2009 CL500 5.5 A few issues to sort on my new acqusition - help appreciated

[Submariner1]

No I don't wonder at all. That 80mm of steel might be 50p cheaper than the plastic moulding.

MB last year built something like 1.2 million cars, that's 600k£ saving on dipsticks alone as MB are really good at standardizing "incidental" parts. The door mirrors on your car are the same across all models in the range for instance. They were on the previous generation and the generation before that.

Most auto OEMs use their cost savings programs to pay for new model development, and it costs around £150 million to fully design and develop a new car. That money has to come from somewhere...

Good point, and if you scale that across a large no of parts !!! Becomes very significant.

Well some positive news on the oil overfill.
1 I just realised it had only done 460 miles with the oil too high not 600 as stated before (of which 340 miles were with me at mainly low revs)
2. I also heard from 3 engineers, who basically concurred, that of course it wasnt a good thing , but with only 0.7 litres too much on an 8.5 liter fill they would be amazed if it did any damage, and was unlikely to have caused frothing.

They also said my oil check instantly after switching the engine off , would have shown bubbles on the dipstick which it didnt, and would also have been seen in the clear syphon tube, which it didnt ..
So seems I got away with it.
BTW they did say if it was a smaller engine with say a 4.5 liter fill ... Then it could get marginal, but even then 2 said a lot of smaller engined cars without a dipstick come in overfilled that much and no damgae done.

2 said that possibly, the most likely thing that I might have done was slightly damaged the CAT, a tiny bit , but only to the extent it might fail a test, a few thousand miles quicker. But as its only done 5,600 miles per annum ... The Cat would still be a in a hell of a lot better state, than most cars of its age.

 

[Submariner1]

Well that was reassuring.
Spoke to a mechanic at Star, yes a real mechanic on the phone.
And he said extremely unlikely any damage at all was done with just 0.7 liters too much.
He'd seen many with 1.5 litres too much oil, in for 3 months, and no damage. He felt its when you get to Approx 2 liters too much that damage can be done.

So I Guess I can relax,

Apologies for being so paranoid, but I was really worried that this imo "perfect" engine might have been damaged.
Kinda spoilt it for me.

I suppose its one of the factors of buying secondhand, you dont really know the full story, so maybe in a way I was lucky that I knew the real facts.

Whats that phase "ignorance is bliss" lol

 

[Craiglxviii]

Was it Ian?

 

[Submariner1]

Was it Ian?

No I think it was Mike ( tbh so stressed not sure ) but he defo seemed to know his stuff .

 

[Craiglxviii]

They're very good at Star, frequent forum supporters, post on here most days. They'll likely end up doing the ball joints on my CL when they eventually go a knacker.

 

[Submariner1]

Actually it was terrilbly reassuring to speak to someone who actually understood a car's mechanics.
I remember the old days when cars were segmented by type at Main Dealers, and the service advisor really knew his 'set of cars'.
Today the trend seems to be, "right lets book it in and start charging you, for us to diagnose the problems" ... "What could be the problem?? [er why are you asking me??] ... I havent a clue I am not a mechanic".

And to be frank, on the SL500 having had 5 of them on the trot from new ... I feel I know more about them, than the average Service Booking in agent.

I dont feel the new Main Dealer, dare I call it "Call Centre Approach" is nice .... After all its not like I've got a trivial user fault with my iPhone 7!
But then when you see the new big AMGs at £129,000 .... I guess with a lowly 05 SL 500 or 7 year old CL 500 I am no longer their target customer.

 

[Craiglxviii]

Actually it was terrilbly reassuring to speak to someone who actually understood a car's mechanics.
I remember the old days when cars were segmented by type at Main Dealers, and the service advisor really knew his 'set of cars'.
Today the trend seems to be, "right lets book it in and start charging you, for us to diagnose the problems" ... "What could be the problem?? [er why are you asking me??] ... I havent a clue I am not a mechanic".

And to be frank, on the SL500 having had 5 of them on the trot from new ... I feel I know more about them, than the average Service Booking in agent.

I dont feel the new Main Dealer, dare I call it "Call Centre Approach" is nice .... After all its not like I've got a trivial user fault with my iPhone 7!
But then when you see the new big AMGs at £129,000 .... I guess with a lowly 05 SL 500 or 7 year old CL 500 I am no longer their target customer.

I think you hit the nail bang on the head there. Which is why your target repair market needs to be the likes of the excellent recommended Indy network we have available through this forum.

 

[Submariner1]

I think you hit the nail bang on the head there. Which is why your target repair market needs to be the likes of the excellent recommended Indy network we have available through this forum.

Too right .. It makes it all viable again

 

[Submariner1]

I think you hit the nail bang on the head there. Which is why your target repair market needs to be the likes of the excellent recommended Indy network we have available through this forum.

Too right .. It makes it all viable again

 

[andynpz]

Not disagreeing with you guys but .................


I have noticed a very subtle shift in main dealer attitude (2 different dealers service depts.) when I am in the CL versus the SL, and I don't think it's all down to engine capacity!

I wonder if SL owners are perceived as transient, budget-stretching, owners (obviously not you Submariner - five SLs - must be a forum record, surely). CL owners may be perceived as being more committed to the brand and genuinely well-off enough to contemplate ownership of an expensive to run, service and maintain vehicle. It's like an upgrade to First Class.


Pure speculation - I'm no psychologist

 

[Submariner1]

Not disagreeing with you guys but .................


I have noticed a very subtle shift in main dealer attitude (2 different dealers service depts.) when I am in the CL versus the SL, and I don't think it's all down to engine capacity!

I wonder if SL owners are perceived as transient, budget-stretching, owners (obviously not you Submariner - five SLs - must be a forum record, surely). CL owners may be perceived as being more committed to the brand and genuinely well-off enough to contemplate ownership of an expensive to run, service and maintain vehicle. It's like an upgrade to First Class.


Pure speculation - I'm no psychologist

Difficult for me to answer, as I stopped buying new cars in 2005; mainly because I Was no longer able to write off the loss to tax, and my £11,500 pa car allowance stopped ( so no not wealthy, just did some shrewd bargaining on my employment package) and also as the intrinsic 2003 SL500 shape aged, the residual values prummeted. Also their residual value demise, was imo accelerated by the £299 per month deals one sees on say some new fangled CLA sporters etc.
Sure they still treated me beautifully with the SL500, but taking my wifes A Class there was not in the same league.

But I think the service downgrade was when they stopped having service desks for specific models .... Say a station for S, CL and SLs, and another for ML and E Class. Suddenly any one handled any car and they frankly hardly new what the cars were let alone how they worked. What I called the "Call Centre Approach".

 

[branxta]

Hi all

Im still quite new to the forum so sorry if i'm posting this to the wrong place - dont think im able to start the new threads myself yet..

I bought a lovely 2009 cl500 few weeks ago. I suspect the front left tyre is leaking air, however the sensors on the car didn't trigger any notification.

The alloys on the car are 20/ AMG that previous owner probably retrofitted.

I wonder if there is a piece of hardware / sensors missing on them?

I went to the petrol station and measured the tire pressure, the left one was 18 psi the right one 35. Pictures below (the dark one is after i pumped the tyre) .

I set them both equally at 35psi now, but I'm pretty sure the left one will deflate again.

Is there some special bit of hardware (sensor caps?) i must get in order to get the tyre pressure system working as it should?

Thanks
B

 

[Craiglxviii]

Hi all

Im still quite new to the forum so sorry if i'm posting this to the wrong place - dont think im able to start the new threads myself yet..

I bought a lovely 2009 cl500 few weeks ago. I suspect the front left tyre is leaking air, however the sensors on the car didn't trigger any notification.

The alloys on the car are 20/ AMG that previous owner probably retrofitted.

I wonder if there is a piece of hardware / sensors missing on them?

I went to the petrol station and measured the tire pressure, the left one was 18 psi the right one 35. Pictures below (the dark one is after i pumped the tyre) .

I set them both equally at 35psi now, but I'm pretty sure the left one will deflate again.

Is there some special bit of hardware (sensor caps?) i must get in order to get the tyre pressure system working as it should?

Thanks
B

Something along the lines of this:

https://www.tpmscentre.co.uk/produc...ems-repair-service-kit-mercedes-vw-volkswagen

 

[Submariner1]

Hi all

Im still quite new to the forum so sorry if i'm posting this to the wrong place - dont think im able to start the new threads myself yet..

I bought a lovely 2009 cl500 few weeks ago. I suspect the front left tyre is leaking air, however the sensors on the car didn't trigger any notification.

The alloys on the car are 20/ AMG that previous owner probably retrofitted.

I wonder if there is a piece of hardware / sensors missing on them?

I went to the petrol station and measured the tire pressure, the left one was 18 psi the right one 35. Pictures below (the dark one is after i pumped the tyre) .

I set them both equally at 35psi now, but I'm pretty sure the left one will deflate again.

Is there some special bit of hardware (sensor caps?) i must get in order to get the tyre pressure system working as it should?

Thanks
B

I have a 2009 CL500 their are 2 levels of tyre warning, do you have 1 or 2?
(Sorry I cant remember the terminology, i would need to look up the manual )
What codes do you have?
Did you reset the tyre pressure warning values?
You need to do that after changing tyre pressure.

 

[Submariner1]

I have a 2009 CL500 their are 2 levels of tyre warning, do you have 1 or 2?
(Sorry I cant remember the terminology, i would need to look up the manual )
What codes do you have?
Did you reset the tyre pressure warning values?
You need to do that after changing tyre pressure.

One is a tyre pressure Loss warning .. you need to restart or reset it in te service menu if you change the tyres or tyre pressure.
The other is the Tyre Monitor system, that lets you see the individual tyre pressures put key in pos 2 , select service menu, tyre pressure , OK.
No idea if its very accurate?

Codes to look for are things like 477

 

[branxta]

I have a 2009 CL500 their are 2 levels of tyre warning, do you have 1 or 2?
(Sorry I cant remember the terminology, i would need to look up the manual )
What codes do you have?
Did you reset the tyre pressure warning values?
You need to do that after changing tyre pressure.

Thanks for this. yes i did reset pressure warning, however still nothing happens , even though the tyre is obviously losing pressure... hmmm

 

[branxta]

One is a tyre pressure Loss warning .. you need to restart or reset it in te service menu if you change the tyres or tyre pressure.
The other is the Tyre Monitor system, that lets you see the individual tyre pressures put key in pos 2 , select service menu, tyre pressure , OK.
No idea if its very accurate?

Codes to look for are things like 477

Thanks for this. i did reset the tyre pressure loss warning. that is btw the only option i have on my dashboard , (service / tyre pressure / run flat indicator active / restart possible with OK) . i cannot see the individual tyre pressure level.

 

[Submariner1]

Thanks for this. i did reset the tyre pressure loss warning. that is btw the only option i have on my dashboard , (service / tyre pressure / run flat indicator active / restart possible with OK) . i cannot see the individual tyre pressure level.

OK that just means you only have Tyre Pressure Loss, not monitor.

Personally I dont have a clue how accurate these things are, I heard they were pretty average to put it mildly.

Yes I like the idea, it gives me a warning something bad has happened, but I do drive fast; so I have a good digital tyre pressure gauge ... its accurate!
I also have a Michelin electric pump with a so so gauge, and the one that came with the SL500.

Your tyre looks worryingly low, I don't like running what I call low profiles under pressure, imo not enough sidewall to give.

And I dont know why it didn't warn you that you had lost tyre pressure, if you had reset it. It should have.

Sorry I cant be of much help, as I have not had a flat with this car, so not even sure if mine works. One would have assumed if it was defective they would give you a dashboard message when you reset it? Well my logic says that would be what should happen.

Do you have a code scanner ? If so try that and see if it reports a fault code
Failing that I would tske it to a decent Indy.

TBH if mine broke I wouldnt pay a lot to have it fixed as its just a gimmick.
Hope you sort it and let us know.

Nice to have another CL500 C216 on the forum, as they are relatively rare. Also useful yours and mine are the same generation .

And whatever you do avoid opening that ABC fluid reservoir cap! If you do dont start the engine until you have sucked out all the ABC fluid and flushed it.
Note all the earlier C216s have a top return feed and its ok to do that. 2008 onwards will dump all the crap in the filter into the reservoir. Pretty bad for the ABC pump!

 

[branxta]

OK that just means you only have Tyre Pressure Loss, not monitor.

Personally I dont have a clue how accurate these things are, I heard they were pretty average to put it mildly.

Yes I like the idea, it gives me a warning something bad has happened, but I do drive fast; so I have a good digital tyre pressure gauge ... its accurate!
I also have a Michelin electric pump with a so so gauge, and the one that came with the SL500.

Your tyre looks worryingly low, I don't like running what I call low profiles under pressure, imo not enough sidewall to give.

And I dont know why it didn't warn you that you had lost tyre pressure, if you had reset it. It should have.

Sorry I cant be of much help, as I have not had a flat with this car, so not even sure if mine works. One would have assumed if it was defective they would give you a dashboard message when you reset it? Well my logic says that would be what should happen.

Do you have a code scanner ? If so try that and see if it reports a fault code
Failing that I would tske it to a decent Indy.

TBH if mine broke I wouldnt pay a lot to have it fixed as its just a gimmick.
Hope you sort it and let us know.

Nice to have another CL500 C216 on the forum, as they are relatively rare. Also useful yours and mine are the same generation .

And whatever you do avoid opening that ABC fluid reservoir cap! If you do dont start the engine until you have sucked out all the ABC fluid and flushed it.
Note all the earlier C216s have a top return feed and its ok to do that. 2008 onwards will dump all the crap in the filter into the reservoir. Pretty bad for the ABC pump!

Thanks very much for this, much appreciated.
Yes , absolutely cool to have someone with the same year / model.
I just bought the car 2 weeks ago and im super happy. i also own the S-class 350TD from 1996 - my dad was the first owner, i refurnished it few years ago, helluva car.
but the 09 / CL500 i drive here in the UK is an absolute joy!
what a smooth ride.. such an upgrade after carrera 4.

and thanks for the ABC pump advice, ill stay clear of it!

i also found out the reason why the tyre was low - unfortunately there is a small crack on the front left wheel on the inside. the roads in london are full of potholes, i believe the 20'' AMG rims are not the right choice for these roads. im thinking about buying a second hand 18'' wheels on ebay and stick some winter tyres on them since i plan to do some trips to the continent over the next few months, feb is supposed to snow quite a lot.. i will probably put 255/45/18 on all 4.
also i will probably get the 20 AMG cracked wheel welded, its a small crack only. so in summer i can roll with 275 in the back and 255 in the front.

 

[SL63 Mark]

Hmm, not a big fan of welding alloy wheels, for what it's worth I would bin and replace, personally.