W211 E320CDi Transmission Problem

[Peter Turner]

My E320 CDi (4.5 yrs old, 66k) recently developed transmission problems, my MB Dealer advised the transmission oil had been contaminated by coolant from a fracture in the radiator. The repair is to replace the torque converter and radiator, very expensive!

MB offer to pay 50% as the car is out of warranty, I find this a little unreasonable as this seems to be a serious design failure (the car has never been in an accident to damage the radiator). I have contacted MB UK who do not want to improve the offer. I feel this is a design failure and have found some web references to this on the web, my dealer also said they have experienced this problem before.

Have other forum members experienced this problem and if so how has MB handled the issue?

Thanks for any advice, Peter

 

[panason1c]

Lots and lots of posts on this subject......use the search facility.

 

[stumpy]

very common problem. Doubt you will get anywhere with MB

 

[jberks]

You can but fight.
Always reject the offer initially anyway - they do have some leway. A friend got an initial 30% offer from Audi up to 80%. It took 2-3 weeks but he just stood his ground. They denied it was a known problem (DSG gearboxes blowing up) but he shot them down with a long list of internet links from people with the same issue. Basically said they were lying and he'd appreciate it if they stopped now as it was getting insulting. They took the hint.

I'd point out that MB and the dealer have been aware of the Valeo radiator issue for a long time (I have been so they must be) and that had they given you the option, you could have considered replacing it as a preventative measure. However, as they chose to keep quiet, they now share a large proportion of the responsibility for the damage caused by this failure which is, as yet, not reflected in the offer.
Worth a try anyway.

Any legal bods like to comment? - given that the dealer and MB knew of the issue, and did not warn those who had this rad that the problem may occur, and given them the option to swap out affected Valeo rads - where do they stand on the duty of care aspect?

 

[Xtractorfan]

I think the issue is complicated enough without getting someone with a legal background to confuse the issue more ..have you ever tried seeking legal advice on any matter, yes.. ahem... well... so best not to go there ..common sense would dictate that mercedes should recall these cars and replace the valeo radiator

 

[Rory]

These 50% offers make my blood boil - of course warranty repairs only actually cost MB 50% of the quoted cost, so they're not losing anything on the deal, except a bit of profit.

There are legal possibilities, under the sales of Goods act, to do with durability, but liability rests with the supplying dealer. Did you buy the car new, and is it being serviced at the same dealership it was bought from?

 

[OlafMaxwell]

For what its worth I had an argument over a car before, with a main dealer. not an MB dealer, but the nub of it was to with a failure to warn me of a known defect. It was settled on the bais that if I had been advised of the defect I would have changed the part [which was long out of warranty]. This whole ATF/coolant issue is a well known problem and it would be very easy for MB to warn owners and allow them the option of replacing the part. I dont even see a need for MB to pay for it, its not the most expensive thing to change a radiator. Having said that I had a fault on a Fiat a few years ago and the dealer told me that 'Fiat will replace the part and customer pays the labour'. This is easy to do when a major manufacturer buys in parts from outside. I was perfectly happy with this outcome. Clever buying by MB from suppliers like Valeo would have seen them make Valeo supply the parts free to the customer which would have been a fair halfway deal.

I think this radiator problem is so well known in the trade that any MB dealer at this point in time would be on a loser if it were contested legally. It is perfectly reasonable to expect them to warn you of a failure that could cost you £4-5k. I use an MB main dealer even at 140k but they are good and will warn of any impending or know failures. This is what good service is made of.