Hulk

At the beginning of the year when I bought my car, I had sent them pics of much worse, the fuel had seeped into the styrofoam of the back seat and still nothing, I sent pics and even had the dealership contact MB and NHTSA and still nothing...this will not be resolved easily bit you guys gotta keep on busting *****, thats the only way if you want MB to cover it completely...Bottom line if you can't wait and can swing it, the dealerships will work with you to get you all settled up but you will have to pay the labor and MB will eat the costs of parts but you gotta ***** big time and don't quit
Luckily the person who I bought my car from paid the cost of the labor...

E55Greasemonkey

Hi everyone, long time lurker but finally decided to register when I saw this!! OP, I noticed you are using an electric drill to remove the 8mm bolts....PLEASE do not use this drill to reinstall the cover, the fumes from the leaked fuel can be ignited by the sparks from the drill motor and the results could be very bad. Run that drill in a dark room and you'll see the motor brushes sparking inside where the vents are located...Seen this 2 times in the shop, flashovers caused by electric drills..luckily not with gasoline but parts cleaner, one was inside a car, lucky the guy just lost an eyebrow !!

Anyways, sorry to sound like the safety police......there's a good chance that fuel sender seal is either split, the ring not tightened enough, or even the tank flange is warped, that is unless this fuel is leaking from the top of the tank which can be seen using a flashlight and mirror.

03'55AMG

one step ahead of you there brotha, I covered the drills slots the a microfiber cloth to prevent this. I kind of had to use the drill because my ratchet set is at a friends, and I couldnt find my screwdriver.. Lol. I also had the car outside with all doors open and windows down to help exhaust any fume buildup prior to using the drill. Thank you for the concern, and Welcome to MBWorld!

E55Greasemonkey

Good deal and thanks for the welcome!!! If your car has the original sender seals from '03 there's a chance they are split, the material has been changed since then. Maybe you'll get lucky with new seals, but odds are if the top of the tank isn't leaking now it will in the future.

03'55AMG

My Mom already had them replaced in the 2008 recall MB issued. So it has to be a faulty design on MB's part. That's what were trying to get them to admit to. Do a search and you will see how many E55, and other W211's are affected. This is an epidemic to W211's, but there's no vaccine. Lol

Edit, Just saw you are/were a mechanic for MB. If you don't mind sharing, how many W211's have you worked on that had this issue?

E55Greasemonkey

Lots of em'.....Mostly the tanks leaking from the top. However, I have also seen the sender sealing area flange warped, no matter how many times you replace the seal it will continue to leak, which ultimately requires a new tank of course.

Hulk

Yup new tanks are needed, I posted a pic here on another thread of the tanks that we in the MB dealership, the SA saw me take the pic and laughed and he said if I would have come the last week there would have been double the amount, they change a dozen out weekly, so believe me MB is aware of the problem for a while now

03'55AMG

Any links to these pictures?

Hulk

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...ml#post5092245

03'55AMG

CLEARLY no problem here!

pcst

I bet ya, the CEO of MB won't come out to the press and apologize to the owners of the MB, like how Toyota CEO did.
What a bad moral character!

Dawson718

kNOCK ON WOOD I HAD NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY CAR IT'S HAD 112,420 MILES ON IT AND HAD IT FOR 3 YEARS AND 4 MONTHS AND I FULL UP EVERY WEEK.04 E55

msheredy

Mercedes is taking a page out of Apple's PR book. Deny deny deny. I like both companies a lot but come on now, if there's a manufactured problem own it and make it right.

On second thought you might be filling it up wrong LOL!

pcst

Just like the insurance companies, deny first to see what happens next.

03'55AMG

Please tell me how I am filling up wrong. Because if I am doing it wrong, then everybody I know does it wrong.

moosejaw

Welcome aboard
Whats your opinion of what caused this?
A manufacturing defect?
or dealers screwing up the parts during the recall?

Have you read Mercedes response to the NHTSA?

03'55AMG

Guys. I think I have to have the car towed. I filled up to about 3/4 tank before gas went up here today. Well, its the worst I have ever imagined it getting. gs is everywhere. puddle dried under the car, but under the backseat was even worse. There is even sediment of something in the back seat. Crappy pics, and I dont know why this crappy camera thinks its February 2009, but oh well. Also, the smell is so bad I am literally dizzy from it. I can't and won't drive the car now. If I have it towed MB better take responsibility and py for the tow, loaner, and repairs and labor. This is outright ****ing dangerously stupid for MB to say 'No problem here'.
This is the gas puddled heavily, not only on top of sender, but outside of it aswell. it was also splashed around a lot. (drove about 20 miles after fuel up)

Hope you can see it, but there looks to be some kind of sediment in the back seat in the gas. IDK what it is

taped drill vents because all my rags are in the wash today.

splashed gas

sediment

messy backseat.

03'55AMG

Just to compare, first pic is what I thought to be lot of splashing. Pic two shows most of the area surrounding the fuel sender Soaked.

novae500

dont you have towing on the insurance policy??? Look into it. If not then get it towed and save all receipts (gas receipts too). I would def not be driving this at all...You dont want it to catch fire and worse case in a parkling lot or garage and other cars due to radiant heat. Video this as well on your phone if it has capability and keep a log of each event/fill up/result.

moosejaw

1. Drain the gasoline, mop it up with rags.....
You should be able to still drive it with windows down.
2. Talk to your attorney.
3. If he agrees, go to the dealer and see what they have to say. Show them pics you took.
Afterwards if you feel you are getting the screws turned on you, mention the recall (but not the lawsuit) .You will get shown the door real quick if you mention you are represented by Neil Goro.

If it is that bad, fix it and be able to drive it rather than have it sit in your driveway. Come to an agreement with the dealer on the cost. Whatever it is...I'm sure you will get reimbursed by MBUSA after the recall.

Might be cheaper for you to pick up a beater while the investigation goes on.

03'55AMG

What exactly should I video? I am thinking I have to either suck out gas till its not a problem, or let it idle until the excess is burned off. I cant find someone to let me borrow their car to drive to my dealer to see what they think. I need this addressed asap. This leak is BAD. I looked under the car to see if it leaked and BAM, it was like sticking my nose into a gas can. I was dizzy for a good 5 minutes.. Then I backed the car out and again, opened doors and let it air out. If MB doesn't fix this issue, I will literally contemplate selling the car. I know it has tons of sentimental value thats priceless to me, but I for one wont be blown up because I refused to pay for MBs problem.

03'55AMG

I am about to pull the trigger on an '88 190E. I don't think its quite s nice, but MB didn't and the fuel leak package to it so I think I will like it.
Also, I was under the impression that mentioning the suit would benefit me in showing them their problem and getting me free replacement.. I started the car and I am going to let it idle for an hour and see where we stand. If its good, then MB here I come.

93RX7LSX

If you were injured in any way by the fumes, seek an attorney. This issue should not go on any longer. The more parties we have involved the better.

moosejaw

Dont mention the lawsuit......
You wont get any service period nor any gratuities. You will be shown the door real fast and youre stuck with a car that smells
Again take the wisdom from someone that has assumed that same mistake before. The dealer nor the manufacturer doesnt owe you anything yet, so it's important to act that way. Play dumb, then spring the NHTSA bit on them.

Its important not to do anything rash. Get some paper towels, sop it up, leave the car out in the sun with the windows down to evaporate.
Then after all your hard work.....
Stand next to you car and light up cigarette

03'55AMG

Wow. Spent an hour at the dealer and boy was I surprised! They Gave me an E500 loaner, and said they'd fix it all free of charge!! ..... ((((wakes up from daydream...)))) Not!!! They basically laughed at me. I politely walked in and was immediately complemented on the E55, then asked how they could help me. I said I would like to speak to a service manager. Well, I tell him my problem and inform him the recall was performed and that I would like them to replace it for a good price. Well then he goes over to 3 other techs and they start talking quietly and keep looking over at me. He then comes back and says the best they could do is charge me $105 to diagnose the problem further. He would not back down at all. So I mention how the NHTSA opened another investigation on this very issue, and he replies like im twelve. "Well, that isn't for current cars, the NTSA is just making sure everybody had the recall performed to their standards." I then say, well, how about you check mine free to see if it is up to their (NHTSA) standards. I guess I still had to pay the $105 to make sure it was done correctly. So then my Mom walks in after a cigarette and says shes very concerned because she smokes, and the gas tank leaks. He then replies again that we have to pay $105 to have it diagnosed further. I just gave up and said "If I pay the $105 fee to have it properly diagnosed will you work with me on repair bills?" To that he replies, almost instantly, "We usually don't do that unless were told to by MBUSA." Then I hear the voice inside my head. ..."there's no problem here..." said by MBUSA. So I then pick up a copy of my service records, which just so happened to be sitting on the printer, from before I even arrived.. I guess they WERE ignoring my constant Emails... Jerks. Well, All I achieved today is basically nothing. Except it was funny watching all the techs look out of the bay when I let the 'monster under the hood' Roar. Hahahaha best thing ever watching them see it was a Mercedes. Their faces went from lambo??? to WHATTTT?? AMG??? hahaha I cant put it into words, just too funny. Ill post up a pic of my service records when I get them all scanned.