.
Motor and Trans mounts. Common wear parts on ALL MB products.
Dynamic seats are acting up and I have yet to sort out the bladder issues holding air, or not working, but found 3 broken air supply lines so far. This is work in progress.
Front rotors are due for replacement as they vibrate a little, but that is a wear part.
Wheel speed sensors replaced more than once, which I attribute to the dirty MB brake pads. Installed Akebono Euro right after I bought it.

The rest is just normal maintenance and tires.
A lot more reliable than my 2003 SL55, but it is approaching 100K miles.

 

Hello I have wis and I want to buy main bearings set in WIS/EPC do you know if its possible to have the color codes of my main bearings without remove entire engine ?

Thank you

 

From my memory, the 2010-11s & up are the ones to get as they have some revised engine parts & specifically the timing chains changed the design to not stretch.

But honestly, even with 120k miles if you can see EXCELLENT maintenance history records, like no exceptions & no services missed, you should be relatively ok. I bought my car at 110k miles (WITH GREAT HISTORY) and I'm at 125k now in 10 months, have I spent ~3-4k in maintenance yes... but hey, it's an S-Class....(that's what I keep telling myself to make me feel better - also I like my car perfect so I did above the average of what was needed)

Just find one that's been well taken care of and be ready to spend a fair amount over your ownership. Once you get any & all issues ironed out the car is great. You just have to be so **** about the maintenance & make sure the last owner(s) were as well.

 

designed to fail engines - durable engines you could park for 40 years and start them up - to dead in many cases inside 5 years....

we went from iron liners with low wear, high natural lube, and rebuildable properties, to coated junk. Allegedly for better thermal transfer and whilst some do have a cheap liners, why bother the idea was really for costs and weight, but marketed for thermal transfer - shoving in a sleeve is just countering all the reasons to move from iron - various electroplating types used - although quite a few AMG ones out there running on one or two cast iron liners and 6 std ones after being bodged up when they bent a rod

early plating techniques were a nightmare and reacted with high sulphur petrol and killed all the early BMW V8s - Merc had issues too, then developed their own which is also very troublesome

Alusil

Alusil is a cheap alternative to Nikasil. In fact, it was the cheapest way to build an engine block when it became popular across Germany. It is a hypereutectic aluminium-silicon alloy, which means that the silicon content of the alloy is higher than the eutectic 12.5%, reaching 17% (AlSi17Cu4Mg). After the engine block is die cast at low pressure, the silicon particles on the bore surface are exposed by etching away the aluminium. The resulting silicon particles vary in size from 20 to 70 μm. The bore is not honed like Nikasil or in conventional engines. Importantly, Alusil requires the piston skirts to be coated with iron.
The Alusil method was first used in 1971 in the Chevrolet Vega. Porsche started using Alusil with its original M28 V8 back in the 1970s. Mercedes started using it with the 5.6L M117 V8 in 1978. In the 1980s, BMW started doing so with the M70 V12, and a decade later Audi with the 4.2 40v V8. Almost every 6, 8, 10, and 12-cylinder engines made in Germany, except the few very recent V6 and V8 models, used Alusil.

Unfortunately, Alusil is not durable. It wears twice as fast as cast iron. The main reason is that the silicon particles actually fall off overtime. It is the primary culprit for premature engine wear in German cars, with oil consumption being an early sign. Also unfortunate is the fact that Alusil blocks cannot be restored. There are only two possible repair options, to sleeve it or to coat it with Nikasil. Since almost nobody coats Nikasil, the only realistic choice is to add steel liners. This is a very expensive repair, and it is very difficult to do correctly.

• Porsche M28, M48 V8
• Porsche M44 I4
• Mercedes M117 (560), M119, M113 V8
• Mercedes M120 V12
• Mercedes M112 V6
• BMW M70, M73, N73, N74 V12
• BMW M62, S62, N62, S65, N63 V8
• BMW N52 I6
• BMW S85 V10
• Volkswagen 4.2 40v, 4.2 FSI V8
• Volkswagen 6.0/6.3 W12
• Volkswagen 3.2 FSI V6
• Volkswagen 5.2 FSI V10

Silitec

Alusil and Lokasil are both trademarked processes of Kolbenschmidt. Mercedes used Alusil up till the M112 and M113. With the M137 V12, but started using its own “Silitec” processes to produce Alusil and, later, Lokasil copies. Silitec engines are the crown jewels of cylinder bore scoring. While it is unclear how they differ from Kolbenschmidt’s processes, it does not take a genius to see that there must be material differences that led to such high early failure rates.

Two potential causes for coating failure are the distribution of the exposed silicon particles and the way the surface is etched.

• Mercedes M137, M275, M277, M279, M285 V12
• Mercedes M273, M278, M152, M157 V8
• Mercedes M272 V6