BIL's 2012 S550 Mercedes Repair Bill

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by john_pifer
Originally Posted by Ws6
Originally Posted by Chesterr
I have 93k on a el cheapo 14 focus and nothing has gone wrong with it, same go's for the 7 other new gm and Ford's I have bought. I think the mbs and bmws of last 10 years are just overcomplicated , too many electronics ,overpriced and cost way too much to fix. ...domestics have had their faults but right now German luxury cars are worse

Ive gone to Japanese only. Been pleased.


My grandfather (RIP...passed in 1992) was born in 1919. Served in Europe during WWII and then in the Guard in Korea. In the mid-late 1980s, he switched to Japanese only, despite having been a Mopar mechanic and owner for most of his life.

That made an impression on me, and I've been Japanese-only since I've bought my own vehicles. Ive never been disappointed.


My Grandfather, who passed in 1999, was an Engineer for GE and served in the RCAF during WWII. He wouldn't buy anything German or Japanese, and, as a twist, he was German by lineage. He was a die-hard Ford guy, right until the end. That made an impression on me, and why I've owned myriad Ford products over the years. I only somewhat recently started buying Mopar because of my relationship with the local dealer. We even Ford-swapped several antique boats

My mother was nearly disowned for buying a Volkswagen.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
Euro luxury was born to be leased

Yup; that's what I hear...


If only I had known!

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by MCompact
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
Euro luxury was born to be leased

Yup; that's what I hear...


If only I had known!

The craziest deal with a lease is that you can roll in a maintenance package into the purchase price. So if you roll in a 2k maintenance package and the residual is 60%, you only end up paying $800 for that $2k package. It's crazy that MB allows it because once you turn the car in, the maintenance package is all used up so the residual is actually 0, yet they'll give 60% on it.

 

[fdcg27]

I don't know how much of a unicorn this particular failure was, but if it's a known problem then shame on Mercedes.
This wasn't some midline E class or cheapo C class, this was the premium S class, where this sort of failure simply shouldn't happen on a seven year old car with but 54K.
There was a time when the premium price of a Mercedes didn't buy you toys. You can get the same toys in any 20K Hyundai.
Rather, buyers paid a premium for a Mercedes because it really was very well engineered and manufactured. There were no cheap Chinese electronics. Something like a 123, 124 or 201 really would give 200K+ with nothing more than normal maintenance, brakes, tires and a battery. Even the old S-class cars were paragons of reliable performance. A 450 SL/SE/SEL would run forever and the later aluminum engines were also great once the original timing chain was replaced with a two-row unit.
Shame that Mercedes appears to be going backward with respect to durability while every mainstream maker has been moving forward.
Were I your BIL, I'd not be too impressed.

 

[JustinH]

I'll quit complaining about $250 starters for my Sonata after reading this thread.

MB is a rich mans game, or a handy mans game.

Would be a car to put the lifetime carmax warranty on.

 

[clinebarger]

I've seen quite a few Chrysler products have oil wick though the harness from a failed EOP sensor.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
Originally Posted by Kjmack

Do those gm ls engine's still come from the factory with those awful burs in the camshaft openings ? Heard they really had to be cleaned up pretty good to be a smooth engine .


I am not sure I understand your question. I have changed about 7 different LS cams and I am sure I know what you mean? They are line bored at the factory.



He's probably referring to the casting flash. Never heard of it causing issues of any kind!

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
I've seen quite a few Chrysler products have oil wick though the harness from a failed EOP sensor.



Were they Daimler-era ones per chance?

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
Originally Posted by ls1mike
Originally Posted by Kjmack

Do those gm ls engine's still come from the factory with those awful burs in the camshaft openings ? Heard they really had to be cleaned up pretty good to be a smooth engine .


I am not sure I understand your question. I have changed about 7 different LS cams and I am sure I know what you mean? They are line bored at the factory.



He's probably referring to the casting flash. Never heard of it causing issues of any kind!


Ah got it. Yeah, I have been messing with them since 98. Never heard of an issue with them.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by clinebarger
I've seen quite a few Chrysler products have oil wick though the harness from a failed EOP sensor.



Were they Daimler-era ones per chance?


Chrysler, Daimler, Cerberus & FCA era's.

To be fair.....It take some special circumstances for the wicking to occur, The connector seals have to be put together just right to seal the pressure. MOST times they are not & the oil will just leak out of the connector.

It's the EOP sensor supplier (Standard) that has a problem, Though it seems unlikely that Chrysler wouldn't know about 25 years of issues with the sensor.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
I didn't mean this to become a thread about what is good or bad...
My brother-in-law always gives me a hard time about owning GM stuff, that is why I made the comment to him next time we will just LS swap it.
I just couldn't believe over 7000 dollars, but I suppose I do all my own stuff except for transmission rebuilds (I will pull it, deliver it and reinstall it) so
I haven't ever had a huge repair bill or at least more than 2500 bucks, and that was for a really nice transmission.
His dad now lives with him and got him turned on to Mercedes as that is what he has drove for the past 10ish years.


I have gotten a few really decent German cars for scrap yard or short money because of high dealer cost repairs. The big loaded cars can be a bit of a challenge if they have electrical gremlins but generally they are easy enough to work on.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I've heard about this uncommon issue with Benz. Chalk it up to poor design. BMW has a similar situation where they recommend dropping the engine on their V8's whenever a timing work is performed and on the I6 whenever a head gasket needs replacement..

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
I've seen quite a few Chrysler products have oil wick though the harness from a failed EOP sensor.


I've heard of (never seen) VW wicking coolant from the overflow tank (? it's pressurized so probably the wrong term, but they have a low level sensor in it) all the way out to the taillight.

 

[Alfred_B]

Got a spare key for my GL550 last week and it cost $520. So not surprised at the $7,000 repair bill.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by clinebarger
I've seen quite a few Chrysler products have oil wick though the harness from a failed EOP sensor.



Were they Daimler-era ones per chance?


Chrysler, Daimler, Cerberus & FCA era's.

To be fair.....It take some special circumstances for the wicking to occur, The connector seals have to be put together just right to seal the pressure. MOST times they are not & the oil will just leak out of the connector.

It's the EOP sensor supplier (Standard) that has a problem, Though it seems unlikely that Chrysler wouldn't know about 25 years of issues with the sensor.


Sounds like the Ford Cruise Control switch, where the brake fluid would go through it and into the harness

What engine is this on, or is it pretty universal in that respect?

 

[wag123]

An oil leak? Typical German vehicle. After the warranty expires, they ALL develop leaks.
As far as how oil getting into the wiring harness and ECU is a problem necessitating replacing these components, I'm having trouble understanding why replacements are necessary. Oil is not conductive and shouldn't cause any electrical problems (unless it starts on fire). Someone please enlighten me.

 

[RooflessVW]

Weird... None of my German cars have leaked oil. When I get home I'll tell my 174k mile Carrera that some guy on the internet says it's supposed to leak.

Motor oil is not an ideal conductor of electricity, but it is certainly better than the air. Metallic additives and carbon from combustion ARE conductors.

 

[Mr Nice]

If you can afford a German luxury vehicle.... You can afford the repair bill.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by wag123
An oil leak? Typical German vehicle. After the warranty expires, they ALL develop leaks.
As far as how oil getting into the wiring harness and ECU is a problem necessitating replacing these components, I'm having trouble understanding why replacements are necessary. Oil is not conductive and shouldn't cause any electrical problems (unless it starts on fire). Someone please enlighten me.


The oil leak causes electrical shorts which fry various electronic components. Oil is still slightly conductive and it's also a common problem even on Mercedes pilot bushings on their transmissions, it ends up wicking oil and also causes problems.

 

[Ranger83]

Sprinters have an electrical plug in the transmission. It's easy to change and costs $10-15.

If not replaced periodically (some say 40,000 some 80,000), they have a tendency to leak through the connector, causing other problems. People put huge mileage on them so that might be a once-yearly service.