SBC pump confusion

[david arthur]

Hi
i cannot recall the salesman, ever mentioning that the SBC pump would have to be replaced when i bought my car new.
In fact he went out of his way to explain about this drive by wire braking.One of the reason i bought my W211 E-200 was the fact it was partly aluminium,
wings boot bonnet, so no rust there, no cam belt, a chain, longer lasting, how wrong can you be.

The chain on this engine apparently is not fit for purpose, it can slip cogs should have been a double chain. And in-spite of the aluminium the W211 can and does rust, and to add insult to injury we have to fork out to the tune of £1,000 plus when we have to replace the SBC unit, when in fact if they had left it alone it would have lasted the cars life.

 

[Corned]

^ A succinct summary of 211 ownership there, David.

 

[anyweb]

i've a 2004 E320 with SBC and every day when I go to my car and press the unlock button on my remote I can hear the SBC 'arming' itself or whatever the heck it does, sounds like a motor going whiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmm,,,,,,

for about 10 seconds or so, is this normal with SBC ?? or is it an indication of failure ?

 

[whitenemesis]

It's normal...

 

[television]

All cars wake up these days, if you open a door the car thinks it is going to be driven, and the wake up gets the car ready for you including charging up the SBC system, if the sound is too loud there is a damper kit from mb

 

[anyweb]

ok so this forum has 59,438 members, i have no idea how many of them have E classes with the SBC but i reckon quite a few...

how many people have we seen actually complaining about SBC failure (and/or needing to get it replaced) here ?

10 ? 20 ? 50 ? 100 ? any ideas ?? just trying to get a better picture of the issue

 

[television]

1 actual failure on here, about 40 members have had a pump changed knowingly

 

[whitenemesis]

Never mind forum owners.. How about taxi firms/owners? 100's of thousands out there, not a squeak on the 'net about SBC troubles.

Of course it's an issue if you need a replacement but so far no one has been injured through failure.

 

[television]

The above includes the 230 and 219 but I cannot recall any 219 member having SbC issues

 

[david arthur]

Hi Guys

I guess not all Mercedes owners are members of this forum, and i dare say, there are numerous owners out there, who own the first 2002 W211 motors.

They i would expect by now, would be the first to find there SBC pumps timing out. Am i worried about mine being a year 2003 model, well of course, even though its only done 32,000 miles, it would be a bill in excess of £1,000 to replace.

I don't think i would be happy with a referb unit either, Bosch must still be manufacturing them, there must have been thousands built using SB'S pumps, so why would we have to settle for a refurb. Do Mercedes build refurb cars ? should we ask Mercedes, how many SB'S units they have replaced ? is there a law (right to know) so when members ask, well we have not heard that many being replaced, what about all the taxis on the road with huge mileages it does not mean they have not.

 

[television]

The last figure I saw was 680.000 pumps, I cant be 100% on that figure but it would fit

 

[paul hayward]

Our E Class (2005) is getting close to 290,000 and was never serviced at a main dealer...as far as i am aware it has the SBC it was made with at the factory. it has had the software update during our brief ownership as had visit workshop displayed

Long may she continue...God forbid ..if the SBC goes Tits up then i am pretty sure i WOULD just grin n bear it... far to good a car to go to the scrap yard in the sky!...and cheaper than a newer MB too!!

It does concern me ever such a little bit but i live with it...i find hearing the pump making a noise comforting as at least its still working:lol: although on Good friday she had a funny moment ..once re started all went back to normal

At the end of the day we all take risks every day, crossing the road, driving to work etc......

Live life on the edge and pray if needed that the airbags are gonna work:lol:

 

[Corned]

far to good a car to go to the scrap yard in the sky!...and cheaper than a newer MB too!!

A very reasoned and pragmatic viewpoint, Paul. Thank you for writing it, as it has had quite a calming effect on me!

It is easy to get (very) worked up about MB and their ****-poor attitude towards their own customers. But as you quite rightly say, the car is otherwise very good at its job, and much preferable to a new (ugly) one!

 

[david arthur]

Last year having spent £3,000 on my W211 E-Class i had drove approx ten miles when brake visit workshop message came up on the dash.

Fortunately i was just round the corner from my main dealer when this happened. I cannot remember what colour the message was, but i was in a shopping complex when this happened, fortunately driving very slowly.

If i remember it applied the brakes, any way it had me wondering now, what Mercedes did, they said it was an update, but could this be a pump time out issue even with my few miles 32,000

 

[Gruffy]

SBC

Just my input, my SBC failed recently (W211 2005 E280CDI, Dash lit up in red!!). Called Mercedes and explained that as the unit has come to the end of it's life as per the codes, then the car must only be designed to last this long. Service manager called me back an hour or so later to book it in for a full SBC replacement as a goodwill / warranty claim. Car came back all well and good, was very impressed as i thought this would be an uphill battle. Can'y fault them in any way but i get the impression this may not be the norm.

 

[paul hayward]

Just my input, my SBC failed recently (W211 2005 E280CDI, Dash lit up in red!!). Called Mercedes and explained that as the unit has come to the end of it's life as per the codes, then the car must only be designed to last this long. Service manager called me back an hour or so later to book it in for a full SBC replacement as a goodwill / warranty claim. Car came back all well and good, was very impressed as i thought this would be an uphill battle. Can'y fault them in any way but i get the impression this may not be the norm.

what a great result!

 

[whitenemesis]

Just my input, my SBC failed recently (W211 2005 E280CDI, Dash lit up in red!!). Called Mercedes and explained that as the unit has come to the end of it's life as per the codes, then the car must only be designed to last this long. Service manager called me back an hour or so later to book it in for a full SBC replacement as a goodwill / warranty claim. Car came back all well and good, was very impressed as i thought this would be an uphill battle. Can'y fault them in any way but i get the impression this may not be the norm.

May be far more common than we know. The cast majority of owners are not users of a forum and those that are usually come with problems/issues..

The 'net isn't littered with moans about SBC replacement problems/issues..

 

[television]

May be far more common than we know. The cast majority of owners are not users of a forum and those that are usually come with problems/issues..

The 'net isn't littered with moans about SBC replacement problems/issues..

Try searching mercedes 211 SBC

 

[steven101]

SBC

i have the brake warning up on dash

just contacted my merc dealer here in norwich and they wont do anything till its been through their diagnostic

even after that they cant say if merc will do it free or charge me full price or contribute as these are becoming few and far between as in her Quote

i get the impression they dont like doin it for free ??????????????

 

[paul hayward]

i have the brake warning up on dash

just contacted my merc dealer here in norwich and they wont do anything till its been through their diagnostic

even after that they cant say if merc will do it free or charge me full price or contribute as these are becoming few and far between as in her Quote

i get the impression they dont like doin it for free ??????????????

is the warning red?

if its white it MAY just need the software update?...fingers crossed and good luck!!