MrTracy

I love this 2003 CL600... HOWEVER!

In the last two months... Soft close door and secondary air pump leak $1450
Coil pack $1,114 (I installed)
Spark plugs $375 (I installed)
Power steer hose leak $1,283

I pickup the car today and "No sound" The radio comes on but no sound WTF??????????????

C280 Sport

Jesus that is some bad luck. Unfortunate for you. Keep in mind these cars are getting up there in age so things like are going to happen and when it rains it pours. Do a search on the forums to find the issue. It seems to be pretty common with the 220/215. Try disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it and see where it goes.

renault12ts

If you have a Bose system (I did) it'll be the amp.

MrTracy

Tell me its not so... For some reason it it says I no longer have a CD changer. Also the Bluetooth puck will not work...

MrTracy

Shut the front door! THAT **** WORKED!

C280 Sport

There ya go

MrTracy

Everything is fine with the radio but I noticed the drivers side rear window will not synchronize. It not close after opening the door. You have to manually put it all the way. I do think its just a minor adjustment.

smartadze

I believe that fix is in the owner's manual - have to re-sync the windows every so often after battery power is disconnected.

slonar21

to re-sync windows and sunroof, just hold the up/close switch after window is closed for about 5 seconds... VOILA!

MrTracy

I finally figured that out. The wonderful world of being a "YouTube mechanic"

ctravis595

these cars are getting older, don't be surprised at the things that will probably need changing as it gets closer to 20 years of age

typically you'll want to inspect and possibly replace a few of the following, for example
-control arms
-rear axle flex discs
-driveshaft flex discs
-r/r transmission 13 pin connector o-ring as they often leak
-possibly MAF (some say they only last 100k miles, im not sure i agree)
-spark plugs
-subframe bushings
-crank/cam sensors
-fuel injector o-rings
-vacuum hoses
-clean out and test EGR valve
-sunroof and maybe even power windows should be greased, that is if you have reasons to access the window motors
-need to check and adjust wheel bearings
-o2 sensors (many say they last about 100k miles)
-valve cover gaskets
-may be due for a rear main seal replacement
-rear differential service

and that's not getting into the matters of how fragile some of the wiring is between the doors/mirrors of these cars, let alone the ABC suspension. not trying to worry you or scare you about your ownership, but its good to know about these kinds of things if you plan to keep the car for any length of time. at this age you really should consider having a lot of your ABC hoses replaced, especially considering you've had a power steering hose failure already. it's good "preventative" maintenance as you can have the hoses built by a local hydraulic shop for not very expensive, compared to a hose blowing and subsequently losing an ABC pump in the process

i've had my w215 for maybe 8 years now, and i plan on keeping it for as long as i can until its wrecked/stolen/destroyed. so i proactively tackle some of these repairs and such, because i plan to keep the car for a long time. these aren't the type of cars to only repair "what's needed" in my opinion. these are cars that should be carefully maintained as much as possible, and there are rarely things on these cars that don't need attention here and there

MrTracy

Yes like us, they are getting older. That being said; this V12TT is so silky smooth, its agile and Powerful. At high speeds, there is few like it. The closest would be the Bentley Continental GT.

Kelvin Bellrose

My left tweeter does not work, is that a common thing due to the wires being strained in the door?

wewmbw

ctravis595:

Believe it or not I just inherited a 2006 CL500 with only 7000 miles. I had the following done:
- Transmission fluid
- Brake fluid
-Fuel Filter changed
-New Tires
-Spark plugs
-Oil flushed and changed

I love the car but the ABC suspension service cost really scare me. I want to be proactive on the ABC hoses as I dont want to be stuck on a road trip. because of the low mileage do I need to think about replacing them now ?
-

ctravis595

congratulations. quite a car you have there. keep in mind these were basically $100k MSRP cars, so with such low miles you have quite a nice ride. I disagree with the rate of depreciation (where else can you find a 500 horsepower luxury car for $4500 sometimes? (talking about s55 and e55 more specifically)) but i digress

the same reason i mention your car being a great example of the w215 is the same reason i recommend maintaining and keeping the system as long as you can

from what i understand the later 05-06 model years had more reliable ABC systems. You have to realize 2000 w215 was the first mercedes with ABC if i recall correctly, they basically used us early models as test subjects... i believe by 05-06 they worked out at least a few of the kinks

being only 7000 miles, your system has not really had much of a chance to be neglected which is EXTREMELY rare on these cars. mercedes never implemented any sort of maintenance schedule AT ALL for these cars as far as im aware. this led to 95% of w215's with ABC getting their ABC system neglected with infrequent fluid/filter changes, for starters. i strongly believe mercedes lack of a maintenance schedule/infrequent fluid changes are solely responsible for the bad reputation for reliability that ABC earned itself

at this point in 2019 there is also a lot more DIY how-to, videos and knowledge regarding maintaining and fixing ABC, so you have more resources to better ensure reliability. i didn't have access to half of these resources we do now when I first tried coilovers on these cars

i think what most people do, is they wait for a catasrophic ABC failure, compare the bill of repair to the cost of a coilover conversion kit and THEN make your decision moving forward. it depends on your financial situation as well at the given time. if you have fluctuating income streams, you may want to further consider converting to coilovers. it'd suck to spend a lot on the home/family just to see a failed ABC system the next day when you leave for work. i daily drive mine and am not rich, i'm not sure how much your situation varies

i strongly recmmend changing the ABC fluid YESTERDAY, and upgrade to the newer, smaller micron filter if you don't already have that new filter style. make sure you take the car to a real mercedes mechanic for the ABC work, they will need to bleed the air out of the system and this is only possible with mercedes specific software. the process is called "rodeo" and is fun to watch the car bounce around. if the shop you're considering doesn't know what "ABC rodeo" is then find a new shop

ctravis595

highly probable. often its easy to spot the frayed wires by simply manipulating the wire loom cover between the door and chassis a bit

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

not common at all
test the tweeter by swapping with right door

Kelvin Bellrose

Thanks for your input. It's a good thing there are so many helpful people on these forums.

ctravis595

frayed wires in the door jam is in the top ten most common complaints i hear about these cars. easy to see if you have issues by looking at the wires in the door jamb(sp?)... the door hinges are unique in this car in that they move forward and outward a lot more than on sedan cars, to make it easy to access the rear seats. but this creates extra stress on the wires

wewmbw

Well ctravis595

You were correct. Should have changed ABC fluid yesterday. Car has been garaged and not driven for 3 weeks. Started today to keep battery up and got red ABC do not drive message. Hit button to raise the car level worked okay and car was level on all 4 wheels. Red ABC message went away checked for leaks did not see any obvious fluid leaks. A month ago dealer also checked for leaks. Raised and lowered a couple of times message did not come back. Fluid level in reservoir seems ok. Suprising getting this problem with only 7000 miles on 2006 CL500. I guess take to shop to have ABC pump checked.

ctravis595

its been years since i had ABC but i believe the red error means the pump is failing, or too high/too low pressure situation. do not drive the car this way, maybe 5 miles to the nearest certified mechanic might be OK at most. a failing pump will send particulate throughout the whole system causing clogged components, swelling hoses ETC

wewmbw

Red ABC warning is now off. My inde mechanics shop is about 5 miles away. I asked he has worked on ABC before. So you converted to coil overs , how is the ride?

ctravis595

the ride isn't bad, each suspension system on these cars has it's own caveats. right now I am trying the adjustable yellow speed coilovers, there are many things they do well, but the worst part is this unsafe bounce over really large/extreme road dips. imagine a car that doesn't stop bouncing on a waving bridge, like the car has the wrong/bad shocks

Worst part of each system -
ABC - reliablity, cost of maintenance
strutmasters - body roll when installed with no sway bars, some have reported they ended up with the ride height sitting too high, in a bad way
yellow speed - unsafe bounce over certain road conditions

if i had unlimited money, i would keep ABC.

if i had to do it all over again with the suspension conversion I would buy yellow speed front coilovers, and strutmasters rear coilovers with stiffer/shorter springs. i'd install sways as well. this would give the best of all worlds, short of maintaining the ABC system, but even the ABC system could get "twitchy" over potholes too. so like i said, they all have their ups and downs

pmercury

iTrader: (2)

ctravis595 stop spreading stuff you don't know about everywhere
yellow speed - unsafe bounce over certain road conditions
I have these springs and i drive on FAR worse roads and FAR faster then you'll ever get and do NOT feel unsafe

and please stop responding to all threads like a specialist, you don't even have the base of documentation nor Sdconnect to diagnose the car
behave like what you are, a newbee, and just give your opinion, don't let people believe your know what you're saying as most of your posts are guesses
thx

ctravis595

I think i made myself fairly clear that I don't even have ABC anymore and that my responses are mostly based on DIY experience, rather than just regurgitating info from SDS, which isn't always correct either honestly. I'm not the first to find the actuator arm for the y22/6 intake manifold switchover valve doesn't open at 3900~rpm like SDS claims it will/does for example

Pmercury are you upset I was able to offer some advice on how to proceed with ABC and it happened to be correct? All without SDS software? how could i?!

If this is about the wiring in the door, it's a common problem on these cars. A real world problem, not the things Mercedes necessarily expects will be a problem and spoon-feeds you in SDS. A quick google search will reveal this is a very common problem in the w215. If you want to show me anywhere in this thread I am actually incorrect feel free. I'm just having trouble understanding why dismantling the fragile tweeter housing that is known to crack apart in these cars,and swapping it over the to the other side is a step worth investigating without first taking 2 seconds to inspect the wiring loom in the door. Now he will have broken tweeter mounting tabs and still bad wiring? Is that what you're reading from SDS for tweeter diagnosis?

https://www.google.com/search?q=w215...wiring+problem

I'm not sure where the attitude comes from... I've helped hundreds of people with my "guesses" on these cars, my inbox gets hits often, and people usually follow up to thank me for my advice. Some have me work on their w215. I'm sorry I don't want to buy your Mercedes software you are asking me to buy in PM currently lol... but this is a bad sales pitch if anything. I mean you are really just following in my footsteps, even with the SDS software you claim is needed. Don't forget who first tried coilovers on the w215 platform when everybody said it wouldn't work. You think you have struck gold by getting some ebay adjustable yellowspeed coilovers for these cars and can't handle an oppositional opinion on them. So far we have about 3 or 4 people in here, you included who claim yellowspeed is perfectly safe but then we have countless claims of issues with bounce on these kits. See your other thread for screenshots of just a few claims

Like I said in the other thread, take some video of your car over some serious road dips and show us one of the few yellowspeed systems that actually works... But if you review your threads you'll find that you were constantly dissatisfied and changing spring rates, adding sway bars ETC. Just to come back in a week and say "well these w220 control arms never really worked, here's a new fix" anyways. Just because an adjustable coilover kit is cheap does not excuse it from being unsafe. And refusing to admit the problems with bounce over a matter of pride is just kind of sad anyways

Bottom line, Pics or it didn't happen