aintME

Hello All! I recently let go of my beloved W202 C36 and stepped up to a W210 E55. Needless to say, I can't wipe this stupid grin off my face. Are there any issues with the W210 E55 that i should be worried about and/or things that i should watch out for? thanks in advance!

mikE55

Congrats on your car! Welcome to the club.

My car will be two years old this fall, and I love it as much as the day I bought it. It has been very reliable with no major issue of any kind. My mechanic tells me that the W210 E-class in general has the least amount of issues compared to the other models in MB's current line up. I think if you search this board all you will find are mostly minor stuff.

Enjoy your new ride!

stephens

Watch for rattling sunroof and propensity to destroy rear tyres when driven with the ESP turned off!!

E55 KEV

My only issues are also rattling in the headliner/sunroof. The stiffer suspension and lo-pro tire make it worse. I had the same issues on my 98 E430. Congrats and welcome.

aintME

thanks for the welcome! i'll listen for the rattle of the sunroof. i have to get used to driving this monster. it has no problem laying down some rubber i already have 1 minor problem to report...my left rear driver side window seems to have fallen into the door. off to the dealer i go

Pbglas

Kev, presumably the rattling does get fixed! What is it due to and what do they do to fix it?

E55 KEV

I have had it fixed on both cars and it continues. It is like the fix always wiggles lose or something. The roof/sunliner rattles on road bumps especially with the tighter E55 Suspension and it vibrates with the bass in music a medium levels of volume. I don't blast my music but the headliner still vibrates. With the stiff suspension and low-pro staggered tires the car seems to shift from side-to-side causing vibrations.

pocholin

I had the exact same problem, it is the window regulator, covered under warranty.
Other than that, the engine mounts might give up (at least one), but that's about it.

Congratulations on your car, and welcome............enjoy your car! :d

pocholin

I semi-fixed the problem myself, on the rear dome light, take the lid off, and then remove the heatshield behind the light bulb, it is not needed for short amount of times, that crap rattles a lot.

I still get rattleing but only at heavy bass (boombox) loud volume and with the cover open. I hope this tip helps.

JAYCL600

same sunroof rattles here, busted enigne mounts etc, great car drive it hard

aintME

thanks for all the replies! quick question for those who have had problems... i'm a little concerned about the motor mount problem.... about when, mileage-wise, should i start to get worried about them failing/breaking? how much would an out of pocket repair cost? thanks again! i'm loving this car

Pbglas

Thanks to Kev and all else who responded.

I am waiting for an 04 wiht Nav. But I have been getting progressivley concerned about poor build quality of recent MB. This type of info tells me what to expect and how to deal with it. Thanks.

pocholin

One of the engine mounts broke at 40k miles or so, dealer replaced both of them.

aintME

thanks again! can someone tell me the symptoms of the motor mount failure? increased vibration? etc. thanks in advance.

mikE55

There's a thread on the motor mounts issue from a few months back, do a search. I think people said some vibration during acceleration, but it's not like the motor is going to fall out or anything, and it doesn't seem to be a wide spread issue.

Don't worry about it. The pocho man hammers his car with frequent visits to the drag strip and highway speeds of 150+ mph - and we love him for it. The E55 is near bullit proof and holds up very well under this kind of constant abuse.

Any "performance" car is likely to have minor issues over its life span, but there doesn't seem to be any wide spread major issues that affect the E55 (unlike the BMW M motors which blow up).

aintME

whew thanks! i'll search the archives...at least i have an idea what to look for/expect. i was a bit worried about another AMG car with what my fellow C36 owners had gone through. i have a friend with an E46 M3...everytime i see him i ask him how his motor is holding up

pocholin

AMEN!!!

I asked the shop foreman if my constant floring had brokent the engine mount, he firmly said NO, it is a matter of luck, the motor mounts are meant to brake in an impact to save your life, but from time to time one will brake, you'll feel a hit when you semi-floor it from a light, but the engine won't fall on you.

I most say that this car holds up very well, and somewhere I read that AMG knew his customers would drive the cars (AMG Cars) hard, so they make sure to delivery a reliable product. So far they haven't let me down.

A couple of weeks ago I was having fun at Texas Motorspeedway (the nascar oval), my car has now 68k miles.

99E55

As everyone else has mentioned, it is an awesome car to drive. Mine is 99 and I have had the same sunroof lining rattle issue. After 3 visits to the dealer it is fixed. I guess they put some serious padding in there and it is silent now.
I also had a rear window regulator break apart, fixed under warranty.
Oil sensor went pad and started reporting incorrect oil levels. Fixed under warranty.
Dashboard developed minor cracks near the vents and around the passenger airbag. I had it replaced under warranty.
I still love the car but I have serious doubts about keeping it pass the warranty expiration. These minor issues would have cost me thousands of dollars otherwise.

Inspite of all this, I would not hesitate to buy another one if I could afford it.

pocholin

99E55, can you buy extended warranty for your car?

99E55

Pocholin, I already have extended warranty on the car to Feb. 2006 (100K miles), but according to the dealer the interior trim warranty is up in 4 years. I barely squeezed in the sunroof fix. I was 2 weeks over but they performed the fix as good will anyway.

What kind of warranty do you have?

pocholin

That was pretty nice from them.

When I bought the car it was a Starmark Certified Vehicle, so it had 1 year extended, I bought two more years (for a total of 3 years), or 100K miles.

But these guys kind of rip you off, the starmark warranty starts the day youbuy the warranty, which is the same day you buy the car, which means that if you still have 1 year left on the standard warranty you loose 1 full year on the starmark warranty. Wich explains why I only paid 1,000.00 for 2 more years.