SL fuel tank problem

SL55 AMG

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I have a knocking sound coming from behind the seats on my SL55 which I am fairly certain is due to a baffle having broken free inside the fuel tank.

The car is an 04 model and has covered less than 45k miles so I am shocked that a fuel tank can fail so easily. As the car is outside of the extended warranty I am being asked for over £2000 to have the tank replaced.

I have taken this up with MBUK as I find it unacceptable for a non service item and one that should not really incur wear and tear to fail so readily. A quick search on the web reveals I am not alone as this seems to be a worldwide issue and clearly poor design on MB's part.

Have any of you had this issue and any success with MB replacing it or do you know of any independants who know how to carry out this job as I hear it is 10 hours worth of labour alone?

Not sure I will get anywhere with MBUK, is it worth trying Germany too? Also keen to hear if you think I am being unreasonable in persuing MB about this.
 

Cole@MBS

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Where abouts are you??

And yes, it more common then you might think!!
 

television

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A friend of a friend of a friend, solved his by removing the pump/float and pulled the baffle out by twist it round and winding it out

Yes a rotten deal from MB on this one
 
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SL55 AMG

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Where abouts are you??

And yes, it more common then you might think!!

I am in South Bucks. I guess you guys have done a few of these then have you?
Is it a full replacement as per Malcolm's post, I have heard of a few stories of some how removing the baffle.
 

Cole@MBS

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We have replaced them when we worked in the dealers, never taken the baffles out!!
 
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SL55 AMG

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Excellent, just tried to call you, whats the best way to understand the costs and time required etc?

Shall i try again later as there was no reply.
 

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I will try and find out exactly how the baffle was removed
 

Cole@MBS

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Excellent, just tried to call you, whats the best way to understand the costs and time required etc?

Shall i try again later as there was no reply.

Sorry, had to take a car back to its owner, will be here for a while now!
 

stickandrudder

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A friend has just had his tank replaced at an indie in West London and was charged £1190+VAT labour plus the new tank at £570+VAT.
Was this reasonable?
 

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A friend has just had his tank replaced at an indie in West London and was charged £1190+VAT labour plus the new tank at £570+VAT.
Was this reasonable?

Yes that was a good price,,on the AMG it involves more work as the exhaust has to come off
 

merc7

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I have a knocking sound coming from behind the seats on my SL55 which I am fairly certain is due to a baffle having broken free inside the fuel tank.

The car is an 04 model and has covered less than 45k miles so I am shocked that a fuel tank can fail so easily. As the car is outside of the extended warranty I am being asked for over £2000 to have the tank replaced.

I have taken this up with MBUK as I find it unacceptable for a non service item and one that should not really incur wear and tear to fail so readily. A quick search on the web reveals I am not alone as this seems to be a worldwide issue and clearly poor design on MB's part.

Have any of you had this issue and any success with MB replacing it or do you know of any independants who know how to carry out this job as I hear it is 10 hours worth of labour alone?

Not sure I will get anywhere with MBUK, is it worth trying Germany too? Also keen to hear if you think I am being unreasonable in persuing MB about this.

Sorry to hear about your car (i am too)was not happy with mercedes benz quality (another dis-satisfied customer) ,i totally agree they should offer you a settlement agreeable to both parties??
 
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SL55 AMG

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To be fair, when i wrote directly to Dermot Kelly at MBUK, his response was that they would be in touch to 'agree a suitable resolution'. I later got a response from MBUK saying that there was nothing more that could be done.

So far I have gone back saying that this is by no way a 'suitable resolution' and certainly not one that I have 'agreed' with anyone!

Will see what happens next, but in the meantime, I thought I would check what other people have done.
 

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take a long pair of tongs, see if you can wind it up and pull it out
 
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SL55 AMG

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A friend has just had his tank replaced at an indie in West London and was charged £1190+VAT labour plus the new tank at £570+VAT.
Was this reasonable?

That seems about the same price as the quotes I have from Mercedes themselves, although an Indy may be a better option for some.
 
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SL55 AMG

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take a long pair of tongs, see if you can wind it up and pull it out

I guess the issue for me is the labour required to get the tank out. Some say is can be done from the boot, others talk about dropping the sub frame, either way it seems about 10 hours of work. If I have to get that much done, part of me thinks I should just buy a new tank. Apparently they have been modified twice now to stop this happening again, but I am not overly confident. If there was a way of getting the baffle out with the tank in place it might be worth a try, but I doubt it.
 

television

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The whole of the rear half of the car has to be gutted to get it out,,I can send you a PDF on it.

My friend is away from home re finding out exactly how he pulled it out, but there is a big hole to work from with the pump removed
 

MB-Car-Tech

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Hi guys,

may be coming in a bit late on this one, but here it goes.

You do not have to remove the subframe to get the tank out - only done one of these last week !!

Yes, all of the boot (trunk) linings have to be removed - not as bad as you might think.

Yes, you do have to remove a lot of the interior trim work behind both front seats, again not as bad as you think.

Removal of the fuel tank sensder unit - (easy) helped me to extract all of the fuel my client had recently put in. - - Not sure how easy it would be to remove the loose baffles - be a bit worried in case of any sparking.

Mercedes have completely modified the design of the fuel tank and I know a bit of money but problem is solved with no knock on effect.

Took me about 7 hours to do the job from start to finish - Main dealer quoted 9.5 hours
 

television

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Hi guys,

may be coming in a bit late on this one, but here it goes.

You do not have to remove the subframe to get the tank out - only done one of these last week !!

Yes, all of the boot (trunk) linings have to be removed - not as bad as you might think.

Yes, you do have to remove a lot of the interior trim work behind both front seats, again not as bad as you think.

Removal of the fuel tank sensder unit - (easy) helped me to extract all of the fuel my client had recently put in. - - Not sure how easy it would be to remove the loose baffles - be a bit worried in case of any sparking.

Mercedes have completely modified the design of the fuel tank and I know a bit of money but problem is solved with no knock on effect.

Took me about 7 hours to do the job from start to finish - Main dealer quoted 9.5 hours

The AMG takes longer as components under the car have to come out/off
 

jamesleigh

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i have done this job 2 weeks ago its a real pain fit a new tank you need the baffles to stop fuel surge then take the old tank to m benz world for an explenation of its failure u might get a refund for the parts purchased
 

television

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Welcome to the forum James :D:D
 


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