W211 E270 CDI 419 Solar Module

[Keith Wilbraham]

Hi Guys, I have an E270 CDI with a sunroof that happens to have a 419 Solar Module. I have asked several Mercedes garages what this module is / does but all look at me with vacant expressions. It has been said to me that the glass has solar cells underneath to charge the batteries and operate fans if it gets too hot in the summer but how do I find out if this is true. When the roof is open, I can see two wires coming from the front panel but cant see anything coming from the rear larger panel. Can anyone help? Incidentally, I also had the gearbox / radiator contamination problem which required Radiator, gearbox and torque convertor replacement. (three months out of warranty)

 

[jberks]

Your explanation of the solar module is what I understand to be the case. Not surfe about the battery but but solar powered fans to extract the hot air. This is only on the panoramic roof.
Bad luck on the gearbox - did MB not make a substantial contribution? I would have expected them to, given that it's a manufacturing fault and really should have been a recall.

 

[television]

Hi Kieth, and welcome. Hope that you did not have to pay for the Valeo problem.

Yes I have heard that the roof is solar, but I have no details

 

[Keith Wilbraham]

Hi again,
Yes I do have the Panoramic roof system. Well, I now have my car back from Mercedes Liverpool and whilst they were very helpfull (especially Billy) I still had to pay just over three thousand pounds for the radiator / gearbox / torque convertor due to the radiator contaminating the oil. Mercedes themselves did not contribute anything even though on its last service (when still under warranty) an occasional juddering was reported. The car was three months out of warranty and only 5 thousand miles after the last service. Not a very good response from what is a prestige vehicle company. Everyone at the local Mercedes garages knows of the problem associated with the radiator contamination but what was my retirement vehicle has now cost another £3,000 + for what is a known problem. Its a great shame that Mercedes cant own up to something or honor a fault that obviously existed and was reported at a service when still under warranty. If anyone at Mercedes reads this, I would love to hear from them as I feel their treatment of this issue is terrible. keith.wilbraham@dsl.pipex.com

 

[Blobcat]

Not knowing the full details I can only surmise, however this is a known problem so Mercedes should have taken some responsibility! It does annoy me that in warranty Mercedes just want to replace the torque converter, however out of warranty you need a new gearbox. :evil:

 

[jberks]

"on its last service (when still under warranty) an occasional juddering was reported."

This is proof the fault had occurred during the warranty period and their failure to diagnose and resolve a known issue is soley down to their negigence. It's not even as if I'm not surprised they were nice and helpful as to my mind, the dealer is liable for this, not you. A fact I suspect they know.

Given that you reported a known problem with a known, documented and entirely predictable cause, your dealer was negligent in not identifying it and resolving it during the warranty period. I'm not a lawyer but I suspect that a court would conclude that the fact that this expense was not picked up by MB and the warranty is solely down to the dealer. You did your bit by reporting it, so the negligence is entirely theirs.

I wouldn't let it drop if it were mine. I'd want a 100% refund or I'd see them in court.

 

[Blobcat]

I agree with jberks 100% ^

I had an issue with the AC on my W210 E class at 3.5yrs and as I had reported the problem to Mercedes earlier they covered it under warranty with no issue. They actually said when I took it in that as I had reported the problem earlier and that the 'fix' at the time hadn't fixed it then it was to be covered under warranty, before I could even mention the 'Warranty' word.