VinnyT

How many owners? Any service records?

amstel78

3 previous owners. No service records except for what exists online.

I'm checking with Eurotech on costs to fix all this crap.

VinnyT

Carfax? Autocheck?

Any dealers listed as doing any work? They would have a vehicle history on all or any repairs.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

what do you expect when you buy a W220 S65. I made the same mistake with my S600.
This is only the beginning, get ready to spend a lot on money on it.

Replace the coil pack, dont even waste time on plugs etc
The shocks of the trunk go bad you can replace them. The hydraulic unit should be good.

cmpcpro

If you only have one on the trunk then there is your issue. Buy two new ones and problem solved. The dealer should be able to get the KG programmed if the system is functioning. When you get in the car and press the start button on the shifter does the cluster say key not recognized? Sorry to hear about the rest but that's the nature of the game with these cars. I went the S55 route because I felt the S65 was on a whole new level of costs, but it's still the same thing. Once the money is spent and the car is brought up to functional you will enjoy it!

amstel78

The instrument cluster says key not recognized when I press the start button on the transmission shifter. Both keyfob buttons do work fine to lock, unlock, and start the car.

The good news is that the dealer called me this morning and promised to make things right. They're asking for a repair quote from the mechanic of my choice to address the problems. So hopefully they'll pick up all or at least most or half the expense.

Fwiw, I went into this knowing the cost of ownership of these cars. I just wasn't expecting my cost outlay to happen immediately. I can rectify all these issues if I throw money at it. But hopefully it won't be mine and instead the dealer's for the issues I listed.

amstel78

The navigation disc was missing with the car. Is it a CD or a DVD? I ask because searching ebay for W220 navigation disc, it comes up with a whole bunch of different regions rather than just North America. Am I to assume that they only sold discs by region during that period of time? Do I need a specific disc to work with the S65 or will any W220 navigation disc function?

Slightly narrower search produces the following: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-2005-20...pTH1Li&vxp=mtr

Is the above link the one I need? I assume the reader in the trunk is a DVD unit?

cmpcpro

If it's showing it's not recognizing the key it probably just needs to be programmed. The discs started off being CD's on the earlier models and our cars use a DVD. I would try to find the newest DVD you can.

amstel78

Thanks again cmpcpro for your responses.

I'm hoping the dealer I bought the car comes through. If not, I'm already preparing to tackle the job myself. I plan on replacing all 24 plugs. Per the MB maintenance schedules, they need to be replaced at 60k anyway. I'll pull both coil packs, replace plugs and reinstall. I'll clear the DTC and if I get misfires in cylinders 5 and 6 again, then I know for sure the passenger side pack needs to be replaced.

Has anyone dealt with www.v12icpack.com before? I'm thinking I can "rent" the passenger side pack for $99.00. If it works, then I pay the $699 dollars and keep it on the car. At least that problem will be resolved.

As for the humming noise, I've discovered a TSB that identifies the issue as a problem with pulsation damper/accumulator. Not sure how easy it is to bleed the ABC system after but I can try. If not, then I'll have an indy do it.

The sharkfin antenna on the other hand will probably need to be replaced by the independent. I don't do well with pulling trim such as the headliner.

Again, the above is only if the dealer doesn't keep his word. I'm hoping he does though.

BTW, I got quoted a little over $6,000 to replace all 24 plugs, and both coil packs, plus sharkfin antenna. If I replace only one coil and no plugs, that number drops to right around $3k. Ouch.

amstel78

One other thing. Not sure if I mentioned it earlier but when they delivered the car, they forgot to put the engine cover back on. It wasn't in the car but left at the shop the dealer used in Chicago to check all fluids prior to shipment. I was promised by the dealer that they will contact the shop and have them ship it to me ASAP. Question is though, how does the cover reattach? Is it pressure fitted to several mounting points, or are there screws involved? I ask because I want to make sure they ship me everything.

cmpcpro

If memory serves me that website for the coils has been used many times on these forums. As for the engine cover yes they just push on there are no screws. There is a video on YouTube that shows how to flush the ABC.

Zax63

I know its far away, but I have found what in my experience is pretty much the best indy on these cars that I could possibly find, he is inexpensive, honest, and shops around for the best prices on parts...and I found him by mistake. I brought my off road truck to him for some suspension work years ago as I heard he was great at suspensions. As I pulled into his shop, there were 4 w220s littering the yard. His business is actually called W220Repair (I didn't know that at the time, as a offroading buddy just told me about his suspension prowess) and he idolizes these cars and their engineering. He is obsessed specifically with W220s (though works on my Porsche, a couple of E55s, and my buddies BMW too) and has a major hard on for s65s in particular. He is a very cognitive mechanic, his specialty is suspensions, and guys ship cars to him to sort out all the time. He also buys s600s that dealers quote 8k to fix and fixes them himself for 2k and sells them. His name is Ryan, and as I said it's w220 repair (you can google him, he is in Kittery, Maine) I can't say enough good things. My co-workers Lexus SUV had a suspension issue the dealer quoted 1650 to fix, his bill was under 600. My car has had well over 100k of warranty work done to it at the dealer, and once that expired I knew I needed a good indy quick. He also usually has valve blocks, pulsation dampers, and coil packs on hand...sometimes has to order them. He obviously has a star diagnostic system, but does things like buy the computer to diagnose the TPMS sensors when I have a problem so he has the computer for the next guy. He is building me a crazy powerful w140 diesel as we speak as well. He's basically the only reason I can afford to keep driving this awesome but complex and finicky machine.

hyperion667

You what? Why?


I am assuming you have a lot of money for repairs??

amstel78

If this post was addressed to me, the short answer is NO. I don't have a lot of money for repairs. I have some, but not enough to go around replacing a whole bunch of parts with new ones at a single time.

This has been a learning experience for me. Never buy a car sight unseen. I thought I would be OK purchasing from a reputable dealer with good reviews, but that did not turn out to be the case. The dealer said he'd try and work with me on getting the parts replaced, so I'll wait and see.

If not, I've already found a hollow W220 plastic sharkfin cover on eBay that I can dremel to fit. That saves me $500 right there. I can buy a rebuilt coil pack from www.v12icpack.com. I spoke to them this morning and discussed options. The ABC pulsation damper/accumulator looks like a relatively inexpensive fix as well which I can do myself.

Regarding the misfire in cylinders 5 and 6, what I'm going to do first is pull the passenger side coil pack and swap the plugs in those two cylinders with the ones in 1 and 2. I'll put the coil pack back, reset the codes and drive the car. If the error returns showing misfires in cylinders 1 and 2, then I know it's the plugs. If the error returns on 5 and 6, then I know it's the coil.

Anyway, my pride's a bit hurt and I've been feeling bummed but I get it. This was my mistake. Only thing I can do now is learn from it and move on. If I do the work myself, I'll learn a little something about the new car I have as well. In the end, I'm positive I can salvage this even though I know I'll have to fork out a bit more cash.

BTW, I found this navigation DVD on eBay. Seller says it'll work fine in my 2006 so I bought it and will give it a try. Hopefully the system won't require any firmware updates to work. If it does, I'll do more research then.

amstel78

Thank you for the recommendation. He is far from me but if I'm ever in that neck of the woods with my S65, I'll be sure to make an appointment and stop by.

amstel78

Well, they say a picture is worth a 1000 words.









FWIW, the dealer called me tonight. They offered me as restitution a check for $1000.00. Basically it was a take it or leave it offer. I decided to take it. I guess I'll be doing most of the repair work myself to save money.

hyperion667

I guess I meant it will be expensive to maintain, I do wish you luck with it, sounds like you know you're way around a car and have confidence
At the same time: try to enjoy it too!

amstel78

The dealer called me last night. They offered me $1000.00 as restitution. It was a take it or leave it offer, and the owner of the dealership wasn't willing to give me any more. So, I took it. I guess it's better than nothing and will at least defray some of the costs required to get everything running again.

So, it looks like I'll be doing most if not all the repairs myself. I will begin ordering parts on the internet.

cmpcpro

I figured something along those lines would happen. Unfortunately they don't have to do anything. Used cars are as is no cooling off period. A thousand dollars is a pretty nice gesture at least for some car lots.. Unfortunately it seems like these cars are a double edged sword. It's no accident they are as cheap as they are. You get to buy a 100-120 thousand dollar car for practically nothing but you pay for it on the other side. I'm sure hardly anyone who buys one of these doesn't go through this.. most all of these cars get sold because the previous owner has dumped thousands in them and has finally had enough. The closest you can get is hoping they paid for more than less of the issues the car has had. Your car having all these issues at only 50k miles is a testament to that. I got lucky on mine because it seems the issues that caused my PO to trade it in was ABC issues. A leaking rear shock, rear pulsation dampener (both replaced by the dealer selling the car) and then me replacing the tandem pump because it was getting tired seems to be the worst of it but I can see before they gave up they popped for set of $350ea tires and a brake job which is pretty pricey on these cars.

maw1124

$1000 back for the shark fin antennae, not bad. Coil pack issues, no selling dealer will step up to that -- it's a "when it breaks" on these cars, not "if it breaks". Hopefully the car has never been tuned, or you may Ben looking at a Transmission down the road as well. These are the reasons I didn't buy a 65, and that was in '09 -- these issues aren't news.

As of the coil packs, yes confirm it's the pack and not something else. If it is the pack, I'd go with the V12cpack folks Nick posted. I read their site, and it's the most comprehensive explanation I've ever gotten on why these things go. And the price is right. I'd probably cut a deal with them and do both banks, just to protect against them going out of business or something before the other bank goes bad.

Pulsation Damper is a dealer item to me. It's cheap enough that you can have them do an ABC flush and Transmission mount and Transmission flush at the same time. I see NO value to doing ABC work yourself. None. Whatever few dollars upyou save may end up costing you in the long run. But it's your car. I'd start to curry a little dealer favor with these small jobs and a service. I haven't always used a dealer on my car, but now that the heavy lifting is all done, keeping them around for little stuff has proven smart.

Good luck,

maw

amstel78

Well, the car's running again. Tore out all 12 plugs passenger side. 4 plugs for cylinders 5 and 6 were oil fouled and looking really cruddy. I'm hoping that they looked like that because of a failing coil pack, and not something else like injectors.

Also received a rebuilt coil pack from Clark over at v12icpack.com. Not sure if he peruses these forums but many thanks to him for taking the time to answer my questions over the phone.

Last thing to tackle now is the loud humming noise from the pulsation damper. I tried getting it off the other day while the car was on jackstands but couldn't get it to budge. Will try again with larger tools for more leverage.

Oh.. also fixed the sharkfin antenna with a hollow cover purchased on eBay. Took quite a bit of fitting and dremel work, but it now sits pretty well. I used RTV silicone epoxy to glue the cover on. It's not 100% perfect, but it's certainly better than before.

Now just waiting on the dealer to send me the plastic underbelly trays which were left on the car when they had the tandem pump and transmission gasket replaced. Hopefully that shows up in the next few days.

All in all, there's light at the end of the tunnel.

sakodik

Keep it up! I had problems buying sight unseen with the PSE pump issue among little minor stuff (i had the shark fin cover torn off too). Got a good deal and put almost 5k into first month to repair ALMOST everything.

amstel78

Thanks! Trying to keep a positive attitude. So far, I've managed to save a lot of money in labor by doing things myself. I've also learned quite a bit about the car by doing my own repairs.

Hope you get your PSE pump system sorted out. Fortunately that's one thing I don't have an issue with (yet... knock on wood) in this car. All the doors and trunk soft close properly.

Welwynnick

James,

I missed this thread before, but though this might seem like a strange thing to say, I think you've done OK if those are the only problems you've had. You'll forget about them pretty soon. It's a difficult car to own, but disproportionately rewarding when you get it all right.

Now make sure your heater inlet drain isn't blocked.

Make sure the IC pump is working, and bleed the IC system.

Buy a MB transmission dipstick and get the transmission fluid level just right.

Did you happen to notice what sort of spark plugs you had fitted?

When you next jack the car up, bounce the wheels up and down hard. See if they're located firmly, or do they move up and down a fraction freely?

Nick

amstel78

Hi Nick,

Will check the IC pump system soon. Right now, trying to get the old pulsation damper off. When I had the car on stands, I took a look at all of the front end suspension and steering bushings. They looked pretty good with the rubber still being intact. The dampers themselves look dry. Didn't try wobbling them around but I haven't noticed the car drooping even after 2 weeks of sitting.

As for the spark plugs, they were factory units with the MB logo on them. I replaced them with the appropriate NGK plugs. These are the old plugs:


And here are four from cylinders 5 and 6. The one at the far right came from cylinder 4 which looked OK.


Here's a pic of the antenna cover getting fitted. Had it taped overnight to ensure the glue bonds.



Also pleased to report that the 2015 navigation DVD I purchased on eBay works perfectly.

All in all, it's slowly getting there.

P.S. Is the heater inlet drain the one covered by the plastic screen right above the firewall near the passenger side?