LovinMercedes

Well, I see this didn't take long.

Rounding 1000 miles and getting excited about getting the car out of comfort mode and into standard mode to stretch her feet.

Not going to happen just yet.

The #1 and #7 pistons are misfiring so the car basically can not be driven.

She is at the Dealer hospital and they are thinking it is a fuel source problem. The #1 and #7 chambers are opposite each other at the front of the engine and the fuel is delivered at the rear.

More to come tomorrow on her condition but I find it rather dissappointing.

I guess you have to pay more for a car if you want it to work past 1000 miles.

Chris 45971

Sorry to hear that Lovin. What gave you an indication that there was a problem? Was it a sound? Did the car shake?

wings

I have a 04 SL600 and have had a few problems also. Over the years (many) I have learned one thing is for sure. Anything, anything built by the hand of man can and will fail at some time. A friend of mine had a new RR that had a water leak in the roof. Its disapointing I know but in the big picture of life it should not be given more concern than it deserves. Sorry to hear about this. MB will make it right. You can be sure of that.

LovinMercedes

Car started to shake.

JackStraw

While driving or at idle or both?

LovinMercedes

My car started shaking when I turned the engine on and the #1 and #7 pistons never engaged. Obviously, I was at that point, idle. You would never want to drive the car like this so I never did.

It was told by the dealer it could happen while you are driving and if it did, you'd want to pull over immediately and stop the car.

Mmmm

It's pretty bad really

MB have got to sort themselves out , I've had a few electrical problems with the S55 and one misfire, the SL500 seems okay so far.

But quite a few people are having real problems that you wouldn't be happy about with a ford let alone a benz costing near 10 times more

Hope everything gets put right

vraa

Man that sucks, I hope you have a competent dealership!

PA55AMG

I am sure this problem will be easily diagnosed. This a case where the unbelievably complex electronics that scares us all, will allow for an easy diagnosis and fix. It would harder to find a miss on an older car than one of these. I'm sure it will be some module or coil pack with bad values, and they will just plug in a new one-down the road! Good luck.

LovinMercedes

Not ready to talk about it yet but trust me, it already isn't that easy. Actually, it is pathetic.

SL55406

He can hope that they will. I've been reading those sites of pissed off MB owners and its not pretty AT ALL. I'm or maybe was considering a SL55, but now I'm not too sure if its worth it. My 1989 420SEL has nearly 200k miles on it, no major problems.

Seems like now'a days people have trouble before they hit 25k miles and i've heard personal stories from people about S, SEL, M, and C classes recently.

Gone are the days of MB's lasting forever ..too much gadgets to fail I guess.

blueSL

I agree it's bad news and an indictment of Mercedes ability to deliver complex technology to its end users. Don't believe Lexus would have the same problem. Still, let's see what they come up with. Very unfortunate after all your stunning modifications to the car.

LovinMercedes

Finally diagnosed. It is a fuel pressure problem. It needs a new upgraded fuel pump, module and filter screen which increases the pressure to get more fuel to the front of the engine.

As would be usual for MB, the fuel pump has to come from Germany.

Now, let's see. My car is only 35 days old as it just arrived from Germany on 12/31. How is it possible I don't have the latest and greatest fuel pump?

PA55AMG

See, no big deal. It would have taken alot longer to figure that out on an older car. It does seem strange that the fuel pressure would not be even across the fuel rail. I hope that is a correct diagnosis. They should be able to air freight the parts quickly. I think an SLR loaner would be appropriate!



P.S. now that I look closer at your post, what is the module you refer to? I wonder if this part distributes the fuel to the various cylinders. They may be throwing the pump in for good measure.

LovinMercedes

They are increasing the amount of fuel going into the engine. The new module is a computer that says to give the engine more fuel pressure, the new pump delivers more pressure and the filter is a new type that takes the increased pressure. All three parts are needed.

The module and the filter are in the USA. Without the pump, it won't work because the old pump is not capable of delivering the pressure the new module is asking for.

jasab

If you were poorer like me , you'd have the 500 which is more popular and hopefully more reliable
Sounds like they just started making your beast under the hood.

LovinMercedes

Exactly! Hard to believe is it not?

JackStraw

Interesting that this problem hasn't been detected and resolved sooner. This engine, while relatively new, is also used in the Maybach, the S600 and the CL600. It sounds like a fundamental problem with the engine and not specific to your car.

I have only had one event that made me worry about my engine. It occurred shortly after the break-in period and I described it in a previous thread. The techs at the dealership were not able to replicate it and they put 18 miles on my car trying. They thought it might have been ESP intervening, I didn't think so. But my car never had the symptoms that LovinSL600 describes.

https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-r230/85036-problem-my-sl600.html

LovinMercedes

Well, my car is still in the dealership waiting for the pump to arrive. Today we got FEDEX confirmation that the module is on its way from Germany and will arrive on Friday. Still no confirmation on the fuel pump so it will be Monday at the earliest.

I think it is so unfair that a $160,000 car with less than 1000 miles has to be in the shop this long waiting for a fuel pump.

It is times like this that I wonder why I even deal with Mercedes. This may be my last one.

I can tell you one thing, the way I am feeling now the second the Aston Martin Vanquish comes out in an automatic, I will dump the SL600 and buy that car.

ajf1

i don't think mercedes is alone in having problems. It seems the more money you spend on a car the more problems you have with them, especially over $150,000. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys and Astons all have problems, you should be happy atleast mercedes has a lot more service locations than those three makes put together. I know a guy who has a vanquish and has had his share of problems from software upgrades to the car just shutting down in traffic for no apparent reason, his is brand new with under 1000 miles.

LovinMercedes

Yes, all cars have their problems, but how do the dealers and car companies react when they do?

ajf1

I guess it depends on the dealerships and company, from what i understand when it comes to ferrari, the attitude is, its a part of the personality of the car. Every new model they put out has problems for a couple of years. They use their customers to work out the kinks. On ferrarichat they were discussing how poor the paint jobs were on the cars. They said cars would have several different shades of color on one car, new from the factory! The paint would also have several different thicknesses. Now I understand these cars are hand built but I would expect more from a $200,000 sports car. Another guy was talking about waiting 4-5 months for a windshield from italy. Don't let me start with lamborghini, even though they have improved since audi purchased them a friend who sell's lambos told me some funny stories. He said they would just break with no warning, he would be so nervous anytime someone requested a test drive. One time he went to start the car and the stearing wheel came off. There was also a problem with qualified service techs, so if you were lucky enough to get the car in for service it would be a crap shoot to see if they could properly diagnose and solve the problem.

Since these cars are produced in such low numbers there is really nothing the companies do, every model has some issues. I hope this makes you feel a little better.

tiggerfink

It is true all cars have issues, but fix the problem and do not give lip service.

LovinMercedes

Thank you.

JackStraw

LovinSL600,

Is there a service bulletin out describing your fuel pump problem? Seems like it should be a problem for all of the new V12s.