Jeremy's Dad

I am new to the forum - and also relatively new to the SL55. I love the car having come from a background of Vette's and most recently, a Porsche 911 Cab which I hated. Anyway - my SL55 is an '03 with less than 10,000 miles at the moment. I bought it used with a few thousand miles on it. Since I have had it - there's been what sounds like a belt squeek every time you take off. I have tried to hit the gas very lightly - and then the squeek happens when it changes from 1st to second gear. It is a very annoying sound - so I took it to the dealer to have it checked. In fact at this point, I have had the car to the dealership about 7 times for this reason alone. At first, they told me "oh, they all do that" to which I replied "at $120,000 - I don't believe they all make this sound. Since then, I've been told by other SL55 owners that they do not have the same problem. The dealership is tripping over themselves trying to solve the problem, but I feel like they're completely incapable. If anyone can help me with suggestions, I'd be very grateful. I want this sound gone!

Thanks!

Marcel Fairbairn

stockseer

hah... sorry you are experienced the 'twang'; you're not alone. It has nothing to do with the price of the car (sorry to disappoint you, but most of my more expensive cars have had issues that plain cars don't have)... and everything to do with the linkage for the supercharger.

Same dealer I suspect, and probably same service guys; they say there is nothing to be done, but I've also heard that of the group that makes the engines, only 1 has made engines that don't have the little twang (or tweek). If you find a fix from them, I'd be very interested; mention it repeatedly, and nothing was ever done (have had my SL55 for a year now). It doesn't both me that much and doesn't limit the car in any way, but it is noticeable and I concur shouldn't be there, but there it is... right?

enjoy the car; it's superb, and you'll discover that taking it in frequently does not help such issues (if it does, please let the rest of us know). The dealership isn't incapable; there is simply no fix for it as far as I've heard.

cheers...

gene

________________________
'03 SL55 black/charcoal
all options but distronic

Twinturbo

there is simply no fix for it as far as I've heard.



Thats rubbish, any competant mechanic will at least be able to find where the noise is exactly coming from. If you know this, its not hard to do something about it, like tightening a belt or lubricating some areas. Considering not all SL's do this, there is obviously something different with a car that does do it, so it can be changed.

Mb are just slack and dont want to mess with the engine in case they screw anything up, and if they admit there is a problem, they have to fix it, even if this means a new engine or what not. Do something about it, talk to the manager, ask for his manager and so on, and tell as many people as you can, as high up as possible. Threaten them with negative publicity, the newspapers, internet sites or whatever.

Do so, and you WILL be able to get your car fixed, and they will no to be very careful with your car in future because they know you know what is hapenning, and your ready to pounce if they do something wrong. Trust me, it will benefit you. And if this doesn't work, go to any service station mechanic, and I'm sure they will at least tell you what is the problem. GOOD LUCK!

Bliss

I have to disagree with Twin Turbo. Pretty much every 5.5 kompressor I have driven or ridden in makes the noise. The blower has a clutch that engages under throttle at about 1900 rpms. Remember you are taking and idle blower and asking it to immediatly engage. The slip of the belt is bound to happen. My motor is heavely modified (628hp) and the pulley has been replaced so the blower spins even faster. You think yours makes noise!

Keeping the proper tension will reduce the problem but as mentioned in the previous reply, there is no real fix except for a weak 302hp non-blown engine.

Wolfman

Some some extend, dealing with AMG-specific issues is a pervasive problem at Mercedes dealerships.
A friend of mine bought a new SL55 on which the supercharger never even engaged. Even though it is generally a good dealership, only his persistence that the car is underperforming made them go beyond the ususal diagnostic and the 2 minute "frontage road" road test. Since most technicians never drive a supercharged car, they also lack the critcial frame of reference.

Given that many dealers in the country only sell a dozen or so 55's a year, they usually don't have an AMG specialist; they may only give that car to their more senior technicians and that is just not good enough.

MB needs to address this, especially given the volume of AMG's that have been produced lately.

My 2cents...

Wolfman

dinko

Have you ever driven a supercharged car in the past?

I believe what you're hearing in the car is completely normal. The noise is just the supercharger whining at certain RPM's.

Just my input, I could be wrong.

H50

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=68342


i hope this is useful.. and i tried on my E55 and its gone..

Twinturbo

dinko your right, you can hear a supercharger whine at times, but what SL owners are experiencing is a noise when the supercharger clutch engages and disengages. In fact, 99% love that supercharger whine, but not this noise.

Bliss im sure not all supercharged cars make this noise, so there must be a way to fix it, as some have, or at least temporarily. Probably a poor design.

By the way, 628 hp is pretty impressive, can you give us some details on what you have done to your car? Has it been done by a tuning company or custom enhanced? I'm sure others would be interested, a website perhaps?

Jeremy's Dad

You're exactly right. The "whine" I can deal with (as long as it's not coming from the MB Tech who can't seem to figure out the problem) but the "crirp" makes me crazy. I am trying to listen to all of the people telling me to ignore it - that it's just part of owning this car, but at a buck twenty for this car - I don't buy it. Anyway, thanks all for your advice.

pablo4.2

Hi There, Is the noise that you discribe similar to a little tire chirp (but not) when leaving from rest? I've had this a few times but have never been able to reproduce it at the dealer. On my car at least it is not constant and it has not happened in 2 weeks. Another way that you describe it is the belt squeak. Can you hear it with the car closed or only if the top or windows are open?

Thanks.

dinko

I haven't had those problems yet.

Jeremy's Dad

Its obviously easier to hear with the top down - but I suspect that if you're having problems re-producing the sound for the dealer - it's not the same sound. This "chirp" which I now know to have everything to do with the supercharger - never goes away! It happens every time you take off - or if you take off slowly, it'll happen going into second or third gears.

You might have a different problem.

miroj

For several thousand dollars you can have Brabus upgrade your car by disabling the clutch on the Kompressor. Strange enough as it is .... those cars dont make that noise.

I find it hard to imagine that anyone can kick start an air compressor at 1900 rpm without exploding the vains let alone that the belt will slip for less than 1/10 of a second.

It truly is a marvel of design.

pablo4.2

Thanks, but at this point I don't believe I have any problem at all.

rtingdds

I had the same Chriping problem at 1st and 2nd gears but it was fixed. The shop forman told me that they took the supercharger clutch out and roughten the surface a bit, so the clutch can be grabbed better. They had to do it twice. The noise never come back! Have your dealer call my forman Mike at Rosnak MB, Arcadia, CA.
Let me also give you a phone # direct to MB USA for complaining, if dealer will not take care of it, They will take care for you and make your dealer fix it. 800-2220100, ext 6399

Good luck and don't take no for answer

rtingdds

If your dealer pretends they don't know what is the noise tou are talking about, they are lying. I forman said MB know about the problem and inform the dealer how to fixed the problem already. You don't have to reproduce the noise. they should know. It's a very commen problem. More commen than the fuel tank noise. ( thank God I had the fuel tank replaced!)

IngenereAMG

The noise is the clutch for the supercharger when it engages at around 1900rpm.

With my car it usually happens under light to medium throttle. When I am hammering or at the track I generally hear or feal nothing.

DHH

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=66515

I have the same thing with my S55 - seems like everybody does, the dealer says it's normal and ignore it - still bugs me though. DH

G Unit

Never had this squeak on our 2003 or 2004 S55. Maybe im being cynical, but are all the squeaky engines put together by the same engineer?

derMaximilian

I´ve got exactly the same noise when accelerating slowly and going from 1st to 2nd gear... 2002 SL 55

henry42

I spoke to the head of AMG in U.S. concerning the supercharger " chirp" when we auctioned off the first SL65 in U.S. earlier this month. He drove it up from New Jersey. AMG is aware of the problem and it's annoyance and working on a permanent fix. The lubrication technique mentioned is only a temporary fix. Personally I don't drive too much without the radio on, so turn your volume up, you'll never notice the noise.

pablo4.2

At that phone number they say that that is the way the car is. Now my car is like most of the others with the chirp when the supercharger engages except if the supercharger has been engaged for a long period of time. When it cools a little it returns immediately. The dealer says that MB is working on a fix but MB customer service told me today that the car is that way. Period. They were ah's and when I asked to speak to supervisor I was told no. At my insistence I got another rep and asked that rep to have a supervisor call me back. I was appalled at the porr customer service.

MBE55AMG

I'm hearing chirps, but I'm not sure if it's the chirp sounds you guys are talking about.

ho1105

The chirp comes on when the supercharger engages at 1750rpm. I have SL55 and CL55. Both does the same. There is a modificaton to the clutch that will reduce the chirp. Beverly Hill MBZ did it for me. They deglaze the clutch surface and that somehow reduces the chirp.

RJC

Let me guess...they never called back