Coalman

Call me fickle, but I am beginning to think my car is less than totally reliable. Just off the top of my head, here are some of the things that have gone wrong since I bought it in 2005 (10,000 miles).

Total electrical failure- ECU replaced

Supercharger pulley/clutch replaced

Intercooler pump replaced (at my request because I felt not working properly)

Gas tank seal replaced (gas pouring out back of car after filled up)

Suspension compressor replaced

Driver side door locking assembly repaired

Front struts replaced

With the exception of the front struts, the above work was covered 100% under either Mercedes of Mercury Platinum warranties. Still the after market warranty was over $3,000 (5 year/75,000 miles total). Add the cost of new PS'2 every 8,000 miles or so and normal maintenance and things are getting faily pricey.

Not that I am complaining, The hard on I get every time I step on the gas is worth the cost. But not exactly reliable.

What do you think?

rondocap

That's all you had to do?

But really, I think it is a common experience to have issues with these cars - I wouldn't necessarily call them unreliable, but they are finicky. A lot of advanced components, and electrical systems seem to give issues. There are a lot of members on here that have not had issues though - so sometimes it can be a bit luck of the draw, but over time and usage any car will need attention.

If I told you all of the stuff I've done with my S55 OUT of warranty, you'd probably sell your car, haha. But in the end...I love it. Everytime you drive it, you tend to forget the harder days when it gives you problems. I'm up to 144,000 miles, so it runs perfectly - but obviously with some good maintenance over time.

220S

These cars are expensive to maintain and repair, that's a given. We sort of know that going in (at least we should know that.)

Most of the things you reported are known issues for the cars, especially a 2003 model. So those things we are usually prepared for when we buy the car. Or at least understand that they can happen.

Compared to other Euro cars (Audi, BMW, Porsche, Volvo) I'd probably say that what you've gone through is about par for a 7-year old car. It's the high price of repairs that I think gets people wondering (although Porsche is about the same.)

You don't mention the mileage you have on it now (except that you bought it with 10k on it in 2005.) How many miles have you put on?

Coalman

I bought the car in July 2005 with 10,000 miles and just turned 40,000 miles. Obviously I don't put a lot of miles on the car and in the winter I drive my SUV most of the time. (Pittsburgh can be a nightmare in the winter.) I figure I will have to replace the original battery before the cold weather gets here and I will probably have to do the brakes by next summer.

LOCO 05' E55

Who ever said they were?

£ C43 £ AMG £

this sort of enjoyment does come with its fair share of unrealiabilty .....

No warranty for me ,,,,,,,,,so I think of it as an exspensive hobby.

Jakpro1

No way around it, these babies were designed during the "dark ages" of mb quality. Things seems to have turned around a bit since then and the GOOD news is that you have replaced just about every common problematic issue these cars seem to be having lately. You should be good for awhile.....knock on birds eye maple.

mikey33

Seems to me that you should not expect anything less from a high end luxury sports car that is seven years old. Plus, most drivers on these forums I am guessing ride their cars hard especially with all the mods I see being done to the engine.

MB_Forever

Unfortunately, that is the case with most $100k luxury sedans: high repair costs and sometimes high maintenance. I think you did good by purchasing the warranty because it does provide an added protection to what could become a potentially costly scenario. As Jim mentioned, you took care of most of the common issues, so you should be good to go from here on out

03RSTT

IMHO the fuel leak issue should have you worried. The problem is not "fixed" and it will come back. The other items have been reported from time to time and may or may not cause personal harm but that gas leak is a killer. Literally.

Check out my thread on repeat fuel tank failures and post your account.

As for "should a 90k car be expected to fail on a routine basis?" My answer is no. It should not be expected to fail. If ours had the grocery list you have....it would be gone in a minute. The only problem we have is the gas leak and the return of the gas leak. I drive a Audi RS6 and many say that car is too expensive to maintain. Hogwash. I spend approx 700 a year to maintain the car and it never breaks down.

MB_Forever

Usually, the more expensive the car, the more complex technology it employs, and so the more expensive it becomes to repair in case of failure; and to add to the mess, prices are even higher if the car's parts are manufactured outside the country. I don't know of anything that lasts forever without fail.... I would expect anything to fail with age and even sub-normal use. With these expensive cars, warranty is almost a must.

03RSTT

Nothing on the OP list is really that complex but I understand your point. I also agree that many of the components on the E55 are expensive as they should be. I just dont expect them to fail on a routine basis. Ditto for my RS6. I also have extended warranties on both cars. I hedge these expensive cars for the above reason. My Cosworth engine in the RS6? 40k. Ditto for the E. But that wont stop me from servicing my own vehicles. The most difficult timing belt service on the planet is on my RS6 and it needs it every 35k. I can complete it with no problems.

guysandiego

i have heard this before -- and i believe it -- you need to drive your car regularly to keep it running right --- they break down when you let them sit and dont drive them 10k miles since 2005 -- thats not enough --

guysandiego

oh i didnt read all the posts -- you have put 30k on the car since 2005 -- that is still pretty low but having the car sit all winter is not doing you any favors -- thats my thought --- I think you shouldnt let your car sit for more than a week -- at least drive it 5 miles -- it will help.

Coalman

Two other items I failed to mention. TPMS failed and was covered by extended warranty. AC accumulator/drier was leaking and had to be replaced, which wasn't covered by extended warranty. Most of these problems may be common, but it seems a bit uncommon for one car to experience nearly every common problem. I hope I will get a respite from further aggravation!

I do drive my car on a regular basis in the winter. I just cut out the cruising which is when I do most of my driving in the summer. But I appreciate your point on cars sitting for long periods of time. I don't know what to do about the gas leak. It was done a couple of years ago and I haven't had a problem since, so I hope its fixed.

03RSTT

Just keep an eye on the gas leak. Fill the car up and park in the garage...if there is any leak...that is when it leaks. It seems cars in the hot climates are more prone to this repeat failure. But make no mistake the repeat failures are more common than you think.

alextaylor29

Just for comparison I bought my E55 2004 about 6 months ago with 23K miles on it. It's now almost at 40K in miles (I drive 100 miles to and from work everyday) and so far I've only had to replace the Powersteering pump, motor thingie.

Like most of you I got the extended warranty good to 100K miles and I do agree it does, "feel" slighly less reliable, but if you have an extended warranty and AAA you really don't need to worry.

I'd say it's not as reliable as a Honda/Toyota but nor is it a Jaguar/Range Rover which are legendary for their lack of reliability. So on a scale of 1-10, 1 being a Jag and 10 being a Honda, I'd give our E55 a 5-6.

My $.02.

Alex

MB_Forever

I agree with you that on this type of car, nothing should break on a routine basis especially things like the IC pump which has an established record of break very often, but I personally would expect certain things to break at least after 4 to 5 years. And just because it is an expensive car, does not mean it is perfect. There will always be some type of design flaws or manufacturing flaws or even engineering flaws with any machinery. The gas leak thing, however, is a big one and I hope Mercedes takes the necessary steps to correct it because if left unchecked, it WILL cost them a lot of money.

220S

It would good to have the actual numbers. But only MBUSA has those numbers which they can collect through their dealer franchises.

This was discussed a few years ago in the MBCA. The recall was a voluntary recall (#2008-020001) from MBUSA. It was issued in 2008 and covers certain 2003-2006 E Class and CLS Class cars. Apparently when MBUSA made the recall, the new unit was sometimes being installed incorrectly or a lot of dealers simply changed the gasket or attempted a fix. The consensus was that the "real" problem is that MBUSA let the dealer decide whether to repair the unit or actually replace it, and only "if necessary."

NHTSA wasn't involved because apparently there is no true fire hazard in relation to the design of the system. They have made safety recalls when fuel tanks and systems don't perform properly during a crash, though.

No car has caught on fire in 7 years (at least yet) and there are lots of cars potentially affected (it can develop the cracks in hot weather in heavy stop and go driving.) But according to MBUSA the part change recall campaign has resolved everything, and so it's been left in the dealer's hands. Is this maybe more of a dealer issue?

Again, it would be nice to have actual numbers of failures before and after the recall has been performed. That's the only way to know what's really going on. But none of us will get to see those figures.

03RSTT

Slightly off topic but in the list of failures. With our recent gas leak my wife has me checking her car and driving it more often. (could I be worth more dead than alive?) :-) I have noticed something....engine ping.

My question, what is the first symptom of the IC pump going bad? We use Shell premium but its hot outside. 107 this week. I also add a fuel catalyst that helps octane and lubricity but I have this ping on the E55. I would also think the ecu would pull timing asap but the ping keeps coming back on throttle over 75% or initial hit from such a throttle attempt.

My RS6 has no ping at all. I have some tricks performed on the RS6 and puts down more hp that the E but I need to look into the ping situation. I dont like it at all.

Thanks...I did a quick search for E55 and ping but found little.

03RSTT

I hate to cause a stir in this thread but let me throw some things your way.

Did you read my thread? If you had, you would have seen that my car was LEAKING when the recall was performed at 52k in the summer of 08. Then in the fall of 09 at 61k we got another LEAK. The dealer made the decision to replace the seals of this particular component and that stopped the leak for 4k miles. Now in the summer of 10 at 65k miles our car is LEAKING and gas is pouring out under the car. The same fuel level sensor that was replaced in 08 was bad again and the whole thing was changed again. Leak stopped.

We are talking about E55s from 2003-2006. Approx 4300 vehicles.

Did you see the picture I posted?

We are up to 8 owners and counting with the exact same problems. The scope of this forum only goes so far but clearly there is a defect that will explode. Just because it has not happened yet means nothing. Did you see my picture? If that car was driven on the hwy I would not be here. So, let me now ask you this. Do you still think this is a dealer level concern? sir.

As for MB USA having actual numbers. Hogwash. If the dealers are not covering the fuel level sensors and making the owners pay or running them thru extended warranties....MB USA has no data. However, MB USA now has data becase I'm crawling down their backs as are the other owners with the EXACT SAME REPEAT FAILURE.

guysandiego

hopefully you got all your repairs out of the way --- also, she is a jealous car -- So, pamper her and hopefully her PMS goes away

MB_Forever

You are correct: the ECU will retard timing when it senses pinging and it will do so very aggressively. If you are getting consistent repeated pinging, then you may want to try emptying the current tank of gas and filling-up 5 to 7 gallons of 100 octane and see if the pinging returns. If not, then it could have been a case of bad gas.

220S

Settle down, please. Thanks. I was merely asking the questions and repeating what people in the MBCA were saying about it being a dealer issue and the crap way that MBUSA handled that.

Why the hostility?

I want to know what's going on, too. And so that's why I asked.

Yes, I saw your post, but I do think that MBUSA has data, but of course won't ever say anything.

03RSTT

I dont see anything hostile in my response. Direct yes. Facts yes. No hard feelings are intended in your direction. I just have a different opinion and literally my butt on the line here. We live in the hot zone and with limited numbers 4300 over 4 years...how many of the 4300 are in hot zones. Seems the repeat failures are mostly from hot zones.