For those who are interested in what to do about the brake squeal and supercharger chirp, I expect to find out tomorrow for sure. After 4,500 miles,the brake squeal (pass. front) on my '04 SL55 is too much to bear. I'm taking it to MB for service tomorrow. My car also exhibits what I believe to be the supercharger chirp often talked about on this thread (sounds like sneakers on gym floor). I figure a complete checkup is in order.

I will post my experience for anyone having similar issues.

Regards,

 

I just my '04 SL55 with 3,000 miles to my dealer with the same two issues. They seem to have fixed the brake squeak but said they can do nothing for the supercharger chirp. If there is an answer I would love to hear it. It is really annoying.

 

I took my car in for both of those issues as well and both were fixed. The SC squeak came back in under 300 miles. They are going to try to fix it again a week from Monday. AMG apparently is very close to a permanent fix as per the AMG US manager. MB customer service sucks and says that is the way the car is but because of all the complaints, AMG is working on it. The chirp is really embarrasing at times. It can get loud. It is outrageous in such an expensive car!

 

Brought the car in and talked to the MB service foreman. He will replace both front brakes (under warranty). Should fix the brake squeal.

As for the SC chirp, he confirmed that, even though it is not a performance issue, MB has been looking hard at it and he expects to be given a permanent fix soon. According to the service foreman, MB has received enough complaints about the chirp to look into this problem and, while not a perfermance issue, MB has undertaken to fix it because these complaints are coming from MB's high end customer base--i.e. the people they do not want to **** off. To confirm what many already know, the proble is the SC clutch gets glazed. Deglazing is only a temp. fix. My suspicion is they will either make the SC drive full time (direct drive) or the engaging rate will be increased.

Anyway, I was very please with the way I was "handled" in my first experience with MB service: professional, courteous and efficient.

 

Guys,
Im about to get one of these cars, and I don't think this SC chirp would stop me, but what exactly is it? I've done some searches and all I can find are loose references to the engagement of the SC.

It seems that this "problem" is similar to the "VANOS noise" I have on my Z8. The Z8 has a variable valve timing system: Double VANOS, and upon start up it ticks like an old diesel engine- BMW says this is normal and not to worry about it- yet the noise just doesn't seem "right". But I take very good care of the car and I've had no problems with it.

So that is my mindset about this SC issue and the SL55, but I am curious to know more (and to know if my mindset is correct!)

Best regards,
Jerry

 

In regards to the brake squeal, I noticed this noise towards my rear discs upon braking. It occurs whether in the cooler evenings or daytime heat here in southern CA. though it is intermittent. Can anyone shed some light as to what the supposed "fix" was from their Mercedes S.A. or at least the possible source?

I'll probably set-up a time to bring my vehicle in to address this though would like some insight.

Thanks!

 

I don't think the noise your Z8 has is anything more than valve noise when cold (not due to Vanos). The SC chirp or squeak comes from the SC engaging (supposedly the SC clutch slipping). It can happen all the time while accelerating from rest and on the go from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to third or not sometimes. It can be subdued or very audible and embarrasing. It is totally unbecoming of such an expensive car. My car did not do it when new, the car I road tested did not do it. The 1st fix lasted less than 300 miles. This is a joke. All SC cars have some whine but this chirp stuff, IMO, is a fiasco that hopefully will be addressed permanently very soon. I would not have bought the car had I known. Otherwise, I do love the car. Good luck.

 

Is this like an alarm chirp sound? Or like a bird? LOL! Can someone describe it for me?

Thanks.

 

More birdish than alarmish.

 

Pablo,
Thanks for the info. My Z8 really does make a vanos noise- when it sits for several weeks, the vanos system loses its lubrication. It gets it immediately on startup, but it still makes a little ticking sound for a little while.

I guess my main point / question is this surely shouldn't be on the Z8, yet I accept it for what it is and I don't let it bother me. Is the SC chirp really that annoying? If you could go back in time to when you made your purchase decision on the SL55, would you do it the same or would you go with something else/ nothing?

best regards,
Jerry

 

As I said in the previous post, I would not have bought the car with the chirp had I known.

Many cars have ticking valves when cold and have lost their lubrication. My point is that this is not a Vanos characteristic as a Very large number of cars do this. I have an Audi A6 4.2 and it has ticking on startup when cold. It doesn't last very long though. It is a characteristic of many OHC designs and I would accept it is as such just like I accept a little SC whine since every supercharged car does this to some extent. The chirp is only characteristic of MB's SC and should not be.

 

If you could go back in time, would you avoid the SL all together or get something else like the SL600? I've had several people tell me to consider the 600, given that its priced pretty close to the 55- but I see the 55 as being more youthfully styled and overall a more sporting vehicle, whereas the 600 is more of a mature cruiser.

best regards,
Jerry

 

Jerry, I never drove the SL600 so I would have to drive it 1st. I think the SL is a beautiful car (all of them since they all have identical bodies with very few subtle differences). The 55 had the right amount of edginess for the NY-NJ area. I live in Manhattan and have a house in Spring lake, NJ. I didn't want something that rides too harshly but I wanted a monster engine with a deep voice that was not intrusive all the time. For me, the steel retractable top was a real attraction as well. The Porsche TT Conv came close but the 55 did it better and is better looking to me. If the permanent fix that should be coming in the next few months doesn't work, I will try to get MB to do the right thing (maybe a swap for a 600 if after driving it I'm convinced) and if not will sell it and re-think the issue. Porsche, Aston Martin, BMW M6 Conv if available would be on the list. I hope it doesn't come to that as the SL55 is a phenomenal car otherwise. I don't know of another car that has the luxury, ride and handling mix, power, comfort, reliability and can burn rubber so well. I like tail out driving sometimes and it comes very easily in this car. If it is fixed permanently I will chip it and put in a good sound system as what came in the car is a joke for this caliber of car.

As you can see it is not so easy to find a substitute for it as far as I am concerned. I can go on and on. Tell me what your considering aside from SL55 and 600.

Regards,

Pablo

 

Pablo,
I think you've got the right car for you're needs/wants. I'm a bit of a car nut and I wanted to find a car that I would enjoy but also something that my wife would enjoy. We test drove a SMG M3 cabrio about 15 months ago and we really liked it. Well, this is a case where a first impression being wrong. In the end the car is too much of a manual car for her (rolling on inclines and declines, being somewhat jerky) and its not quite manual enough for me (I have a Z8 with a real manual and I end up driving that whenever the weather is nice, I am not inspired to drive the M3 at all and I realized I would if it had a real manual transmission). So for us, SMG is not the best of both worlds, as we had hoped it to be; it actually turns out to be the worst.

We both like the SL class and since neither of us is driving the M3 (it has just a tad over 4000 miles on it), I looked into the SL55. That it is not a manual is not a big deal for me and its being a real automatic is a big plus for her. The retractible hardtop is another big plus. I took one for a 2 hour test drive a few months ago- it was a 2003 model with 6-7000 miles on it.

Overall, I was impressed with the car, especially its dual coupe/convertible nature. I've also driven the SL500 and as far as I was concerned, the 55 was a big improvement. It was much tighter and the choices concerning the ride/handling balance and steering weighting were more to my liking.

So I've worked out a deal to turn my M3 in- its not the greatest deal in the world, just one I'm accepting because Id rather bite the bullet and have something we will use vs. something that just sits there- and my wife likes having a convertible. The 55 is more than she would ever want, but considering how I feel about it vs. the 500 model, and I know I will end up driving the car, I figure the extra for it makes sense for me. I also think once she gets used to all that low down torque, she'll become spoiled, which will have good and bad consequences!

So everyone is ready to go, but the dealer has 2 cars that are available and the issue is parktronic. It seems a bit silly, but its a deal breaker for my wife. The funny thing is she could easily drive this car without it, but she has become accustomed to these parking assist features in cars that she thinks she needs it and therefore it affects confidence, and if thats gone, well, there will be scrapes on the car and any adjacent objects. That's what prompted me to start the "Parktronic?" thread. I'm actually surprised that some owners who do not have it say they wished they got it.

It seems the dealer is having a difficult time finding a parktronic car to swap. And my wife asked me what about the SL600? From my research it seems that the 600 features the 500s suspension and steering weighting and upgrades some interior bits and adds the bi-turbo v12. So that's why I was asking about the 600.

While the engine's very impressive, I think I appreciate the relative "tightness" of the AMG and I am thinking I will just wait for the dealer to either find me the right car or take their next allocation.

Btw- I don't think youll find the other cars you named will equal what you get in the SL55. And I am very partial to BMW, but they are really losing me with their new models.

Finally, re: the audio system. All the manufacturers use really junky speaker's. I'd bet if you just changed the speakers you'd get a very noticeable improvement in sound quality.

If you're looking for a shop in the NY metro area, I've used AI Design (www.aidesign.com) for both audio and even some mechanical work and they do excellent work. They happen to do a lot of work on Mercedes. I think they are one of, if not, the largest Brabus dealers in the area.

Best regards,
Jerry

 

Didn't you hear the chirp on the 55 you test drove? I'm surprised if you didn't with the top down.

03 and 04 SL's have a worse sound system than most other high-end MB's. The subwoofer is a 4X6 driver under the passenger footwell. So the sub has to be changed, all the drivers need to be replaced and better amplification is also needed. I'll check out AI if I keep the car but it is likely I wood go to Technik1 in Manhattan.

If it's tightness your after the Porsche TT is much better than the SL55 but with that comes more harshness. They are both superb machines but very different. I know the SL55 is the right car for me but not with the friggen chirp! I've never driven a DB9 conv or an M6 conv so until I do or someone else does we won't know how they stack up.

Had your M3 been a coupe I'd be interested in it as a track car. The SMG is great there. I agree that under most street conditions it is not what most expect and can be difficult to live with. Audi's DSG is a much better solution and IS the best of both worlds. I also agree that BMW's design has gone downhill by and large. But the 6 series is nice looking and not horrible like the new 5's and 7's IMO.

Good luck in your quest,

Pablo

 

Pablo,
Thanks. I really didn't notice it. I was very focused on testing the brakes (the SL500's brakes were completely inconsistent- this was annoying) and in general just getting the feel.

The M6 won't be here for around 2 years and the early DB9s are plagued with problems- most importantly, they had a production SNAFU that caused the actual production cars to drive less well than the press cars. And it seems they have not made any changes. I was always worried about the mechanical side of the DB9 and it seems my worries are now justified.

Issues I have with the M6 is that I consider the styling to be less appealing than even the 7, the interior to feel cold and cheap (they could fix that) and the price- the M6 will be no value proposition. Im hearing 115k for a cabrio!

There's no way Im going to get a 911 TT cabrio, because it would be automatic, and I can't bring myself to get an automatic Porsche and I've never been a fan of the way the Porsche cabrios look. I do like the 997 though- I think Porsche is going to bring in a lot of BMW converts. If they ever build their sedan, BMW had better beware because a lot of people will jump ship.

DSG is a fascinating system, and I believe BMW will be going to a dual clutch system at some point.

Best regards,
Jerry