Jolie888 Clutched October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 (edited) Misguided? I don't think so. Look around you. Merc Taxis proliferating SG roads by the year. Fact. First in white, then silver. Fact. What's next? Of course the black with yellow tops. What happens when the next taxi company chooses Columbite Black? And the next in Cubanite Silver, and the next in Indium Grey, Tanzanite Blue, or Flint Grey? What will happen to Merc owners ... present, as well as potential ones? For the $$$ one would need to pay to drive a Taxi ... oops! errr I mean Merc, I'd rather get a BMW anytime (just these 2 brands for this thread). Truth: Merc drivers have been flagged down before. BMW has been winning more engine awards than MB has in the recent past ... whether its their 2.5L or 3.0L ... or their M-Series >4L engines. Fact. And in Singapore there is a high percentage of Beng contractors and Chinese businessmen driving the Merc than they do the BMW. Yet another fact. IMHO, MB has an image problem in Singapore. To make things worse, its reliability has been the pits over the last decade. A fact that tells, when BMW managed to clinch more sales than MB in 2005. And looking at the sales numbers to-date, it is very likely going to happen again in 2006. So what gives? Image and reliability problems are very difficult to turnaround ... especially the former. Edited October 8, 2006 by Jolie888 ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vit4wd 1st Gear October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 (edited) Hyperlinked for you http://www.sgcarmart.com/new_cars/10061.php San Hup Be Trading? I have never heard of this PI. What if there's a recall? After sales? Buying from repuitable PIs like Vincar would give more peace of mind. Edited October 8, 2006 by Vit4wd Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vblaster_w211 2nd Gear October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 (edited) Merc has been used as Taxi's for years in Europe and other places. Get over it. We don't care. It's a good sign - their common rail diesel is top in it's class. In fact, the E Class diesel is selling very well for consumers in Europe and some parts of US. Seriously, you're taking this way too seriously. Those who like and appreciate Merc do so for a variety of reasons, and not as frivolous as you paint it to be (Oh no, the E is used as a Taxi now - I must be nuts to be seen in a Merc then!). Same as BMW advocates who love the handling of BMW. All have their valid reasons. And I think we should invite you to attend the friendly gatherings of SGMercedes and also BMW clubs to better appreciate why we love our cars so. Yes, a healthy mix of professionals, entrepeneurs, etc etc. As for quality, I think we owners know best. We have no major issues with our rides, and quality is on the rise with each new model and FL. Chill. Edited October 8, 2006 by Vblaster_w211 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vit4wd 1st Gear October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 It is also a good sign to have Merc taxis on the roads. It is a living testimony of the reliability of this make. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolie888 Clutched October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 (edited) Well, that's your view on Mercs. And I respect them. But for me, taxi image don't cut the butter ... cannot lah. p.s. Don't get me wrong. I used to own a Merc years ago. So I know what Merc UNreliabilty is. And AFAIK, its still there now, only seen at C&C's workshops. I truly hope DC has resolved some of its many problems in the F/L W211. Its a case of cost-cutting and over-dependence on electronic gizmos that has gone awfully awry. But since the taxis came, and in different colors some more ... enuf said (for me at least). Edited October 8, 2006 by Jolie888 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vblaster_w211 2nd Gear October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 Exactly! In fact, I'll love to buy the Diesel 320 CDI E Class - it's a very popular model overseas - loads of torque with FC that'll make hybrids shy! 165kW or 201bhp 540Nm 0 - 60 mph in 6.6 seconds EPA estimate 27 mpg Highway estimate 37 mpg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vblaster_w211 2nd Gear October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 You're entitled to your opinion. Just that we're not as frivolous as "Oh no, used as Taxi!" kind of drivers. BTW, no reliability issues for us. Remember "years ago..." Anyhow, Merc was the most reliable back in days of W124, but yes, it took a dip in late 90's. They began to recover from 2000's, and frankly, my pre FL W211 has no issues at all. That's a common experience shared by many in SGMerc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozebite Neutral Newbie October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 5 series are better from my point of view Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vblaster_w211 2nd Gear October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 Yes, I love the way the 5 handles! Have not tried the "direct handling" of FL E, but I don't think it's meant to be as such - the E is always more confort biased. But the CLS350 on Avantgarde trim - now that one handles well! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatch_lover Neutral Newbie October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 Misguided? I don't think so. Look around you. Merc Taxis proliferating SG roads by the year. Fact. First in white, then silver. Fact. What's next? Of course the black with yellow tops. What happens when the next taxi company chooses Columbite Black? And the next in Cubanite Silver, and the next in Indium Grey, Tanzanite Blue, or Flint Grey? What will happen to Merc owners ... present, as well as potential ones? For the $$$ one would need to pay to drive a Taxi ... oops! errr I mean Merc, I'd rather get a BMW anytime (just these 2 brands for this thread). Truth: Merc drivers have been flagged down before. BMW has been winning more engine awards than MB has in the recent past ... whether its their 2.5L or 3.0L ... or their M-Series >4L engines. Fact. And in Singapore there is a high percentage of Beng contractors and Chinese businessmen driving the Merc than they do the BMW. Yet another fact. IMHO, MB has an image problem in Singapore. To make things worse, its reliability has been the pits over the last decade. A fact that tells, when BMW managed to clinch more sales than MB in 2005. And looking at the sales numbers to-date, it is very likely going to happen again in 2006. So what gives? Image and reliability problems are very difficult to turnaround ... especially the former. Actually wat's wrong with Merc being used as a taxi? It just shows the reliabilty of Merc as a daily car. No taxi companies will want to use an unreliable car as taxi. Otherwise Taxi drivers will loss income with all the days spent in workshop. Its also becoz Merc has better overall comfort with good (read not best coz i have to admit the 5 series drives better) driving dynamics as compared to the 520iA. Thus it really boils down to wat do one wants in a car. And the people who buys a Merc, usually choose it because its the pinnacle of car ownership. Its doesnt bother them that its also being used Taxi. Well, maybe there r a few ex-merc owners who lack self confidence and thus feel insecure to be seen driving a Taxi. All i can say is these ex-owners do not quite has the class to drive a Merc. Thus they need to drive something different or unique so that they can boost that they have taste or class when in actual fact, they dun. Some even go to the extent of taking balloon scheme just so that they can be seen driving the latest bimmer. All this while thinking that they need to drive something new and different so that ple will take notice of them, or basically trying to boost their own egos and attract ple to look at them and maybe even wish that some relative will ask them, `wah, new 320 ah, nice leh. How much did u pay for it??' Its just their own insecurity that they are driving a taxi. I mean c'mon, a significant number of merc owners dun even need to take loans for their cars. They pay hard cash. And clinching more sales doesnt mean that Bimmer is a better car or that Merc is losing sales due to an `image problem'. Its just means that Merc is not hard-up to be number 1 at the expense of current owners. Ask used car dealer the resale values of merc vs Bimmer. And they will tell u Merc has better resale coz BMW's strategy is hurting resale values by dumping `Mgmt cars' after just a few months just so that they can register more cars. And of coz the extra 700 cars (300 from Asia Aerospace and 400 from IMF) with lower specs and thus cheaper px does help boost sales but in the long run, it will only cheapen the brand. You will seldom see such strategies adopted by C&C coz the target market are not affected by such gimmicks. Their ultimate aim is to protect the entire ownership experience. To me, the ple who drives an E Class are self-assured and confident of themselves. They r generally not affected by how ple think of them, and its takes a lot of confidence in oneself to be able to do that. They also know what they want. Now, before Bimmer driver comes whacking me, I have to state that I'm Bimmer in itself is not a bad car, in fact its a darn good car. My post is targeted at those ple who think just becoz Merc is being used a a Taxi, so its got an image problem. I mean, if one wants to argue, strictly speaking the 730iA was also used as a Taxi wat, during the IMF to ferry so many delegates . And you're rite to point out that Bimmer is winning engine awards but so wat? engine alone doesnt make a car, i'm sure u're smart enuf to know that. Its the overall package and ultimately as mentioned before, its wat u want in a car. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatch_lover Neutral Newbie October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 vblaster_w211, u must try the FL W211, its flatter round the corners And its true its not as dynamic as a 523iA but it was never intended to be, i suppose. Its meant for ple who appreciate ultimate comfort with good handling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magfocus 5th Gear October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 Actually, thats true. I would rather have the FL W211 now Don't know if its the facelift, but it seems smaller visually, perhaps due to the nose job? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
W210k 1st Gear October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 There is another thread on Mercedes quality issues in MCF. http://www.mycarforum.com/forum/gforum.cgi...=w210k;#1560488 Here are my very own bad experience in owning a Merc, as posted in the above thread: Yes, I can attest to that! I sold off my E200 Kompressor after just 1.5 years (bought it brand new). I don't think I will touch another MB again,for quite some time. Though claimed to be "Made in Germany", the E200 Kompressor sucks big time. - False alarm: SRS Airbag malfunction ... try as they might, many times, C&C workshop cannot rectify. They even suggested disconnecting the alarm. Geesh! What if it was for real? - Brake groan when moving along start/stop traffic, each time you release to move and then again, when you press to stop. - Parking brake squeak each time you come out of, or get into, the car. - Car roof is like a zinc roof when it rains, especially under the large tree canopies along SG roads. Very hollow pinging sound. Even worse than "lesser" cars I have owned like Alfa Romeo, VW etc. which give off a more silenced 'thud'. - Previous model's battery is under the rear passenger seat. Thus each time the battery has to be accessed, you will get dirty, oily hand marks all over the leather seat bench (which has to be removed to access the battery). - Sudden loss of power while accelerating and dash board lights blink like a Christmas tree (even though its in the day time, and the main light switch is turned OFF!). Problem traced to poor grounding connection at the rear light cluster. - A vibrating/rattling sound at the steering wheel stalks, each time I signal left to turn while on the move. - Drive shaft groan when I reverse with the steering wheel at full turn. And I am talking about a brand new car here. - Previous-gen 2.0L 4-cylinder Kompressor engine is noisy like hell, especially on early morning starts. I have even got colleagues who jokingly asked if mine was a diesel engine, when I roll down the windows to insert cash card at manual car park entrances. - Water condensation build-up in fog lights early in life. - Poor bonnet design which has a grilled slot across the breadth of it (for water drainage?), but which also attracts small leaves to accumulate and plug the damn thing. Very difficult to remove, even with a pressure jet. - Had to replace all 4 brake rotors due to warping within less than a year. I was told that I sprayed water while the rotors were still hot. But then, I did not get the same problem with my other cars (conti as well as Japanese) by washing the wheels the same way. - Rear suspension squeak each time I go up a road hump. Enuf said! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zrun Neutral Newbie October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 (edited) From my personal experience driving e39 530i vs e320. It is obvious that e320 is a standard better than 5 series. E320 is surefooted and stable at high speed, much more luxurious and quieter interior. I'm not sure how much the 5 series improved in the current version. There are very serious issues with e39 as well, as I researched about buying one. Mainly to do with weakness in the cooling system, thermostat housing and water pump. One of those failure will cause your car to be out of service (all coolant drained), or destroy your engine(overheat or water pump impeller fragments). The 2004 E320 I test driven has serious brake problems. Maybe it is air in the system, or unbalanced front/rear distribution. Edited October 8, 2006 by Zrun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolie888 Clutched October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 And I can add onto W210K's experience with real problems faced by Merc owners all in other parts of the world. Its not just that one example from Singapore. That to me is not a lemon. Since there are so many more, and the thread starter's reference (USA only) showed a very long list already of Mercedes Benz problems and dissatisfied customers. What happens when we include owners' feedback from Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, South America and Canada? No wonder MB is losing significant global market share over the last decade! This is just for the E-Class only: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Betty writes: I have a 2003 E320 with an upgraded audio system. The system has failed 8 times despite technical adjustments by the dealer. I have discovered that this is a known problem with the 2003 e model that I was not made awre of when I purchased the car 11/03. The software fix offered by MB still does not fix the problem. I am now being told Mercedes has no option for fixing the problem except for me to bring the car in each time it fails or learn to rest the audio. I refuse to be taught to fix my own car. Right now that's just about every 100 miles. That is a costly proposition for me and totally unacceptable resolution. I am utterly frustrated and disgusted. The problem is not the dealer, it's the manufacutrer. I like the car-but I am too frustrated with the defect to enjoy it, I have less than 5,000 miles on the car. Is there any recourse for me? I want to get rid of this car. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arousiak writes: I have leased my E320 2003 model in August of 2002. Loved it and had no problems. When the car was due for it's first oil change I took it to Rusnak Pasadena and they changed the oil and 3 days later I got on the freeway and the breaks went off on me. I had no way to stop the vehicle. I wanted to return the car back to the dealer and they would not accept it back, so I had to hire an attorney. I nearly died driving an E320 2003.. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nancy writes: I own a Jade Black 2003 E-320. At this point, the best thing I can say about it is that it's a beautiful color! I had planned to buy a new vehicle which the dealer, Leith Mercedes in Raleigh, NC, said was in stock at their other location. They then called and said it was not a new car, but a demo. I agreed to purchase it, thinking a Mercedes with 5,000 miles on it wasn't even broken in. Now begins the saga: When I picked up the vehicle, the Tele-Aid was not working. Nor was the backing-up feature of the outside passenger-side mirror. OK. Had them fixed. Next thing: Dashboard lights up with "take car for service immediately" or some such thing. I call, they send a flatbed for the vehicle (I live 2-1/2 hours from the dealership). I was going away for a week or so, and thought the car would be ready upon my return. No such luck. In all fairness, I did have other items on my list. As long as they had it, I thought I'd get everything done at once. The sunroof, when tilted and with the vented shield closed, whistled like mad. This was replaced. The car drifts to the right - still does. The ambient lighting had taken on a life of its own; the lights under the outside rearview mirrors did not come on; the analog clock did not match the dashboard clock. To make a long story short, they had my car for 3 weeks! Aboout the middle of the second week, they arranged a rental car for me. Now: The car has now been at the dealer for 2 weeks with a failed A/C system; the sun roof is whistling again; the car still pulls to the right; the ambient lighting AND the windshield wipers have taken on their own life; and the lights under the outside rearview mirrors are not working! In the 2 weeks the vehicle has been there, I have received 1 phone call to clarify an item on my list and 1 phone call to inform me that my rear tires are down to the wearbars ~ at 18,000! What??? "Well, the car is very heavy and the tires wear out rapidly." Needless to say, I am less than happy with this vehicle and do consider it a big, fat LEMON! After reading the other comments posted about this vehicle ~ especially the ones about plastic an aluminum parts ~ I'm getting very uneasy. I drive long distances alone and not always in populated areas. I think my next problem will be the transmission, as it jumps at low speed, such as when driving slowly in parking lots looking for a space. I have asked the dealer for a free extended warranty. They "will get back to me" on that. So far, I have not heard a word! I have also posted my complaints at the government's highway safety and transportation website. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Todd writes: I recently bought an 1999 E320 from a private party. After owning it for about 8 months, my catalyic coverters started making a rattling noise, so I took it in for warrently service. Much to my suprise I was told (by the service manager) that my car have been deemed a "status 8" and that the warrently had been voided (by MB). I soon found out that status 8 meant that MB reported the car totaled (sometime early on in the cars life) and because of that they would not cover any warrenty issues. I have asked for in writing of who and why it's been tagged with the death penalty. I asked two weeks ago and I'm still waiting. I have it hard to believe that a toteled car was not reported to the DMV or CarFax! Now I'm faced with a $2,500 bill (2 converters now!. After complaining to everybody at the dealership and MB corp, they now tell me that will cover the catalytic covers, but unfortunity the converters show signs of abuse. By abuse they mean that there are "scatches" on them and MB does not cover abuse under warrently. I forced the dealer to show me what MD meant by abuse and they showed me a bulleton showing converters that look like someonw took a hammer to them. Compared to the pictures, mine look brand new!! It appears they are determined not to cover this repair. This is my first MB and it looks like it will be my last. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John writes: I have a 2003 E class automobile. The car has steered to the right from the day I drove out of the showroom. I have already replaced 3 main computers, which MB likes to simply call the "cluster". The mileage sucks. I get 10 mpg in the City and 17 on the highway. I am a slave to gas stations. Talk about false advertising! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vicki writes: I have a 1999 E320 4matic wagon. I am the original owner and the car has a measly 37,000 miles on it after five years. Recently, the car caught fire in my garage in the middle of the night. Had it not been for a smoke detector in the garage, the entire house may have burned. We contact MB and were told that if it was a part failure, they "would take care of it." Just today, over a month after the incident, we were informed that, yes, it was a factory part failure and yes, it was their responsibility, but too bad, they are not going to do anything about it. So now my $50,000 car is a heap of melted metal. Great customer service. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mary writes: I have wanted to own a Mercedes since I began driving years ago. I recently purchased an E320 and it has been nothing but trouble so far. I have owned this car (bought it used) for only 2 months. The 1st month the rear left window ceased to operate - had to have the regulator replaced. Two weeks later, the rear right window would not operate - guess what... the regulator needs replaced. This car was barely driven and is only 6 years old. I had the car thoroughly inspected by my mechanic before I purchased it and it received a clean bill of health. These are things that the mechanic nor the owner would be able to predict. I am very disappointed that a vehicle of this stature and expense would have these problems already and one right after the other. There have been other minor problems as well - problems with the auto. door opener, the radio acts up on occasion - nothing too serious. I also own a Jeep Cherokee that is 7 years old and has over 100,000 miles on it that I have had very little trouble with and believe me, I paid just a few dollars more for the Jeep new than I did for this used Mercedes. This purchase is leaving a very bad taste in my mouth with regards to Mercedes Benz, and reading the other info. on this site makes me believe that MB will not help me in any way. I will try to reach someone at either MB or a dealer to see if there is anything that can be done, because this is costing me an arm and a leg so far and I've only had the car 2 months. I'm so very disappointed with this vehicle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ravi writes: I live on an island in the dutch caribbean, I was the first person to order the new mb E320 2003, It was a great feeling, its was a Friday in September 2002, That I got delivery of my brand new E320. The very first day the Audio systems failed, Did not think much about it, drove the car that weekend, with no audio, monday morning sent the car was in the garage. Got it the following day audio working. Hoping that would be it, thats was just the begining of my nightmares with this car. To cut the long story short, The car has been to the Garage at least 10 times, for all kinds of problems, even today as I write this letter, my car has been in the garage for the past 3 weeks, Some electrical problem A part needs replacement, Thats the biggest problem living on an island, they never stock any parts. So I have wait till the part arrives. I paid US $75K the damn car, I think it has spent more time in Garge being fixed than it has in my driveway. I'm upset, agrravated & feel cheated. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Evon writes: It saddens me to say that I am the proud owner of a 1998 E320 lemon. The car is just 5 years old and the transmission just "dropped" without any warning. This car has less than 100,000 miles. This has resulted in a $4150.00 repair! and guess what, I still have a monthly car payment for this vehicle. I am so disgusted with this car. Mercedes has really let me down. After dowing some additional research, I have found out that this is a problem with other E320 owners. So beware, if you should notice any transmission problems (stalling, slipping, jerking, etc) start looking at trade-in options while the car is still operable. I should have kept my BMW! I will never buy another Mercedes product. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Patty writes: My Ownership Experience...SPECIAL ORDERED E320 CABRIOLET CONVERTIBLE PAID OVER 77K AT SMYTHE MERCEDES IN SAN JOSE, CA. MY CAR IS PAID OFF. NEVERTHELESS I HAVE EXPERIENCED AND PAID THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR REOCCURRING PROBLEMS FROM DAY ONE. GOOD THING I KEPT A FILE ON ALL THE REPAIRS. BECAUSE WHEN I RECENTLY PERSONALLY MET WITH MANAGER TO DISCUSS REPAIRS I WAS TOLD THEY CONVIENENTLY LOST MY REPAIR FILE. AFTER SPENDING OVER 4600.00 ON TOP WHEN TOP STOPPED WORKING I CALLED THEM AND THEY NOW REFUSE ME SERVICE IN GENERAL. I WOULD LIKE TO SUE THEM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ann writes: I purchased my first MB in April 2004. She is a Starmarked 1999 E430, beautiful. I purchased the 2 year extended warranty - thank God! Since the purchase date the following isssues have occured: 1. Cracking and Popping of Front Seat - $780 to repair - declined repair. 2. Airbag sensor replaced. 3. Rear Left Window regulator replaced. 4. Harmonic Balance went. Too many items repaired due to this issue to detail here. 5. Rear Diffarential (sp) Leaking - replaced. 6. Two lights have burned out. It has been only 5 months. I am heartbroken. This is the first "nice" car that I have purchased. My husband and I reside in Southern CA and it is everything that we can do to pay the mortage and the monthly bills. I feel cheated. I am going to have to sell her before the three years of warranties are up. Lexus here I come. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jenny writes: I'm so glad to find your website, and finally knowing that I am not the only unsatisfied customer. I have a 2000 E320, which I had no problems until recently. The fuse on the circuit that controls the elctronic system, including the navigation, CD, radio, the steering wheel controls, and the horn, keeps blowing out. At first, it seems like a small problem. However, I've been back to the dealer for the 5th time, and the problem is still not resolved. They insisted that the car had no problems when they had it. They even test drive the car for over 200 miles and could not re-creat the problem. However, every time after I leave the shop, within 24 hours and less than 40 miles, the fuse will blow again. The attitude of the MB service team is very aggravating and I think they really can careless the problems. Like other MB customers, I bought the car for safety reasons, less repair, and higher quality customer service. After reading the other genuine complaints, I am probably better at buying another car. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wes writes: I purchased a new Mercedes Benz 2003 E320 in January 2003. I quickly went from the feeling of having a quality dependable car to knowing I had a $58,000 piece of junk. I was polite for 12 months, and followed all the service procedures of Park Place Mercedes and Mercedes Benz. Every time something broke, I took the car in and took my loaner car for 1-8 days and just waited for them to do the repairs. Six months ago, I began calling more then just the dealership to complain about the problems with the car, I started calling Mercedes Benz corporate customer complaint center in New Jersey @ 1-800-367-6372. They sent out their regional mechanic to review the car and he found a few electrical components on that car that were failing and had to be replaced as well as, he did a "flash upgrade" to every computer system in the car that could be upgraded. Then, they gave it back to me and said, "We are confident, you shouldn't have anymore problems with your car". Since then, a valet left my car light on and the battery died, MB roadside service came out and jumped my car and told me leave it running for 45 minutes to recharge. I did, after using the car for 3 days, the car went into powersave mode again on its own. It seems that the MB 2003 E320, is not able to fully recharge its own battery, once it has been discharged beyond a certain level. I took the car in, because I was getting power failure warnings on the screen. They took the battery out of the car and recharged it on a machine, then put it back into the car and told me everything would be fine now, they could not explain why the car could not recharge its own battery, but they found nothing wrong with the battery or the cars recharging system, even though the discharged battery warning was on the dash screen when the Park Place service department checked the car in and I showed the warning message to them. Since then, all interior lights have failed once, but the dealership says they have no explanation for the interior power failure, but everything seems fine. Also, my parktronics go off every time it rains, they have been replaced once and still do the following, if I drive slow in the rain, the double red warning lights come on and they buzz solid. The double red warning lights are only supposed to come on, once you actually run into a solid object. This is in addition to the paint washing off my parktronic the first time I was in a rainstorm and was left with bare copper circles on my front bumper that the dealership had to repaint. My throttle control system failed earlier this year which left me sitting in the middle of multiple intersections and in front of other moving traffic, with a 20 second delay on acceleration, that turned out to be a short in the throttle electronics. The main computer in front has been replaced once, the computer in back, has been replaced twice, my stereo system has been replaced multiple times, for a "popping noise" in temperatures of between 89-92 degree and complete fiber optics failure in the car at 92 degrees with a warning on the radio display, of the fiber optics failure to communicate to the rest of the car. I have had a special fan installed in the Audio Gateway to allow it to run in outside temperatures in excess of 89 degrees. The CD player has seized up once and they had to force it open to get my CDs out to put a new CD player in it. One of my key fobs also failed this year, they replaced the battery once, and then, the second time, they gave up and ordered a key fob. My complete instrument panel has been replaced once due to "unexplained error messages" according to the MB Regional Technical. My MB SOS system has deactivated itself twice in the past 12 months and I had to call MB assistance to have them connect to my car and reactive the system remotely. Mercedes Benz has offered $10,000 toward a trade-in, because of my never ending electrical failures in the car and the dealership has offered to sell me another car at invoice, but they still want me to pay another $5,000 another car and sign a new 4 year lease, since a new Mercedes looses $20,000 in value in the first year. Here is the kicker, they gave me another car (2004 E320) to test drive and consider as my replacement car for the lemon car, but when I took it for the test drive, the passengers electronic seat was broken and would not turn off, once the pulse button was touched. The only way to stop the seat, was to turn the car off!!!. This has led me to sue Park Place Mercedes and Mercedes Benz to terminate my lease and assume all depreciation costs and release me from this Mercedes Benz nightmare. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael writes: My 2001 E320 4Matic is my first (and last) Mercedes. While there is much I love about this car (4Matic, engine, transmission, features, safety, ride and handling), the quality is abysmal. In 2years and 34K miles, I have had the following problems: fog lamp replaced twice; grill replaced-plastic flaking off!; center console replaced twice (top and bottom would not work independently); Passenger side mirror replace 4 times-gets cloudy - dealer blames car wash; center cup holder cover wouldn't close- replaced; Drivers side mirror switch failed and replaced. New brake pads at 32K, OK, but dealer wanted to replace rotors as they were at 24mm, just inside spec (let the next guy do that) Dealer wanted to replace air filter for $140 at 32K (I had them blow out the old one) Dealer wanted to replace serpentine belt at 32K for $176 PLUS labor (again, the next guy can do that) I really wanted to love this car. Just can't. No way a 60K plus car should be less reliable than the cheapest Toyota or Honda. If I had the electrical gremlins so many report, I'd really be ballistic. What a shame to see a great brand go so bad, so fast. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jerry writes: I have a 1998 E320 4matic...at 92000 the harmonic balancer "self-destructed". After some searching on the internet I found this has been an on-going problem for E320 engines. Now, the HIT...The repair bill was quoted as $1600...$275 for the part and the balance, $1325 to remove the oil pan, put new gasket material ($3.00) and re-install the oil pan. My dealer, Indianapolis, stated it was so high because of having to remove several front end parts to get to the oil pan. I tried to get some relief from the service manager, no luck...ask for MB number...called, received a very arrogant response, "the car has 92000 miles, no help", we support the dealers' service manager...I truly believe they took the attitude they did because I refuse to pay $250 to $400 to get the "oil changed" and "lube the door hinges" etc...you know the rest of the story. What was really interesting was the fact that the service manager asked me if I had been having my car serviced regularly at the dealership. My response was no, for obvious reasons but I had an independant repair center do every recommended maintenance required and had all the bills to prove it. It then stated that because I had not supported them it did not feel it could support me. He had the autonomy to help defray part of the $1600 if he wanted to. NO MORE MB FOR ME EITHER... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yarek writes: 01 Merz E320 wagon 4 matic 24 K miles, my both front power head rests dont work! ongoing problem, front driver seat is squiking, engines sometimes dies on the morning. thank you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert writes: My Ownership Experience. Well it's like this. I leased a 1998 E320 which had 42k miles 2 years ago when I signed the lease agreement in this time which is coming up on 2 years. I have had the following issues go wrong with this great piece of German Ingenuity or lack there of. First the drivers side window gets stuck every now and then and plays the game of half way up and half way down with me, this goes on for several hours until the ghosts of the Motherland find another mercedes victom to haunt. Next was my air conditioner compressor went KAPUT when cost me about $900 to fix, keep in mind my window is still haunted to this day. next came my drivers side mirror that just completely collasped when going through a harmless brushless car wash "Survey says" cough up an additional $400 to replace it. Hold on now because the real juicy stuff is about to hit the fan. The rear trunk release inside the car one day decides to just snap off in my hand when I went to unlock the trunk from the inside... SURVEY SAYS cough up $200. Now its spring time in Charlotte,NC and all I wanted to do was open up my moonroof, oh no it only opens up half way, just like my passenger side window HOW IRONIC!!! The track needs to be replaced SURVEY SAYS $600. AHHHH but wait there is so much more.... last but certainly not least at 104K miles the Ghosts of the Gastapo have invaded my transmission and torque converter this is after I told the Mercedes Benz dealership that I'm hearing a strange noise coming from the rear of my car and I'm pretty sure its the transmission, the response I was given twice was there is nothing wrong with your transmission sir! SURVEY SAYS $4600 for a rebuilt transmission and torque converter. I've owned 2 Acura 3.5 RL's as well as a Lexas LS 400 all three cars had 130K to 150K before I turned them in and guess what nothing more was EVER needed than tires, brakes, oil changes and a coolant flush oh yes and tires. So after Mercedes Benz Credit picks up this piece of junk that still has 2 years left on ! My lease, which I will not pay for unless they pay for the transmission, I shall march down to the wonderfull ACURA or LEXAS dealerships and get myself into a new car, never will I buy a MERCEDES BENZ in this life time again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eduardo writes: This is my first an last MB. What a disappointment. I've had this 2003 E for only 3 months and it's been in the shop 4 times to get an alignment problem fixed, to no avail (car pulls to the right). Dealer keeps teeling me the car's "within specs". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mona writes: I happen to know first hand how Mercedes Benz (MB) does business. I am having similar problems with my 1997 E420. I purchased the car in 1999 with 15K miles. I have always had scheduled maintenance.I have had the back window to stall four separate times. The first two times were within the first year of ownership. The service rep said there was a design defect with the window and since the car was under warranty there was no problem. When I asked what my recourse was after the warranty was up, she replied, MB knows about the problem and would take care of it. I insisted that there should be an official recall in case MB changed its mind. The rep no longer works for MB and they have changed their minds and refuse to acknowledge these problems. I have had a/c problems, transmission problems, head lamp problems,and other issues. During my college years and early in my carrer, I owned a Honda Accord. The only maintenance performed on that car was the required oil changes and I drove it for seven years with no real problems. I am convinced that MB is too arrogant to admit that there is a problem with its vehicles. Maybe we should get together with the consumer protection agency of sort and have this matter reviewed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F.X.R. writes: Wow! I've read so many horror stories here. I thought it was only me. I'm the proud owner of a 1999 E320 4-MATIC, Black on Black, very nice "looking" car.... but what a bitch she is. I've barely crested six figs on the odo and she's just fallin apart. Pulled into the gas station one day in the July, accidentally hit the rear window button, before it was all the way down, I hit it to go back up, "click" window' no work no more'. Wouldn't have been so bad I guess, if it wasn't pouring rain and I were close to home! Why cry about this u ask? Look, the window regulators on these $50K cars are pieces of junk, plain & simple. I've replaced 3 of 4 and the 4th window goes down by itself for no apparent reason. But these minor reapairs I don't sweat really. What I really take issue with are the major drivetrain compnents and their "lack" of durability. Replacing my transmission was not a manitenance item I was planning on at little more than 100K miles. But when I spoke with the guy at the trans shop that rebuilt it for me, they said that certain important components within the trans are made out of plastic (not steel as in the earlier 90's 300E) I don't know, maybe I'm paranoid and think that everyone's conspiring, but I just find it difficult to believe that those German engineers designed the plastic components to save .3 lbs or $2 per car. To me it seems like transmission failure by design. Seems to me that they are moving away from the MB principles that built the company it's reputation for reliability and red-shifting to the Chrysler end of the specrtum. After much expense and much time in the shop, I got my E320 back, right before Thanksgiving. :- ) Christmas day, she broke down. :- ( Since my mechanic was on vacation, she sat in the shop a week & a half, then another week to fix. Mass airflow meter failure ($300 part). K, new mass air meter, pick her up, 5 miles later, check engine light. She's kinda buckin side to side as I sit at the light. "Are u mad at me?" she asks, "No baby, I'm not mad" I tell her, "we just gotta go back to the Dr., that's all" But I lied to her. I am mad! I'm f'in' pissed! Why she gotta do me like this? I've been so good to her. SO faithful! It's been 2 weeks and they still can't get her to turn off that damn check engine light. God only knows what kinds of tests they've run on her, what things have been replaced and she still won't compromise! I have a 92 300E 4MATIC, 220K miles, she has her quirks, but she's always been good to me. But the term "they don't make em like they used to" absolutely applies to MB and that's rather unfortunate. I admit it, I went for the 99 because I thought she was attractive. Sleek, curvy, sexy. And she has a great lineage. But she's shallow, skin deep. Nothing like her older sister. She may be faster, fancier, prettier, but she has no heart. And I think I'm gonna leave her, for a sexy Japanese girl named Lexus. "Good bye, nice to know you" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Doug writes: Brand New 2004 E-500..... I ordered the car Blk on Blk and the door handles came on the car the wrong color and it's over a month and it's still not right.....2nd thing is my backseat has a defect with the leather..... mind you this is a BRAND NEW CAR!!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dennis writes: This E500 is my third and last MB. Two days after delivery of this brand new car, the motor mount was found to be defective...sent to rental agency...driving a Chevy Malibu. Once that was fixed, brought it in for squealing brakes...was told, "you could replace the rotors and pads (for $700, my expense) or learn to live with the noise. Called MB customer service and was told, "Mercedes doesn't warranty the brakes". Love that whistling sound. Now an electronic module failed and I was told the part is in Germany and no one knows when it will get here. Sent to rental agency...driving a Ford Focus. Called MB customer service, "nothing we can do for you" Next car's a BMW. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tadikonda writes: I have read about engine oil sludge in 1998 through 2001 model Mercedes cars and the settlement which mercedes has reached with the litigants. i have had asimilar problem with my 1999 e240 and ended up with costly repairs. Mercedes UK flatly refused to help me and in fact have not disclosed this known fact as yet to customers in th UK. what would you suggest i do next? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tadikonda writes: I recently purchased a new 2004 E-320 Station Wagon. I had previously owned a 1999 E-320 and 2002 E-320 Station Wagon. People siting in the rear center seat are having extreme diffculty fastening their seat belt. We have several couples that we dine out with and none of the same people that set in the center rear seat of my 1999 or 2002 never had a problem fastening the seat belt. The problem appears to be the spring loaded female seat belt latch, when you attempt to latch the belt it forces the spring loaded female section to receid down slightly into the rear bottom seat cushion recess far enough that with the fulness of the back seat cushion in that area it obstructs the alignment and docking of the two. This is not just one person having a problem, every one who has sat back there has had the same problems latching the belts. So far Mercedes says that is the way they were designed and it is proper. Since the 2004 Wagon is a new design, it is my position that it is a design fault and a very serious safey problem. People should not have to fight and ask for help getting their seat belt fastened. I have had some say "Oh the heck with it, I don't need it". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jodie writes: I own a 1999 E 320 Mercedes Benz. Just like all of you I have experienced problems with this car. When I bought it last year (used), the air bag light was on, the dealer told me it would be a minor $60-70 repair. After, I bought the car, I realized that nobody but the Mercedes dealer can only fix this. I spent $550 to fix this ($100 for the part and 5 hours for labor when they took only 1 hour to do it). Two months later, one of the rear windows fell down, I took it to my mechanic and it was $200 to fix it. A week later, another one of my friends who bought a 1997 Mercedes E430 at the same time as me, his rear window fell down. Just 2 months ago, one of my brake lights went out, I haven't fixed that yet. Yesterday night, my car ran out of gas, and the 'Check Engine' light came on and is not going out. Not sure, how much the dealer is going to charge me to turn that off. The other car I own is a used 1993 Camry with 130,000 miles on it ,that I have owned for 3 years. Until today, I have not had any repairs for the car. Needles to say, I am trying to get rid of my Merc before I spend more money on repairing it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tony writes: Boy do I wish I knew about this website prior to getting my 2000 E430. It was a 1-owner lease-return with 33000 miles on it. Must be a creampuff right? Wrong. Within the first few months that I had the car, I had to get new brakes, a new steering rack (part of the rack-and-pinion mechanism), and the driver and passenger seat mounting bolts (what the??) all had to be replaced. Eight months into my ownership, the radiator had a crack and had to be replaced and the air conditioning stopped blowing cold air. Now, luckily, the above repairs were all done under warranty and I was given a loaner. But not exactly what I expected of a 3-year old MB that presumably cost over $55k brand new. Within 2 months after the warranty expired (and I am constantly kicking myself for NOT buying an extended warranty), I had an 02 sensor go out (at 48k miles!). 2k miles later, while starting a 300 mile drive home, my passenger rear window quit working and (similar to what I have read in other complaints on this site) dropped into the door. This was quite annoying. Then, literally less than 10 minutes later, the driver rear window did the same thing! This of course cost me a pretty penny at the MB dealer to fix (both window regulators failed). When I inquired as to how this could have happened, the dealer told me that this is "fairly common." Fairly Common?!?!?! On a 4-year old car with only 50k miles on it (not to mention an MB with a "reputation" for quality and reliability)? I once had a 1996 Dodge Lancer P.O.S. with over 100k miles on it that never had this problem! Moreover, my car also eats about a quart of oil every 1500 to 2000 miles. When I called the dealer, they explained that it is "within specs" as the car can eat up to 1 quart of oil every 866 miles. That may be their opinion, but seems quite absurd to me after owning 10 cars/trucks of various makes and never having an issue with any of them eating this much oil. So far, nothing has become of this except that every 1500 miles or so, I have to drop $5 for a quart of Mobil 1. Bottom line, I am sorely dissapointed in the lack of reliability of this vehicle. Growing up, I was always in awe of the MB marque and what it represented-legendary quality and reliability. After owning this car, it has proven to be a delusion after all (and I have only had it less than 18 months). I think that it is a shame that MB has let their quality control go. I think that it is a crime that they continue to command a premium for their problematic cars. I can't even get rid of this car without taking it in the pocket book as the resale value of this model has completely dropped. Suffice it to say, I will bypass the three-pointed star the next time that I am in the market for a car (and each time thereafter). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tony writes: Help! Mercedes Benz with rusted frame. My wife owns a 1997 E420 (87,300 miles) that has given us several problems over the years. We are very disappointed in this car. Our most recent problem concerns the driver's side front strut. Where the strut (lower housing) is attached to the frame of the car, it has completely rusted away. Amazingly, we have a friend living in another state with the exact same year and model (over 100,000 miles on her car) who experienced the exact same problem two months prior. Her strut seperated from the frame at the uppermost housing weld. When she contacted her local Mercedes dealer, she was informed that this was a known problem and since her car no longer had any warranty, the dealership would need to contact the Mercedes rep for help under a "customer relations" issue. Fortunately for her, Mercedes covered the whole repair. We are not so lucky. Although the dealership has been helpful, the Mercedes rep in my area is offering very little ($230) towards the repair. When I called Mercedes's Customer Relations number, I received a very abrupt blow-off. I would like to pursue the matter further, but am not sure which avenue to take. This is the very last Mercedes we will ever buy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave writes: I was side-swiped by a hit-and-run driver on the freeway and went into the other lane. My 1997 E320 was totalled (side fender gone, hood bent in the middle, etc).The two other cars sustained very little damage, one small Nissan Sentra and a small import truck.But my questions are as follows: why didn't my air bags go off, instead my face went into the steering wheel and incurred facial bruises and causing now more severe neck and facial muscle problems, mind you this accident happened last Friday (9-17-04). I though for usre my car being the largest of the others, would have been more damaged. Mine not only more badly damaged, the others a dent here and there, but nothing looking like mine. Everyone was able to drive away, I had a radiator split open, air bags not deploying, severe left and right driver's side damage and needed a tow to the MBZ garage. This happened in the State of CA (Glendale, CA) during rush hour going home on the 17th of Sept. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill writes: Shortly after buying my E420 (used, low mileage) a warning light activated. Beverly Hills service center told me not to worry, that the air injection (alternately referred to as "air induction") ports were clogged and that it would in no way affect the vehicle's performance. The rep told me that it happened to "some cars" and he didn't know what coused it. I was advised to stoically ignore the check engine light and drive on, since the repair would be in the thousands.Now that the Starmark warranty has expired the car will not pass a CA emissions test and the registration cannot be renewed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael writes: Let me just say I am completely dissappointed with my 1999 E320 and am wondering if this car is just a bunch of fluff that will soon be breaking. I bought the car with low miles and was a 1 owner lease return (less than 40K miles) and have had it for a short time now. Already, a converter needs replacing (car sounds like a diesel or sewing machine at idle - thankfully this is covered under federal emissions guidelines), the passenger side mirror will not move left to right($500 for a new mirror assembly)I have replaced 2 light bulbs, the right side passenger window makes a "clanking" sound when its operated (im waiting for that to break and cost me even more money. Im not really a complainer but this is obsurd especially since the car has less than 40K!!!! I drove/traded a 1997 Saab 900se convertible well over 100K miles and *never* had a problem with it - I really hesitated to get rid of it. Like many people, I did have the car checked out first before I bought it, and was ok, but of course the mechanics cannot predict things happening. This car was supposed to be the ultimate for me - and is anything but... I will certainly not purchase a new one with Chrysler's influence on it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David writes: I happen to own two (2) 1995 E 320 wagons and they have been the most costly cars I have ever had!I will refer to the cars as A & B due to the fact that they are identical except the color. I drove car A to Palm Springs last Summer to visit a friend. We were there for 5 days and did not use the car during our stay. On the day we left the temp was around 104 degrees. I got into the car, started the engine and let it warm up for a few minutes while I put the luggage into the cargo area. We got into the car and drove off. I switched on the air conditioning and got warm air. I waited about 10 minutes and still nothing. I pulled into the Palm Spprings Mercedes dealer and the service manager agreed to check it out.I received a call from him about three hours later and he informed me that the evaporator was leaking and that is why the a/c didn't work. I asked him how much and how long to fix this problem and he replied that he did not have one in stock and it would take two days and $2400.00 to complete the repair! I could not wait the extra days so we drove back to northern California in the heat. Once we were home I contacted my independent Mercedes mechanic and took the car to him for the repairs. He saved me some money but was still very expensive @ 1900.00.He showed me the part and I can see why it failed! It is made of aluminum NOT copper as it should be! Mercedes is very happy to have their parts made of poor quality materials in order to sell you a new one at an inflated price! You would think that the price you pay for one of these turds, they would at least see to it that the proper materials were used. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David writes: Our second E 320 developed a severe miss that would not go away no matter what was tried. First the engine wiring harness was replaced at at a cost of 1194.00. This is another poorly made part that literally just came apart! This helped but did not cure the miss and the low speed hesitation. The throttle housing was replaced along with the flywheel sensor and this was done at a cost of 1318.00. I would think that there should be a way to make these parts so the customer does not have to keep reaching into his/her pocket to keep these junkers on the road! We have two of these cars and we are in the process of selling both. I would never own another Mercedes unless the warranty was extended to 10 years or 100,000 miles! I am also advising everyone I know not to consider purchasing these problematic, expensive beasts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alice writes: I purchased a new 2003 E-500 in November 2002 (my first and last) and I have been to the dealer 12 times with only 16,000 miles on this car. First, my air bags did not deploy, then the CD player would get stuck (twice), cup holders did not work; lighter would not get hot; tele-aid did not work; radio went out; sunroof would only close 1 inch at a time; windshield wipers made a lot of noise; brakes squealed (dealer finally put on new rotors and brake pads), and numerous other little problems. I brouht this car because my son said Mercedes was a good car and reliable - so much for my son. I have been buying cars since 1966 and this is the worse. Right now I am waiting for a part for this car to be delivered to the dealer. My previous car was an SC 300 Lexus and I never had the problems with that car that I am now experiencing with Mercedes. Watch Out!!!!!!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Et writes: I own a 1999 e320 and have 130,000k miles. I am glad I found this site, so I can show my wife that I was right, and that I was not crazy. I new that MB had a problem with the electrical (window) regulator. I've had it happen twice in the back and now the front drivers side has the problem. Instead of paying the $$ to fix, I use my remote key to bring the window up (hold down the lock icon for 10 seconds and the window will go up. The problem is in the switch at the console and not the window motors. I've had this car almost 6 years and have brought the windows down only 4 times on purpose. Other problems that have happend have been the air conditioner compressor (covered by star mark warrenty; brake light and one headling bulb alway going out consistently ( I just don't replace it anymore (why deal with the head ache - If a cop pulls me over -- then I'll replace it. I agree with everyone that the dealership people are freakin' jerks who are only there to rip off the MB owners - They always charge you 250 - 300 percent labor over the cost of the part. If a part cost 100 $$ they charge you 400 $$ labor to repair, and their 10,000 service is a joke - 200-250 for replacing oil and maybe the air filter. I stopped all that none sense, at 60,000 miles an never looked back. I have gone -using synth oil at an average of change 10-15 k miles without any problems. Who cares if the service light is "on". My car runs as good as the day I bought. I've had the "check engine" light come on - this happen when gas was at $ 2.75 for premium, so I put regular unleaded (just wanted to see how car ran -- did not run as good). I ran my tank down to 1/4 full, filled it up back with premium gas and added a injection fuel cleaner and that was end of the check engine light. I have had 3 brake jobs (pads and 2 rotars for front). As much as I love the smoothe ride of my MB, I won't by another one. I don't want to buy a new car, who wants to start over paying at least $500 month for the next five years? I'll continue to drive this baby to bone- 130,000 K going for 250,000 k. If I have to pay for repairs, I won't go MB to fix!! I found a MB repair shop the does work for 1/2 to 3/4 cheaper that those scum bags. Anyway, driving down the road.. hoping my transmission does fall out!!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dana writes: I purchased a 2001 E320 Wagon new, and it has been the pits! My service record is 11 pages long and the only response I get from MB is that the technology is so advanced that their tech.s are even having difficulty keeping up. Believe that? I want to get out of this car but I am sure to be upside down on the payments b/c the car is only two years old. I'm so frustrated! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Christian writes: I purchased a new E270 CDI Avantgarde in April. This is a lovely car to drive except it has developed an electrical fault that puts the vehicle into protection mode. This means that it looses power and will not go above 2000RPM and jumps to top gear. This is highly inconvenient and dangerous especially when you are over taking with on coming traffic. This fault has happened four times to me and once with my mother both when the engine has been hot and cold. However, if you turn the ignition off the computer resets and the car returns to normal. On one occasion where this happened I was almost killed on a country road near Swindon, uk. I drove the vehicle in protection mode from Swindon to Green Oaks Mercedes in Slough, uk (the closest garage I knew) and had the car examined by the work shop. They said they thought the fault was a turbo sensor that was giving false information to the engine management system. They replaced this and I went on my way assuming things where fixed. The problem then reoccurred and I placed the car in the care of Lancaster, Ipswich, uk Mercedes, for a service and check. The check was inconclusive but I thought I would give it the benefit of the doubt and see if the service resolved it. However, the problem reoccurred and the car has now spent two weeks under going tests at Ipswich. The results of these tests are also inconclusive as there are no electrical errors in the engine management system. I then booked it into my local garage Beaconsfield, uk where they believe it may be a sticking value on the inlet manifold. Again nothing was found. When you buy a Mercedes Benz you look for a safe reliable vehicle. Unfortunately this product has failed on both counts and Mercedes Benz would be better ensure that the occupants are safe rather than protecting the engine and gearbox. I have video proof of the vehicel being in protection mode and I'm thinking of suing mercedes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peter writes: I recently purchased a mercades benz 1998 E430 with 38,000 miles. I reached 60 thousand miles my air bag sensor when on Seat sensor went bad and charged me $450.00 to fix it $100 was the part and 3hrs labor come on lets get real thats such a rip-off. and my cataltic converter was no good. Figures my warranty was up and mercades did not wanna fix it. I could not believe a mercedes has these problems with such less milage.How does a catalitic converter go at 60,000 miles. Im truely disappointed with my vehicle. I should of thought twice before purchasing this car. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phil writes: I purchased a new 2003 e320 in October 2002.At first i was very excited to receive my new vehicle.That excitement turned to misery only 1 day after i drove the car home. My wife went to use the car and coudn't get the seat belt to realease from its retracted position.i brought the car back to the dealer and it took 3 days to correct the problem.I drove the car for approx 1 week and an indicator light alerted me to the fact my abs and srs was not functioning.This was attributed to a Gateway failure that took 3 weeks to fix.The third insult came a month later when I started hearing an annoying knock coming from the rear of the car.This was the 3rd or 4th trip back to the dealer in as many months as i had the car.At first they told me it was a loose heat shield.After driving the car out of the service area and getting on a fairly uneven road the thumping was still evident.I scheduled another appointment and started to get that sinking feeling of not making the right choice in buying this vehicle.On the Fifth service the thumping was identified as 2 defective rear shocks.This took almost 4-5 months to sort out.My latest outrage is having to pay $720.00 for brake pads front and rear,without rotors.I only have 21,500 miles on the OD.All of the other premium brand cars i have owned went atleast 30,000 and it would only be the front pads needing replacement.I just brought the car in for an oil change and a brake recall.I like Mercedes slogan "Service like any other" Should be "Service worse than any other"My partner has an ML 350 and he is also having his hands full fixing problems. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NFrancis writes: 1998 E320 - bought in 2000 First 30 days of ownership - belts fall part; during repair brake was noted to be really bad. Dealer issue. 3 months of ownership: AC stop working - $1,000; alignment bad - $100+; antiskid light kept going on - lights replaced in the back $200+; 11/20/03 Check Engine went on and off; took to the dealer $95 to do diagnostic-dealer can't find problem ask for authorization of $280 more dollars--told them to stop -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John writes: The article in the October 27, 2003 issue of FORTUNE by Alex Taylor III, "Mercedes HITS A POTHOLE," reflected my sentiments, but maybe not as strongly as I'd put it. My 2000 E320 four-door sedan is a piece of junk! I've owned a number of other kinds of cars and this one is the worst! From the beginning things began to go wrong. Though I complained to the company there was never even a word of solace for what they've put me through. My Mercedes seems to have a Sixth Sense; it knows when my wife and I are planning to drive more than 100 miles from home. Then something goes wrong. I've had pieces fall off, the air and the heat not work properly, windows that wouldn't roll back up, brakes nearly failing, and little nuisance things ad nauseum. Now, sensing that I have to drive to Bakersfield the "Check Engine" light has come on. Again! I had that fixed in September before leaving on a trip. Since then, it has come on twice - then in a few days, as I'm ready to have the dealer's service people look at it - it goes off again! Both times as I'm getting ready for longer drives from home. Most unreliable car I've ever owned! No wonder the Asians are winning this battle. They build quality into their vehicles. I tell everyone who admires the looks of my E320 that it's a "pretty hunk of junk" and go into the details on why they should never buy one of them. It's like having bought shares of that fraud WorldCom/MCI - no quality - nothing behind it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for vistiting this Consumer Warning for: Mercedes Benz USA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolie888 Clutched October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 More problems ... this time for the C-Class: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- JJ writes: My impression of MB: if your a C Class owner - you're a second class citizen....never mind that some of us think that $32,300 is allot of money to pay for a car. After 18 pages of documented 'repairs'(some - 4 times for the same issue; 65 total repair hours billed under warrenty; in the shop for over 30 days within a 1 year period)...3 test drives with the Dealership's tech's and letters to MBUSA - all with the standard 'corporate-your-just-a-number' reply...I've had it - am suing under the Lemon Law...I'll keep the site posted...I WILL NEVER BUY A MB AGAIN. SOME of the issues: Interior Trim - excessive rattles and squeaks coming from the doors,headliner, A, B and C pillars - and the sunroof (rub a styrofoam cooler and its lid together - basically what it sounds like...). Phone - sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. Leather cracking - seat & steering wheel. Seat - squeaks (allot) - oh yea and the backing is falling off on one... Pwr. Steering pump defective. During cold (damp) conditions - car spudders at start-up. 6-Speed manual - gummy for lack of a better term. Etc., etc., etc.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paula writes: I too am extremely disapointed with the 2002 C240 I purchased. The first month my battery was found to be faulty and was replaced after the lights would not go out. Soon after that, the driver's electric door/window motor had to be totally replaced because it would not close; On another occassion; the front and rear lighting sytem had to be rewired because the lightbulbs kept going out; Later, the front instrument panel stopped lighting up & I was told I needed a new radio; recently; the bulbs have gone out again and my fuel tank stays on empty even though I just filled up the tank! The heating system has never worked properly; the lower heating system overheats & burns my feet when I drive and the uppper vents don't work at all! The passenger door needed new molding because the it kept popping out and stopped the door from closing; That was replaced once & I am experiencing the problem again 2 months later. At 30,000 miles I had to replace the front brake pads, which I am told is normal - who knows? Although the car looks good, it is not what I expected of MB & I am sorry to say that I too have made terrible and expensive mistake. I purchased the extended warranty to protect myself further almost a year into the car- which was very costly but until I can unload this car, felt it the safest thing to do. I owned 3 Honda's before this & never had any problems. I thought I was "moving up" - HA!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jennifer writes: It all started one sunny afternoon in late August of 2002 when I purchased my 2003 C230 Kompressor Coupe. I was actually at the BMW dealership earlier that day looking at the 325i Convertible and decided I should check out what's new in the Mercedes line-up. I wish I never did! From the moment I drove the vehicle off the lot, there was something wrong with it. The steering wheel pulled to the right. The service advisors at the dealership told me it was because of the Z tires and the road design that makes the car pull to the right. I don't think so... I shared that statement with friends who are auto tech/collision professionals and they laughed. Next, there was the hesitation I experienced when I accelerated, the check engine light would go off and on at will, the O2 sensor has been replaced more times then I care to share, the cupholder broke twice, and there's been numerous other issues that I would have to look at my service reports to share, and, the car only has 17,000 miles on it. All total the car has been in the dealership for approximatley 40+ days on 4 separate occassions. Actually, as I am writing this, it's at the dealership again for some of the same problems I mentioned earlier. The loaner vehicles are always filthy, the last one I had to have detailed because it was so bad. My attorney filed a Lemon Law complaint with Mercedes but informed me that cases against Mercedes are the toughest to win. I will NEVER buy a Mercedes Benz product again! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John writes: I owned a 2000 C280 Sport for about three years. The car was continuously in the shop for various mechanical and electrical repairs. I went through three instrument clusters, two control units for the raido (which never did work correctly), and many many other varried reparis. When I finally sued MB and received the service paperwork performed under warranty, through discovery, I discovered that the dealership had charged back over $14,000 to MB for warranty work on my car. I wonder what the same work would have cost me? Unfortunately, after about $12,000 in attorney's fees I was out of money and forced to settle. Their strategy seems to be to run up your legal bill so high you can't afford to go to court and therefore have to settle. If anyone is considering suing MB under the lemon law, make sure you start with a pile of cash first. I was able to claim a moral victory since after repairing the car, paying my attorney fees, and paying their attorney fees, MB surely spent more than the car originally cost. Unfortunately, most of that money went to the lawyers. Shortly after setteling with MB I sold the car and bought a used 2003 Buick Century. It seems that the $12,500 Buick was ranked much higher on the reliability studies than the $39,000 Mercedes. As for the resale value of Mercedes, don't believe the hype; I was offered $8,000 by the Mercedes dealership for trade on a 3 year old $39,000 vehicle. Fortunately I was able to sell it on my own for just over $12,000. That still represents $9,000 per year in depreciation alone. Then there are the $500 oil changes and the endless list of broken crap I had to pay to fix. I had a bumper sticker made that read "All parts falling off this vehicle are the finest in German craftsmanship", but my attorney reccomended removing it before I brought the car in for repair. Since my purchase of the Buick I have not even been to the dealership. Oil changes at Jiffy Lube are $20 rather than $500, and the car runs great on regular gas. Save youself endless expense and frustration. Resist the allure of the star. Never, ever purchase a Mercedes Benz. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peter writes: I recently purchased a 2003 c240 sedan from walters mercedes benz. I am 20 years old and was more then elated to have purchased such a reliable vehicle. With that said I am now 9000 miles into my driving experience and have been left dissapointed in more ways then one. I have suffered constant key problems, one blown out tire that my service department asked me to take care of at the michelin service center because they had no new tires on hand, transmission issues, not to mention two brake problems. I am haunted by a sneaking suspicion that I made the incorrect choice in purchasing this car over other makes. I resolve my worry by coming to the conclusion that I am 20 and my buisiness shows no sign of slowing I hope to make my first million by the age of 25 and will never again share any of my profitability with mercesedes benz they have lost one client and turned me into walking talking anti advertisment of their product. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ernestine writes: NEVER Buy/Lease a Mercedes. I leased my '03 C230k from the House of Imports not even 10 months ago & have had numerous saftey issues with this car (14k miles currently). I am currently sending a letter to the factory, NHTSA, all dealerships where it's been serviced as well as where I leased it from. This is NOT a luxury vehicle nor a safe vehicle. I will only post the most critical issues because there are too many to write here. I was driving on a busy street and the vehicle completely shut off 5 different times, luckily no one smacked into the back of my car. There was no warning of this nor did it read any malfunction. Dealer said there was a cylinder misfire & was questioning me whether or not I put in the premium fuel, as if the mistake were mine. The car lacks acceleration, which could be critical if trying to pass another car. Car shakes OUT OF CONTROL after sitting for over an 8hr time period, was told the Flash Unit needed to be updated by Mercedes programming. Problem still occured yet now the "check engine" light remains on. Let the car sit for 3hrs, start the car and the rpm's go up to 6000, thankfully the car was in park otherwise I would have driven full speed through a business shop. The engine sounded as if it were about to blow. On a trip to Palm Springs in the summer had the a/c turned high, there was a malfunction error saying to get the vehicle to a service station immediately. Could not use the a/c in 100 degree weather. This car is of very poor quality other than the "looks" of it, it's not reliable. Beware those shopping for a car, Mercedes is NOT a product you want to invest in with finances/or possible personal injury. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Susan writes: In a lemon law with mercedes C240 2002, I was called a liar form Mercedes Corprate, and that I simply did not know how to drive my car, after having my car in the shop 14 times for the same problem, ABS ESP and acceleration delay. I have found two other cars that have won the lemon law agaist mercedes for these same proplems, I am considereing a class action article in the la times, any one with these same propblems please contact me at posted e-mail. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lee writes: I own a 2001 C320 and I've had nothing but problems. This car is an electrical nightmare with only 19,000 miles on it. While driving it just cut off, started back up and nothing electrically worked, lights, radio, instrument cluster and etc. The dealer had the car for 3 weeks. In 4 years and 3 radio's later, I'm still having problems and it's in the shop now. At $44,000 dollars this is unacceptable, and by the way there are no loaner cars available for a week. So I'm walking.....and looking for the nearest Chevrolet Dealer, I'll never by a MBZ again. Oh I didn't tell youabout the $2,500 Factory telephone option that never worked properly and MB blamed the problems on my cell phone carrier. They're a bunch of BS'er and they're full of cramp. MBZ is producing inferior products. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lisa writes: My Ownership Experience with my 2002 C 240 has been horrible. After having the car for 2 weeks, the ABS/EBS system went on the car..car went back to the shop, only to be fixed. 2 weeks later the water pump blew in the car, while I was driving on the highway at 70 mph and almost got killed trying to get to the side of the highway. After getting the water pump fixed, 1 month later again the ABS/EBS system went in the car again..only to spend 3 more days in the shop. After 1 year, the tail lights went in the car as well as now my car is being serviced again for a transmission problem as well as a problem with the converted exhast system. I would not recommend this car to anyone. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kristine writes: I leased a 2002 Mercedes Benz C320 approximately two years ago from Globe Mercedes in Fairfield, NJ. This is my third Mercedes Benz lease. Since I bought the vehicle, I have had the same electrical short dozens of times. My vehicle has been out of service for repairs on at least five occasions with Globe Mercedes. This problem has left me stranded creating a multitude of personal problems on many occasions. When you purchase a car that has a reputation like Mercedes Benz you should be able to expect reliability and dependability at all times. I have given Mercedes a number of opportunities to correct this problem and they have failed each time. Since these defects substantially impair the use, value or safety of my vehicle, I am hereby demanding reprieve from this lease. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fred writes: My C-230 Kompressor is a lemon and no one cares. I have spent more time in a loaner than in my own car. I regret ever leasing a Mercedes Benz. My car is faulty, and to make it worse, my ML 320 is a lemon as well. I recieved a letter to Recall the ML after they found problems with my model. They wouldn't listen when I told them. I have been in and out of service for the broken SRS light in my C class over 20 times. MBZ refuses to help. I have had a better ownership in a mazda. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sevak writes: I spent 50k on the best C class available at the time of purchasing. I bought my 2001 C320 sport package, and everything came out to $49K. And guess what my POS doesn't have. a cd player. The first day I bought the car I had problems. A 21 century luxury automobile for almost $50k and no cd player or cd changer. Anyways that not even a big deal compared to the time and hassles I have gone through. I have a full filing cabinet of those yellow service receipts. My car is 2 years old bought it brand new now with 48k miles. But the service it has gone through you would think its has 48million miles. Almost anything you can think of this car has gone through from suspension changes, to steering wheel changes, to transmission and engine change, wow the list goes on and on. Radiator change, battery change, seats, trunk springs, door handle, windows, deformation of leather, even the instrument cluster once flew out while I was driving. I have had so many problems I am enterprise's dream come true. I go in to get service like at least once a month (because there always is something wrong wiht it) and i make sure its on fridays so i have the rental benz for the weekend when I go to Vegas and stuff. Since they waste my time and give me so much problems at least it a little way to have them suffer a little to. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elston writes: I am the owner of a 2001 Mercedes C320, which I purchased from Mercedes-Benz of Oakland, CA. My wife and I purchased this car in June of 2001, for over $42,000. I owned a 1990 Mercedes 300E immediately prior to purchasing this vehicle and I was greatly impressed with Mercedes' engineering and I loved the car. I bought the 300E "used" with over 130K miles on it but still I fell in love with its performance and comfort. I convinced my wife, who until then was a devoted Acura lover, to purchase a 2000 M-Class. She loves her M-Class. That is where our satisfaction with Mercedes-Benz ends. Our experience with our new C-Class 320 has been, for the first eleven months, a "service nightmare." I have not been able to enjoy a two-month span with the car without it needing some sort of service that is not included in "regular maintenance." I am sure that everyone at Mercedes-Benz would agree that this is unacceptable. Following, you will find a list of some of the problems that I have encountered since purchasing the Mercedes C320: Gas cap would not unlock when doors were unlocked (serviced) Remote stopped working (twice) (replaced and then serviced) Front turn-signals failed, first left then right (headlamp r/l replaced) Sound system had "popping" noise even with volume at zero Display telling me that oil level was too high "reduce immediately" Drivers door making a loud "knock" when opened (serviced) Rear turn-signal failed (serviced) Driver's side window failed (serviced switch replaced) Gas tank unable to be filled (fuel-sender gauge failed serviced not fixed) Rear springs makes an annoying "squeak" (was told it was unserviceable). Most of these problems were minor nuisances. However, the number of the problems has made my ownership of the C320 regrettable at best. Trusting and believing in Mercedes' reputation for creating quality automobiles, my wife and I made a cash down payment of more than half of the total cost of the car but together we agree that that was a very poor business decision. We hope that something can be done to rectify this situation. Mercedes-Benz of Oakland paid my car note for one month to try and shut me up. After, several and I do mean sevaral more problems not listed here, they insulted me by offering me $2500 off of a new $60,000 loan. I will NEVER buy another Mercedes again. I have been test driving Lexus and it is an obvious step up in quality. Sad though! I hate this car and have a lawsuit pending. I will be giving my deposition on the 13th of January 2004. Wish me luck, my lawyer has told me that Mercedes-Benz's lawyers play hardball and don't like to pay for their garbage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stephanie writes: I am having major issues with my C230 (2002). Problems with the transmission, A/C, heating, powersteering, stalling). Currently has 27k miles. Runs rough in the morning, stalls sometimes- most days just barely stalls, shakes terribly when reversing. Car doesn't shift to second in the AM while engine is cold. When you turn the key in the ignition sometimes it does not start -recent problem. Transmission fumbles for a gear also slipping in cold weather. Power steering doesn't work in the AM after sitting all night. Car sometimes lunges forward when going from park to drive. A/C & Heat problem - temps are not consistent, sometimes A/C doesn't get hold, sometimes heat doesn't get hot. MB replaced the 'blower' in March '03 saying the blower failed. This car is a year and half old. I drove off the lot and it was 25 degrees that evening to realize a mile away that the heat didn't work AT ALL. IT was completely dead. I tried calling MB and no one answered their phones- I kept going to their vm. They should have been open for another 1/2 hour. I called the next day complaining and they told me to drive out to THEM (a 45 min drive) to fix. The following MOnday I brought it back and the manager (Scott Bolan, MB Westmont, IL) told me that they SECOND 'blower' was defective. Don't they check their cars before they return them to their customers? Sunroof is very noisy! Rear breaks squeak. The MB service mgr (Scott Bolan) is nice, but tell me there is nothing wrong that my problems are NORMAL in the Mercedes cars (with the exception of the SUV). They claim their diagnostic tests show there is no problem. He explained to me on 2 separate occasions that Mercedes has to meet certain environmental guidelines and the car hesitates and runs kind of rough on a cold start engine b/c of the environmental guidelines in the US for fuel emmissions???? Sounds like B.S! Are they trying to appease me until my lemon law rights expire? I purchased my car brand new in October 2001 right off their lot. My car has only 17,000 miles. Any other MB C230 owners having similar problems? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Johnny writes: My experience with my C 240 2002 has not been a good one. As I write this, my car has been in the shop for a week. The lengthy list of problems is long, to say the least. And the list starts now 1) vibration in the steering between 35 and 40 mph for about 15 minutes of driving, 2) squeaking in the shocks, 3) driver side window close 3/4 of the way and stop. I have to roll it back down then up again, 4) passenger side window makes winding sound as it goes up, 5) driver side door is hard to open and close. The car had to be sent to a body shop to have the door adjusted, 6) values and/or lifters in the engine trapped sporadically, and finally 7) the power steering makes a winding sound. I am scheduled to pick up the car tomorrow. Wish me luck. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Megan writes: I loved my 2002 C240 when I first purchased it and swore that I would always own a MB... I didn't run into any problems that were major until I brought the car in for the second service and that is when the trouble started... there was a terrible smell in the car if it was hot out, it rained, it snowed or if it just sat for more then a day.. it smells like trash and it is causing severe headaches, sneezing, congestion and asthma attacks. I have had the car in numerous times and they have replaced the evaporator, the carpets, deionized twice and several other things. I am paying for a mercedes and driving Nissan Sentra's! According to the dealership, no one has EVER had this problem before with their car. My father and my mother have both owned several MB and never had these kind of problems nor the service that I am getting, my aunt has the ML and the SL and she is running into numerous problems too. I am sad to say that it has not only altered my decision to purchase another in the future but my parents as well. I can't tell which stinks worse, my car or the service. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yihua writes: Just bought the 2003 C240 a month ago. My dad drove the car around the block and the car started to accelerate when he is making a U turn. Hit the right front wheel on the curb. Blown the tire. Went to the dealer for repair. They could not find anything wrong with the car because it passed the diagnostic test. A test engineer myself so I know that does not mean anything. Just picked up the car, the alignment is totally mess up as if it went through an accident. I think my dad handle it properly because he also drives a German car, a Volvo S80. He wants me to take the car back to the dealership for more tests. I don't think they will find anything wrong with the vehicle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thomas writes: Frustrated and disappointed owner of a 2002 C230 6-speed Kompressor with 20,000 miles. Purchased new in August of 2002 from ASC of Arlington, Virginia. SOME of the PROBLEMS: This month (November '03) the car has already been at the dealership for two weeks. The service department's mantra is: "CANNOT DUPLICATE." The car loses power as it is being driven and will NOT accelerate. This is the third attempt by the dealership to diagnose the problem. There are no fault codes which appear and the service dept. cannot determine the cause. Last week they drove it over 200 miles in two days with a laptop computer attached and said they had no faults appear. It is a safety issue to be driving along or trying to merge and suddenly have a loss of acceleration and have the car lurch. In a few seconds the car then accelerates normally. There is no pattern to this, some days it happens many times and others, not at all. Because the shop cannot duplicate the problem they have told me that there is nothing they can do since they cannot "throw parts at the car to see if that works." Paint is substandard (imola red). The hood has been refinished ("dealer goodwill") due to excessive chipping under normal road conditions. Power steering was "whining" terribly while making turns. A leak was detected and the steering rack was replaced. Power panoramic sunroof broke and was repaired. Numerous ESP/BAS warning lights and electrical problems have had to be checked/repaired. Wiper arms have been repaired twice. Black panels on outside of doors next to the windows have had to be replaced because they were rust spots and the paint above them on the roof was "bubbling." Rusted lug nuts. Once, after having the oil changed at the dealership, the "check oil level" light illuminated after I drove it about 10 miles. I stopped immediately to check the level and the dipstick showed that the oil was marginally low. I had to bring the car back to the service dept. to have them add oil. Months later, the car reported a low oil level while driving, but the dipstick showed a normal oil level. The dealership replaced the sensor. Floor mats were excessively worn after less than a year of use. They were replaced under warranty. Wiring connectors were replaced. I am very displeased with my C230 and would not purchase this car again. In less than ONE year of ownership, I have had more problems requiring trips to the dealership than any car I have ever owned in twenty years of car ownership. Caveat emptor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trent writes: I have a 2001 c class with tons of problems. Mercedes benz has only told me they would help me but they havent done anything - kinda like your situation. If you are thinking about doing a class action lawsuit, I would be interested in joining. Please email me back. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolyn writes: I purchased a 2002 C240. Have had nothing but problems from day 1. Started with the key not communicating with the car, 4 separate times until car had to be towed. Signal lights malfunctioning, air conditioner has a horrible smell coming out of it, driver seat motor died, back of driver seat fell off, radio won't work when rear defogger is on, brakes make a scrugging noise, tires are almost bald and customer service at the dealership is horrible. Mechanics at dealership have created more problems when taking in for a repair such as breaking the air conditioner vents after trying to fix smell. Sales person told me I would be happy with the car 5 years from now when all the minor cosmetic problems were fixed. I feel the C class is a cheap and poorly made car and MB just dont give a crap after they get your money. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacqueline writes: I purchased a 1999 C230 Kompressor Sport off a lease in January 2003 from Benzel Busch Mercedes after I was involved in a serious accident. I figured I needed a vehicle that was a little safer and I chose a Mercedes because of it's reputation and commitment to quality (God help me now!). This vehicle came with a Starmark Warranty and I was told it was like purchasing a new vehicle. This vehicle has been back t the dealer too many times to count and if you took all of the vehicles I have owned in my life combined they don't come close to the repairs/problems I have with this vehicle. Mercedes Customer Service is a joke too. They treat you like everything is your fault and they're nasty. I have to drive almost 200 miles roundtrip to bring my vehicle in for service and the problems started less than two months after I picked up the vehicle--everything from non-operative windows, the gas gauge not working, oil sensor not working, the vehicle does not start properly, screeching when it does start, the CD player never worked, my headlights and brakelights are constantly going out and the latest--the back floor area floods, so I can't drive it in the rain or snow! This isn't covered under the warranty and after they took out the back seat (five hours of labor) I was told they thought the leak was coming from the dash and they would have to remove it (additional five hours of labor) and they weren't sure what they would find. I told them to put the seat back and as a "good will gesture" they offered to pay for half of the cost of labor. This was after I raised my voice and told them that they have the car more than I do! I have sent letters certified to Benzel Busch and Mercedes USA Montvale and only received one answer in the form of a form letter. My phone calls are not returned and I have been lied to by Benzel Busch on numerous occasions. This experience has been a nightmare. It was nice to find this website and know I'm not going crazy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jose writes: I totally agree, Mercedes is the worst nightmare an owner can have. We own a C320 Wagon and since day one we have all kind of problems with the car. The dealer, the service manager and MB.USA make look they want to help but really they are just trying to gain some time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marty writes: My 2002 C320S Wagon has been at the dealer for about 5 days now awaiting parts. It left us stranded when the key would not turn in the ignition lock. Then, it mysteriously started some hours later when the tow truck was on its way and made it home only to have the same problem in my garage. The car seemed to think the key was never removed. The dealer said it needed a new computer which has to be programmed by MB. The car was in a lockdown mode and it could not be taken out of Park nor could I even open the hood. The dealer's tow truck had to drag the car out of my garage with the Park Pawls banging and cracking as he dragged it up the flatbed. I am so glad I only leased this car and do not own it as I am convinced that more damage was done by the tow truck than by the defect. I can't wait for the lease to expire in less than 1 year so I can get rid of this piece of junk and will NEVER consider another MB ever again! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alberto writes: I just came across this web site and how sad I feel that I am not the only one suffering with my C240. The thing is falling appart every week there is something wrong with it and Im no longer under warranty. i was thinking on trading it for a newer Mercedes so I don't have to incurr in all the expenses but after reading all of this reviews I am going to check out BMW or other brands. If anybody is doing a class action suit please count me in. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leslie writes: American's friends...."be happy"...you have the same trouble that I have there in Italy -Europe..with my C class MB. I'll tell you my story. On june 2000 I saw the new model of C class MB and I decide to buy immediately a new C class (a C 220 Cdi -diesel engine)....this day probably sign the end to my love for MB cars (In my factory we have changed 3 MB cars in 3 years). During the first year no more than 10000 miles I have to change or check : Something to air conditioner (some works) rear seat belts (check because they have some car with belt problems..and what about safety ???) window lifter (I don't know if it is correct) change ABS sensor - change Fuel tubing - check they are not sure if they are mounted correctly....GOOD Thwo diesel injection pump - changed 4 injectors - changed Totally in warranty. I have charged something like 10.000 Euros I think but fortunately all in warranty. After no more than 20000 miles I have to change Front brakes pads and dishes...they are tempered !!! and the MB employee say to me that is due to an excessive use of the brakes ?!?!..sorry I have to hurt the cars that I have in fron of me when stopping quickly on motorways to prevent Brake stress??? Than let's go to the front suspension sistem... I changed rubber absorbers.some mechanichal parts due from a rumors that comes always from the front part when I take some bad plan streets...and there MB emplyes say that is probably a construction defect and I'll have to change this component frequently to prevent this because oiling or graesing the part is only a temporary solution....GOOD...and my car have only 20000 miles...and I'll have to change this after 20000 miles else....and every 20000 mi. Coming back to the last winter..during a trip on 25th december I stop my car nad saw smoke and disel smel..I take my car to Mb and have to change the 4 injector tubes between pomp and injector (they are cracked). This causes a damage on alternator belt that have to be changed. Than on summer I have changed the aspiration collector due to a fault of the motor of the aspiration butterfly...than starts a new era...in 4 months I changed : Intercooler tube between turbo and aspiration Intercooler Brakes pads All this for a modical sum of about 2.000 euros in a few months. note that my car have only 50.000 miles (with last C class I drive for 100.000 miles without problem ..only service mainteinance) This is only the major problems tha I have on my car...but if I have to be honest,vibrations on interior parts, some elecrtonical problems (sometimes I have to take car to Electric and reset elecrotnic devices because windows become crazy, front panel crashes)the cd drive that not work propely,suspension vibrations like a bad quality jeep. ..I forgot ...I have changed 2 or three times preheatings candle for diesel engine....plus infinite lapms... ..well to be honest this is the whorst car bought during my life and for pay 35000 euros in 2000 for a high segment car and having this problem it's an indecence. The bad thing is that MB don't make something to care his costumers..."the car is your and the problem is your.." you know what I mean. This autumn I went to MB and decide to change it and they pay me 4000 euros less than official price due to the problem had to the cars produced in 2000/2001 that will rebecome roblems of MB (they have to warranty the used car for 2 yers). Fortunately in the USA you have class action or Lemon law suite to defend costumers..but there in Italy no. In conlusion .."don't worry, be happy" you have the same problem that we have in Europe... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leslie writes: I am too a Mercedes Benz owner, however, thankfully, I have not had the extensive problems with my 2001 C240 as this gentleman has had, BUT i too have had experience with the "stalling" with my car, and like this man has stated, the service rep at the dealership has stated time and time again that they cannot duplicate the problem and that is all they can offer me, in my opinion, that is not good enough, i have spent good money on a "quality" car that no one seems to know how to fix. I am sure we are not the only ones who have had these types of problems with the stalling, obviously there is a manufacturers defect that needs to be investigated and all of us consumers who have bought these expensive luxury vehicles should be compensated with the issue being fixed. I dont expect that this letter will make or break a decision as to how these types of issues should be resolved, but i am hoping that this will at least let the manufacturer know that YES there is a problem. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usman writes: I am also a not so happy C240 2001 owner. To this day I regret buying this car. Three of my friend didn't buy Mercedes after they saw what happened to me. I have had 14 different problems with the car. Never again am I going to buy Mercedes, not me and I am sure no one I know will buy it ever either. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Moore writes: I bought a 2001 C240 in December 2000. Before I got the car home it was having problems. The problems continued on an almost weekly basis for three years. Just to mention a few: Several of the space-aged keys stopped functioning Ignition failed leaving me stranded in a parking lot one day A myriad of electrical problems including failed turn signals (left,right,front,back) on many occaisions, false warning lights, failed sensors. Failed transmission seal Gas tank gradually (and mysteriously) stopped accepting gas. This problem was accompanied by the fuel guage not registering. Two cup holders broke Automatic transmission lurched and often seemed to shift illogically. Even after warming the engine for 5 minutes, the car would sometimes refuse to shift out of the lowest gear.(My MB dealer would never admit this was a problem!?) Plastic cover over instrument cluster became cloudy and had to be replaced Gas cap became "out of adjustment" and would not screw back on at the gas station. (My old Buick never did that!) Even if the C240 had been an economy car the overall quality was abysmal. Considering that it was a premier luxury marque, the C240 is an unforgivable abomination. When my warranty ran out earlier this year, I intentionally did not take out the extended warranty (Why should I shell out another $3000 to maintain MB's mistakes.) At the next "flex" service MB called me and told me it would cost $3000 to fix all of the things they found wrong. I picked the car up, drove straight to the Jaguar dealer, and traded it in. My only regret after 1000 miles in my Jag is all the trouble my C240 must be causing some other poor soul! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.V. writes: I have an 02' C320. I have had a considerable amount of problems with my engine oil light and level sensors as well as evidence of a significant amount of sludge in the engine. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barbara writes: 2001 C240. Engine, driving, safety factor - great! But the car is an electrical nightmare: both driver and passenger window motors replaced, air conditioner stepper motor replaced, passenger seat motor replaced (and now in need of second replacement in 8 months), ignition system replaced, windshield wiper reservoir replaced (this is a $30 part with a $260 price tag at the dealer, by the way, due to the inaccessibility of the reservoir), back window shade stuck in "up" position, bulbs constantly burning out... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bela writes: I am very disappointed of my Mercedes Benz C-240 2001. I would never recommend buying this car to anyone because in just two years I have had to replace the following parts: Air conditioning evaporator-Aprox. US$900.00 Upper and lower front suspension arms-Aprox. US$700.00 Ignition & key module-Aprox.-US$1,000.00 Correction of a very disturbing noise in the transmission gear-Aprox. US$900.00 Replacement of the steering wheel column bear -Aprox. US$300.00 Three times programming moon roof and all window systems-Aprox.US$400.00 I don't really understand how the Daimler Chrysler Company can explain That a brand new car can damage all this parts in just two years. This is a big FRAUD don't buy Mercedes C-240!!!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve writes: I have owned a 2004 MB C230K Sedan for less than 72 Hours and I had to take it to the MB Dealer for a Check Engine Light and Rough idle. I bought this (Certified C230K) car at a MB Dealership in Charleston SC and drove it home over the weekend. The engine light came on as soon as I got to my home. Monday morning I delivered the car to Rick Hill Imports a MB Dealer in East Tennessee. They first said it was the spark plugs but after changing them they could not get the Check Engine Light to clear. We picked the car up that around 4:30pm after they called and said they had it fixed. After a short drive the Check engine light came back on proceeded by rough idling and sluggish acceleration. I have always wanted a MB and now that I have invested $29K, I am starting to wonder if I made a mistake. I bought this car for my wife and she has been in tears. She can't even enjoy our new purchase because of these issues. I am very disappointed in MB service and I hope this is just a small one time inconvience and not repeated trips to the MB Dealer. I would hope that MB will fix this problem in a timely manner to eliminate this bad first impression of MB. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nicholas writes: I was especially interested in your brake problem. I have a previous generation C Class, and had almost exactly the same experience, i.e., Benz inspected them and I was told they had plenty of life left. Within weeks, I had to have virtually every brake component replaced. My girlfriend was driving the car, and the car had virtually no stopping ability left by the time she got it home. It is pretty damn sad that driving the car has become life threatening. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diane writes: I purchased a C240-4 Matic in June 2003. The vehicle became problematic when it can be heard a block away coming up the hill. Parking the car was an embarrassment hearing a loud grinding sound. Having arranged to have a forman drive the car at the dealership I was horrified to hear a service person comment that the car "sounded like a 1970 Pinto" - a comment which cut the the bone since this car was less than two months old and purchased NEW ! The claim is that the car had 2 kinked o-rings in the steering. This I do not take lightly as I did not intend on the purchase of a maintenance vehicle and specifically avoided Dodge and Ford due to many repairs and recalls. I am distgusted that I purchased a vehicle with a heafty price tag which is already in for significant repairs. The initial call I made to your company gave me false hope that someone would look into this, I phoned Wednesday evening (8/6/2003) to the 800 number and asked whether or not there was any follow up on my inquiry. I was met with a shocking statment that no one would be looking into this and it was between me and the service department at the dealership! I mentioned that the service department was aware that I had contacted the regional office. He then stated that you only deal with the service manager, Steven Vogt at Prestige in Paramus. Considering I brought the car in on Monday and it was Thursday (8/7/2003) before the car ,"would be ready" - I do not feel anyone was honest in my inquiry nor truly stands up to your ,"commitment to excellence". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gladys writes: My C-320 leaks water inside every time it rains (even though its not a convertible!) and the dealer will not solve the problem. The service department simply doesn't deliver quality as I was promised when I purchased the vehicle. I have pictures showing the water leak. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lynnette writes: I bought a 2003 C240 in May of 2003. My income had been increasing since college so I thought I would trade in my Haundi for a more classy reliable car. Yeah right! In the two years I owned the Haundi, I never had a problem. I only had the C240 for a month before the gas cap became stripped and would not screw back on. The next month the same thing happened. 3 months later I took it in for routine service to learn that there was a problem with the computer that compromised saftey. Also my keyless entry remote had started acting up after the second month. sometimes it would open and sometimes it wouldn't. I would have to set off the alarm to get in the car. Which was embarrassing. The cigarette lighter had gone out after the third month and I don't even smoke. When I went to pick up the car my service rep was out to lunch. When I got home and reviewed the service sheet, I saw that they did some work to the car that they had not told me about. So I called the guy back twice with no return call. Finally I reached him and he told me that the car was leaking transmission fluid, but it was minor. I guess I was supposed to feel better about the matter becase it was only leaking a minor amount of fluid. The next month I went to McDonalds for breakfast and my windows would not roll down. I had to open the door to get my food. Later that night I had to call off from work because my sunroof would not close. I was able to close it with a crank after reading the manual in the cold for a hour. The next morning I called to schedule an appointment. I left a message explaining what happened and how upset I was. It has been two days and still no return call. IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING PURCHASING A MB PLEASE DON'T,THEIR PRODUCT AND SERVICE IS TRASH. Invest your money into someting that will make you happy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Donal writes: I purchased a 2000 C230 Kompressor new and at 8000 miles lost the transmission; dealer would not cover and had to get MB to cover after a lengthy battle also tryed to charge me for new brake rotors after 8000 miles again lawyer changed their minds. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott writes: I bought a brand-new 2001 C240 from RAB in Marin County, California. After my father drove MBs for most of his life, I thought I was buying the highest quality vehicle on the road. Wrong. After about nine months, the car began stalling while I was driving. Twice it stalled and lost power, meaning no power steering, brakes etc. Immediately I returned to the dealership to have this checked, as it is a huge safety issue to have your car stall at 60 mph on a freeway. The dealer "could not replicate" the problem and "could not find fault codes." The factory advised replacement of the ignition and keys, which did not cure the problem. Finally traded the car in and bought a BMW rather than stall again and have someone hit me with my child in the car. I did not sue as I would rather just get a new car. I have a 1993 BMW 325i that never has defects like the Mercedes. I now own two BMWs and would never buy another MB product again. Sad because when it worked, the car drove well, and looked great. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neal writes: c230 1998. I have spent 9,000 dollars repairing air conditioner, transmission, brakes, thermostat, and heat sensor. The air conditioner still does not work. All work done on a one owner car is not acceptable. The south florida dealerships, autohause and Fort Lauderdale Mercedes Benz never have much to say so I know I would never purchase another mercedes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nicholas writes: I own a Mercedes Benz C220. It is a dreadful vehicle with a flawed design (especially the electronics), poor assembly quality, and flimsy (but expensive!) components. By far the worst vehicle anyone I know has ever owned. In summary, the car went off warranty at 80,000km and the car now has about 160,000km. In that period, my repair expenses have been $12,923. These figures do not include running expenses such as new tires, oil and filter changes, etc. Nor does it include repairs performed free subsequent to a legal action. I should also note that I replace exterior and most interior bulbs myself, repairs that most people pay Mercedes to do. I will be happy to send a spreadsheet with the details of all my repairs. Suffice to say that virtually every system in this car has been affected. In terms of service I will provide some typical examples. At one point the 'Check Engine' light went on. I was about to go on vacation, and had already made an appointment for an oil change. When I brought the car in, I specifically asked if there was a reason that I should not drive the car. I was told that there wasn't, and over the next two weeks I traveled extensively by car. When I returned from vacation I brought the car in and was told that the O2 sensors had failed. I replaced them at a cost of over $800 and realized after the fact that the sensors were covered up to 130,000km. I looked at the receipt for the oil change. I had been well below 130,000km when I was at the dealership first reporting the problem. I asked for my money back, which was refused, and I was only refunded my money after I showed them the oil change receipt and threatened legal action. At one point, I tried to strike a bargain with Mercedes to get rid of the car. I was even willing at that point to give them a second chance, i.e., buy another one of their cars. They offered me $10,600 dollars for a car that their dealers were selling used for $19,000 to $20,000. In other words, they were only willing to help me out if they could make almost a 100% mark-up on the used vehicle. The transmission failed at 158,000 km. I brought the car in for repair on July 8th and was only able to get it back on July 26th. Virtually all that time the car sat idle, as no rebuilt transmissions were on hand. I did not get a loaner or rental during that time, and spent $672 on a rental car. Mercedes is well aware of certain problems. I am sure they have scripts that they send to their service representatives and customer service people in these instances. A case in point is the faulty electronics. Light bulbs continuously burn out. I complained about this to a service rep, who explained that it was because the car has XX exterior light bulbs. The implication is that they don't fail prematurely, it just SEEMS like a lot because there are a lot of bulbs. First, I realized that the number he quoted was wrong. Second, the argument is flawed. If the life of a bulb is 1,000 hours, you can have a hundred bulbs and none of them should fail until about 1,000 hours. The first bulb burned out after the car had only 32,000km. (I might add that I had a 1990 Nissan Pulsar, which I drove from 80,000km to 230,000km. I replaced each headlight once, and one backup light bulb. In comparison, I have replaced so many exterior bulbs on the Mercedes that I can't even remember.) I realize that this is a lengthy message, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. Final notes: I have spent countless hours waiting in their service department. I have overheard countless customers complaining and it is apparent that poor quality infects all of their models and that these problems start from when the car is practically new. I also created a Powerpoint presentation that I inserted into the legal documents I failed against Benz. I'll send copies to those who are interested. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David writes: I purchased a brand new 2002 320C wagon. Since that time it has been problem after problem. Three transmissions (the car stalled died once on a freeway), alignment defects, gas guage ,etc. A service call usually requires a couple of visits as the work usually is not done properly. I have had a BMW, a Lexus and an Acura. This is my last Mercedes experience or should I say Chrysler?? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- F.H. writes: I have owned a few German-made vehicles(Audi,VW,Porsche)in my driving career and I will say that my experiences have been very positive. Aside from the satisfaction of having been able to enjoy these marques, I find terrific comfort in the manufacturers commitment to reliability, quality and service. These elements alone justify the expense. That is until I became the owner of the Mercedes-Benz C240! I had just accepted a job that was to have me spend a great deal of my time traveling to and with clients. I wanted a car that not only would be safe and reliable, but would also carry the understated cache that I wanted without the guilt of the heavy mileage that I expected to drive. After some careful thought I selected the C240. Choosing the car was one thing. However actually getting one was another. Dealers told me that these cars were "so hot" and since "everyone wants one", the only way to get one was to order and wait a few months. My job schedule was not going to allow me to wait, and the rental car I had been driving was getting expensive. I needed to make a decision which involved possibly passing up on the C240 altogether. After another week of trying to locate this car, a MA. dealer I had been in touch with found one for me. "I have a C240 that suddenly became available", he said. I was elated that my search was now over and I was getting the vehicle that I wanted. Be careful what you wish for... The problems began to surface during the first week. At first they were small. The radio would take a second try to start. Or the rewind on the tape deck would fast forward instead. I was slightly annoyed but hardly concerned enough to disrupt my very busy schedule to bring the car in. As time went by, the problems began to multiply. The radio problem continued, lights began to blow out, and I was constantly being told by my onboard computer that I needed to call some "MB Mobile Center" or that my "SOS being connected" (each time this happened the radio would be out of service for some time).I also noticed a significant creak in the front end. All of this surfacing within 10k miles! I brought the car in faithfully for it's scheduled services and always mentioned the 'gremlins' that I was being visited by. The service dept's answer was always the same; "we'll take care of it" and they did. Each time I would pick up the car, it was fine; for a while. This pattern of events continued right on through to the end of the warranty period. When I brought the car in at 50,061 I was told that the continuous front end squeak that I complained about could be fixed with some new front end bushings at cost because I was now out of warranty. 62 miles out of warranty!This is when for the first time I hit the roof! After several go arounds with the service manager I was given an N/C on my service bill and I was on my way. After a few months, the problems returned. Each time I returned to the dealer I was given no reason for the problems except that my excessive mileage was the cause. It was only then did I begin to consider the possibility of manufacturer design error. The last time I brought the car in for dealer service was about 7 mos ago. The problems were still all the same. Except this time the brake lights didn't work and neither did either front seat adjustment motors. "You're going to need some new wiring harnesses for the electrical issues you have", they said. "You do have a lot of milaege on the car!" I hauled it out of there never to return again! Last week I had the car serviced by an accredited independent Benz service shop. After having the car for two days the mechanic seemed to have attacked most of the issues. What surprised him was the number of electrical faults (CAN,ICM,OCP,SAM,FR,SAM RR,AB,ESM)the car was showing(a fault in EVERY system in the car)after having been at the dealer service dept less than 8 mos ago. I spent about $1500 and so far the electricals are ok. We have not addressed the continual front end creak (which is now a groan) and I may also need to replace the electronic ignition system. As I drove away from my new service shop I turned on the radio, but it would not go on. Instead the onboard computer said it was busy connecting my SOS call. What call? I made no call. I don't even have that system connected anymore. It was rip-off. I laughed to myself,"an SOS call" How appropriate. I drove home in silence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe writes: My Ownership Experience... Leased a 2001 C320 had mainly all electrical grelims. Right after pulling out of dealership after taking delivery one of the turn signals does not work. Been in 6 times for electrical related problems, about to go in for 7. Left me stranded with a bad fuel pump once. Another time window stuck down when on vacation. Great car but way to many little problems. Forget Chrysler MB concentrate on your main business building good cars again. Just replaced my C320 with a Infiniti G35 watch out MB they may eat you guys for lunch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew writes: I leased a 2001 C320. I liked the car, and even after a few problems, I traded it for a 2004 C320 after 2 1/2 years, mainly because I was going to exceed the miles allowed on the lease and wanted to get out of it. I thought the problems with the 2001 were unusual, and expected the new one to be better. Now I feel like I made a big mistake. In 3 years driving benz, I've had more warranty claims that all the cars for the past 20 years combined. The 2001 was in the shop for 8 days because the "crankshaft position unit" failed. Essentially meaning the car didn't start properly. I complained about the heating twice - the top vent blew out freezing cold air in winter and summer even when set at 75 degrees. (there was frost on the inside of the windshield) Both times they told me there was nothing wrong with it and made me feel like a whiner. The outside temperature sensor was giving wildly inaccurate readings, and the center console never closed properly. I've had the 2004 for 1 year now, and after 12k miles, the catalytic converter has failed, but most interestingly, the odometer was reading less miles than that travelled. I only knew because I was clocking 72 miles each way to work on the 2001 C320, and noticed the new one recorded 68. That's about a 6% discrepancy and probably illegal. Fletcher Jones chose to not reply to my E-mail about this. I made two representations to my service manager and he showed no interest in doing anything about it. The third time they actually replaced the instrument cluster. Oh, and the outside temp was displaying 146 degrees one day (fixed now). The last time I had a service appt. they made me wait 1 hour for a rental, then they gave me a Dodge Durango (huge SUV). I said great - next time I'll buy a dodge. I've been asking them about XM radio since I bought the car - they told me it's pre-wired for XM. Still no news on when I can get it, but I see it's about $600 on the 2005 SLK, so I think I'll just wait and get it in my next car which will probably be an Acura. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayo writes: my 98 C class: I've come back to the car and the windows are down & the sun roof is open; the gas tank locks up; the lights go out all the time; the doors won't lock or open sometimes even when I press the lock button on the dashboard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sandra writes: Purchased a 2002 C230 kompres. new 9/01. I have returned to dealer for warranty work @ 7028 miles,11871 miles,12423 miles,17197 miles,17515 miles,21370 miles, 26904 miles, 30033 miles, 31885 miles,& 33755 miles.Have had problems w/ sunroof & sunshade, squeaky front end, faulty vacuum pump module on brakes, visor lights , brake lights, steering wheel switches, fog vent, cd player, coolant temp sensor, driver's mirror,some of the above have been repaired or replaced twice, tires wore out at 20,000 miles. Was told these cars will wear out tires fast cause they are "sporty". I have a 2001 BMW 325 with 39,000 miles and just now replacing tires and they are nowhere near as worn as mercedes! I should have bought another BMW. NO problems w/ my 325. These C230 Komp.'s are junk! Mercedes should have to buy them back and crush them! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elmer writes: 27 problems addressed under warranty on 2001 C240 with 39,500 miles. More than all problems I ever had with all my American automobiles that I've owned since 1967! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jo writes: I bought a 1999 C280 Sport and after a couple of years started to have problems with the computer. MB-Ray Catena replaced it while still under warranty, but as soon as the warranty expired I started to experience more problems with the computer and electronic system. The gas gauge had to be replaced, then the electronic connection to the fuel cap, etc. etc. When I called Ray Catena, they were not very nice to me stating that the warranty on the car had expired. When I emailed Mercedes Benz USA directly, they told me the same thing and continue to send me emails announcing their new cars. I decided to get rid of the car before I would have to spend anymore on repairs. The same day I charged $1200 for repairs, I drove to my local Toyota dealer and bought a 2005 Camry, with a Canvas roof, leather seats. I love it and know my life will now be trouble free as far as auto repairs are concerned. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob writes: My 2001 c240 has been nothing but problems since I purchased it about 3 years ago. It has been in the shop more times then I can count for the engine mounts, door locks, keys, trunk lock, air conditioning, transmission, Radio, poor alignment, etc. I most likely have 10 service loaners or more a year. I would not recommend this vehicle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cameron writes: I purchased a new 2003 Mercedes C320 Coupe in May, 2003. In July, the paint began to crack on the rear bumper so I took it to the dealer and they kept it for a week and painted the entire rear bumper. Next, the power seat quit working in August. I called for an appointment however was told it would be a week until they were able to get my vehicle in the shop. I was leaving for college so I figured I'd just wait and have it fixed later. The next day, however, I backed my Mercedes out of the garage and noticed a puddle of oil sitting on the floor. My family owns a Ford dealership (why I bought a Mercedes, I don't know) so I took it to our dealership and raised it up on the lift and confirmed that it was indeed leaking oil. I took it into the dealership immediately and was told they'd try and work it in as quickly as possible. The dealership was extremely courteous however to keep the story short, they clocked over 20 hours on the vehicle, replaced approximately $2,000 in parts, pulled out the transmission, replaced the flywheel, and a number of other parts, replaced missing bolts and nuts inside the engine (service manager said he had never seen a MB come from the factory this bad) and after keeping it 4 1/2 weeks, the problem was fixed. At least, it's lasted 2 weeks since then. I bought this Mercedes for quality any certainly never expected any of these issues. My family has owned a Ford dealership for 65 years and we've never even seen a vehicle with as many problems as this one. I guess I learned my lesson...I belong in a Ford. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tony writes: My 2001 C240 has a hesitation problem and has since it was new. I have spoken to other owners with similar experiance. As with one of the other reviews I have read - it was suggested that I do not know how to drive the car and it went as far as giving a service tech a drive so he could witness that I do not drive an automatic with a foot on the brake and one on the gas. I give up!! Fortunatly I leased and only have a year left - The new car I purchase will not be a Mercedes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Galia writes: my new c240 2001 is apiece of crap. it has been to the dealership 25 times with numerous problems such as electrical,acceleration, noise mal alignment ac problems etc..... it is a lease and only some has been fixed. Mercedes has done nothing to help me. I will never purchase or lesae this piece of junk ever. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for vistiting this Consumer Warning for: Mercedes Benz USA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolie888 Clutched October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 And the S-Class also. Now SO MANY people cannot be ALL wrong, can they? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ann writes: We purchased a 2003 S55 mercedes less than three months ago. We are now being told that the new car must be started and run for 30 minutes every 24-48 hours or the battery will not hold a charge to start the car. This has been an absolute surprise to us as it was never mentioned during the purchase that the car would not start if left unmoved for a time. In the short time we have owned our new car we have had to jump-start the battery 5 times. Two of those times were after periods of 2 weeks and then 3 weeks of non-use. The other three times the car would not start after being left unmoved for 2 days-3days. A dealer in Tyler, Texas replaced the battery when we took our car to see about the problem. This replacement did no good. I did not drive the car today and will be gone tomorrow so will not be using the car. I will have to have it jump-started again the next day, I suppose. I would certainly appreciate some feedback from anyone concerning this new mercedes. Is this something to expect from a new $117,000. car? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Taylor writes: I bought my 2001 S500 new. With very little miles on it a message was displayed on the screen "airmatic visit workshop." So I went to the dealer to put it in the "work" shop. After laeving it there they told me nothing was wrong. The message came up every few often so I took it back to the dealer. They told me nothing was wrong and to stop comming back. With about 20k miles on it I was driving down the interstate and it started to feel like the wind was blowing. I pulled over at a gas station and there was no wind so I kept going. While driving it still felt as if the wind was blowing so I pulled over and called roadside assistance. They told me nothing was wrong and to keep going. As I drove on it started to rain. I had been driving for about an hour and I had to pass a SEMI truck. When I changed lanes to the left the right air compressor went out and the suspension collapsed. I started swerving all over the road. When I got controll of the car I pulled over at a gas station and had the car towed home. One year old $80,000+ car on a tow truck. It stayed in the shop for a while. When I got it out it went back to the shop about once a week. I would tell the service rep "I'll see you in a week." The cashier called my car a "hooptie" and said they where many with the same problems. Also the tail lights would go out often, A bolt on the A-frame was broken, and the plastics on the inside were always broken. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chris writes: I have a question for anyone with the S55. We have a 2002 and it seems to hydroplane tremendously on wet roads. It has the low profile tires on it and I think that may be the reason but it shouldn't do it that much. I would really like someone to reply to this. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peter writes: I purchased a 2003 S500 last April. In the six months I have owned the car it has been back to the dealer 7 times for repairs to power seats and support cylinder replacement on deck lid. The car was delivered with a small scratch in command center screen. It is visible only with radio off and bright sun over your shoulder. The dealer & factory rep told me that they would not cover replacement under warranty. You need to have your lawyer and very sharp eyes when you take delivery! Lumbar feature on extra cost multicontour seats deflates constantly. Dealer cannot find source of problem. Memory functions erratic, passenger head rest cycles up & down every time car is started with no passenger!! I believe that this car is too complicated with computer functions that are impossible to fix by dealers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jonathan writes: I purchased a new 2002 S430 in March 2002. I have had the air suspension replaced twice and it has gone out for the third time as of today. I have had to have the entire electronic dash replaced and the battery replaced twice. This car is optioned out and sold for 100k. This is by far the worst car I have ever owned. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryan writes: 2001 S600. "Top of the food chain" says my dealer...yeah right. When the car works, it's the best driving experience anyone could ever ask for. The problem is that the car rarely works. My first clue should have been that the car was a "manufacturer buyback". Apparently someone else had numerous problems with this car and MB bought the car back, supposedly fixed it, and re-sold it as used. So far it's been in the shop 6 weeks in 9 months for the following: 3 visits for faulty O2 sensors that caused the car to adjust fuel delivery & make the car shudder whilst driving 1 visit for the car just unexpectedly dying 2 visits for airmatic/suspension issues Dealer treats us like 2nd class citizens, and rarely has a loaner for us. When they do have a loaner, its the crappy C230 egg-shaped hatchback. MB Customer Care says that I need to get the dealer service dept to agree that the car is "overly problematic" before they will step in. Total Bollocks! I can't see owning another post-126 body mercedes ever again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill writes: I owned a new 2000 S500 and now a new 2003 S500 4 matic. With cars you have cheap junk and more expensive junk.I think this is my last Benz, I owned 2 previous to 2000 car.They get worse with every model year. Consumer reports with the best models and worst models came out today and big surprise,not,the S500 the worst,I should know since I filled out one of the surveys. Name something and I have replaced or fixed it several times.My problem is that I live 130 miles from the dealer here in the mountains of Colorado and also own a restaurant so that is two strikes against me to get the problems fixed. Buy a used Yugo and you should have better luck. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeffry writes: Where do I start? I had a 2000 S 500, nice car overall until it was in the shop 7 times because the brakes would go on FULL FORCE when you just touched them, not every time but somewhat often, caused a minor accident one time. I am switching to BMW, and Mercedes Benz (CHRYSLER) has not heard the last of this. I have stopped paying for the car, and next week I am dropping it off at the dealer with a letter from my attorney, the vehicle is not safe to drive, they have voided my warrantee without cause, and the district manager from MB is an ass! I lost service for more than a month at one stretch, and several days at a time with the other visits, they got to the bottom of the problem and replaced some control module, lost about 3,000.00 in lease payment costs as a result of downtime, of course they never gave me a penny, not to include insurance costs, about another 600 - 1000.00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Audrey writes: I purchased a new 2000 S500 sport from a dealer. I have had many Mercedes vehicles, all great autos. We also currently own a '99 ML430. This is the worst vehicle I have ever owned! Immediately upon purchase the brakes had problems they replaced pads, etc. and both front control arms failed several times. Both front seat supports cracked several times as well. Mercedes put the wrong tires on the S500 Sport and the ride was terrible. After 20+ times in the shop the first 3 months, no loaner car available and after months in the shop with one dealer and again at a different dealer in FL, and after contacting MBUSA-Jax FL, they finally replaced the tires for new/appropriate sport tires(over 3 years passed),( we had put three different sets on the car out of our pocket before this). It has now 35K miles and is once again in the shop for another broken seat support, another electronic issue with my CD changer, Crank Shaft, Engine Noise, Transmission slip issues, gas gauge falling past empty with light(when full), ABS dash lights coming on repeatedly and many more problems. Now I have an extended warranty and it doesn't cover the estimated $1,200 this visit. I just paid another $2,400 for an additional warranty and SURPRISE it doesn't cover the needed repairs. I will NEVER purchase another Mercedes and guess what MB-USA doesn't give a rip! They refuse to send someone out to discuss the ongoing obvious manufacturer defects with this car. I think we should all seek a class action on these vehicles. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kam writes: 2000 S500 with 18,000 miles. Thank god I bought the extended 3 year starmark warranty! This car is CRAP! Poorly designed and poorly built. I wished that I had read these sites before I bought this car. I have had all the same problems. One funny one I will tell you about. On or about the 3 oil leak, I got the car back from service. The engine had been leaking from below the oil fill cap. I have learned to look and test things out before leaving service. I popped the hood and saw that they had removed the oil fill cap and put 2 inches of gasket material to fix the problem. The car look like it had been repaired at a sidewalk gas station in Tijuana! No, let me take that back, a sidewalk gas station in Tijuana would have done a better job. What a joke, when I showed it to the service manager, he just rolled his eyes and offered to redo the job. Mercedes SUCK! This for sure is my last one. One last thing, when I was complaining to the service adviser about the car, is statement to me was,"When you buy a Mercedes, you are buying Luxury, NOT PERFECTION!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kam writes: More crap from Mercedes, see my previous post (ABOVE). I was driving down the street a few weeks ago when all of a sudden my S500 started rattling like I was driving on rocks. I thought I had gotten a flat so I pulled over. No flat. I restarted and kept driving, everthing was ok and then it came back, and then my suspension warning light came on and my Navigation went out. I brought the car into the dealer to find out that the compressor on the suspension went bad. They fixed it and then told me that they wanted $3,000 to fix the Navigation system. What a hoot! They told me that incidental damage of a warranty item is not covered! God, I can't wait to sue Mercedes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David writes: Purchased 2000 S430, and immediately began having problems. Power window inoperable, steering wheel lowering while driving, etc. after threatening to sue under lemon law and a meeting with MB reps where I was treated as if I were trying to rip them off, they finally agreed to replace it but I had to ante up an additional $5000. I agreed and they replaced it with a 2001. Everything was fine for the first 14000 miles. Then one day with my family in the car the brakes just went. Totally gone. Fortunately we were driving slowly in a residential area close to our home so was able to nurse it back with the emergency brake. The dealer sent a tow truck and off it went. Several days later I picked it up, they said the ABS control unit had failed and they had replaced it. On the way home I could feel the brakes getting spongy, it worsened until by the time I got home they were completely gone again. This time in was in the shop for about a week. Now I have had many automobiles in my 40 years of driving experience but I have never had a total brake failure. To have two with the same car in such a short period gives me the genuine "willies". In fact the dealer agreed with me and said he would have the MB rep contact me. Well, he never did. When I wrote the customer service in NJ, they informed me it was a dealer problem. I have written letters, threatened lawsuits, etc. to no avail. To this day the MB rep refuses to speak with me. For THE major safety feature of an automobile to fail twice is in my opinion unprecedented. My entire ownership experience, from January of 2000 till now has been one long battle between dealership and Mercedes. My only satisfaction to date is I have been able to convince three persons who were prepared to purchase a Mercedes not to do so. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Denise writes: My 97 s320 is the biggest most expensive lemon I've ever owned. from the 1 day as a buying experience to now I've had nothing but problems and attitude I am now trying to dump this lemon which I bought as a demonstrater for 80,000 and they'll only give me 20,000. I had a honda accord that I resold 4 years later for great value and no problems ever I have threatened legal action and got very little compensation. I use my vehicle for a personal conceirge and chauffuer service and have mercedes benz on my business card. When talking about getting a new one and asking for a little incentive to keep me loyal they refused. everything that can go wrong with this car has. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kevin writes: S600. ASR (Anti-slip restraint) wrongfully activated with no reason in several occasions and driving conditions, even when there was clearly no evidence of traction loss. These caused permanent power cut off (instead of just temporarily cut off, and power restoration once traction is regain). The ignition must be turn off and then restart in order to get the vehicle moving again (this had caused some embarassing moments at traffic light pull-off, and some real horrifying motions during highway crusing). The dealership service had tried three attempts without success, these included replacing new wiring cables and ABS sensors. Finally at the fourth time, the dealership has gotten approval from the factory to have the ASR computer module replaced under warrenty(a $7,000 item!)... Still no cure for such problem. Meanwhile, I continue to drive the vehicle with extra caution, there were a couple of re-occurrences, and mysteriously the problem had ceased so far for 5 months until now??? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Viresh writes: I have a 2000 S430. Had problems with it from the begining. The problems were too many, but I will list them here: 1. Check Engine light remains on 2. Check Oil Level message keeps coming when the oil level is OK 3. Bulbs kept fusing 4. Driver seat would not move forward/backward 5. Breaks were changed every 10,000 miles 6. Glove compartment would not open (took two days to repair) 7. Ball joint went bad 8. A/C blower motor went bad 9. Passenger side window stooped going down...replaced motor In addition to these problems, the ATTITUDE of MB service people added insult to injury. The are very arrogant and tend to talk down at the customer. I asked them, "Is there some thing wrong with this picture...I pay you. You don't pay me. You should treat me as a Customer". I even wrote to the President of MB. His reply was a form letter saying that all Dealers are independantly owned and there is nothing he can do. MB had given me a loaner car during one of the repairs. I drove it 25 miles and couldn't think of putting ONE gallon of gas. When I returned it, I was surprised to see that they had charged me $13.50 for gas. Wow, that must be some expensive gas!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shaul writes: I have S500 that I bought 2 1/2 years ago and it has 12,000 miles. Over the past two years, this car may not be defined legally as lemon but certainly it is the worst car that I had from quality perspective. This statement in based on my family's previous new cars that included not just BMW but also Infinity, Ford, Buick and Pontiac. None of these cars required me visiting the dealership so many times with such a low mileage. This car so far had an oil leak, bad garage door opener, bad temperature sensor, dead battery and windshield noise. I may have missed something since I was at MB service too many times. I have a feeling that this is a precursor of problems to come! When I contacted the US headquarters, MBUSA NJ customer relations representative, Arnold Almagur who told me "Any automotive car will require service from time to time" explaining to me that legally they are covered by the warranty. When I bought the car, I thought I was buying a premium car that has the quality to support the brand name. I guess the Lexus salesman was right talking about ancient history. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave writes: 2000 S 500 mileage at purchase about 12,000 - purchased pre-owned on Mercedes StarMark program in January 2002. Within 30 days of purchase the suspension collapsed (which I understand is a frequent occurrence with this model year and model), and I had other problems. The dealer kindly bought the vehicle back (though I still had a financial loss). I got access to the car's history, it turns out it had had several warranty claims in the previous 2,000 miles prior to my purchase - which is presumably why the previous owner had sold it - I didn't think this vehicle should have been StarMarked! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe writes: My 2000 S430 airmatic suspension has collapsed, the car has no warranty and a mechanic is telling me it needs a new computer for about $1500 to correct the problem. I just dont want to get robbed again! Do you have any insight on this problem. I just want to get the car repaired so I can get rid of it. Thanks in advance for any & all information. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- George writes: I have a 2003 SL55 and a 2004 S600. They both have had numerous problems with different items, and to the dealer's credit they have ironed out every one of them after 4 months of working on both cars. One problem that both cars have though and the dealer has never heard of this before, is that as I tried to get into traffic from an onramp, both cars jumped out of gear and went into neutral. One of those times was scary indeed as a truck almost hit me. The car seems to be running fine and the gear shift is in Drive but has no transmission power. If you take it out of Drive shut it down and start it back up it runs fine. Until next time? Both cars have done this once each. Has anyone had that happen before? The dealer has been good about fixing all the short comings of the Mercedes but as a long time owner of Mercedes (have had six cars in the past) I am sure that I will not buy them anymore. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott writes: I own a 2000 s430 and just recently ran into problems with the transmission. Thanks to the down pours of Ivan and Gene teh car is stuck in first gear. The car dosen't register downshifting or upshifting. The mechanic told me that wiring might of been soaked and give it a couple of days to dry out. Since then it still will not shift pass 1st. Park, nuetral and drive work but car wil not do more then 40 mph due to rpms. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David writes: 2000 S-430 owned for 3 years.... Now has 73,000 miles.... During this time I have had the car towed in 4 times.... Entire electronics shut down on road trip at 10:00 pm ..pulled off fwy in Dallas Texas Ghetto....MB dispatched wrecker..arrived 2:00 am....I had meeting which started 8:00 am....Repaired in Dallas ...Transmission failure...total...repaired under $5000 extended warranty I purchased...cost me an additional $800 to have new instead of rebuilt trans installed...cup holder broke..$400...window controls replaced numerous times....suspension collapsed...had to be towed...many other problems....I paid 75,000 for this car and it has been in the shop more times than any car I have ever owned....ever! Forgot to mention Air Conditioning repair....and in keeping with the MB doesn't care theme....MB NJ always refers you back to the dealer...they take no responsibility for any problems with vehicles! By the way...I paid almost $5000 for extended warranty and a year after I paid for it I tried to use it.....guess what....MB had never submitted to warranty company....thank God it got resolved! They charged me for the warrranty..but never sent in the paperwork! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sam writes: My Ownership Experience is pure disappointment, discontent, displeasing, and disheartening. I have a 2000 S500. This car has rust on EVERY panel. Every door, fender, hood, trunk lid, and gas fill area. This rust began to show less than one year after delivery. MB has my car now for a month without a loaner and I do not have a date as to when my car may be ready. Very, very frustrating and disappointing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leonardo writes: 2003 S5004matic, has been in the shop 5 times navigational system ddi not work. The front and rear rotors have been replaced. the car shimmies over 40 MPH. Do not Buy this car. MB customer service does not respond and the service department at the dealership treats one like a martian rather than a customer who just purchased a 92,000 vehicle. Try Audi or BMW. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeffery writes: 2000 S500. For the past several months my center information display console has indicated, about 20% of the time that I drive the car, that a problem exists with the electronic stabalization system and the braking system. I have brought the car in several times for the problem and for the most part recevied "Can not duplicate the problem". On a couple of visits they were able to duplicate the problem and thought that a new sensor would fix the issue. After this repair the problems continued. Another visit resulted in removing and resetting the stearing wheel. The problem still showed about about 35% of the time (It has been increasing in frequency). For the past two weeks the problem has been occuring everytime I drive the car however the dealer has repeatedly informed me that the warning is a malfunction that they can not seem to trace however the breaks are fine and worst case is that ABS MAY not function if the warning is on. Is this accetpable? NO! Anyway back to the events; today I am driving the car in a parking lot, about 5 miles per hour and approaching the isle that I want to turn in to and park, I go to press the break and move the peddle about 1/2 inch, probably not enough for the breaklights to come on and certainly not enough for the breaks themselves to actually engage. Before I know it the break peddle is pulled away from my foot and to or near the floor, of course my foot follows. While you would expect that a drop like this would mean NO breaks this was not the case. My car stopped on a wooden nickle, I was tossed to the stearing wheel and the car behind me hit my car. Now I was not hurt and my bumper only has a very small scratch but what the hell? Where would I be if I was on the freeway and tried to slow the vehicle? I probably would not be typing this message. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim writes: My '97 S420 was a nightmare from the day after purchase. It all started with the transmission slip-shifting on the 2-3 upshift . . . just like my '81 300SD . . . you'd think MB would have corrected that problem. Followed by a continuous and annoying engine whine (loud enough to drown out the radio), poor reception on the radio (because the antenna wasn't connected at the factory), door wiring rattles, defective paint, bad alignment, etc. etc. After about $10K of warranty work, I threw in the towel. The zone reps were haughty and arrogant, for example, suggesting that I alter the front tire pressures to correct the alignment problem. MBUSA never responded to my letters. The dealer finally offered to buy it back for NADA wholesale (only after initially offering $15K below book), but I managed to sell it privately for much more. I disclosed all of the above to the buyer and they still took it, relying on the warranty to protect them (oh well). A HUGE disappointment as the W140's were supposed to be the be-all end-all of MBs and the last car designed by the MB engineers as opposed to the cost accountants. I subsequently bought a VW Passat at 30% of the cost of the Benz, but at least I didn't feel like a fool. I advise everyone to avoid MB products as they have clearly given up on producing quality products (in my opinion, the last quality MB was the '85 300D). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for vistiting this Consumer Warning for: Mercedes Benz USA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolie888 Clutched October 8, 2006 Share October 8, 2006 You're entitled to your opinion. Just that we're not as frivolous as "Oh no, used as Taxi!" kind of drivers. BTW, no reliability issues for us. Remember "years ago..." Anyhow, Merc was the most reliable back in days of W124, but yes, it took a dip in late 90's. They began to recover from 2000's, and frankly, my pre FL W211 has no issues at all. That's a common experience shared by many in SGMerc. You are entitled to your views on the Merc too, just that I am not convinced that DC has turnaround its world-wide quality issues in such a short time. Thus, until real world reliability stats prove otherwise, I do not succumb to DC's marketing position that it has indeed eradicted nearly ALL the gremlins found in MB models over the last 10+ years. And yes, the fact remains - Merc are, and will still continue to be, used as Taxis. ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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