Warranty on flywheel…?

[SimonHodges]

Hi All, new to the forum here…

I have a 2022 CLA 180, which I’ve had from brand new (Company Car). It’s covered just under 60,000 miles, mostly motorway.

It developed a slight rattle, which turns out to be the flywheel.

The Main Dealer has said it’s not warranty, since the car has “been accelerated too hard”…

The way I understand it, is that the clutch, gears (and to some degree) the throttle are all controlled by the computer and it should therefore be impossible for this premature failure to be “driver induced” (their word to me).

The car spends most of its life in “Eco” mode, but that shouldn’t make any difference anyway - sport mode is there, so I should be able to use it all the time if I want to, I just don’t need to.

The dealer are now saying that MB(UK) won’t cover it under warranty, and it’s going to be £3521 to fix. Leaseplan are next to useless and have effectively washed their hands of it.

Am I missing something? I’d welcome your thoughts.

 

[brandwooddixon]

MB offer a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty on new cars, but it would appear that the repair is being rejected based upon the following exclusion clause:

· Misuse of the vehicle, such as not driving it in accordance with the instructions in the owner's manual, driving at excessive speeds or engaging in motor sports

Is there anything to suggest that this is the case? The dealership are obviously using this clause, but "accelerated too hard" what the heck is that?
Personally I read it as a cop out.

If the car has an MCT gearbox and it's an issue with the clutch plates then its a grey area due to this exclusion clause:

· If failure is a result of normal wear and tear on items such as spark plugs, wiper blades, lubricants, brake pads, brake discs, clutches and tyres

Leasing companies are never any help, but if the car was purchased under finance then you may still have an avenue to pursue outside of MB.
Personally I would take the car to another dealership and press the case from there, just don't tell them what the first dealership has said.

Under the 2015 Consumer Rights Act you could claim that the car isn't of suitable quality or has an inherent fault as you would reasonably expect the flywheel of a car to last a lot more than 2 years or 60,000 miles. As a private individual you could claim through the small claims court for relative little cost. If the car is actually owned by a limited or public company, you state that its a company car, then they will be liable for legal costs even if you win.

 

[SimonHodges]

MB offer a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty on new cars, but it would appear that the repair is being rejected based upon the following exclusion clause:

Is there anything to suggest that this is the case? The dealership are obviously using this clause, but "accelerated too hard" what the heck is that?
Personally I read it as a cop out.

If the car has an MCT gearbox and it's an issue with the clutch plates then its a grey area due to this exclusion clause:


Leasing companies are never any help, but if the car was purchased under finance then you may still have an avenue to pursue outside of MB.
Personally I would take the car to another dealership and press the case from there, just don't tell them what the first dealership has said.

Under the 2015 Consumer Rights Act you could claim that the car isn't of suitable quality or has an inherent fault as you would reasonably expect the flywheel of a car to last a lot more than 2 years or 60,000 miles. As a private individual you could claim through the small claims court for relative little cost. If the car is actually owned by a limited or public company, you state that its a company car, then they will be liable for legal costs even if you win.

What’s an MCT gearbox?

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I don’t see the dealers argument here if the car had been thrashed to within an inch of it’s life you were very unlikely to buy it once the company lease had expired have they got proof of any abuse. I really think you need to escalate the case to MBUK and I’m sure you will get a better response as is often the case at the very least a substantial contribution from them towards the repair costs ie 50% seems reasonable considering the mileage

 

[brandwooddixon]

What’s an MCT gearbox?

Multi-Clutch Technology. Developed originally for AMG models it replaces the torque convertor on an automatic gearbox giving faster gear changes, they are known to have a finite life - typically 60,000 miles.
However, you mentioned flywheel.
I know of issues with the dual mass flywheels on Fords and Volkswagens, typically on manual vehicles, I can't say that I've heard of this in relation to Mercedes automatic gearboxes.
I would have thought the price quoted as excessive as surely the dealer would just need to drop the gearbox in order to access the flywheel, but I'm not an expert so I can say for sure.

 

[SimonHodges]

UPDATE…

I sent a VERY clear email back to the garage and copied in MB Germany in.

I questioned how a car with a drive by wire throttle, auto gearbox and auto clutch could be “accelerated too hard” such that it caused failure on a car with less than 60,000 mlies on it.

It was actually very detailed and also quoted a good friend of mine who is a lecturer in automotive design.

I had an email from the garage less than 48th hours later, explaining that they would be repairing the car “as a gesture of goodwill…”

Hmmm - Whatever. Pretty sure that’s code for “we got a rollicking from Mercedes Benz”…


Thanks everyone who contributed and commented.

 

[DSK]

UPDATE…

I sent a VERY clear email back to the garage and copied in MB Germany in.

I questioned how a car with a drive by wire throttle, auto gearbox and auto clutch could be “accelerated too hard” such that it caused failure on a car with less than 60,000 mlies on it.

It was actually very detailed and also quoted a good friend of mine who is a lecturer in automotive design.

I had an email from the garage less than 48th hours later, explaining that they would be repairing the car “as a gesture of goodwill…”

Hmmm - Whatever. Pretty sure that’s code for “we got a rollicking from Mercedes Benz”…


Thanks everyone who contributed and commented.

Good news! Let’s hope they do a good repair job!

I was going to say they usually get people to take their whinging elsewhere but, if you have a genuine case and decent back up they usually know that this one of thousands won’t be pushed over.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Srdl]

UPDATE…

I sent a VERY clear email back to the garage and copied in MB Germany in.

I questioned how a car with a drive by wire throttle, auto gearbox and auto clutch could be “accelerated too hard” such that it caused failure on a car with less than 60,000 mlies on it.

It was actually very detailed and also quoted a good friend of mine who is a lecturer in automotive design.

I had an email from the garage less than 48th hours later, explaining that they would be repairing the car “as a gesture of goodwill…”

Hmmm - Whatever. Pretty sure that’s code for “we got a rollicking from Mercedes Benz”…


Thanks everyone who contributed and commented.

Well done!