aguitadeowito

Today has been a terrible day...

When I tried to park the car, while in D, with the brake on, I lifted it to move the car a little further forward, and it jerked so hard that I went up onto the curb and hit it with the wheel right on the edge
I would like to return the car, I am not comfortable, I am even scared to drive it in the city... if only I could return it I would return it...

superswiss

That's terrible. Adds insult to injury. I wouldn't keep driving this car. They must fix this. I'd drop it off at the dealership and have them give me a loaner and not call me again until it's fixed. Insist that the issue gets escalated to AMG Germany. Dealerships can open tickets with AMG to have them diagnose issues. Your local Mercedes representation can't do anything other than being the middleman. They need to get an AMG engineer on the horn and resolve this issue.

I had a transmission issue with my previous Audi RS5. During the first service, the dealership discovered that the transmission was leaking. They replaced the oil pan and gasket and thought it was fixed. Two days later I had fluid on my garage floor. Brought it back and Audi immediately flew a field engineer out to see what's going on. Eventually they discovered that the replacement oil pan got bent during shipping, so it didn't seal properly.

Here in the USA we have something called the lemon law. The specifics vary slightly from state to state, but basically manufacturers have 30 days or so to fix an issue during the car's warranty and if it's in the shop for longer, they have to buy it back. My understanding is that there has been an unusually high number of such buybacks with the models that were developed and released during the pandemic. MB/AMG have lost a lot of experienced senior workers and the quality has taking a major dip. It's to the point where the department handling these buybacks is apparently overloaded with cases and it takes 6+ months to get a buyback processed, but eventually they have no choice but to take these cars back if they don't work as advertised. Not sure what legal options you have over in your part of the world, but you may wanna hire an attorney.

rmorin49

This thread, and others, lends credibility to the decline in Mercedes quality and reliability as reported by CR and others. I was considering an E series wagon but have decided against it.

RJC

Sorry to keep hearing these kinds of things. I have a ‘25 CLE 53 AMG on order for the wifey due in Aug… hope I didn’t make a mistake.

Wolfman

Just wondering if this behavior isn’t just a faulty pedal. These are just a potentiometer and if faulty could create some of these scenarios.

I am assuming there is no pedalbox or similar connected.

aguitadeowito

I just skipped a very important step when explaining the problem with the accelerator and the car not moving.
As I mentioned before, I have to accelerate quite a bit for the car to start moving, and when I do, it moves abruptly. I failed to say that this acceleration, when pressing the pedal, let's say, a range of 1-2 cm, the engine does not rev, from a certain range onwards, that is when it starts to do so, it is as if, pressing the accelerator that range 1-2cm will not affect.

Wolfman

This sounds exactly like it could be a bad accelerator pedal. Although I have never seen an issue like that, the pedal is fully electronic and acts like a volume control, not like a mechanical pedal in the past.

Streamliner

Yes, it’s hard to imagine an issue with such an important component, but the 232’s seem to be breaking some new ground in the “issues” department.

Wolfman

Agree that the SL has been hit with some really unusual issues, many of which can be fixed via software, yet they should have been caught pre-launch. I will say that MB of the past had many issues as well, something that people easily forget. Even the lauded W140 had countless issues related to loading the car up with the latest gadgets and then failing. Remember those stupid poles coming out in the rear when reversing (and then not reliably going back in)?

Complexity is the problem in general. Hate to say that the most reliable Mercedes models (with zero issues) have been our lowly so-so quality US built ML & GLE models. Less options = less hassle. Our other most reliable MB's were also not that old; the W222 and R231.
But even the prior SL while incredibly reliable had issues with its massage and dynamic seats.

Streamliner

I’m currently driving a GLE350 loaner. It is a very basic model and I’m amazed at how much I like it. The transmission behaves as an automatic transmission should. Nice, smooth upshifts and then, when decelerating, you don’t feel a thing. You see the tach blip up as the gears go lower, but no jerking, no sensation of sloppiness at all. Comparing it to my departed 2022 S580 or even my current 2020 S560, this GLE is impressive, while the big sedans disappoint. This is not the way it is supposed to be.

Regarding all the complexity of the new models, I’m sure there are many folks out there who would love to order a new vehicle just the way they want it, but the way MB & other makers “package” options, it makes it quite difficult. I can remember thinking very seriously about getting a new GLK as a utility vehicle, but to get the garage door opener, they shoved the Panorama Roof down your throat. Imagine, lumping something as simple—and reasonably necessary—as a garage door opener with something like a $1,000.00 glass roof. You really have to wonder sometimes.

Speaking of the massage seats in the R231, I cant ever remember turning them on, driving the car as little as I do. I know I’ve never used the Dynamic Seat feature. I guess I should give them a little workout so they don’t just freeze up on me.

W205C43PFL

Interesting, what year is it? There were many complaints of transmission issues with the V167 GLE I am glad to hear they seem to fixed that?

Streamliner

The door jamb sticker shows a build date of 12/23, so I am assuming it is a 2024.

W205C43PFL

I see, I guess I could had asked an easier question, is this the facelift GLE, but I got the idea already.

aguitadeowito

Today I made a complaint to Mercedes service, I called by phone and also sent them an email detailing the problem. I await a response, whatever they tell me, I will publish it here.

W205C43PFL

I see, hopefully they make you whole.

aguitadeowito

Another week has passed without any response, it's already been 4 weeks of waiting. There are already complaints made and they do not even respond to the complaints.

RJC

if they don't respond by mid next week and with an amicable resolution start a lemon law case if you haven't already, that should get their a$$ in gear

aguitadeowito

Can you tell me more about this? This is the first time I hear about this law, does it apply in Europe? If I bought the car in Germany, can I apply for this law in Romania?Thx

superswiss

The lemon law is something we have in the USA. Probably not helpful advise for you. Not sure if there's an equivalent law in Romania. As I explained in my earlier post, if the manufacturer fails to make a car work like advertised during the warranty period within a predefined time window, usually 30 days, then they have to take the car back and make the customer whole by law.

RTC63

I see a few issues with your car and this is probably the reason why you haven't been helped yet: It is my understanding that you bought a Bulgaria specs car from a GERMAN non-authorized (by Mercedes) dealer. Am I right?

I also assume that this dealer provided a warranty, right? Of course the car itself already had a warranty but since this is a Bulgarian model, the warranty is valid according to Bulgarian law/conditions.

The person YOU need to talk to FIRST is the dealer who sold you the car in Germany. HE is responsible for fixing your issues, not Mercedes. HE needs to take care of everything, just read the contract you signed with him, unless of course he changed it (not sure if this would be valid according to German law).

My advice in general: NEVER EVER buy such an expensive car from a private dealer or private person, especially not if the car isn't even made for the market you want to use it in. I am talking from an EUROPEAN perspective right now, please ignore if you are in the US because it is not very likely you are going to find a Mexican or Canadian SL in the US.

If your car shows a dangerous behavior, DOCUMENT it (video with sound!!!) and go to the next Mercedes dealership and leave the car there until it is fixed. Do not drive it anymore.

I just saw that you talked to a few people in the AMG Owner's Lounge.

BE SMART: Ask them for help, DO NOT blame them (as you did). Also BE SMART with your local dealership in Bucharest: Talk to the chief mechanic and be generous (if you get my point). There is ALWAYS a solution if you are nice to these people and talk to them LOCALLY. Once you get worked up too much and upset these people, you want get a solution you like from them.

I understand that your English isn't too good (you used Google translate for your AMG Owner's Lounge complaint) but please understand that if you want a solution, you need to be SMART about it.

Fact is: You bought a Bulgarian car from a German dealer, so you already have a HUGE issue at hand, even if you may not realize it. BE SMART, talk to the right people calmly, use money to calm down things and get results (in Bucharest...c'mon...you are Romanian...you know how things work there for god's sake). This whole thing shouldn't have come so far but you definitely do something wrong because the local dealership in Bucharest should have already helped you.

RTC63

US lemon law doesn't apply to him but the dealer who sold him the car should take care of this problem for him.

aguitadeowito

No matter where the car was purchased, Mercedes has already confirmed to me that the car is under warranty and they are obligated to repair it.

The seller is a private individual who sold me the car through a company, but the contract is between me and a private individual. The private individual told me that it has a Mercedes warranty since it is a new car from 2023 and that Mercedes will take care of any problems.

As you said, I would never buy such an expensive car from a private individual. I totally agree with you, but this was a very good offer, considering that the car has a 1 year manufacturer's warranty and 6000km that the car had, with all maintenance done on time, it was a great offer. I don't mind taking the car to be fixed if it's under warranty, what bothers me is that they don't listen to me and ignore the issue for 4 weeks.

Streamliner

A “Shout Out” to Wolfman: It seems as though very few members enter a location when registering on this site. PLEASE make it a requirement, to at least note what COUNTRY a member resides in. It would save a lot of time and misunderstandings. Thanks!

superswiss

I have to say I'm losing track here. I just read your thread over on the AMG PL. That broker in Germany you bought your car from knowingly sold you a car with issues. By German law, they are responsible for sorting out those known issues. The manufacturer warranty kicks in after that. I think you are trapped in the import hell. Nobody in Romania feels responsible for your car, because it was imported from Germany. I'm also not clear what market this car was sold in originally. This matters for your Mercedes me issue for example. While Mercedes me roams within Europe, my understanding is that it has to be activated in the market where the car was sold originally. So if the car was sold in Germany originally, you have to activate Mercedes me with a German account and then it should roam in Romania. Importing a car from one country to another is fraught with issues, because many settings and options in modern cars are regional. I see Tom referred your case to the Mercedes representation in Romania, but again, since the car wasn't originally sold in Romania, they'll probably leave you hanging. I can tell you that Mercedes and other car manufacturer for that matter do not treat imported cars kindly, because it undercuts their margins in the various markets. If you seek help from Mercedes Romania, you'll be better served by buying a car that was originally sold in Romania instead of importing one from Germany etc.

I think your best bet is to contact Marc Classic & Sports Cars where you bought the car. However, this seems to be a one man operation and since the car was exported outside of Germany after you bought it, his responsibility likely ended at that point.

aguitadeowito

First, the person who sold me the car told me that the problem would be fixed with a software update, to confirm this, I went to a Mercedes in Germany to see if it was true and they confirmed it to me.

Second, the car, no matter where it is in Europe, as long as it has a manufacturer's warranty, in my case 2 years, they are required by law to fix the car as long as it is not something that you damaged or due to wear and tear, in this case, it is known that it is a factory problem and they even confirmed it to me at Mercedes Romania.

Third, let's suppose that they don't want to take responsibility for anything, it´s OK, I'll pay the money out of my pocket to have it fixed, simply, I JUST WANT THINGS TO BE FIXED THAT´S ALL

Also imagine the case, you buy a car in a country where Mercedes Me is not available, then you move to a country where it is, shouldn't it be activated automatically or will you be left in that country without the functions it should have?