E class

[Vitoman]

Hi guys, first timer and new to Mercedes ownership.
Had bad service at first from dealer, but then a lovely year of Mercedes ownership until recently when horror of horror's, rust started appearing from beneath both front door rubbers by the wing mirrors and along the bonnet seams!! And this at 14 months old!!The dealers response has been good so far but has passed it back to Mercedes. Looking at other E class on the forecourt it appears to be fairly common.So, has anyone else experienced the same and how was the response/cure?
Many thanks

 

[Matt Crooke]

Clearly its a major lash up on the paint job. I would mind betting there were a whole batch of E classes that had this problem until they identified it.

What a nightmare though, at 14 months old!!!

 

[sgcooke]

It seems this problem is not uncommon with e-classes - particularly the saloons. An account is given on the Daily Telegraph/Honest John website. Unfortunately most of the panels are not galvanised as MB arrogantly assume their production techniques are perfect. They could usefully learn a lot from "lesser" mortals at Ford/GM who galvanise most of their current models.

Extract from of "Honest John's" Page:
.........What's Bad
These are expensive cars. Old 5-cylinder 113 bhp E250D slow, but would be the taxi driver's choice. Standard 'Brake Assist' caused lots of problems which took Mercedes years to sort out. Reports of cylinder head stretch bolts failing on four-cylinder engines, with replacement a 'head-off' job. 1995 to 1997 cars have had paint and rust problems, particularly around the numberplate area on the bootlid in the bottoms of doors and now developing in the front wings. This is well known in Germany. Daimler Chrysler has now admitted to another rust problem on all W210 E Class up to June 2001 build - apparently due to using stretched steel construction. Affects areas around door window seals and suspension mounting points. May be a problem with the engine mounts of the E320CDI. Complaints of water ingress leading to corrosion damage of ventlilation system blower motor. Modest 240V6 has huge engin oil capacity of 8 litres. Replacement E-Class due 2002.

What to Watch Out For
Cancelled Far East export orders found their way back to the UK at mammoth discounts. Make sure any car you buy from a non-Mercedes dealer is properly certificated with either an EU Certificate of Conformity or UK SVA. Oil leaks from cylinder head a sign of the stretch bolt problem on 200s. Beware of cancelled export order 1995-1997 W210 E-Class sold in UK as new when they were up to 3 years old. An 'R' reg could be a 1995 car.

Recalls
1995: passenger Footrest. 1996: airbag may inflate on wrong side. 2000: 1997-build cars recalled to have both sills re-treated with cavity rust-proofing. 8/5/2001: Build dates 1/9/1995 to 31/12/1996: high humidity may cause corrosion of trigger mechanism leading to airbag inflating. Airbags to be replaced. September 2001: Recall of 1996 build E210s for steering damper screw leak fault (recall No. 1827) which affected late W124s. Lost fluid could cause underbonnet fire.

 

[Andy]

Hi All

Heres something which might be of interest. Even the big boss man in Germany is having to admit to quality issues.

"It was quality on which Juergen Schrempp, DaimlerChrysler chief executive, had to show a straight bat to shareholders this week at the company's annual meeting. It lasted all of 9-hrs. He admitted that quality had become a problem as vehicles had become more complex."


Taken from a automotive article I read recently.

Regards

Andy @ www.mercedesservicing.com

PS. Don't worry Juergen. You build em, I'll keep on fix'n em!!!!!