How not to treat a Mercedes....

[Alcibiades]

Someone I know has an '04 ML 350 (3.7l v6), and needed to park it at my house for a day before going on a long trip (long story in itself...). I noticed that the brakes were noisy, and upon inspection found that the right front rotor was literally desintigrating. Pieces of it would break off at the slightest touch, and the pads on that side were way worn into the hard metal. So I told her she would never make it to Florida like that, and offered to replace the front rotors and pads. No problem. Luckily the calipers were still ok.

Then I checked the oil and found...nothing. The dipstick was totally dry. So I opened the drain and what came out was like goopy black jello, one small teaspoon sized plop at a time. I asked her how long it had been since she had the oil changed, and she said, "Oh I don't know, maybe 40,000 miles?"

After picking up my lower jaw from my chest I filled the sump with Supertech 10w30, of which it took 4 qts to fill, removed the filter element (can't have been any worse than using the filter that was already in there--I should have taken pictures), and ran the engine for about 30 minutes. After that it started draining well, and I went for a new filter and 9 qts of Syntec 5w40, which is not a minor expense. It took 8.5 qts to fill it, which is about what it should take according to the Amsoil online guide.

It is amazing the thing is still on the road with about 240,000 miles.

 

[simple_gifts]

When it dies, it will be your fault.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: Alcibiades
Someone I know has an '04 ML 350 (3.7l v6), and needed to park it at my house for a day before going on a long trip (long story in itself...). I noticed that the brakes were noisy, and upon inspection found that the right front rotor was literally desintigrating. Pieces of it would break off at the slightest touch, and the pads on that side were way worn into the hard metal. So I told her she would never make it to Florida like that, and offered to replace the front rotors and pads. No problem. Luckily the calipers were still ok.

Then I checked the oil and found...nothing. The dipstick was totally dry. So I opened the drain and what came out was like goopy black jello, one small teaspoon sized plop at a time. I asked her how long it had been since she had the oil changed, and she said, "Oh I don't know, maybe 40,000 miles?"

After picking up my lower jaw from my chest I filled the sump with Supertech 10w30, of which it took 4 qts to fill, removed the filter element (can't have been any worse than using the filter that was already in there--I should have taken pictures), and ran the engine for about 30 minutes. After that it started draining well, and I went for a new filter and 9 qts of Syntec 5w40, which is not a minor expense. It took 8.5 qts to fill it, which is about what it should take according to the Amsoil online guide.

It is amazing the thing is still on the road with about 240,000 miles.


This would be a lady that would brake down on the side of a high-way, get out and get hit by a passing car. I think there should be a basic car maintenance part of a drivers license test so that the bare-minimum guidelines are covered.

You should put some ARX in it to keep all the sludge soluble and removable... Just putting a good quality syn in it by itself may cause more harm than good, because it could break loose some debris and clog up the pick-up tube... IMO. Good Luck Lady!

 

[bullwinkle]

Ouch-sounds like Auto-Rx or death to me, hate to see the oil pickup when that synthetic breaks all the sludge loose!

 

[jldcol]

240k miles right not km in 4 yrs 60k a year, or 5 yrs near 50k a year, so highway miles? very suprising it still lives. Also suprising the right caliper, which seems to have been obviously sticking, was able to return to service. That is a rather big sump so it may explain a lot, even dry sticked has I guess 5-6 qts. of oil about what most usually do, even with that goo.

 

[VK56VD]

Seems like its due for all new fluids! Did you check the air filter on it?

 

[Mr Nice]

Don't add any oil and let that engine blow up !!!!

If they got the moeny to afford that car, then they should have the money to have it properly serviced.

 

[Alcibiades]

Yes, lots of highway miles, and I agree that the big sump explains the fact that it is still living. The brake issue probably stems from a wreck with a logging truck (settlement pending...). The air filter, oddly, wasn't that bad. Anyway, it's out of my hands now.

I've been away from BITOG for a long time. Nice to be back.

 

[StevieC]

They probably have the money to service it, just not the brains to actually do it.

But then again in today's age she probably just leases it...

 

[jldcol]

Is this a real MB engine or one of those minivan v-6's from chrysler with a big donkey sump.

 

[StevieC]

No the ML has a Mercedes engine... Dad used to work for Di-Chry.

 

[Alcibiades]

As far as I know it's MB. My father has an '03 Chrysler minivan, and it doesn't resemble this MB at all.

When did they separate from Chrysler? Can't remember if it was before or after '04.

 

[drewjp]

This story is better than the time I witnessed a woman used the window squeegee at the gas station to clean the salt off of her brand new black E350 Mercedes. The entire car from top to bottom.

 

[wavinwayne]

Geez, in comparison to the OP's friend's ML, my wife's '04 ML350 gets 5-star treatment. This includes nothing more than me changing the oil every 10k miles, changing air filter every 30k, and topping up various fluids as needed. Not really 5-star service, but like I said, in comparison...

FWIW, my wife's '04 ML350 engine is spotless as viewed through the oil fill hole. If anything kills my wife's ML, it definitely won't be oil related.

 

[Challenger71]

..and they ignored the oil change reminder light why? What did they think, the MB was going to drive to the dealer on its own and service itself? I give up trying to figure people out. I truly hope this story is fictitious.

 

[StevieC]

MB should come out with what BMW has, where it schedules you an appointment then calls you via the cars-phone thingy and asks you if the appointment is ok or if you want to change... I heard this on a radio commercial like a year ago...

Now I know why they have it...

 

[Kestas]

I imagine people reading this post can commiserate with the automotive engineer trying to make car ownership as easy as possible. But there reaches a point where car owners need to realize a certain amount of personal responsibility kicks in.

What's ironic to me is that somehow the same people that are too dumb to pay attention to basic automotive maintenance (or even too dumb to seek advice), are supposedly smart enough to earn the money to afford a car with all the sensors and prompts to remind them of basic maintenance.

 

[StevieC]

Just shows you how screwed the world really is eh?

 

[meep]

kudos to being so helpful. I think you did a good job. And I'm amazed that folks here still claim that syn will break big chunks of goo lose after all that's been discussed. You did good.

Mike

 

[StevieC]

He did good... *Hat off* to you...