alancolvin
Active Member
When scouring the internet for clues on how to find and fix problems with my car I eventually tracked down some extremely useful information.
I discovered a website in the USA which listed the Mercedes Dealer Technical Bulletins (DTBs).
DTBs are issued by Mercedes, but only to their dealers and direct outlets. For all Mercedes car models, they identify known problems and the appropriate remedial actions and fixes.
Being from an American website, the DTBs relate specifically to MB USA cars, but these models are of course essentially the same as the European and UK versions, with only minor differences to accommodate country-specific requirements.
I found three files:
DTBs issued from 1996 to 2000
DTBs issued in 2001
DTBs issued in 2002
Sadly, the trail stops at May 2002, so if anyone knows how to find a source of DTBs from then onwards, please do let us all know, by posting a reply with the details.
The DTB listings enabled me to identify problems which my local MB dealership told me were ?normal for your car? or ?we can?t find anything wrong?. When I showed them the printouts they conceded defeat, ordered the parts and fitted them under warranty. It would seem that they do not read their DTBs often, or perhaps at all.
To use the DTB listings you must first know the Mercedes model/chassis number of your car. For this purpose the model/chassis number is the first three digits of your full chassis number.
For example, all variants of the current C-Class are model/chassis 203. So, to find DTBs relevant to the current C-Class, you need to search through the listings for all entries including ?203?.
The lists are long, but you may find it well worth the effort of searching for entries relevant to your car?s model number.
The three files can be found at:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/allex26/allex/Bin/info1.html (1996 - 2000)
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/allex26/allex/Bin/info2.html (2001)
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/allex26/allex/Bin/info3.html (2002, up to May)
I discovered a website in the USA which listed the Mercedes Dealer Technical Bulletins (DTBs).
DTBs are issued by Mercedes, but only to their dealers and direct outlets. For all Mercedes car models, they identify known problems and the appropriate remedial actions and fixes.
Being from an American website, the DTBs relate specifically to MB USA cars, but these models are of course essentially the same as the European and UK versions, with only minor differences to accommodate country-specific requirements.
I found three files:
DTBs issued from 1996 to 2000
DTBs issued in 2001
DTBs issued in 2002
Sadly, the trail stops at May 2002, so if anyone knows how to find a source of DTBs from then onwards, please do let us all know, by posting a reply with the details.
The DTB listings enabled me to identify problems which my local MB dealership told me were ?normal for your car? or ?we can?t find anything wrong?. When I showed them the printouts they conceded defeat, ordered the parts and fitted them under warranty. It would seem that they do not read their DTBs often, or perhaps at all.
To use the DTB listings you must first know the Mercedes model/chassis number of your car. For this purpose the model/chassis number is the first three digits of your full chassis number.
For example, all variants of the current C-Class are model/chassis 203. So, to find DTBs relevant to the current C-Class, you need to search through the listings for all entries including ?203?.
The lists are long, but you may find it well worth the effort of searching for entries relevant to your car?s model number.
The three files can be found at:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/allex26/allex/Bin/info1.html (1996 - 2000)
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/allex26/allex/Bin/info2.html (2001)
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/allex26/allex/Bin/info3.html (2002, up to May)
