Mercedes E350 4 Matic Owners ?

Originally Posted by Kjmack
Thanks for your insight Edy. Yes you are correct with the MB forums not alot of info there or knowledge , I'm sure there is some helpful guys there but not very active .
I have always been on top of maintenance so Dad's car would be in good hands in that aspect . Thanks again Edy.


It varies with the age of the car. When they're new, they're under warranty so not too many DIY people as the dealer would just fix everything. As they get older and they get bought used without warranties, you get more people who DIY things. There are a few people on those forums who are very knowledgeable, but they don't always post and you need to ask specific questions about a repair. A few of them work at MB dealers so they have very detailed and specific info, but as they're working, they don't seem to post as much. The W212 forum is a bit quieter than the W211 just because it's been more reliable than the W211 and some later models are still under warranty.

For the 2013, the other things to look for would be faded wood trim. Not much you can do about that as it's already out of factory warranty and ELW and CPO didn't cover it. Open the door and check the wood trim hidden by the door, if the color is different, you have faded wood. Just something to be aware of. If you have MB-tex instead of real leather, check the seam in the middle of the driver's seat, that sometimes tends to rip. Real leather had vertical stitching and MB-tex had horizontal stitching with one right in the middle. The faded wood and ripped seat affected more 2010-2011 models, but it was still there even til 2014.
 
Car is in show room condition , also the seats are real leather not the Tex . Car was kept in climate controlled garage . My only concern was the trans. which has been put to rest . Thanks for all that commented
 
I recently picked up a '11 E350 4matic wagon, 113k miles, dealer serviced car... overall great shape considering, but still has it own issues. Things like: vibration at idle, rusty lug bolts, deformed engine insulation and tear in drivers seat lower cushion.

Posted on BenzWorld and MBWord, both are very quiet... I used post on the W124 forum and it was much more active.
 
Originally Posted by bmwpowere36m3
I recently picked up a '11 E350 4matic wagon, 113k miles, dealer serviced car... overall great shape considering, but still has it own issues. Things like: vibration at idle, rusty lug bolts, deformed engine insulation and tear in drivers seat lower cushion.

Posted on BenzWorld and MBWord, both are very quiet... I used post on the W124 forum and it was much more active.

MB sells the lower seat cover and the pricing is fairly reasonable. The job is not difficult either.

The vibration at idle is due to collapsed mounts. Replace all 3 at the same time.
 
Had a '12 E350 4Matic sedan for a short period of time until it met an early demise.

Engine mounts are an early failure on the E350, my prior C300 mounts were going bad so seems MB engine mounts are just weak. Dealer quoted me something ridiculous like $1600 to replace the engine and trans mounts, independent quoted me $800 some odd. Car was totaled before I could get the work done.

Faded wood trim noted above - even on my car it was only noticeable if you looked for it.

Possible EIS (Electronic Ignition Switch) and/or ESL (Electronic Steering Lock) failure. I honestly did not read about many failures on the W212 boards but the '07-'14 C-Class it was not a if but when one of the components failed and it was a failure that would leave you stranded needing a tow. I think MB may have improved the hardware over the years so this may not apply to the W212.

The W212 really turned around the reliability aspect of the E class after the disastrous W211. It still is going to cost a pretty penny to maintain as it gets older but mechanically it is quite sound.
 
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