Mercedes trying to screw me over
 

In summary I took my car into Penske to get diagnosed. It was running really rough. I had taking my car into a private shop and and they said it could be anything from a computer issue, valves, injectors to needing a new motor. So I took it in. Penske had the car for 2 days then called me and said they re flashed the computer because because they were seeing that the car was missing on multiple cylinders, which meant it was not a mechanical issue but a computer issue. However, since the re flash the car has bee running fine. They would like the technician to drive the car home with the diagnostic tool plugged in to make sure there wasn't any issues. Penske then called me the next day and told me the car was fine and and to come pick it up. They had driven the car for 80 miles and everything looked good. They then called me 10 minutes later and told me they had just finished washing the car for me to pick it up and it would not start, so they were going to keep it longer. I then get a call from them on Monday, telling me that the car needs a new motor. So I go down today to pick up the car and they proceed to tell me that when the car was getting washed a fuel injector had dumped to much fuel into the motor and hydro locked it.

I took the car into be diagnosed and and after they told me it was fine, they seized the motor. I could have paid for a new ECU, vlave job or head gasket but a whole new motor???? I am a little lost right now and don't know what to do. When I bought the car it had 38K on it and also had aftermarket headers, which I had removed and put back to stock. I have a AMG euro airbox and cat backs, but nothing that was done to the computer, at least from me. The car now has 64K on it, of which the warranty expired at 60K. Penske told me they are not going to do anything and to take my issue to MB. They said since there had been the mods that I listed to the car prior to me taking ownership, they probably wont do anything. I had taken the car to them before and never heard about the computer be changed and according to them the injector caused the seizure, which was what I was taking it to them in the first place.

I was paying for a diagnosis and they told me it was fine to come pick it up. They drove the car for 80 miles and they tell me it was fine, it was not mechanical. Then they seized the motor , do I get stuck with the 40K bill??? That does not seem right. I brought them a running car, misfiring, but running and now they want me to take home a car with a seized motor.

Was the car running/idleing when the injector stuck open? Parked and they went to fire it and it locked up? I find it kinda hard to believe a stuck injector hydrolocked it and actually caused damage unless it was reving/being driven around. In which case it really shoulda just ran terrible and been shut down by the tech not hydrolocked. Something isn't right here.

At any engine speed it would start to run like crap and give some telltale signs something was very wrong and they should have shut it down. If the injector bled down while parked/started I don't know if the motor would have the power to actually bend a rod when firing up as the engine speed likely wouldn't have been very high.

I'd be looking at them VERY funny as they said they fixed it and then it locked up right after. They have many avenues to hide behind unfortunately and you're in a bad spot here.

I'd pull the plugs out of every hole and have it scoped to check for any damage (shouldn't be any but to be safe I would) and also make sure the valves aren't bent. Then crank it over to listen for any funny noises/do a compression check. If it bent a rod you may just need a new rod. If the crank is hurt that motor was reving some when it let go and not just firing up or idleing.

If you're super lucky you can pull the injectors crank it over to clear the cylinder and fix the injector and it will run fine. I'd get it to another shop immediately though.


You may want to ask for their insurance companies info (should be registered with the local municipality or state) and talk to your insurer as well. $40k bill is some crazy stuff. They are gonna try to say the original problem was fixed and this was a new problem that occurred out of their control though I bet.

Was this a Penske Mercedes location or a Penske general repair shop type of place?

If the Penske of West Covina, you are in deep trouble. Those moth#@er faka screwed me last time. They test drove my car for 40 miles and half tank of gas gone. You can imagine how those fakars test drove the car. They might already blow your engine with the 80 miles aggressive drive. Sorry man, you should find a lawyer for this matter against this dealer.

Horry Clap! I know E60 M5s had problems with injectors getting stuck open, flooding the cylinder(s), and hydrolocking the engine... IIRC, BMW took care of most if not all people who had this problem.


QQ - Have they confirmed it was hydrolock, or is it speculation at this point?

80 mile test drive? :o

**** - may as well went to Mexico

Check the back seat for stains....

I would get a lawyer involved ASAP bro. If everything was fine from the get go and they locked up the motor, with or without warranty they should pay for it. I would raise hell up in that dealership and curse every employee off lol.

+1 very well said.

go on those cursing rampage till they have to escort you off the premises :rolf:

If the information they have provided you is accurate, it might not be as bad as it seems. It is a little too coincidental that your engine became hydro locked immediately after washing it. Sounds like somehow they flooded your airbox with water and that was ingested when they tried to start it. Even if it was a bad injector, at cranking engine speed, the rods and crank should be ok. Pull all the plugs, disconnect all the coils, and crank the engine to remove whatever is in there. If you have someone watching when you crank, you will be able to tell which cylinder was the issue. Replace that injector. Dump the oil, and put her back together. Hopefully, that will be all that is needed.

Skip all the useless banter and get an attorney now. Plain and simple. Time is of the essence on this.

Get an attorney. Hopefully you have a legal freind who can write a nasty letter.
they are trying to feed you a line of crap....and you know it
open injectors cause a hydrolock....please?
Skip the haggling and proceed to out of court settlement.

Hopefully you have all of their diagnosis' that the car had been running fine beforehand documented?
Hopefully you also have the claim that the open injector issue caused the engine crapping out documented?

Penske Mercedes of West Covena, a dealership. A authorized AMG service center.

Sorry to tell you this but I am on the east coast and heard that dealership is the worst! Some other member had something go wrong with his AMG and they tried to fool him also!

The hard part for me right now is I only have the info that they gave me. When I went to pick up the car, I was expecting that they were going to say it needed a valve job or new ECU. When I got there the motor was seized. The service manager told me the part about the hydrolock. I don't know if that is accurate or just his speculation. I contacted MBUSA They said they will get back to me in 24hrs. After that I don't know.

Great.... Do you know what happened with the other member or who it was?

I think it was something about them blowing up his motor (55k) and even though still under warranty, they were making him pay like $45k for it. Let me see what I can dig up

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-mercedes.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/forum-que...st-covina.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...st-covina.html


Still need to find that $45k one :)

Get a lawyer and get a sample of your oil ASAP.

Good luck.

House of Imports guys....I practically know almost everybody there take it over there guys. They've always treated me well.

Sorry to hear about your situation OP....hope it gets all figured out

Not defending the dealer in any way, I have no relation with them. That being said, I have seen a few 63's with stuck open injectors, one of the vehicles (a cl) did bend rods. It does happen. My guess, starts to flood/stumble, then they (cust/tech/porter) rev it to clear it out, then bang! Hopefully you can reach a reasonable solution with the dealer. If you did all your services at a dealer and were a "good" customer, I would think mb would help you out some how. A lawyer wouldn't hurt though

Sorry to hear...Hope everything works out for you

Every dealer has special insurance for JUST this type of situation. Good friend at Benz told me that. You gotta about threaten violence but they will do it

People hate car dealerships because of places like this.