Gerabox destroyed by Glycol after 30,000 miles!

Rich_

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Hello,

i've just joined this forum in the hope that another Mb owner has the same problem as me.

i've had a look through the earlier posts and although glycol problems are discussed ,i cant seem to find any as early as mine.

my car is an 2002 clk with 30000 miles on the clock.i bought the car 2 years ago and have only done 12k since i've had it.

i bought it from an independant dealer in somerset,and it has always been mercededs serviced.
one sunny afternoon whilst driving i lost all drive and had it towed to a mb garage in weston ,who said there was no glycol present ,but just in case wanted to charge me 4.5k to put it right!.

i removed the car and took to an independant gearbox specialist (col-pax motor engineers) great people,
who repaired it for 2.8k and supplied me with all the damaged parts and a comprehensive engineers report.

how do i now claim from mb for my money back,as surely a skoda shouldnt fail after 30k ,let alone a merc!

i apologise for the long winded letter,but i am so angry that mb has allowed parts to be fitted that are doomed to fail after such a short while and at my expense.

any help is most greatfully appreciated.

Rich
 

markg14

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Messages
259
Reaction score
17
Location
Essex
Your Mercedes
C-Class Sport C220 CDI 2007
Sorry to hear your woes, and you are right - you should not experience such a severe failure at such a low mileage.
But doubt whether you will get a penny from MB, as they would probably insist (quite rightly) on inspecting the car themselves BEFORE any repair was done. Why did you not take it to your local authorised MB dealer for inspection?
 
OP
R

Rich_

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your reply.

I did take it to my MB local dealer,they did a glycol test and it tested negative,but apparently you have to run the engine/gearbox to a certain temp,in order to conduct a accurate test.

i have the gearbox parts and a certified report from an acredited gearbox specialist.

Thanks Rich
 

television

Always remembered RIP
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
164,073
Reaction score
367
Age
89
Location
Daventry
Your Mercedes
2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
Sorry I do not think that you will get any redress for this fault. I would have had to have gone through an MB workshop to have got any help fromMB and even then would have cost more the a repair outside the net work.

The gearbox people do not sound very cheap either as many repair the complete box for around £1500
 

jberks

Senior Member
Joined
May 12, 2004
Messages
11,153
Reaction score
41
Location
M1, Outside lane, somewhere between Leeds and Lond
Your Mercedes
Jaguar XF 3.0 S, LR Freelander 2, Fiat 500 & Fiat Panda
I agree with the above. Had it stayed at the dealer you may have got 50% contribution but to be fair, your dealer should have at least tried before giving you the quote.

In some ways though, the mileage is irrelevant or even counter productive. The car has done 30,000 miles in 7 years. That normally means it's spent its life doing stop-start journies and hence probably has more gearbox wear than my 75,000 miler that's spent most of it's life cruising in 5th gear.

Suddent catastophic failures are rare, but they can happen to anyone. (speaking as someone who's audi engine lasted 60 miles) I'd chalk it down to bad luck. You can try a claim from MB but don't hold your breath.
 

ALFIEBEARD

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
804
Reaction score
5
Age
70
Location
DUMFRIES
Your Mercedes
JAGUAR XF-R SPORT
Hi Rich,
I would chalk it down to bad luck, as everyone has said above it is very unlikely MB will contribute to your repairs, my E class had 29k on it and was under 5yr old when the SBC pump failed £2k later and Mercedes refused any contribution, and it had FULL MB service history:mad:.

I would contact Milton Keynes by letter stating the full facts with copies of all receipts etc, I think you have more chance of being struck by lightning though:rolleyes: but definately worth a shot.;)

Regards
Alfie B
 
OP
R

Rich_

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #7
Hi Malcolm,

i had every item in the gearbox replaced.(better safe than sorry).
however i do think that mercedes should hold their hands up and admit that this was unacceptable for this to happen to a car with such a low mileage.

i would agree that i have a fight on my hands though!

Cheers
Rich
 
OP
R

Rich_

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
Hi All,

thanks for all you comments,
i thought i might be in with a chance of some money back,but now i not so sure.

have you got any contact details for MB?

Thanks again
 

psmart

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
1,653
Reaction score
0
Hi Rich,

Its worth a try writing to MBUK (better to Germany direct), but Im currently pushing through with ADAC on a similar issue.

First box failed catastrophically after 88K, car taken to Daimler AG (owners of the Mercedes Branch in Stuttgart), EUR300 charged 'to have a look', EUR1500 wanted for a more thorough investigation (I said no), EUR8,000 + VAT for a new box (I said no), produced a warranted gearbox, got them to install, requested verbally (in front of witnesses) and by fax that a Glycol test be made and a test of the heat exchanger (part which leaks), told everything was ok, but if I wanted, they would change the Heat Exchanger for EUR1000+VAT (obviously said no if the Glycol test showed negative), EUR4,500 later, car working but a short time thereafter, I brought to the attention on this forum a 'condition' which I didnt like and no one seemed to be able to identify it. No fault codes logged etc.

Cut a long story short, 2nd box failed catastrophically, taken to Martin Lowe who upon opening the box were literally flooded with water! Reconditioned box installed, new heavy duty heat exchanger installed, warranty etc, all for GBP1.9K inc. Also got engineers report.

Ive passed the engineers report, witness statements, faxes, invoices etc over to ADAC (Im a member, its the German equivalent of AA) and they are looking into it.

Mercedes cocked up on design big time, which being fair, anyone can do, but its the after-service which is now letting them down. Your MB dealer would probably have done no more than the Daimler branch, just box change and charge you. Interesting thing in my case would be if I opted for the new box and it failed due to the heat exchanger not being properly diagnosed (which is what I believe was the failing of their technicians), what would they have done, charged me again?
 
OP
R

Rich_

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #10
Hi Ps,

i agree,its amazing that a company which prides itself on design and prestige ,should allow this kind of fault to happen anyway.

From what i can gather on this forum,this problem is quite widespread.

Have you got the address of MB head office in germany and a contact name,email address?

Thanks again
Rich
 

WE HAVE NOW MOVED: 8 Hazel Road, Woolston, SO19 7GB
Service, Repairs and remapping service
Any queries, please do not hesitate to contactEmail@mbsofsouthampton.co.ukor alternatively you can phone Colin or Dave on 02380 445820, out of hours numbers are 07787913313 or 07907631681.
Top Bottom