I quite liked my ML270...before it went in for its service!

[RedWelshie]

This is a little moan...more annoyed at myself really for not being more motor savvy!

I purchased my 2001 ML270 in March 2012 with 68k miles, full MB service history etc etc. Not being an expert i put all my trust into the dealer for selling me 'a lovely 4x4 that he was going to give to his wife except it didnt have 7 seats'...did i really fall for that salesman bull, yes unfortunately!

I had the car 3 days before it went back for a complete gearbox overhaul, not too worried it was under dealer warranty and they were more than helpfull in sorting the problem. That was in March 2012 and had no issues since.....

Today it went for its service with my trusted local garage (they havent serviced it before so had no idea what to expect), my god the 'whats wrong / bodged' list made my eyes water, literally

The actual service went ok, apart from the bill for 8 litres of oil! needs front pads, bulb changes, wipers etc etc standard stuff, then came THE LIST.... (remember im no expert so bear with me if i get it a bit wrong)

• • Altenator cracked, ok for now but must be changed
  • Suprisingly the offside rear shocks and other suspension bits have been previously replaced, and nearside shows no signs of damage
  • Power steering hose was just about held on with a bit of tape and jubilee clips!
  • White bulbs instead of yellow ones in the indicators
  • Oil absolutely everywhere, so much so that they have no idea where its coming from. They suspect its old oil from an old, what looks like an explosion. They cleaned it up and will recheck in a month
  • Turbo blowing oil / air??
  • Antifreeze, possibly still the original liquid... this car is over 10 years old..can that be right?
  • etc
  • etc
  
  My point to this is i was sold a well looked after, lovely car, from what i thought a reputible dealer. What a pile of bull s**t, i was hoping like my local garage i found a dealer i could trust...so so wrong.
  
  Actually i still like the car and have no intentions of getting rid of it i just didnt expect to find or be told what a mess it had been left in under the bonnet. Dealer did a very good job of cleaning the engines surface and making it look all sparkly!!

 

[television]

Just a tiny thing, could the indicator lamp bulbs have been changed for what look like white bulbs but flash yellow

 

[RedWelshie]

Just a tiny thing, could the indicator lamp bulbs have been changed for what look like white bulbs but flash yellow

Didnt even though they existed...see not motor savvy. I did question the bulb thing because the dealer i bought it from put a new MOT on it, i thought the bulbs have to be yellow for it to pass. That will be no if it had what youve described

 

[WG M-B]

Your list really doesnt sound that bad to be honest.
Is it the alternator thats cracked or the belt?????
As for the oil leak, a good steam clean and re check to locate the leak?
I wouldnt be worrying too much as it sounds pretty minor stuff. Diesels do tend to become oily underneath with age. We tend to steam clean engines on B services to keep them spick and span.

The fact that there are no major suspension items/ steering ball joints on the list is a good thing!

 

[pipmk]

I think you may be getting upset for little reason. Apart from the turbo which needs looking at but may be nothing, the rest is something and nothing ,irritating but little more.In 7 months of ownership after the box was sorted you have obviously been happy with it as you only took it in for a routine service.Has it been eating oil,is it low on oil? If not little to worry about, look on it as an anti rust coating.
Don't let it get to you. Wait until your garage has been able to consider the issues and count yourself lucky you have a good one. better to have a car that has had replacements than one that hasn't.

 

[jibcl500]

The only expensive part in the alternator the rest doesnt sound to bad.

jib

 

[toby1]

Doesn't sound that bad to me

 

[brandwooddixon]

Alternator cracked seems odd.
Don't worry about the coolant - MB insist that their antifreeze is good for 15 years, so just a dip test required to make sure it'll still do its stuff when it gets cold.
8 litres of oil, well these are big engines.
Turbo problems? You've been happy with performance so far so I owuldn't worry.
Now that you've has the engine cleaned time will tell if there is an oil leak.

 

[tony jr]

I think the turbo may be normal - the Positive Crankcase Ventilation System dumps oil vapour into the intake prior to the turbo. This adds to the gunk in the egr and inlet manifold!

I'm surprised that the alternator is cracked if it is or did they mean the gasket seal in the alternator water cooling jacket is cracked and slowly leaking coolant!

overall it does not sound that bad

 

[tony jr]

oil over the engine could be someone slipped when filling the engine with oil - easily done - clean down and keep an eye on it.

 

[Cole@MBS]

8 liters of oil, thats a tad over filled then, the 320 takes 8. not a 270......

 

[paul hayward]

could of been loads worse!!...get back to enjoying the car...good luck getting the few jobs done and be right as rain again for you

 

[Frontstep]

An 11 year old car and its expected to be like a new one, glad I don't sell cars.

 

[RedWelshie]

Ive been away and not able to respond to my post, sorry its a bit late

Ive read all the responses thank you.....i think i have come across as a bit paranoid, i know its 11 years old but this is my first MB, 4 x 4 and im massively proud of it....i also knew it could cost a fortune if it goes wrong and unfortunately it did only a week after buying it and when the garage gave me the 'to do' list after the service my heart sank.

The gear box has never been right after its 'overhaul', it now transpires it wasnt overhauled at all (i found out through an employee of the garage it was alegedly overhauled by), the dealer did nothing apart change the oil and filters and fobbed me off. Because the whole limp mode issue wasnt causing me massive problems, just irritating, i chose to ignore it, bad move possibly.

Since March 2012 the car has been into three garages and no one knows whats wrong with it and why it goes into limp mode. They put it on a scanner, it comes up with a load of codes, they clear the codes and say come back if it limp modes again.

I had learnt to live with the limp mode simply because i got fed up with paying 50 quid a time for someone to stick a scanner on it and tell me the go away and come back next time it does it!

Strangley enough the limp mode has dissapeared but i do have new issues:-

• Alarm randomly goes off when locking the car.
• Difficult to start on cold mornings
• No kickdown (not that i would use it, but if its supposed to be there then i would like it to work)
• No drive from the gearbox on cold mornings, i have to let car warm up first

In a last ditch attempt i found an auto specialist that was willing to scan my car and find out whats wrong FOC (this is written in my words):-

• Air flow sensor definately faulty and cannot be cleared from the STAR
• Gearbox ECU fault
• Gearbox electrical plate fault
• Gear slippage

He cleared the codes properly, checked levels in the gearbox and they were fine. I went back the following morning to see if they had reappeared and there was nothing apart from the air flow senso message.

Even though the codes have gone i still get a short loss of drive on cold mornings, there still isnt a kickdown, and its a pig to start.

We have agreed to change the Air flow sensor and put in a new battery as apparently batterys with low voltage can play havoc with electrics and gearboxes.

If it still plays up then we will go for a new electrical plate and if thats fails i will have no choice but to go for a new gearbox.


I didnt buy this 11 year old car and expect it to run like new but i did expect it not to be so frustrating. Ive learnt that a small number of faults could either be down to replacement of £100 battery or a faulty £2000 gearbox.....talk about one extreme to the other!!

Sorry for such a long reply

 

[Rockall]

The cold in the morning bit is normal as far as I am concerned. Mine is the sam and always has been. The box will not change up normally until oil has warmed up - normally a few hundred metres and then away she goes. The other thing to check is whether your thermostat is operating properly - temp gauge should be just over 85.

The oil on the engine block that you mentioned earlier sounds like the inlet manifold issue. See the thread re EGR bypass etc.

Regards

Bill

 

[S.Speed]

Ive been away and not able to respond to my post, sorry its a bit late

• No drive from the gearbox on cold mornings, i have to let car warm up first

Do you mean literally that the car wont move at all on cold mornings?
If you do then that definitely is NOT normal !!!

My drive works 100% OK even on the coldest of mornings...

 

[c15htn]

Bit of oil leaking
Needs an alternator (but the one it had works)
It's had some suspension work - at 11 years old most have.
Dodgy hoses here and there....... Still working though eh?
Any kind of leak on the turbo is likely to look oily

You like it? You're comfy with it........ Stop worrying and enjoy it - although I'm not sure about the descriptions he's given you on the list of 'serious' problems. It sounds like the sort of list you get from a kwik fit type cheap mot to scare you into spending a fortune!

However, get the maf changed then approach the gearbox issues..... Kickdown etc may well be MAF related. The next bit I guess is the plate.

Don't forget you do actually like it and you couldn't replace it for the price of a box!

 

[rpe2]

Don't suppose you have the list of codes to hand that are (may) be causing the limp issue?

 

[MBDevotee]

If you reported the gearbox problem within warranty and the dealer fobbed you off without fixing the problem, you still have recourse.

I suspect you're looking at a refurb/recon gearbox - and he should at least contribute.

 

[Jdokal]

The gearbox problem maybe a leaking pilot bush, if there are no undertrays underneath a quick look will tell you.

Additionally, your car has travelled over 40K and there is no real evidence of a gearbox service.

If you get the gearbox serviced, replace the pilot bush at the same time.

The Air Mass filter makes sense and I look forward to your findings once the battery is replaced.

You need to make contact with one of the good indies on here