Hunter Leisure

Hi all. I found a MY06 E55 with 152k miles that I'm seriously considering scooping up. It seems pretty well sorted for a "driver-quality" car, which is exactly what I'm looking for. Previously owned an E39 M5 for a few years, so no stranger to the costs to keep these cars on the road. I do all my own work, just not familiar with this chassis.

So, with that said, here's my questions. Some of these are probably no-brainers for you guys. I already spent half an hour scouring this forum, but all of the discussions are nonproductive and inconclusive, or from 2005 and no longer pertinent.

TIA for any help you can give to a potential new E55 owner!

1. STAR diagnostics: I've already determined I need this system to do any DIY work or cool **** on the car. What's the most popular method to acquire one of these? They're thousands on eBay... I heard some discussion about chinese clones but I don't have any more info.
2. Pano sunroof on this car is inoperable. I understand it's a very common issue. Is there any good info I can read up on for repairing this? I checked the VIN and it doesn't have an open recall for this issue.
3. Keyless go doesnt work at all. Again, common issue from what I've read. Any good info on how to diagnose the problem? All the threads I found just spitball what to replace.
4. Inoperable dynamic seats: same concept as #3. Common problem, best resource for fixing?
5. Seller states HVAC system blows some air through defrost vents when operated in another mode. What could be going on here?

Again, I appreciate the time any of you take to help address some of my concerns. TIA!

bbirdwell

1. BenzNinja on this forum. PM him. He's located in Europe so be cognizant of the time difference.
2. Repairable and there are threads on this you can locate using the "Advanced" search function upper right.
3. I would start with STAR/Xentry to diagnose. I have a post out here somewhere explaining the operation of the system.
4. Air pump located in left side of trunk. Diagnose with STAR/Xentry. Possible bladders in the seat are bad. All but one still available but requires removing seat covers (and the side airbags riveted to the seat frame).
5. Start with STAR/Xentry and run a test on the flapper valves under the dash.

Since the car is an '06, any concerns about the infamous fuel pump relay should be calmed; the '06 uses two fuel pump relays (one per fuel pump) versus the single relay that is guaranteed to melt in the earlier models. You will find both of them plus the secondary air injection pump relay located in the right side of the trunk hidden behind the panel.

Search for the W211 fuse and relay thread. Be advised the AMG fuses and relays DO NOT share the same locations as the non-AMG fuses and relays. Example: non-AMG fuel pump fuse and relay are in the location where the AMG (your car) has the intercooler pump fuse and relay.
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...les-chart.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ml#post6585628

PM me your email address and I'll send you at least 32 MB of technical documentation.

SICAMG

I just bought a new xentry system off Ebay for 580.00 with a solid state hard drive and all new connections so you can find them on the cheaper side.

bbirdwell

Not bad. I paid $700 for my hardware...
I had an issue with constant comms failures; contacted BenzNinja. He remoted in and in approx 5 minutes identified the issue and downloaded updated comm port drivers that resolved the issue.

hyperion667

Nothing more expensive than an inexpensive Benz.

bobgodd

1. You can get a "full system" for a price, or do what I did and get an openport usb to obd2 adaptor and used that with xentry software on a spare laptop. There are tutorials on YouTube for accomplishing this from a Russian youtuber. Small cost to join the channel but you can un-join after receiving the software.
2. I don't have pano but there are threads here regarding it. I think the motor dying is one of the bigger culprits.
3. Keyless go can be difficult to troubleshoot as there are many points of failure. There are several remotes around the car (door handles, behind the ash tray, in the rear bumper) and a brain box in the trunk near the GPS drive unit if your vehicle has it. I would start by checking if you have the right key. Possible the previous owner had the key replaced with a non-keyless go key? Not even sure if that's a real thing but it would cause everything to stop working without the key. There's also settings to enable and disable keyless go in Xentry software, so possibly some parts of it were failing and the previous owner has it turned off to avoid the hassle. Easier to troubleshoot if you actually have the car present.
4. Dynamic seat failures are an eventuality I think. Really only two failure modes I've seen are failed pump in the trunk, or leaking bladders. Mine failed a long time ago due to leaks in the individual air bladders. My pump still works fine but I pulled the fuse to stop it from running. There is an air manifold in the seat back that you can use to start to look for leaks, and it is possible to reseal the bladders if you can locate the leaks... But this is labor intensive and not a guarantee. Easy to live without the dynamic seats honestly.
5. On earlier modules there was a known failure where the passenger side defrost diverter flap plastic end-stops get broken and the flap cannot positively locate itself in either end position, so it remains up and blows most air to the windshield. The only real fix for this is to swap in an evaporator core from a 2007 and up model, where this design flaw was fixed. I took mine apart and tried to use a combination of 3D printed parts, JB weld, and plastic toy repair tools and it broke the first time I tried to switch from dash to defrost lol. This is a quite labor intensive job, the whole dash, forward center console, steering column and lots of wiring needs to be undone to replace the evaporator core. Not for the faint of heart. It's a nuisance but also easy to live with.

I would not let these issues deter you from getting the car. All are resolvable or easy to live with. If you do get the car, post threads about the separate issues and work through them one at a time. Also helps if you are handy with tools and have a salvage yard or two nearby. Lots of the parts are interchangeable with other W211 models.