Just wanted to update you all on what happened with me:

I had the exact same issue as 03RSTT and many of you are having. The cabin of my 2003 E55 started smelling like gas, took it to the dealer, he said that both fuel sending units (there's one on either side of the gas tank) were leaking gas out the tops. He could not tell if it was a small crack in the plastic of the sending unit assembly or a broken o-ring seal on top. Either way he said both had to be replaced.

I had already done my research on this and other forums' posts and played dumb to see where he'd take it. I said "Oh wow, well that seems like a huge safety issue. Have you ever heard of anything like this happening with these cars? Have you heard of any bulletins or recalls?" He said he'd never seen or heard anything like this issue before. I let him get off the phone so he could call my extended warranty company to see if they'd cover it.

Next day he calls back and says the warranty doesn't cover the sending units. By now I have all my research handy (and have already priced out the replacement of both units - $2,000) and said "Well there's been a recall for this exact issue on this exact car, it's a major safety concern and I'm going to contact MBUSA as well as NHTSA on this matter." He solemnly asked for the recall campaign number (2008-020001) and pledged to look into it.

A few days later (without my calling MBUSA, NHTSA, or doing anything other than mentioning the above to him) he calls back and says the replacement of both sending units will be covered as a "goodwill gesture" by Mercedes Benz.

Clearly the above posts, complaints to MBUSA and NHTSA, and general uproar over this issue have gotten MBUSA's attention, because he'd clearly contacted his service manager who contacted MBUSA who said they'd cover it and to use the words "goodwill gesture", which other posters here (the lucky ones) have heard from their dealers as well.

Here's my advice: if you have this issue, bring it to your dealer, let him diagnose it, then bring up the recall and explain that you're prepared to complain to MBUSA and NHTSA (campaigns at the NHTSA exist for this issue for I believe all model years of the W211 E55). Hopefully you'll get the same answer.

 

So on trip #3 (fourth, if you count the recall service) is headed toward week two. I went in last week to get something out of the glovebox to find the entire dealer service team standing underneath my car. They replaced the seals again - topped it off - and it leaked again. The service manager said they were going to call the MB Tech Rep and said that my offer to freak out with MBUSA may be called upon in the near future. They are at the end of their rope with the car and don't know what to do next.

A guy at work offered to buy my E55 from me, but I don't know if I can sell it to him with a clear conscience.....

 

You may want to have them check the tank, as there has been a few incidents where the sending units were fine but the tanks were leaking.

 

I actually suggested they check the tank when I brought it back the second time - and sent him a leak to a couple of forums. As of last week, they elected to drop the tank and found that it was leaking up around the fuel filler neck and collecting around the modules. They will have all of the parts tomorrow or Monday, save for some little tiny bracket that is on backorder through Nov. 21. I'll be lucky to have my car back by Thanksgiving.

Oh well. Maybe I'll take the E55 and my Chevy truck and go get a new King Ranch...

 

I looked into the issue more closely myself. Here is what I found on my car

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ation-diy.html

On further investigation today, I will have to pull the fuel pumps out on the passenger (right) side in order to get the sender on the left out. The cap on the right side is starting to crack too. I think before too long, it is going to start leaking too! This is such a poor design!

My car is now under warranty. I will replace the driver's (left) side since it was leaking before I got the warranty. But the other side I am going to wait on and let warranty cover that one if/when it leaks. Each side is $348 to replace! (parts only).

 

I can't believe this is going to be my first post on this site as I've been stalking for over a year.
I have the exact same problem and MB told me they would not help.
I have raw gasoline under the seats were my 16month old sits!! WOW!
I had the recall performed in 2008, but both units are leaking. Thanks to the members on this site I knew exactly what to check. I want to spend my time and money improving this car not fixing it!

 

Looks like I'm axing that idea of one day buying an E55! Lol.

 

Yup ... well I know some people take the stance of this was a $100K vehicle and yes I need to pay to play on this but I have owned numerous vehicles of different brands and models, I have never once had issues like this on those cars. This is unquestionably a design/material fault. If this were a wear item, I could fully understand needing to replace it but this is not just a reliability issue but a safety issue. I could not believe how fast the fuel poured out of the top of the sender and left a huge puddle under the rear seats. The fuel pump side shows distinct signs of wear and cracking. I would like to make sure everyone one that owns an E Mercedes checks under their rear seats ... I am not ranting here, please just check under your rear seats after topping up as a matter of safety. Surely the few people on here cannot be the only ones with this issue.

 

Would this affect non E55 W211's?

 

there is a fuel recall for the w212, but for diesels. A simple web search will cover it.
Honestly, just search this forum. Everything I have ever needed for repairs, service, tuning or advise can be found on here.
I live two lives - the one I live on line looking at performance upgrades for my car and the real life I spend fixing the thing!
This latest thing has me boiling. - If you recall a car for a safety issue, repair it and a few months later the customer shows you the same problem - then you didn't fix it! basic customer service.
When you have a high end product like the AMG that is leaking fuel in the passenger compartment, I would do everything in my power to fix it for my names sake.
MB spend $1.5m a day on research and development, they could fix this.

 

I do get the very occasional gas smell if I fill up my car and drive straight home. I just filled up today and when I went into my garage (after reading your post) and could smell gas. I decided to pull up my back seat, but there was no fuel on top of the sender (the area was clean and dry). Any other ideas where the gas may be coming from?

 

Back in March I had the issue, the dealer replaced the fuel sender, It started smelling of fuel again three weeks ago....

They are replacing my tank, sender and pumps....

all on Mercedes Benz's dime. They know there is an issue, you just have to push

 

An update:

As background, both my fuel sending units were cracked and leaking. Took to dealer, he diagnosed it, was going to be about $2,000 to fix, I brought up the recall, dealer looked into it and decided to cover it as a "goodwill gesture".

Picked up the car from the dealer and asked about what was going on and why he covered it. He said that he hadn't known about the recall till I told him about it, he looked it up and saw it addressed exactly this issue. He couldn't see what the previous dealer who performed the recall work actually did (there were several options: replace sending unit, replace seal, do nothing). He said the dealer itself and Mercedes the company were involved, somehow sharing the cost of the repair/replacement. He said the part had been updated since '03 and so I shouldn't have this issue again.

Unfortunately it sounds like most people with this issue see it happen again, so I'm just waiting for it. I asked specifically about the warranty on the repair, and he said that since it was a "goodwill gesture" (read: free) there was no warranty on the sending units. However, I do have a feeling that if the exact same issue happens again, and I bring it to this dealer who supposedly did the work that was supposed to fix it for good, they won't just saddle me with the whole cost again. I'm very happy with this dealer and the way they've handled it, just not too pleased with Mercedes design...

Not much else to report, have been driving the car for a few weeks since the repair and have had no issues, but it will take time to tell. Once again can't stress enough that if you have this issue, take your car to the dealer and mention 2008-020001. Also, go to NHTSA and file a formal complaint, as I and countless other E55 owners have.

 

Good to see that some people have had good luck with the dealer replacing stuff on Mercedes' dime. My own experience has not been so positive. I am pushing back on the dealer at this time to fix my issue. I can likely fix my issue but am concerned about the material that they used in general. If I fix the one part that is leaking, is some other part of it going to fail and cause a bigger issue, this is why I am going back to Mercedes on this.

My advice if going back to Mercedes is don't tell them you have opened up the two ports to look at the fuel issue otherwise they will say that they are "concerned" about contamination getting into that area causing the failure! Just tell them you smell gas and read about incidents and leave it at that. I may be SOL but I am going to give it a try at least.

 

[QUOTE=03RSTT;4224277]I don't pop up here often anymore, but I know what I'm talking about buddy. cheers

 

csumt76-Clearly, you have all the answers just because you tell us so. I love it.

On a more positive note. Glad this thread has helped a few owners. The complaints are piling up at NTHSA and you can read the complaints on the web site. The latest work by Turbo97se seems to have picked up on something new. I will try to go out and check my old failed components later this weekend.

[quote=csumt76;4368938]

 

[QUOTE=03RSTT;4369005]csumt76-Clearly, you have all the answers just because you tell us so. I love it.

On a more positive note. Glad this thread has helped a few owners. The complaints are piling up at NTHSA and you can read the complaints on the web site. The latest work by Turbo97se seems to have picked up on something new. I will try to go out and check my old failed components later this weekend.

Maybe you need to find someone to work on your car that knows what they are doing.

 

Looks like I am SOL on this. I reported this to Mercedes Benz, someone called Rose at extension 7089, she gave me the run around. I lost my patience and told them I am going to pull the sender and have it analyzed by my materials lab. I'm pretty sure the material is of low quality. Pump side is showing signs of cracking. I told them I was going to report this to the NHTSA she just said shewould note down that we had this conversation and I just hung up. I was really angry cos she kept interrupting me while I was talking it's only $400 to replace the part but it's more the principle of the thing to me. Good luck to the rest of you. I don't have much choice other than to fix it myself. Pretty easy really.

One more thing ... I was surprised/disappointed/shocked to see the terminals on the fuel pumps are not even insulated! Mercedes couldn't even be bothered enough to put a couple of neoprene or molded HPDE over the connections ... bare connections immersed in the fuel tank? Come on Mercedes!!!

 

You mean like EVERY OTHER Car maker on the planet? No one insulates the fuel pump terminals

 

Okay found the issue on my fuel leak/smell.

The Evap Valve which is located on the saddle and goes to a 1" vent line cracks and leaks.

It's not the tank, it's the evap valve. when it leaks the fuel will flow down to the pump/sender basket and pool on the pump or sender.

The ONLY way to see the evap valve leak is to drop the fuel tank (After you drop the exhaust and drive shaft)

so there you go we know know what the problem is

 

Honda, Nissan and Toyota do not do this. I can assure you on this, so saying EVERY OTHER car maker is not accurate. Try stripping all the insulation off the wires running inside your gas tank and let us know what happens.

 

Nothing will. Honda Nissan and toyota use external pumps, not in tank pumps.

 

LOL ... I am not even going to bother to argue with you.

BMW M5 - insulated wires - http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...t=embedwebsite

You need to tell all these guys they are doing it all wrong because clearly they should be dealing with external pumps!

External fuel pump on Toyota Lexus?? http://my.is/forums/f221/diy-walbro-...s-alot-409785/

External fuel pump on Nissan Maxima?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51iZC...eature=related

External pump on a Acura/Honda?? http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2424575

 

I can not put over 1/2 tank in mine or my whole house smells and check fuel cap light comes on.. recall done also

 

Did you read the entire thread? I posted specific directions to check out the tank and look for the leak. Please report your findings.