2003 E200 problems so far

[david arthur]

Hi guys its a long time since i wrote well here goes. Its the first and last time i will buy a Mercedes. Why ? because i prefer not to spend my time sitting in dealers garages especially the one in Nottingham. The problems I've had with my car are well documented on this forum the gearbox being the main problem Come to think of it the problem i had for 2 years with the front tyre losing pressure 8ib a day was finally rectified after removing said tyre 4 times re sealing to Mercedes instructions on 4 different visits on the last visit the guy said we have a problem what problem i replied ? we have found a piece of tyre the shape of your thumbnail flapping on the rim of the tyre and we think that's been the cause of the problem and you will have to buy a new tyre. My reply how come its took 4 visits to find this i am sure you would have noticed this the first time you took said tyre of any way in the end a new wheel and tyre was fitted under warranty. Back to gearbox in June the 3 year warranty was up so i had my E.CLASS mot'd at an independent garage my thinking being if there was something wrong they the dealers would Waite for my warranty to run out so they could charge for work to be carried out it passed with flying colours with a provider that the gearbox was leaking and it would get worse. Again another visit to the dealers said leak was fixed sigh of relief under warranty. didn't take much notice until i was polishing my pride and joy when doing the sills i looked under the car and there was a patch of new gearbox oil on my drive. Booked car in again took it down 9.30 am rang at 4.00pm we are just looking at your car now i will ring back in 15mintes 15 minutes later Ive been on to Mercedes and they will not cover the cost of repair. After an up and downer it was done at no charge but guess what the ****** thing is still leaking and Ive got to go through the whole thing again. Mind you one poor chap had got a £90.00 sports car with adaptive suspension and one of the valves had gone 2 weeks out of warranty and Mercedes had refused to meet any cost's

 

[jberks]

So lets get this straight. You've had a duff tyre that your local tyre guy couldn't sort and was probably damaged during one of the refit processes (but MB replaced under warranty) and a G'box oil leak that for some reason your dealer is incapable of sorting.
So
1) dump your tyre guy
2) Warn the dealer to do the job right this time.

And anecdotally, they've refused another out of warranty repair.

Sorry, but I can't see why you'd avoid the entire make for that. I'f you want proper peace of mind, just extend the warranty or get a service contract. Few manufacturers say yes to most out of warranty claims.

Sure, you don't want to live at the dealer's but that's your local dealer's fault, not MB's. MB may have refused to pay for the dealer's incompetence, expecting the dealer to pay. I'd suggest calling them and insisting that as you've been trawling back and forth quite enough, they should bring you a loaner to your house, collect yours and bring it back when sorted. Most will do that for a service anyway.

 

[david arthur]

Thanks for that the reason for the dealer getting involved with the tyre was because the problem was from new. But of cause the first thing i did was take it to a tyre specialist who after removing the tyre and inspecting it and finding no fault after immersing it in a bath of water said i could have a porous wheel and to take it back to the dealers which i did. The reason for going to an independent garage for an MOT was to make sure that if anything was wrong it would still be repaired under warranty as it had been MOT'D early. That's when i was told i had a gearbox leak so still under warranty you expect it to be repaired under warranty. So just because the warranty has now run out i reasonably expected the problem to have been dealt with the first time round and not have to pay for a job that should have been repaired first time which i thought was reasonable. But that was to much to ask as its still leaking so another ****** phone call. Ive got a service read out of all the work that's been carried out on the gearbox after all its been on and of more times than a tarts knickers what with a new torque converter and lots of tinkering so after 5 visits getting there top technician in the end to try and sort it you can now understand why i am getting a little frustrated with a car that has only covered 20,000 miles its been in there garage more than mine. Ive got a beaten old Toyota van that's been used and abused that's covered in excess of 150,000 miles without one drop of oil being lost or braking down on me. My last car a BMW 525SE had covered 65,000 miles without any problems whatsoever. So if you had had the problems i have had i think you would be a little upset. As for extending the warranty because you cant rely on Mercedes Benz legendary build you can forget it i will not be visiting a Mercedes Benz garage to buy another of there cars.

 

[jberks]

Whether MB or the dealer are liable for the gearbox leak is a tricky point, the only thing that shouldn't be in question is the fact that you're not. So, I'd just book it in and make it very clear that you won't be paying. I suspect you won't get much of an argument.

To be fair, the tyre issue is one of those things. No one's fault really. 99.99% of the time, a leaking tyre is simply the rim seal, so they remove and reseal and that normally sorts it, hence for something more obscure, I'd expect a couple of visits just to rule out the obvious. On that one you've been unlucky.

The gearbox failures and leaks are unnaceptable but it sounds to me like MB Nottingham are not as competent as they should be. It should have been sorted first or second time but unfortunatley as the accountants won't let the engineers spend sufficient time on anything, they just do the best guess and move on. A problem with all large organisations that has led me to consider whether it should still be lawyers that are first against the wall, come the revolution!

Anyway, I assume yours is a 2003, sadly built at the tail end of the reliability debacle so I can understand the frustration. All I can say in defence is that mine, built 2 years later and with over twice the mileage (and rising rapidly), hasn't missed a beat, so if you still prefer it to other makes (aside from the reliability aspect) I wouldn't discount it entirely - perhaps instead doing what the wife did with her Audi, using the poor history to blackmail the dealer into providing a top notch trade in allowance to keep you as a customer.
As they say, don't get mad, get even!

 

[david arthur]

2003 E Class problems so far

Thanks for that jberks haven't had time to do anything about it today to busy. Obviously the worry is that because its a sealed for life gearbox you cant check how much oil you are losing when hot so theoretically you could have a seized gearbox if you lose to much oil. Any way i did get the young lady who has now left you know the one who escorts you round the corner where the coffee and plasma screen reside to give me a computer readout of the work that's been carried out on the car especially on the gearbox just in case there is a problem in the future. Apart from that i like the car not the fastest but on a run 38mpg not bad if the computer is correct and touch wood the rest is sweet as a nut. The service manager tells me the new E Class is a diferent kettle of fish much better screwed together apparently.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Once you find the problem under warranty and notify them they still have to repair/fix it, even if the warranty expires. The big problem with MB is they may well spot a problem in the dealers, but, they won't tell you about it and what is more they won't fix it either. I know, they tried it on me a couple of times and there are a lot of posts about this habit of MB. They also tried the trick of failing to do the repairs during warranty and then trying to charge for them when the booked in date was outside the warranty. As for the leaking transmission, it is up to them to fix it. Often it is a problem identifiable by a competent service engineer but most of are not qualified so unless we know what is happening we get caught out. The sealed for life bit was originally the case but this was changed by MB. I still use the Main dealer and last year they had a service bulletin advising the fluid be changed. They told me it was recommended at 60k.

Now you saw the adaptive suspension episode....so, before a MB warrnaty expires you take your car to a very competent indy and get it thoroughly checked over, every single item. They are sure to find some problem that will make the cost of this very worthwhile.

 

[david arthur]

Thanks for that Olaf i have had time to take the car back yet Ive been to busy. But Ive put a sheet of cardboard under to catch the oil to see just how much I'm losing. And admittedly there are only a few spots on the cardboard so its not as bad as it was. The only worry is that Ive only been parking it at work so it only covers 4 miles there and 4 miles back so the oil isn't getting hot so if it was hot how much would i lose ? and is it picky to expect it not to lose any at all. Any way i did inform the service manager and he said i can take it back and they would put it on the ramp with me present. So next week when Ive got time i will give him a call and take it back. The only real problem Ive had is with the gearbox and that took two and a half years to sort out and that started with the car in drive wanting to move on its own with the foot brake on trying to drag you in to on coming traffic very scary having to put it in to neutral dead quick.

 

[rio678]

To be perfectly honest mercs arnt as good as they use to be, i wouldnt buy a new one even if i could afford it, i prefer my classic mercs, but you will find problems with any car you get........ i always believe you either get a good one or you dont..... my bmw mini has been going back to the garage due to duffed up sensors on the engine which is confusing the ecu only 6 months old, happens to all im afraid.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

David,

I have not had a leak from a car for the last 20 years or more. The problem these days with a leak is it could be coming from something expensive like a turbo where it indicates a problem. On older cars there was a certainty it was either a weep at a sump gasket or a weep at a joint that one could live with knowing there was nothing further likely to happen. I am no expert on transmissions but there are pleny of posts here about problems with them. If it were mine I would be sitting on them to fix it. if nothing else you might get something back for all those who were tolday by MB...sorry...its out of warranty.

 

[david arthur]

Well fellow members i may be slightly happier ? hopefully i rang the service Manager M.B Nottingham last Thursday to say my gearbox is still leaking transmission fluid and was told to bring it in on Monday 2nd October and he would put it up on the ramp for me and him to look at.
Arrived 9.30am greeted and shown to a waiting area where there was copious amount's of coffee and sweets my partner filling pockets with said sweets.
After about 15 minuets i was summoned to have a look under my car its leaking from a different place the service Manager said it looks to be coming from the selector seal the two other seals that we replaced look dry leave it with us and we will call you later.
Later in the afternoon MB rang back to say the parts were ordered for the next day and did you know that your computer was saying a G service was required in the next 22 days and would you like us to do it for you.
No i said i will see how we get on with this first fair enough he said.
Any way to cut to the chase i rang back and told them to do the service and collected the car the next afternoon £327.00 inc VAT for the service.
Its only the next day but touch wood its not leaking oil but then again how many seals does one of these gearboxes have.
Today i received a call from MB asking if i would like a service agreement based on my annual mileage of 7,000 miles a year and by the way your tyres will need renewing can we give you a quote i think someone must have told them i won the lottery a tenner last week. Any way i may finally have the car i always wanted lets see.

 

[television]

So pleased that its been sorted out with a happy ending. You have at least 6 seals (gaskits) on the gearbox. The only other car to come close to the comfort that your car gives, would be another MB abit a more expensive one.
Good luck with it and thanks for posting the happy ending.

malcolm

 

[david arthur]

Thanks Malcolm i gave it a run on Sunday 170 miles checked it when i got back and touch wood no leak's. So hopefully i may have the car I've always wanted. Thanks for every body's input and help.