|
|
|
Betty writes: I have a 2003 E320 with an upgraded audio system. The system has failed 8 times despite technical adjustments by the dealer. I have discovered that this is a known problem with the 2003 e model that I was not made awre of when I purchased the car 11/03. The software fix offered by MB still does not fix the problem. I am now being told Mercedes has no option for fixing the problem except for me to bring the car in each time it fails or learn to rest the audio. I refuse to be taught to fix my own car. Right now that's just about every 100 miles. That is a costly proposition for me and totally unacceptable resolution. I am utterly frustrated and disgusted. The problem is not the dealer, it's the manufacutrer. I like the car-but I am too frustrated with the defect to enjoy it, I have less than 5,000 miles on the car. Is there any recourse for me? I want to get rid of this car. Arousiak writes: I have leased my E320 2003 model in August of 2002. Loved it and had no problems. When the car was due for it's first oil change I took it to Rusnak Pasadena and they changed the oil and 3 days later I got on the freeway and the breaks went off on me. I had no way to stop the vehicle. I wanted to return the car back to the dealer and they would not accept it back, so I had to hire an attorney. I nearly died driving an E320 2003.. Nancy writes: I own a Jade Black 2003 E-320. At this point, the best thing I can say about it is that it's a beautiful color! I had planned to buy a new vehicle which the dealer, Leith Mercedes in Raleigh, NC, said was in stock at their other location. They then called and said it was not a new car, but a demo. I agreed to purchase it, thinking a Mercedes with 5,000 miles on it wasn't even broken in. Now begins the saga: When I picked up the vehicle, the Tele-Aid was not working. Nor was the backing-up feature of the outside passenger-side mirror. OK. Had them fixed. Next thing: Dashboard lights up with "take car for service immediately" or some such thing. I call, they send a flatbed for the vehicle (I live 2-1/2 hours from the dealership). I was going away for a week or so, and thought the car would be ready upon my return. No such luck. In all fairness, I did have other items on my list. As long as they had it, I thought I'd get everything done at once. The sunroof, when tilted and with the vented shield closed, whistled like mad. This was replaced. The car drifts to the right - still does. The ambient lighting had taken on a life of its own; the lights under the outside rearview mirrors did not come on; the analog clock did not match the dashboard clock. To make a long story short, they had my car for 3 weeks! Aboout the middle of the second week, they arranged a rental car for me. Now: The car has now been at the dealer for 2 weeks with a failed A/C system; the sun roof is whistling again; the car still pulls to the right; the ambient lighting AND the windshield wipers have taken on their own life; and the lights under the outside rearview mirrors are not working! In the 2 weeks the vehicle has been there, I have received 1 phone call to clarify an item on my list and 1 phone call to inform me that my rear tires are down to the wearbars ~ at 18,000! What??? "Well, the car is very heavy and the tires wear out rapidly." Needless to say, I am less than happy with this vehicle and do consider it a big, fat LEMON! After reading the other comments posted about this vehicle ~ especially the ones about plastic an aluminum parts ~ I'm getting very uneasy. I drive long distances alone and not always in populated areas. I think my next problem will be the transmission, as it jumps at low speed, such as when driving slowly in parking lots looking for a space. I have asked the dealer for a free extended warranty. They "will get back to me" on that. So far, I have not heard a word! I have also posted my complaints at the government's highway safety and transportation website. Todd writes: I recently bought an 1999 E320 from a private party. After owning it for about 8 months, my catalyic coverters started making a rattling noise, so I took it in for warrently service. Much to my suprise I was told (by the service manager) that my car have been deemed a "status 8" and that the warrently had been voided (by MB). I soon found out that status 8 meant that MB reported the car totaled (sometime early on in the cars life) and because of that they would not cover any warrenty issues. I have asked for in writing of who and why it's been tagged with the death penalty. I asked two weeks ago and I'm still waiting. I have it hard to believe that a toteled car was not reported to the DMV or CarFax! Now I'm faced with a $2,500 bill (2 converters now!. After complaining to everybody at the dealership and MB corp, they now tell me that will cover the catalytic covers, but unfortunity the converters show signs of abuse. By abuse they mean that there are "scatches" on them and MB does not cover abuse under warrently. I forced the dealer to show me what MD meant by abuse and they showed me a bulleton showing converters that look like someonw took a hammer to them. Compared to the pictures, mine look brand new!! It appears they are determined not to cover this repair. This is my first MB and it looks like it will be my last. John writes: I have a 2003 E class automobile. The car has steered to the right from the day I drove out of the showroom. I have already replaced 3 main computers, which MB likes to simply call the "cluster". The mileage sucks. I get 10 mpg in the City and 17 on the highway. I am a slave to gas stations. Talk about false advertising! Vicki writes: I have a 1999 E320 4matic wagon. I am the original owner and the car has a measly 37,000 miles on it after five years. Recently, the car caught fire in my garage in the middle of the night. Had it not been for a smoke detector in the garage, the entire house may have burned. We contact MB and were told that if it was a part failure, they "would take care of it." Just today, over a month after the incident, we were informed that, yes, it was a factory part failure and yes, it was their responsibility, but too bad, they are not going to do anything about it. So now my $50,000 car is a heap of melted metal. Great customer service. Mary writes: I have wanted to own a Mercedes since I began driving years ago. I recently purchased an E320 and it has been nothing but trouble so far. I have owned this car (bought it used) for only 2 months. The 1st month the rear left window ceased to operate - had to have the regulator replaced. Two weeks later, the rear right window would not operate - guess what... the regulator needs replaced. This car was barely driven and is only 6 years old. I had the car thoroughly inspected by my mechanic before I purchased it and it received a clean bill of health. These are things that the mechanic nor the owner would be able to predict. I am very disappointed that a vehicle of this stature and expense would have these problems already and one right after the other. There have been other minor problems as well - problems with the auto. door opener, the radio acts up on occasion - nothing too serious. I also own a Jeep Cherokee that is 7 years old and has over 100,000 miles on it that I have had very little trouble with and believe me, I paid just a few dollars more for the Jeep new than I did for this used Mercedes. This purchase is leaving a very bad taste in my mouth with regards to Mercedes Benz, and reading the other info. on this site makes me believe that MB will not help me in any way. I will try to reach someone at either MB or a dealer to see if there is anything that can be done, because this is costing me an arm and a leg so far and I've only had the car 2 months. I'm so very disappointed with this vehicle. Ravi writes: I live on an island in the dutch caribbean, I was the first person to order the new mb E320 2003, It was a great feeling, its was a Friday in September 2002, That I got delivery of my brand new E320. The very first day the Audio systems failed, Did not think much about it, drove the car that weekend, with no audio, monday morning sent the car was in the garage. Got it the following day audio working. Hoping that would be it, thats was just the begining of my nightmares with this car. To cut the long story short, The car has been to the Garage at least 10 times, for all kinds of problems, even today as I write this letter, my car has been in the garage for the past 3 weeks, Some electrical problem A part needs replacement, Thats the biggest problem living on an island, they never stock any parts. So I have wait till the part arrives. I paid US $75K the damn car, I think it has spent more time in Garge being fixed than it has in my driveway. I'm upset, agrravated & feel cheated. Evon writes: It saddens me to say that I am the proud owner of a 1998 E320 lemon. The car is just 5 years old and the transmission just "dropped" without any warning. This car has less than 100,000 miles. This has resulted in a $4150.00 repair! and guess what, I still have a monthly car payment for this vehicle. I am so disgusted with this car. Mercedes has really let me down. After dowing some additional research, I have found out that this is a problem with other E320 owners. So beware, if you should notice any transmission problems (stalling, slipping, jerking, etc) start looking at trade-in options while the car is still operable. I should have kept my BMW! I will never buy another Mercedes product. Patty writes: My Ownership Experience...SPECIAL ORDERED E320 CABRIOLET CONVERTIBLE PAID OVER 77K AT SMYTHE MERCEDES IN SAN JOSE, CA. MY CAR IS PAID OFF. NEVERTHELESS I HAVE EXPERIENCED AND PAID THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR REOCCURRING PROBLEMS FROM DAY ONE. GOOD THING I KEPT A FILE ON ALL THE REPAIRS. BECAUSE WHEN I RECENTLY PERSONALLY MET WITH MANAGER TO DISCUSS REPAIRS I WAS TOLD THEY CONVIENENTLY LOST MY REPAIR FILE. AFTER SPENDING OVER 4600.00 ON TOP WHEN TOP STOPPED WORKING I CALLED THEM AND THEY NOW REFUSE ME SERVICE IN GENERAL. I WOULD LIKE TO SUE THEM Ann writes: I purchased my first MB in April 2004. She is a Starmarked 1999 E430, beautiful. I purchased the 2 year extended warranty - thank God! Since the purchase date the following isssues have occured: 1. Cracking and Popping of Front Seat - $780 to repair - declined repair. 2. Airbag sensor replaced. 3. Rear Left Window regulator replaced. 4. Harmonic Balance went. Too many items repaired due to this issue to detail here. 5. Rear Diffarential (sp) Leaking - replaced. 6. Two lights have burned out. It has been only 5 months. I am heartbroken. This is the first "nice" car that I have purchased. My husband and I reside in Southern CA and it is everything that we can do to pay the mortage and the monthly bills. I feel cheated. I am going to have to sell her before the three years of warranties are up. Lexus here I come. Jenny writes: I'm so glad to find your website, and finally knowing that I am not the only unsatisfied customer. I have a 2000 E320, which I had no problems until recently. The fuse on the circuit that controls the elctronic system, including the navigation, CD, radio, the steering wheel controls, and the horn, keeps blowing out. At first, it seems like a small problem. However, I've been back to the dealer for the 5th time, and the problem is still not resolved. They insisted that the car had no problems when they had it. They even test drive the car for over 200 miles and could not re-creat the problem. However, every time after I leave the shop, within 24 hours and less than 40 miles, the fuse will blow again. The attitude of the MB service team is very aggravating and I think they really can careless the problems. Like other MB customers, I bought the car for safety reasons, less repair, and higher quality customer service. After reading the other genuine complaints, I am probably better at buying another car. Wes writes: I purchased a new Mercedes Benz 2003 E320 in January 2003. I quickly went from the feeling of having a quality dependable car to knowing I had a $58,000 piece of junk. I was polite for 12 months, and followed all the service procedures of Park Place Mercedes and Mercedes Benz. Every time something broke, I took the car in and took my loaner car for 1-8 days and just waited for them to do the repairs. Six months ago, I began calling more then just the dealership to complain about the problems with the car, I started calling Mercedes Benz corporate customer complaint center in New Jersey @ 1-800-367-6372. They sent out their regional mechanic to review the car and he found a few electrical components on that car that were failing and had to be replaced as well as, he did a "flash upgrade" to every computer system in the car that could be upgraded. Then, they gave it back to me and said, "We are confident, you shouldn't have anymore problems with your car". Since then, a valet left my car light on and the battery died, MB roadside service came out and jumped my car and told me leave it running for 45 minutes to recharge. I did, after using the car for 3 days, the car went into powersave mode again on its own. It seems that the MB 2003 E320, is not able to fully recharge its own battery, once it has been discharged beyond a certain level. I took the car in, because I was getting power failure warnings on the screen. They took the battery out of the car and recharged it on a machine, then put it back into the car and told me everything would be fine now, they could not explain why the car could not recharge its own battery, but they found nothing wrong with the battery or the cars recharging system, even though the discharged battery warning was on the dash screen when the Park Place service department checked the car in and I showed the warning message to them. Since then, all interior lights have failed once, but the dealership says they have no explanation for the interior power failure, but everything seems fine. Also, my parktronics go off every time it rains, they have been replaced once and still do the following, if I drive slow in the rain, the double red warning lights come on and they buzz solid. The double red warning lights are only supposed to come on, once you actually run into a solid object. This is in addition to the paint washing off my parktronic the first time I was in a rainstorm and was left with bare copper circles on my front bumper that the dealership had to repaint. My throttle control system failed earlier this year which left me sitting in the middle of multiple intersections and in front of other moving traffic, with a 20 second delay on acceleration, that turned out to be a short in the throttle electronics. The main computer in front has been replaced once, the computer in back, has been replaced twice, my stereo system has been replaced multiple times, for a "popping noise" in temperatures of between 89-92 degree and complete fiber optics failure in the car at 92 degrees with a warning on the radio display, of the fiber optics failure to communicate to the rest of the car. I have had a special fan installed in the Audio Gateway to allow it to run in outside temperatures in excess of 89 degrees. The CD player has seized up once and they had to force it open to get my CDs out to put a new CD player in it. One of my key fobs also failed this year, they replaced the battery once, and then, the second time, they gave up and ordered a key fob. My complete instrument panel has been replaced once due to "unexplained error messages" according to the MB Regional Technical. My MB SOS system has deactivated itself twice in the past 12 months and I had to call MB assistance to have them connect to my car and reactive the system remotely. Mercedes Benz has offered $10,000 toward a trade-in, because of my never ending electrical failures in the car and the dealership has offered to sell me another car at invoice, but they still want me to pay another $5,000 another car and sign a new 4 year lease, since a new Mercedes looses $20,000 in value in the first year. Here is the kicker, they gave me another car (2004 E320) to test drive and consider as my replacement car for the lemon car, but when I took it for the test drive, the passengers electronic seat was broken and would not turn off, once the pulse button was touched. The only way to stop the seat, was to turn the car off!!!. This has led me to sue Park Place Mercedes and Mercedes Benz to terminate my lease and assume all depreciation costs and release me from this Mercedes Benz nightmare. Michael writes: My 2001 E320 4Matic is my first (and last) Mercedes. While there is much I love about this car (4Matic, engine, transmission, features, safety, ride and handling), the quality is abysmal. In 2years and 34K miles, I have had the following problems: fog lamp replaced twice; grill replaced-plastic flaking off!; center console replaced twice (top and bottom would not work independently); Passenger side mirror replace 4 times-gets cloudy - dealer blames car wash; center cup holder cover wouldn't close- replaced; Drivers side mirror switch failed and replaced. New brake pads at 32K, OK, but dealer wanted to replace rotors as they were at 24mm, just inside spec (let the next guy do that) Dealer wanted to replace air filter for $140 at 32K (I had them blow out the old one) Dealer wanted to replace serpentine belt at 32K for $176 PLUS labor (again, the next guy can do that) I really wanted to love this car. Just can't. No way a 60K plus car should be less reliable than the cheapest Toyota or Honda. If I had the electrical gremlins so many report, I'd really be ballistic. What a shame to see a great brand go so bad, so fast. Jerry writes: I have a 1998 E320 4matic...at 92000 the harmonic balancer "self-destructed". After some searching on the internet I found this has been an on-going problem for E320 engines. Now, the HIT...The repair bill was quoted as $1600...$275 for the part and the balance, $1325 to remove the oil pan, put new gasket material ($3.00) and re-install the oil pan. My dealer, Indianapolis, stated it was so high because of having to remove several front end parts to get to the oil pan. I tried to get some relief from the service manager, no luck...ask for MB number...called, received a very arrogant response, "the car has 92000 miles, no help", we support the dealers' service manager...I truly believe they took the attitude they did because I refuse to pay $250 to $400 to get the "oil changed" and "lube the door hinges" etc...you know the rest of the story. What was really interesting was the fact that the service manager asked me if I had been having my car serviced regularly at the dealership. My response was no, for obvious reasons but I had an independant repair center do every recommended maintenance required and had all the bills to prove it. It then stated that because I had not supported them it did not feel it could support me. He had the autonomy to help defray part of the $1600 if he wanted to. NO MORE MB FOR ME EITHER... Yerek writes: 01 Merz E320 wagon 4 matic 24 K miles, my both front power head rests dont work! ongoing problem, front driver seat is squiking, engines sometimes dies on the morning. thank you. Robert writes: My Ownership Experience. Well it's like this. I leased a 1998 E320 which had 42k miles 2 years ago when I signed the lease agreement in this time which is coming up on 2 years. I have had the following issues go wrong with this great piece of German Ingenuity or lack there of. First the drivers side window gets stuck every now and then and plays the game of half way up and half way down with me, this goes on for several hours until the ghosts of the Motherland find another mercedes victom to haunt. Next was my air conditioner compressor went KAPUT when cost me about $900 to fix, keep in mind my window is still haunted to this day. next came my drivers side mirror that just completely collasped when going through a harmless brushless car wash "Survey says" cough up an additional $400 to replace it. Hold on now because the real juicy stuff is about to hit the fan. The rear trunk release inside the car one day decides to just snap off in my hand when I went to unlock the trunk from the inside... SURVEY SAYS cough up $200. Now its spring time in Charlotte,NC and all I wanted to do was open up my moonroof, oh no it only opens up half way, just like my passenger side window HOW IRONIC!!! The track needs to be replaced SURVEY SAYS $600. AHHHH but wait there is so much more.... last but certainly not least at 104K miles the Ghosts of the Gastapo have invaded my transmission and torque converter this is after I told the Mercedes Benz dealership that I'm hearing a strange noise coming from the rear of my car and I'm pretty sure its the transmission, the response I was given twice was there is nothing wrong with your transmission sir! SURVEY SAYS $4600 for a rebuilt transmission and torque converter. I've owned 2 Acura 3.5 RL's as well as a Lexas LS 400 all three cars had 130K to 150K before I turned them in and guess what nothing more was EVER needed than tires, brakes, oil changes and a coolant flush oh yes and tires. So after Mercedes Benz Credit picks up this piece of junk that still has 2 years left on ! My lease, which I will not pay for unless they pay for the transmission, I shall march down to the wonderfull ACURA or LEXAS dealerships and get myself into a new car, never will I buy a MERCEDES BENZ in this life time again. Eduardo writes: This is my first an last MB. What a disappointment. I've had this 2003 E for only 3 months and it's been in the shop 4 times to get an alignment problem fixed, to no avail (car pulls to the right). Dealer keeps teeling me the car's "within specs". Mona writes: I happen to know first hand how Mercedes Benz (MB) does business. I am having similar problems with my 1997 E420. I purchased the car in 1999 with 15K miles. I have always had scheduled maintenance.I have had the back window to stall four separate times. The first two times were within the first year of ownership. The service rep said there was a design defect with the window and since the car was under warranty there was no problem. When I asked what my recourse was after the warranty was up, she replied, MB knows about the problem and would take care of it. I insisted that there should be an official recall in case MB changed its mind. The rep no longer works for MB and they have changed their minds and refuse to acknowledge these problems. I have had a/c problems, transmission problems, head lamp problems,and other issues. During my college years and early in my carrer, I owned a Honda Accord. The only maintenance performed on that car was the required oil changes and I drove it for seven years with no real problems. I am convinced that MB is too arrogant to admit that there is a problem with its vehicles. Maybe we should get together with the consumer protection agency of sort and have this matter reviewed. F.X.R. writes: Wow! I've read so many horror stories here. I thought it was only me. I'm the proud owner of a 1999 E320 4-MATIC, Black on Black, very nice "looking" car.... but what a bitch she is. I've barely crested six figs on the odo and she's just fallin apart. Pulled into the gas station one day in the July, accidentally hit the rear window button, before it was all the way down, I hit it to go back up, "click" window' no work no more'. Wouldn't have been so bad I guess, if it wasn't pouring rain and I were close to home! Why cry about this u ask? Look, the window regulators on these $50K cars are pieces of junk, plain & simple. I've replaced 3 of 4 and the 4th window goes down by itself for no apparent reason. But these minor reapairs I don't sweat really. What I really take issue with are the major drivetrain compnents and their "lack" of durability. Replacing my transmission was not a manitenance item I was planning on at little more than 100K miles. But when I spoke with the guy at the trans shop that rebuilt it for me, they said that certain important components within the trans are made out of plastic (not steel as in the earlier 90's 300E) I don't know, maybe I'm paranoid and think that everyone's conspiring, but I just find it difficult to believe that those German engineers designed the plastic components to save .3 lbs or $2 per car. To me it seems like transmission failure by design. Seems to me that they are moving away from the MB principles that built the company it's reputation for reliability and red-shifting to the Chrysler end of the specrtum. After much expense and much time in the shop, I got my E320 back, right before Thanksgiving. :- ) Christmas day, she broke down. :- ( Since my mechanic was on vacation, she sat in the shop a week & a half, then another week to fix. Mass airflow meter failure ($300 part). K, new mass air meter, pick her up, 5 miles later, check engine light. She's kinda buckin side to side as I sit at the light. "Are u mad at me?" she asks, "No baby, I'm not mad" I tell her, "we just gotta go back to the Dr., that's all" But I lied to her. I am mad! I'm f'in' pissed! Why she gotta do me like this? I've been so good to her. SO faithful! It's been 2 weeks and they still can't get her to turn off that damn check engine light. God only knows what kinds of tests they've run on her, what things have been replaced and she still won't compromise! I have a 92 300E 4MATIC, 220K miles, she has her quirks, but she's always been good to me. But the term "they don't make em like they used to" absolutely applies to MB and that's rather unfortunate. I admit it, I went for the 99 because I thought she was attractive. Sleek, curvy, sexy. And she has a great lineage. But she's shallow, skin deep. Nothing like her older sister. She may be faster, fancier, prettier, but she has no heart. And I think I'm gonna leave her, for a sexy Japanese girl named Lexus. "Good bye, nice to know you" Thank you for vistiting this Consumer Warning for: Mercedes Benz USA |
