I found my dream car! I am the proud owner of a 2013 550SL, Palladium silver with beige / brown interior. 24,000 miles, 2 year additional MB Warranty over the CPO and I am in love!

I had posted previously when I was looking at a car in Chicago with the ABC system thru a non Mercedes dealer and I thank you all for your help.

Owned a 2013 SLK, so similar in a lot of ways but looking forward to learning the new things this model has to offer.

I am currently on a 650 mile test drive back home and so far so good.

The only issue I am having is getting my Mophie Vent Mount to stay put in the round vents... Other than that - pure perfection.

 

Enjoy that new (to you) car. Great to here some new voices, show us your baby. Tired of reading about rear speakers. I can't believe there are 5230 views and nearly 70 replies about rear speaker. Enjoy!

 

Glad you found what you were searching for! Enjoy the driving experience!

 

I am new her also. I have been on this forum only a couple of days... So far I am on the honeymoon, and hope it never ends.

 

Just over 25,000 miles. Car is a dream to drive on the expressway cruising at 70 mph, but off the expressway I notice extreme side to side movement... I know this is a sports car, but the wobbliness is excessive, I think, going over dips / ridges in the road. Will be bringing car to my nearest Benz dealer, but just wondering, is this normal? This is my 3rd time driving an SL and the other 2 seemed much more level riding. I did notice my tires (Bridgestones) are, to me, way over inflated at 40 psi as the recommended PSI is 35/30...

I also have a weird engine noise when first starting the car, for like the first 5 seconds...

 

I run my tires at 33 psi cold knowing they will get to 35-36 psi when warmed up. The SL wobble to me is not normal. I have owned SL's with both ABC and standard suspension and they have all driven well planted to the pavement up to the point I really push things on corners.

 

Glad you like the car. As a new owner myself, I never knew how good this car drives. The media bashes this car for no reason.
What tires are you running? Michelin of a certain type have given others problems.
As for the speakers, if 5000 clicks on this topic, it must bother a lot of people. Thanks to other people on this forum, I have a great system to match the car instead of no sound from the back

 

Congrats on the new to you SL! Can you describe the weird engine noise? I also have a noise at cold start up that is a metalic, click, click, click. Goes away after a few seconds and does not reappear if the engine is warm.

 

If either of you have the ABC system go to the 230 forum and ask there.

 

I am currently driving a C300. Different engine I know but it will tick when cold and also have a VERY small wobble at initial idle.
All of this goes away as it warms up.
Took to dealer and explanation was normal.
Have not worried about it and driven the car for 3 years without problems.

 

Just an update - brought the car to my dealer in Orland Park. They said that the suspension on the SLs were a "sport" suspension and would ride differently than even my E class but would check anyway. What they said:

I have the sport tires which are very hard and will never give a soft ride, but I can change them out for all seasons, which I may do when these tires show little bit more wear. They also said I have 2 passenger side bent rims (which I didn't even notice in the ride).... I am currently trying to get the dealership I bought the car from just a week ago to possibly pay for new rims.... I have had 1 response (from the sales dept) and they said I should have noticed the bent rims in the short test drive. I am not expecting too much from them. It is $2500 to replace the 2 rims. I guess I have a bad taste in my mouth regarding the dealer I purchased from because not only did they try to rush me into signing the paperwork via FedEx prior to driving the 600 miles there, then, when I arrived, wanted me to sign the paperwork prior to any test drive. Then, after my test drive, they had been checking out my trade (2014 E350) they told me that the E I was trading in had body work done (I only owned for 1 year, and had a clean Carfax)..... This is my 4th Benz and I have never been thru any of this b4.

The noise the car makes when starting is a bad timing chain tensioner and the part is ordered. FYI - the tech told me that the initial ticking noise you hear upon start up is caused by the fuel being quickly brought back into the engine due to stricter EPA laws - the newer cars are being brought up to temp quicker than before because a hotter engine has less emissions.

I asked them to check the Sport / Comfort system since I really didn't notice much difference when switching from one to the other, maybe that wasn't working and he told me 1. They ran the computer check on the car, and that would show up if it wasn't working and 2. That is only for handling, not suspension. Good to know.

So, I am still in a loaner and I am having a little buyer remorse thinking I should have maybe bought the SL with the ABC option for a softer ride.... I think I am just too used to driving my Lexus LS....

Any advice appreciated .....

 

Sounds like a bad dealer to me. Bend rims on the SL's are typically on the inside of the wheel (typically rears). That can't be easily felt if a small bend. That also happens quite easily on SL's, just like increased wear on the inner tire (also with ABC). Quick fix is to go up 4psi over standard tire pressure. The tires will last longer too. If you have run flats, the side walls are stiffer and provide a harsher ride. The tires are also expensive (depending on brand up to $500 per tire). The same set with good all seasons maybe $1100 a set and great performance tires $1500 or so. I vote for performance tires.
Try to make the dealer pay for rims but keep in mind that rims can be easily fixed and when done by a good shop they are as safe as a new one. There is no diminishment or risk. Cost is max $250 a wheel. In fact even insurances can require a wheel repair over a replacement as they are deemed equal. I am talking about bends of course, not broken wheels...

That said, no SL will drive as soft as a normal E-Class and that's good. It is a roadster after all. Good tires will definitely help though!

 

The RIMS can be straightened, specially if not bent that much, yours seem to be slightly bent, as you dont feel it while driving. I bent 3 Rims, and killed one tire, coming back from
Rochester NY on Route 81 South - Did not lose air pressure, but could feel the Vibration - Dealer had a service come in - and straightened out the rims and I bought a new Tire too -
Rears are around 600 bucks, front tires are around 550 or so. I had my SL 400 (2015) for little over 2.5 years - whent thru 6 tires, and 3 bent rims. You can not buy
Rim and Tire insurance AFTER you take delivery of the vehicle - for 4 years its 1,995.00 plus tax - a real deal considering these cars go thru rims and tires quickly. My new
car be it the 2018 SL 450 which is still Sleeping in Baltimore with NO DELIVERY and waiting for a part to be re-manufactured OR the Lexus LC 500 ( same price too) - both come with Run Flats, and no question in my mind that I will buy the Rim and Tire Insurance.

Go back to the dealer you bought the car from - either buy the Rim and Tire Policy and have it back dated to when you opicked up the car -or demand that they replace the bent rim !

Good luck - tell us what happens !

Phil

 

I should have kept it !
Here is a photo of my 2015 SL 400 - that I pre-traded last May for delivery at the end of July. Its still in Baltimore, waiting for a re-enginered part from a Mercedes Vendor -
Missed the Summer, now probably most if not all the Fall - and no one knows anything now about when it will be shipped from Baltimore to the Dealership ! S A D !!!

 

I will keep you all posted - and FYI they never even offered the tire / rim insurance, which is weird, usually they bombard you with warranties. I DID buy a 2 year extended MB warranty past the 1 year CPO. I would have bought the tire / rim insurance because I had a C32 AMG and know all too well about ben rims and skinny tires..

 

Gorgeous car!

 

Thank you ! - Here it is October 16th tomorrow - 5 Months since I ordered the car, Almost 3 months since it arrived in Baltimore, and there she sits !

Now the question is, do I want a winter car that I am told by the dealer not to drive it on Snow ?
I am not the only one waiting either - KMG on this site is waiting too - and who knows how many SL450's are Parked In Baltimore, and other Vehicle Processing areas !
I feel for the Dealer, as they want to sell the car - Mercedes has a problem and Compensation better be good -
If you think I am mad - YUP - dealer encourged me to pre-trade my 2015 SL - told me I would have the New one by the end of July. They Kept the 51,000 money that they offered me in trade,
they sold the vehicle in the mid 60s - FINALLY tired of excuses, I had the dealer cut me a check on September 15th -
Spoke to the dealer yesterday - they have NO IDEA - of when the car will be released !

 

Yep.
All we can do is wait.
My sales guy knows nothing as well.
I truly believe that he does not and will share when he hears.
I will wait, as there is no other roadster I want to drive.

 

[QUOTE=JGoergen;7279899]Just an update - brought the car to my dealer in Orland Park. They said that the suspension on the SLs were a "sport" suspension and would ride differently than even my E class but would check anyway. What they said:

I asked them to check the Sport / Comfort system since I really didn't notice much difference when switching from one to the other, maybe that wasn't working and he told me 1. They ran the computer check on the car, and that would show up if it wasn't working and 2. That is only for handling, not suspension.

I just reread this thread and came across this rather stellar advise from the poster's dealer. What kind of nonsensical load of BS. I can't even imagine what that was supposed to mean? Unless electrically adjustable shocks/struts are no longer considered part of the suspension. Amazing what a service writer will allow out of their mouth.
The sport/comfort setting changes the valving in the shocks/struts. This offers a more compliant ride (comfort), or more control of the springs (sport) which is perceived as a harsher suspension. Just stating the obvious here.

 

That's kind of what I thought.....

 

[QUOTE=GermanCars;7287738]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JGoergen

Just an update - brought the car to my dealer in Orland Park. They said that the suspension on the SLs were a "sport" suspension and would ride differently than even my E class but would check anyway. What they said:

On my 2017 SL 450 I cannot tell any difference in steering or ride when I switch from the comfort to the sport mode.
It must be very subtle. There is a difference in gearing.

 

[QUOTE=Utopia Texas;7288171]

We just spent a week in the NC mountains with our 2013. With this thread in mind, I switched back and forth between the sport & comfort setting several times under different road conditions. The difference's between the two settings is indeed VERY subtle. Much more subtle than on the SL55 (R230), E550 (212), or CLS63 (218) we have previously owned. With runflats on the car I'm not surprised to hear that you couldn't feel the difference. Neither could I before we switched tires. I can't overstate how much better the car feels/rides with conventional tires, in my case Michelin's. I didn't notice any change in gearing when switching the shock setting. However the more we went up & down the country roads, the more the transmission "adapted" to holding lower gears longer. Under both acceleration and decel, which added more engine braking when going downhill on some rather steep grades.

 

The difference in sport/ economy settings are dramatic to me in sport mode. For example, If you switch into sport mode, the ECU will stiffen the dampers even more than pressing the sport mode from comfort mode in the shocks. This is also evident in the 2013 episode of Ignition. In the episode, to activate launch control, the car’s suspension and ECU has to both be in S mode. Quite a difference when you launch it ( there is no auto launch control- you have to feather the throttle and not spin the tires). The car has to be pretty stiff to launch it, preventing rear end squat. You will be happy to know that their 0-60 time was 4 sec! Apparently, MB underrated the performance of this car. Also I have the non -run flats original to the car- I can appreciate the difference more in the different modes. There is even better feel in the electric steering with the non- run flats. Just ask the AMG owners of this type car. They will say the same thing.

 

[QUOTE=GermanCars;7294972]What tires did you change to?

 

No change in tires. The Contisport Sport Contacts are original to the car. They are Summer performance tires on staggered rims as part of the Mille Miglia limited edition package. See my post in the Brabus Spring package. I like these tires almost as much as the Michelin SS. I am still breaking them in at 1000 miles.