We've had our ML55 for 3.5 years and 46k miles. The car never had any problems. The coolant temperature has always been 80 degrees all year round regardless of outside temperatures.
This year I noticed that it's about 85-90 and I saw it hitting 100 when it was 80+ outside.
Is it time for coolant to be replaced or is it a sign of some problem?
Change the Coolant, and have them flush the radiator, and drain the engine block of the old coolant.Make sure they remove all the air bubbles when they refill the cooling system. The coolant should be change every two years according to the dealer. I change mine every year. I hope that's all it is.
Assuming that you have checked for obvious things such as low coolant level and bad/leaking radiator and heater hoses, I would suggest that you need to check the thermostat. It sounds like the thermostat might be stuck partially open. That would let the coolant circulate enough to cool properly at lower temperatures, but doesn't open up more to let enough coolant circulate when it is hotter.
Alex, when was the last time you had the coolant replaced? The coolant should be flushed approximately every 3 years, and the brake fluid approximately every 2 years.
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Thanks for all replies.
The dealer does all maintainance on the car, so I am not sure what they did and when. However, I already scheduled it to be checked out and they will check coolant and replace it if needed.
By the way, I talked to my dealer about getting extended Starmark warranty for our ML55 and they said that AMG's are not covered.
Is it true?