My new love - CL500

Ash Hussain

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Cl500 2003
Hello guys,
Im new here, bought myself a 2003 CL500 about 2 weeks ago.
Other than taking out a business loan to pay for fuel, its a stunning machine.

I picked it up with lowering pins installed, so sits wonderfully low to the ground and the exhaust baffles are removed, so I spend ALL my driving time listening to the various low frequencies the exhaust produces. :)

It has a little rust around the passenger arch and around sunroof which I'll get sorted soon. And an annoying ABC Warning light (white) which appears at around 30mph sometimes but goes away after a re-boot. Its booked in with Wayne Gates for next week for them to have a look at.

I've also removed the original stereo (luckily it didnt have the BOSE amp) CD changer, speakers and replaced with JL components and an Alpine head unit.

Hope to get acquainted with you guys. :)
 

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Craiglxviii

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970 Panamera Turbo; W221 S500L AMG Line, C215 CL500, W251 R350L AMG Line, plus several more now gone
Hello and welcome. I'm glad to see you're managing your expectations with regard to fuel efficiency (I see 22mpg average from mine) and that you're becoming acquainted with ABC. It will be your attention-seeking friend for years to come make no doubt!

Now the serious bit. The "500" in the model designation doesn't refer to tne engine size, but the numerator for individual repair jobs. That is, expect your repair jobs to be in multiples of £500 and you won't go wrong. A sensible budget for repair and maintenance each year is £2000- £2500.

I would very strongly suggest that you have the lowering links removed, ABC doesn't like them and they can cause many problems (they may be part of the cause of your warning). The car sits low enough in its arches on 18" wheels with ride height set to standard anyway.
 
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Ash Hussain

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Cl500 2003
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Hello and welcome. I'm glad to see you're managing your expectations with regard to fuel efficiency (I see 22mpg average from mine) and that you're becoming acquainted with ABC. It will be your attention-seeking friend for years to come make no doubt!

Now the serious bit. The "500" in the model designation doesn't refer to tne engine size, but the numerator for individual repair jobs. That is, expect your repair jobs to be in multiples of £500 and you won't go wrong. A sensible budget for repair and maintenance each year is £2000- £2500.

I would very strongly suggest that you have the lowering links removed, ABC doesn't like them and they can cause many problems (they may be part of the cause of your warning). The car sits low enough in its arches on 18" wheels with ride height set to standard anyway.

Thanks very much for your response. :)

I took the cost of servicing onboard before I purchased. Previous cars have included an M5, M3 and 335i convertible. So am well acquainted with ridiculous repair costs.

I have the original links so if that is the problem I'll have them put back in again and go for bigger wheels. :)
 

LostKiwi

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'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
Hi and welcome - the CL is a fine and majestic vehicle and has some serious engineering in it (those door hinges for example!)
 

Flyinspanner

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CLK320-A209 (sold CL500 & W168)
Terry at WG is a great guy to have onside, and will be able to sort the niggles out. As I mentioned on the other thread, it's a good idea to get the system flushed, (every 2-3 years is a good preventative measure, as it keeps it all very clean).

With regard to 'rust', I assume you have some paint bubbles? It is corrosion, but most panels are aluminium, front wings and boot lid are plastic.
There is a Bodyshop in Park Royal that gets good reports, can't remember the name at the moment.

Mine is on 19", standard suspension, and the stance looks good.
 

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Craiglxviii

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970 Panamera Turbo; W221 S500L AMG Line, C215 CL500, W251 R350L AMG Line, plus several more now gone
Thanks very much for your response. :)

I took the cost of servicing onboard before I purchased. Previous cars have included an M5, M3 and 335i convertible. So am well acquainted with ridiculous repair costs.

I have the original links so if that is the problem I'll have them put back in again and go for bigger wheels. :)

When I say cost of servicing, bear in mind:

ABC pump replacement = £700.
ABC strut replacement = £1100/ corner.
Rear ABC solid/ flexi hose replacement = £350
A/C compressor replacement = £1100.
ABC valve block replacement = £1400.
ABC valve block rebuild = £350.

I strongly advise not going over 18” on wheel size. This gives you a depth profile of 40 for and 35 rr on staggered wheels. You will have around 35mm from tyre to top of arch and you really need it on the less than 3rd World road surfaces we have.
 

Craiglxviii

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970 Panamera Turbo; W221 S500L AMG Line, C215 CL500, W251 R350L AMG Line, plus several more now gone
Terry at WG is a great guy to have onside, and will be able to sort the niggles out. As I mentioned on the other thread, it's a good idea to get the system flushed, (every 2-3 years is a good preventative measure, as it keeps it all very clean).

With regard to 'rust', I assume you have some paint bubbles? It is corrosion, but most panels are aluminium, front wings and boot lid are plastic.
There is a Bodyshop in Park Royal that gets good reports, can't remember the name at the moment.

Mine is on 19", standard suspension, and the stance looks good.

Those are luvverly wheels FS!
 
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Ash Hussain

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Your Mercedes
Cl500 2003
  • Thread Starter
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Terry at WG is a great guy to have onside, and will be able to sort the niggles out. As I mentioned on the other thread, it's a good idea to get the system flushed, (every 2-3 years is a good preventative measure, as it keeps it all very clean).

With regard to 'rust', I assume you have some paint bubbles? It is corrosion, but most panels are aluminium, front wings and boot lid are plastic.
There is a Bodyshop in Park Royal that gets good reports, can't remember the name at the moment.

Mine is on 19", standard suspension, and the stance looks good.

Thats a stunning machine. I'm going to consider having the standard links put back in. Hopefully that will cure the ABC issues.

Yes, some paint bubbles... not too bad... I live in Slough so plenty of paint shops. I'll have it looked at after I get the ABC sorted. :)
 
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Ash Hussain

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Cl500 2003
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When I say cost of servicing, bear in mind:

ABC pump replacement = £700.
ABC strut replacement = £1100/ corner.
Rear ABC solid/ flexi hose replacement = £350
A/C compressor replacement = £1100.
ABC valve block replacement = £1400.
ABC valve block rebuild = £350.

I strongly advise not going over 18” on wheel size. This gives you a depth profile of 40 for and 35 rr on staggered wheels. You will have around 35mm from tyre to top of arch and you really need it on the less than 3rd World road surfaces we have.

seems as if the ABC is the biggest pain in the arse. lol
I'll have the system serviced. Hopefully will continue without giving me any serious problems.
 

Craiglxviii

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970 Panamera Turbo; W221 S500L AMG Line, C215 CL500, W251 R350L AMG Line, plus several more now gone
seems as if the ABC is the biggest pain in the arse. lol
I'll have the system serviced. Hopefully will continue without giving me any serious problems.

You need to have it flushed and the filter replaced every 2 years or 20k miles religiously. Total cost (you can do this at home) is around £300, mainly for the Pentosin CHF.11S fluid (keep an eye out for this if on offer on eBay/ Opie Oils etc. £16/ litre is a good price, MB sell for £22/ litre, you need 10 litres).
 

Naraic

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Your Mercedes
2005 CL500.
Hello and welcome. I'm glad to see you're managing your expectations with regard to fuel efficiency (I see 22mpg average from mine) and that you're becoming acquainted with ABC. It will be your attention-seeking friend for years to come make no doubt!

Now the serious bit. The "500" in the model designation doesn't refer to tne engine size, but the numerator for individual repair jobs. That is, expect your repair jobs to be in multiples of £500 and you won't go wrong. A sensible budget for repair and maintenance each year is £2000- £2500.

I would very strongly suggest that you have the lowering links removed, ABC doesn't like them and they can cause many problems (they may be part of the cause of your warning). The car sits low enough in its arches on 18" wheels with ride height set to standard anyway.

Interesting C...I've been running lowering links for more than a year with no problems.
 

Craiglxviii

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970 Panamera Turbo; W221 S500L AMG Line, C215 CL500, W251 R350L AMG Line, plus several more now gone
Interesting C...I've been running lowering links for more than a year with no problems.

Really? That IS interesting. yes, it's what I was told when my car first had its... "issues"... examined. Something to do with the plunger sensor calibration IIRC.
 
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Ash Hussain

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Cl500 2003
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currently the biggest issue I have is the rear view mirror doesn't save the settings... so always goes of to a different setting every time I start the car.
 

Craiglxviii

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970 Panamera Turbo; W221 S500L AMG Line, C215 CL500, W251 R350L AMG Line, plus several more now gone
currently the biggest issue I have is the rear view mirror doesn't save the settings... so always goes of to a different setting every time I start the car.

That's odd. Settings are saved in the driver's seat control module.
 
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Ash Hussain

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That's odd. Settings are saved in the driver's seat control module.
I'll have another play with it, but steering, seat and side mirrors save the settings fine. Just the rear view mirror doesnt.
 

John Laidlaw

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Land Rover Discovery 4
Welcome Ash, I’m late to the party but all the ABC stuff has been covered already by Craig...happy days!
 

A.J.

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UnMerc - 2020 VW Polo 2.0t GTi Plus, DSG. Flash Red, Traditional VW GTi Tartan seat trim.
Hi Ash, welcome to the forum :)
 

Naraic

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2005 CL500.
I'll have another play with it, but steering, seat and side mirrors save the settings fine. Just the rear view mirror doesnt.
My rvm isn't part of the automatic adjustments. Does your rvm move when you start the engine?
 


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