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

[Submariner1]

When I purchased a 2010 CL500 w216 it had only 11k on the clock, it came with factory fitted 20"amg wheels with low profile tyres and as luck has it I have not had pothole damage as yet, did find them a slightly harder ride than my previous S class but then that is to be expected.
The CL has a very positive feel to the steering that I like and the tyre noise on some roads can be a bit high but i just do like the look of 20"amg wheels on a CL, I did think of changing to 18"wheels to get that softer ride but what the heck the CL is a stunning car with 18" or 20" wheels, I just love the driving position, that huge luxurious cockpit, long wide armrest and no gear leaver in the way..."Thank you Lord" I have a MB☺

Wow you lucky thing only 11K, how old was it when you got it? And if its not too rude how much was it?
My dream was to get a sub 15K miler CL63 AMG NA 6.2L , until I heard about the headbolts :-/

 

[V6Matty]

Wow you lucky thing only 11K, how old was it when you got it? And if its not too rude how much was it?
My dream was to get a sub 15K miler CL63 AMG NA 6.2L , until I heard about the headbolts :-/

Don't worry about head bolts, you just have to find confirmation they were sorted at a dealer before you part with any money,

 

[shine]

I purchased the CL about three years ago, spent 7 months looking for the right car color,millage,spec,etc etc.
The previous owner was a Property Developer who lived at St John's Wood in London, apparently bought for his wife but she just found it too big and did not use it much hence the low millage, saying that I have only covered just over 20k to date I tend to use the SL during the week and the CL on Sunday, I can't say what I paid for it as my girlfriend would want a new SL if she found out, will let you know if we meet up.
We go to Windsor 2/3 times a year as she was born there and likes to keep in touch with friends, last time we ended up at The Waterside Inn at Bray, I was very impressed, what a stunning location.

 

[branxta]

Hi gang

i just had a most bizarre experience with my 2009 CL500. i am on holiday abroad, and after 3h driving on motorway i pulled over to make a phone call which took me around 30min. as i wanted to drive further, i couldn’t start the car.

so basically, keyless starting didn’t work, i took the keyless button out and attempted to start the car by inserting the key in the slot - nothing!
and by nothing i mean really no sound whatsoever, the starter didn’t even make any noise, all i could hear is electric static sound coming somewhere from the bonnet direction.
The rev indicator would go from zero to 2 and back , but no sound came from the engine and the starter made no sound at all.

2 h later after i locked the car multiple times and attempted to start the car i had no other option than to call the recovery service.

the recovery guy couldn’t start the car either , battery was fine (at least the front one) so I decided to bring the car to the merc specialist who had a garage 1.5h away.
one rip-off recovery trip later, I left the car at the garage and the specialist said he was gonna have a look first thing in the morning.

Now this is where things get interesting: the next morning he couldn’t start the car himself. Same issue as I had on the highway. So he said he will investigate further the day after when things get less busy since he was fully booked for the day. And what happens next : today he attempts to start it again and the ****** car starts without any issues.
He attempted it several times and every time it worked without any issues. Keyless starting works fine, key in the igniton works fine.

The problem is that he says, he doesn’t know what could be the problem.
There are several error codes on the reader however he thinks they could be dated and also none of them seems to be linked to the starter.
He says starter is fine, the starter safety fuse is also not the issue since starter didn’t register any overload.
The error codes that are on the reader are :

0866
0981
0703
1009
1347
0989
0993
0997
1001
1005

I’m 2k km away from the UK I need to drive back.
I know this might happen again – I lost the trust in the car completely.
Im gonna leave the car here until I find out what could be the problem.

Any advice/help greatly appreciated!

 

[houseboss2]

Was it Mobilo Life recovery you called in the first place with Star software?

Michael

 

[branxta]

Was it Mobilo Life recovery you called in the first place with Star software?

Michael

unfortunately not, the breakdown happened in croatia and i called my UK insurance (admiral) who sent the local recovery service.

the guy was pretty useless, all he did was to make sure it wasnt the battery issue and after that it was the most expensive recovery ever. the insurance only covered towing to the nearest town, but since we were in the middle of nowhere i insisted we take the car to the specialist i know, which obviously costed me extra since it was 1.5h away. on top of everything admiral charged me 400 quid because they said i didn't have European breakdown cover - which im going to dispute but thats a different story

 

[houseboss2]

As the car seems to have overridden the faulty electrics, I would rather attempt to drive home than try to remedy it in situ.

Research the nearest Mercedes dealer and possibly route your way past them for a diagnostics test.

Have faith! And the best of luck.

PS You may have made my mind up about my next service. Normal B Service £275 - 7+ Year value service £159 The main difference being you lose the Mobilo Life protection with the cheaper option.

Decisions, decisions.

Michael

 

[branxta]

PS You may have made my mind up about my next service. Normal B Service £275 - 7+ Year value service £159 The main difference being you lose the Mobilo Life protection with the cheaper option.

Decisions, decisions.

Michael

im glad there's at least one useful thing that came out of the whole experience

 

[LostKiwi]

All those codes should have a letter in front of them for example engine codes will be Pxxxx. It's pretty difficult to make sense of them without the full code.

Did any dash lights come on when trying to start?

 

[branxta]

That's true I typed the beginning of the error code, here are the ones starting with P.
None of the dash lights came on, it was everything as usual minus the engine making any sound of attempting to start
These are the codes :
PO562
PO351
PO335
PO358
PO102
PO354
PO352
PO356
PO353
PO357

 

[houseboss2]

unfortunately not, the breakdown happened in croatia and i called my UK insurance (admiral) who sent the local recovery service.

the guy was pretty useless, all he did was to make sure it wasnt the battery issue and after that it was the most expensive recovery ever. the insurance only covered towing to the nearest town, but since we were in the middle of nowhere i insisted we take the car to the specialist i know, which obviously costed me extra since it was 1.5h away. on top of everything admiral charged me 400 quid because they said i didn't have European breakdown cover - which im going to dispute but thats a different story

What was the outcome to this sorry story?

Michael

 

[branxta]

What was the outcome to this sorry story?

Michael

So it turns out it was most likely the starter relay issue, had to be replaced.
funny enough the car was able to start after being left alone for 24h in the sun, before even the starter relay was replaced, so it seems that the cold temperature somehow impacted the faulty starter relay. the one that was replaced had visible damage to it.

it turns out that additional problem that could've cused this engine behaviour is a faulty crankshaft sensor, which i will also get replaced before i embark on the journy back to the UK.

car is starting just fine now, i hope it wont turn out to be something else once i start driving back through europe..

as for the breakdown insurance, i logged in a formal complaint with the admiral regarding the 400£ they charged me , i hope to get at least some of this money back since i definitely asked for a european breakdown cover when i switched cars and insurance policies.