joew111

Car is just out of warranty (4 years and 3 months). And the OEM replacement is A$3k (US$2.25k). Would have thought they should last longer than that and am surprised at the price. Just letting you folks know.

Cheers
Joe

PeterUbers

Did you have Eco start/stop on often? What year is your car

joew111

First registered Dec 2011 (MY11). Rarely drove it in Eco (hated the slight delay)

red60R

that would have been my question. I'm waiting for a survey on failed starters on cars out of warranty with eco mode.

homeofstone

My understanding is that the starter is not used for eco mode. The start up in eco mode has to do with firing the correct cylinder to kick the engine to start. I am not sure if all eco stop/start systems are the same. Also the starter for my 2011 E63 is about $200.00 U.S. at parts stores.

gaspam

eco mode does use the starter to restrart the car... supposedly though, the starter in our cars is supposed to be able to handle 8x more starts than a normal starter.... to me that means as soon as you used the start /stop 8x more than you would normally in non-eco mode in a day, you start to venture into premature wear territory... since its built to last 8x more is probably why it cost 8x more lol...moot point to me though since i alway use AMG mode, since it is an AMG.... if i wanted to use eco mode i would buy e350 conversely, i wonder for those of us that never use eco mode, if our starters will last 8x longer?

http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-9...0-0-0-0-0.html

How the ECO start/stop system works in detail: as a general principle, the engine is switched off every time the vehicle comes to a standstill (auto-stop function. Restarting the engine (auto-starting function) takes place almost imperceptibly; and moving off without any noticeable time lag compared to a stationary vehicle with its engine running. This rapid action is attributable to two special features: a crankshaft Hall sensor which is able to identify the rotational direction of the crankshaft enables the engine control unit to identify the cylinder in which the piston is ideally positioned for starting. The fuel is injected into this cylinder first, thereby speeding up the starting process. An additional electric transmission oil pump supplies the clutches of the automatic transmission with oil pressure prior to starting, so as to enable a swift resumption of the journey after direct starting of the combustion engine via the ECO start/stop function. The starter motor (starter) has also undergone thorough modification: it is now designed to cope with eight times as many starting procedures, ensuring that it will last a car's lifetime in continuous urban driving involving frequent auto-starting. In addition, the on-board electrical system is supported by a second battery.

otakki

Wow, that's a major difference for the cost of the starter! That's a really short life for the starter.

BTW, wouldn't it be the other way around? Meaning the starter should last 8X longer if you turn off the eco mode all the time.

TonyC

holy fark. not good not good. it'd make SENSE that the starter would fail earlier.. i mean, if you're in traffic, and on ECO (and I am, both) then the restarts are WAY more than just 8x the typical driving cycle...

if don't run ECO if you don't have extended warranty...

kponti

I have a hybrid with quite a bit more complicated mechanicals with start stop and has 120k miles on it, no problems with starter. MB can't even make a starter last long on a regular internal combustion engine...... Smh

I'm hoping it's an isolated case and not what's to come on these cars

PeterUbers

I essentially never read about dead starters on these cars... This is an isolated case for now

kponti

Mileage for these cars (M157) are finally creeping above 50k.
I wonder how the E350s are fairing? They usually on average have a lot more miles and a lot more use and abuse.

otakki

I wish every car will have one of those slot for hand-cranking so at least one can gets to where one needs to go if the starter dies. Too bad can't be pushed start like manual can.

joew111

Happy Ending! - MB and MB Brighton comped the replacement starter and labour when I expressed my disappointment about my bad luck and the expense to the service representative. Happy days and great service from MB Brighton.

otakki

That's great! So the part is $2K, right? What about the labor if one is to pay out of pocket?

joew111

Comped both parts and labor

otakki

There should be an option to disable the eco-function and just use the non-eco starter for $200 as mentioned above.

Are you located in Australia?

PeterUbers

Well this is a happy ending

HPMan

Really? How many cars have owned that have left you stranded due to the starter motor quitting? For me, it is zero.


Glad it ended well for the OP.

gaspam

for me it was 1, but it was a crappy 1 time as i was in miami and had to drive back to nashville for work and it was late afternoon sunday which means i couldnt get a starter till monday, so that sucked

Georgee6086

Hopefully it wouldn't cost too much to rebuild it

joew111

Yes - Melbourne Australia

cadeca

Wow, the cost is really surprising. Glad to see that your dealer took care of you. This is a good reminder for me to use S or S+ more often...and be extra nice to my service manager!