rage2

My "educated guess" would be that the tranny is building up hydraulic pressure to perform the shift.

Yea, if someone told me that number, I'd agree that it was unacceptable. But driving the car hard, it's always in the right gear already, so it's pretty rare for me to actually choose a gear to be in when it's already thinking ahead and downshifted for me already . Just my humble opinion.

WayneE

Wow, an old thread resurrected

On a trip to the beach, the supercharger wouldn't engage. I drove ~400 miles without SC power The car had to be flat bedded to my MB dealer because it was idling at 3000 rpm. They had it for almost 2 weeks (again!) to fix various problems... supercharger replacement, replace throttle pedal assembly. This was back in Sept. (I think).

I've found the best way to avoid problems with the car is to avoid driving it too much It's been tucked away in my garage this winter so it's been great!

I do like the car, but it's tough when you have so many (even small) problems with a car that costs $60,000. I have other cars I drive, but the SLK is a fun car that is supposed to put a smile on my face.

Even with all of my problems, my wife and I are planning on a new E55 to replace her daily driver. Hopefully that car will have better initial quality than my SLK32.

Rincewind

Hi Bruce

I'd like to share a bad experience that I had with Euro Motorcars as well. Though I dont drive the SLK32, I had my C230 brought in for a "check engine light" that came on. The service advisor said he was going to be busy that day, but he'd try and find time to take a look at it. I agreed and asked for a loaner car to use for the rest of the day and he gave me a honda civic to use!!!

Anyway, later that evening I got a call from my service advisor saying it was a faulty air mass meter and I would need to get it replaced. I was quoted 700 bucks for the parts/labor! I'm no fool, but benzbin.com had a new oem air mass meter for my W202 for $220 shipped. I told him thanks for diagnosing the problem and took my car to a local MB specialist shop who could do the labor for me. fast forward a week later, after the new air mass meter came in the mail, I took my car to RC Imports in Rockville MD and had the mechanic install the new air mass meter.

Did my check engine light go away? No. Even after resetting the check engine light code, the light would still not go away!!! Luckily, the guy at RC Imports did not charge me anything and I took my car back to the stealership. Service advisor would not accept my oem air mass meter and explained that he could only use THEIR parts. %$#%#$%! upset and pretty tired of the check engine light problem which went on for 2-3 weeks, I decided to bite the bullet any pay for the dealer to do it.

I left Euro Motorcars that day with a very bitter feeling towards everyone there. I felt like I got ripped, big time. I later found out on forums that usually when the air mass meter fails, there is a loss of power in acceleration. I had NO SUCH SYMPTOMS. I could be wrong, but I'm thinking my actual problem didnt have anything to do with the air mass meter at all.

I only take my car to Herb Gordon MB now.

edit: I was able to return my air mass meter to benzbin, luckily.

Nektopoli

it might have been the gas cap, it you turn it past the indent it causes the check eng. light to come on on my bro's C280.

NP

Rincewind

Gas cap was one of the first things I checked, it was locked fine.

Xyntrynzia

Wayne,

You have given that dealer enough chances. Take it elsewhere.
I ran into similar problems when I first got my 230. I was SOOOO frustrated with it. After the first year, and a new batch of real mechanics and not just MBGuessanics, the thing has been rock solid. I would think the same will eventually happen to yours as most MBs are mechanically sound but most German cars are electronically quirky.

Good Luck.

WayneE

I've been using the MB dealer in Hagerstown, MD. I'm VERY happy with their service and sales department.

My SLK32 has been good lately, but again I haven't been racking up the miles on it because of the bad weather. I inferred in another of my posts that these may have been teething pains and I'm hoping that my problems with the car are behind me.

WayneE

Well with the nice weather here in MD, my SLK32 has made another 2 trips to the dealer (within 3 weeks).

The first was the throttle assembly again. This time the car decided it wouldn't move at all. Put it in gear and hit the gas and the car would creep along at like 2mph. Floor it, nothing. Car was flatbedded (3rd time now) to Hagerstown. They quickly identified and fixed the problem.

My wife drove the car for a few days, then we left for Puerto Rico for a couple weeks.

Return from our vacation and she drives the car to/from work for 2 days (about 5 miles each way). While she's pulling into the driveway at the house yesterday, MB calls my cell phone and tells me the alarm on the car is going off. I look at the car and the button on the dash for towing is illuminated. The car alarm goes off randomly, MB calling me each time to let me know it's going off.

I took the car up to Hagerstown again and once again they identified the problem and fixed it. I'm taking the wife up there to pick up the car tomorrow.

This sucks. The car has been to the shop ~10 times in the year we've owned it

aga

I really can’t say, but I tend to think that is way to long for anything like that. A have a good friend (in another state) who is a very good mechanic and works at a shop that specializes in Porsche’s (track cars as well). He never pointed that out and further went on to say that while he hasn’t ever drive a SLK32 (His time in a C32 didn’t allow him to play with it), but that Porsche or any other car (my MiniVan being one of them) can and do shift almost instantaneously at the push of a button. So while the dealers have been telling people this is normal I still refuse to believe that.


I agree that on the street it’s fine to leave it in automatic, and perhaps for drag racing keeping the power on 100% works great. I have however taken the car to the track twice now and I can tell you that it positively sucks at shifting. You can anticipate 1 second ahead to get your shift point correct as you slam on full brakes into the corner, or plan for the proper shift point 1 second ahead under full throttle flying into a corner. Add to that that some downshifts just don’t happen. You know that in 1 second you will be going slow enough for 2nd or 3rd gear so you blip the shifter. It ignores you because you’re going to fast. By the time you can tell it to shift it’s trying to do the shift going out of the corner when you’re under full throttle. It shifts, and then tries to send you into a spin because you upset the balance at the most critical point in the turn.

So it’s pretty useless. Luckily enough the car doesn’t have very narrow gears and except for the straights I can do the track in 3rd gear. 2nd might be better at a number of points, but I have no choice.

I am finally up to my first service (10,100 miles) and have a list ready for them. I doubt I will be getting anything serious resolved and expect to have to try another dealer or start writing letters to someone who has a clue.

-Alan

WayneE

I should start another thread about my ongoing problems, but just another quick update - once again, the car is in the shop. 2am today, the alarm starts going off again. Obviously the first fix didn't do it.

I was supposed to be driving the car from DC to Indy tomorrow afternoon. I guess that's not happening.

Damn it.

WayneE

And another update - the dealer drove to my house to pick up the car. They wanted to leave me a Toyota Corolla loaner. I didn't need the car, but I expected a freakin' Mercedes loaner.

Anyway, they repaired the car in a few hours and had it back to my house yesterday around 4pm. I'm driving it to Indianapolis later this AM. I hope I don't have any problems along the way.

kaneman

Wayne, at this point I'm AMAZED you haven't petitioned MB for a replacement car. I have had a few problems with my C32 (s/c clutch, brake rotors warping) but otherwise it's been faultless. I know it's not an SLK but there's quite a bit of commonality between the two cars.

WayneE

It hasn't met the criteria for a lemon. The repairs that I've had done to the car were mostly completed in 1-3 days and so far there hasn't been any significant faults with the car that MB was not able to fix.

I've reset my expectations somewhat, due to the poor reliability of the car. I was planning on an E55 purchase, but when I have this many problems with a $58,000 car, I don't want to think of all of the crap that's going to break on that $80,000 car in the first year.

I'm a little more patient than my wife... she wants me to take it to the Lexus dealer and get an SC430. I'd rather stick with the car for a while longer and see if it's teething pains subside.

My latest update on the alarm situation - the trip to the dealer solved the problem and I drove the car about 1300 miles (roundtrip) out to Indianapolis.

PerfectionSe7en

yeah I can't believe how you've stuck by that car. I guess i'll just have to ride in one to really why it's worth to hold onto it.

I'd get really discouraged especially if I spent that much on that little go cart of yours. Although what is interesting is that I didn't realize how bad people think Euromotors is on this forum. I'm not promoting them, but I guess it shows there's no perfect dealer where ever you go.

The car my parents have ('99 E430), my sister's car ('02 ML 500), and now the new edition to the family ('03 C230K), have all been purchased from Euromotors even though I'm from Fairfax. And so far, concerning my parent's car, their's nothing my dad has complained about with their service. The only problems we've had w/ the E was the check lights warning kept coming on, and it took multiple trips to get it fix (maybe just about 2-3), and the driver seat would make weird noises (fixed in about 2 days and it's been fine ever since).

I guess my sister can't say the same thing about her car though. There was a loose screw in one of the pillars on the trunk door that kept rolling around and made annoying sounds. She had to keep her car in for a couple of days b/c they needed to order a new part. Then the handles for the rear right seat broke off (replaced immediately). Her brakes have been replaced 2x already! And she's only had the car for about 2 years now. I don't know what it is, but as much as it's a good SUV, maybe it's the Alabama craftsmanship, I don't know, b/c the E made in Germany hasn't show those problems.

In our family's experience, we hadn't really had any major problems with them. But I know I would feel crazy bitterness if my car had that many problems (ala SLK 32). What a shame, I guess you got stuck w/ a really bad one and I'd probably fight to get a new one like crazy or at least get a good deal on a new E55 :P.

What I don't want though is for people to hopefully not judge all of the Mercedes line w/ the SLK. That quality just taints a good nmae and makes the price totally outrageous for the AMG version.

Ok my ramblings are done, I'm out.

Rincewind

wayne whats that bike in your avatar? hayabusa?
pix?

WayneE

Yes, it's my Hayabusa.

Here is a picture -

PerfectionSe7en

Sweet rides. Blue Hayabusa? Blue Z06? Excellent selection of toys!

Rincewind

nice

i want to learn how to ride a bike >_<

what did you do with your purple grandam or transam

trade it in for the new vette?

WayneE

It's a lot of fun. My recommendation would be to take the MSF course in MD. They provide the motorcycles and even give you the test right in class. You take a certificate up to the MVA to get your M endorsement on your license.

The classes are difficult to get in, but you can usually go to the classes on the first day and see if you can get in because someone didn't show up.

Feel free to drop me a line if you'd like to rap about riding and getting your license. I ride with some women and could give you some tips on starter bikes and gear.

I still have my purple Firebird. It's website is http://www.purplecar.org/ I blew the rear out of it at the dragstrip, so it's in the air right now waiting for parts

To make room for my Z06, I sold my wife's 2001 Audi S4 (actually just sold it on Thursday). She's now driving the SLK.

PerfectionSe7en

do you have any pics of the S4? I love that car! I wish I had one. What color was it? I hope she won't have a hard time with the SLK. I hope all the problems are resolved for that car.

WayneE

Thanks. She's been enjoying the SLK... 400lbs lighter and 100hp more than the S4 I certainly hope the reliability improves. If not, then we'll move on. Unfortunately this is the only pic I have handy of the S4 -



My friend, who owns a used car lot, sold it for me. It was a silver/black 6spd. Cool car, very versatile and a lot of fun to drive. I'd like to get a test drive in a new one with the V8

djamer

Wayne,

Sorry to hear all the issues w/ your SLK32. Fortunately, there are some dealers along w/ specialized Benz service centers which do a superb job.

I live in Northern Va. so I tried several dealerships, I can't complain about HBL in Tysons Corner. All my standard scheduled service is handled through them. However, if you are looking for a specialized attention and superior mechanic work, I can honesly say FairFax Service Center located across BMW of Fairfax is by far the best place for Benz or BMWs. These guys only work on these two brands and have a solid reputation. If you need any additional information, please feel free to drop me an email. I will be happy to share my experiences.

Good luck,

DJAmer
djamer@djamer.com

WayneE

Once again my SLK is heading to the dealer ABS/ESP light is on. I guess about 6 weeks has passed, so the car was getting antsy for another visit to the shop.

Do the SLs have as many problems as the SLKs? Maybe I'll trade up.

aga

It’s been almost a year since my last post, and some traffic has been appearing so I figured it was time for an update.

A in May, with 10K miles on the car it was time for the first scheduled maintenance. So I also loaded up my list of issues and in the car went. Here’s what happened (some references to post from 10/26/02):

1) Regular maintenance, Schedule A
Done.

2) Shifting lag - see previous post #4. They found the transmission a quart low, and changed some switches on the shifter, and an engine crank sensor. The shifting lag is MUCH better, though in my opinion, not quite what it should be yet. It’s not clear to me that the items mentioned had anything to do with it and I think they reprogrammed or reset something on a computer. Either way it seems to now take about 1/2 to 3/4 of a second to shift, with only about .2 to .3 seconds of that being the actual shifting.
Mostly solved.

3) Hill Hold – see previous post #5. Along with the other transmission work they again did something to help solve the Hill Hold or anti-roll back feature. They claimed it still wasn’t perfect and didn’t hold all the time and they didn’t know what else to do to solve that. In my tests so far it has held *most* of the time. It’s not clear to me that it’s worth a damn if it doesn’t work all the time!
Somewhat solved?

4) Trunk Latch – see previous post #6. They did adjust the trunk latch and it is better, though I don’t know for sure they solved it entirely.
Mostly solved.

5) Trunk Noise. While looking into item #4 the service rep noticed that the trunk popped when it was opened as well. I had noticed this as well and wasn’t going to say anything about it. He said it wasn’t right and they would fix it, that was nice. I also pointed out that the trunk weather-stripping had a gouge in it, didn’t know how it happened but I was going to live with it. They found there was a blob of glue on the edge of the trunk was catching the seal. They cleaned it off, touched up the trunk interior black paint and replaced the weather-stripping as the blob was what gouged it.
Nicely done, and solved :-)

6) Oil Level Display. The oil level display that was supposed to work in the instrument cluster never did. I complained last time it was in, they didn’t do a thing and had no ideas, even though as I head read on this list and told them – they just needed to reprogram the instrument cluster computer. This time they did as I told them and it works fine now.
Finally solved.

7) Floor Mats. The little clips that hold the floor mats in place keep getting broken apart by the monkeys at the car wash (the one they recommend) and now some parts have been lost – they replaced them.
Done well – no big deal.

8) Brake Squeal. The brakes had started to squeal under light pressure. They said that using less than 30% braking will tend to put a glaze on them. Well damn, the car stops so well it’s hard (on the street in normal driving) to use more than 30% braking. You’ll get rear ended. I think they just needed to sand the pads and re-apply the anti-squeaking compound to the back of the pads. They replaced all four sets of pads, complimentary – this one time.
That’s nice, problem solved (for another 10K miles?)

9) Key FOB. The Mercedes emblem fell out of my wife’s key FOB and was lost. The same thing happened to mine about a week after I got it. I caught the part and glued it back in.
They replaced the emblem (I’m amazed they didn’t have to replace the whole FOB).

10) Top won’t close. During service they said the top wouldn’t close and they replaced some switch. I’d never had this problem, so who knows. They probably broke the switch while working on the glue.
Same as it was.

I think that was the extent of the repair list. The car was in over a week when it was supposed to only be a day (we did have a C240 loaner). They let slip that it cost Mercedes $5700 for the repair bill. That’s outrageous, particularly if it is at the discount rate the dealer charges them.

After we got it back I discovered that the cruise control no longer works. I also found a part left in the car which they say goes under the center console and they will put back in next time it’s in.

I have also noticed that the drivers rear view mirror is actually a little un-even or wavy. I don’t think this is normal and will ask about it.

Since the service the ESP/BAS light went on once. I called about it. I also mentioned that over the past 2 years the ABS light had come on 3 times, but never stayed after a restart and it wasn’t enough of an issue to go in for. He said the computer retains the trouble codes forever, but that doesn’t explain why they didn’t do anything about the ABS light problem that should have had a trouble code from before the last service.

They sent a roadside repairman out to replace the brake switch, that’s apparently common and what has usually happened. They thought that might fix the cruise control as well. The repairman hooked up the diagnostic computer and sure enough 3 or for of the 10-15 computers on the car’s network reported faults. All the same fault. The brake switch. He replaced it and it works fine, but the cruise control still doesn’t. I was in a hurry and he was late so he didn’t look at that issue anymore.

He did mention that they IBM laptop that he uses costs the dealership about $6000 a MONTH to rent. Sure it has some hardware to hook up to all the cars, but that’s a pretty steep licensing fee for the software!

So in summary, I am still very displeased with the overall reliability of the car. And I need to schedule another service.

-Alan

WayneE

Looks like we're having about the same ownership experience with our SLK32s, Alan. Good luck with your problems!