Looking to purchase a 2006-2010 RS230 and wondering what other other issues I should be concerned with. ABC seems to be just a maintainence issue from reading the forms.

 

you got it right It's all about maintenance. What everybody will agree on is maintenance records, and an inspection as good as possible before buying it. Besides that nothing obvious i can think of

 

What is an RS230?

 

I believe R230 is the vehicle 'generation' as MB defines it. The various models as we know them...SL500, SL550, SL55, etc...are marketing variations. Something like that. Note this is the R230 forum.

 

Yes I thought is was R230 not RS230

 

I suppose a reply more responsive to your question would have been...I don't know what RS230 means. But if you mean R230, it is... Honestly simply read it to fast and read it as R230 instead of what you typed. Mark

 

It really depends on what model you get. The 500/550 will be the most.reliable. There are lots of issues with these cars to include but not.limited to and depending on the model: intercooler pump, coil packs, trunk flaps, gas tank baffle, abc lines, struts, accumulators, ABC pump, command system, various sensors, seat functions, and others I'm probably forgetting.

ABC maintenance does help but it is not the end all be all. You can maintain perfectly and still suffer from a blown hose, faulty ABC pump, or accumulator failure. The blown hose will send your system into a spiraling downfall. If you run it for.more than a few seconds with the blown line, you will grenade the pump causing metal shards to contaminate every component downstream and you will have a series of never ending ABC events.

 

Gotto agree with Blown V8. R230s are full of little gizmos that are really neat when they work and really aggravating and often expensive to fix when they are not. I like to remind people even though used ones can be had for much less, they still have the repair costs commensurate with the 100k+ cars they were when new.

And let me throw in one more caveat as I see you are looking at as early as 06. MB and Bosch teamed up a number of years ago to design an amazing "brake by wire" system. They named it sensotronic brake control. We all know it as SBC. It is in all R230s. The braking system does some amazing stuff. Anyone interested in reading about it can find plenty of good stuff on the net, but my point is to discuss it Achilles heal. Given the system is electronic and is the mechanism that actuates the brakes, the design engineers saw fit to build in a "service threshold." Basically, after the brakes have been stepped on 300,000 times, a little counter in the system will trip a brake warning to your multi function display (MFD). Your SBC unit should be replaced at this point. The dealer will charge you around $2,000 to complete the job. This is not a DIY job for the faint of heart.

While looking at cars, definitely have MB do an inspection. Ask them to read the SBC counter for you. Not sure if they will, but it is worth a try. Also, MB has extended the warranty on SBC to 10 years. An 06 won't have long to go. On the other hand, a low mileage R230 might not hit the 300,000 actuation point for years.

I still grin every time I press the start button on my SL and I am absolutely gitty if the MFD does not report any new faults after start-up. A properly running R230 is sublime IMO.

 

Regarding the SBC...there is a $40 tool you can buy on eBay to reset the counter to 0-25-50-75% of what it is reading. I reset mine to 0 . Now I'm good for who knows how long.

There is a mechanical backup if this system fails, but it only provides 90% reduced brake power. So a system failure does not kill you, only injure.

A low battery flags a brake warning light to STOP - BRAKE FAILURE as the SBC relies on electricity to run the pump. In this case it was my alternator not supplying power, and there was nothing wrong with brakes.

If SBC senses rain (via your auto wipers) it lightly applies the pads to the disks to dry them out and decrease stopping distance. This auto pressure function makes changing pads and disks a tricky procedure, but doable.

 

Yep! I could have reset my SBC to zero with my Star DAS. I actually drove the car around for a while with the "go to shop" warning light knowing the established threshold was undoubtedly well below normal failure times. I just did not feel comfortable with it, especially knowing that my wife drives the car too. Seems to me if one has a car with high HP, they would want to be fully confident the car will stop when they hit the brakes. I found myself not even enjoying the HP. I was constantly thinking "what if it fails now"?

Have a look at the diagram below. It looks to me like the back-up mechanical/hydraulic braking only applies to the front brakes. It also appears it will take significantly more brake pedal travel to actuate. Awareness of this is definitely power. I knew that if the dreaded red light flashed on the MFD I was going to be applying massive foot pressure to get any braking at all and to be extremely careful applying while in a turn. It is also possible, shifting down, lighter control 90% reduced braking and even use of the E-brake would result in a safe stop under many driving conditions. On the other hand, if SBC failed while my wife was driving, I am almost certain it would result in a accident of some sort.

My advice to all members on SBC threshold reached is to do your research, beware of the potential perils and then make your own decision at your own risk. I almost did the SBC replacement myself. It can be done for less than 1/2 what the dealer charged, but I felt it too big a job for me. I am very happy with my decision to have the dealer replace it. My back tire wear is suffering as a result though.

 

I am interested in a 2004 Sl500 with 130K on it, I take it this 300,000 cycle known as the SBC can be a real issue. So along with the ABC, I now have the SBC to consider?

They told me everything I needed to know in life I would learn in kindergarten, it's all letters and numbers. I'm 65 and still learning my ABCs, my SBCs, my CPSs.............and I O U's

 

Yeah, and the funny thing is, the only stuff that seems to break on the SL is something related to those damned acronyms. The drive-train has proven itself very reliable even with additional HP from modifications.

 

True. I was out making 11's on the street yesterday on a drive demo. The drivetrain can take all kinds of abuse!

 

With all the problems of the SL, you need to get a 65/600, or 55 to make it worthwhile. Nothing more disappointing than driving a slow car that is expensive to maintain.

 

BlownV8, there are other options if you want a fast car - even an SLK55 truly talking, i have never floored this car since i bought it For me it's about the drive, not the speed

P.S. - besides that for me another $15k makes a difference in price That's why you got a 55 and i got a 500

 

I have a 600.