Welcome to our forums @bimmerdriver

Well, it's like any car. Many owners have had problems which made their cars into nightmares, but I'm sure that many more have not had any of those problems.

Just like every other marque.

Make sure your car is running smoothly, and that everything works, and get an independent Mercedes mechanic to check it before you buy.

You've got to drive it of course.

My own car was running fine and it seemed that everything worked. When we got home we found that the tailgate would not open from any button. I fixed that, it was a broken wire at the motor. The motor's reservoir was also empty, we topped it up.

It worked fine for a couple of months then would open but not close. Then that went away by itself after another couple of months, it works fine again.

I've changed the battery and the tiny auxiliary battery too, so be ready to change those. They're under the driver's seat on mine, Right-hand Drive, UK model, 3-litre diesel.

It's a lovely driver, very smooth, the seats are comfortable, and it's ideal for long journeys.

A few times the wipers, indicators and screenwash didn't work when I went to start the car, so I couldn't use it. I tried taking the key out, locking and unlocking the car but they still didn't work, so I didn't start it and left it for a few hours to 2-4 days each time. When I tried it again everything worked and I started and used it.

Weird or what? Something is on its way out.

About 3 or 4 months ago my car started "coughing" when I accelerated. It was fine on deceleration and under steady throttle pressure.

I let it rest for a while and kept trying it in case the fault would disappear by itself like others but it didnt. So I sent it to a good independent Mercedes mechanic on a transporter and he found the transmission control module was causing the problem. He's replaced that and replaced the injector seals because he found 2 were leaking, but there are "a couple of other faults" and he's waiting for parts.

Those are the problems that I've experienced and it has 180,000 miles on it.

I hope it's the last of these annoyances.
It's a great looking car but I really don't think it's a Mercedes of the quality of 30 years ago.

When new it cost the same as the Porsche Cayenne. I hope I would have bought the Cayenne, but my heart is with the W164.

 

I pretty much echo Jim, but have had fewer problems; previous owner was picky. I have 137,000 miles on my 2009 gas-powered 4matic. (I put on the last 30k.) Wonderfully quiet and actually quite a firm ride (has towing pkg). I did replace the batteries - very doable. PO probably replaced plugs and wires. No serious electrical gremlins. I live in a dry climate, eastern Washington State in the US...I'm guessing this prolongs the life of the electrical stuff. I'm pretty careful when washing the tail lights due to water intrusion problems there, knocking out the rear SAM. There was a harmonic balancer problem with the engine in 2006-2008...do dig around on this forum to find the VIN where that was repaired...I think in 2008. Do not buy one before that VIN unless you know it was fixed. The Harmon Kardon sound system is a big feature to my mind...

 

@Sighclone mentioned the "harmonic balancer" issue, but I think that was meant to be the "balance shaft" problem, which is covered in this bulletin as "Scenaio 1":

https://benzbits.com/BalanceShaftTSB.pdf

It's an expensive engine-out repair, so I would avoid any car possibly in the range for that problem. That means no MY2006 and half the My2007's. Besides that problem, I'd still avoid the MY2006 and MY2007 as they are early in the build for the W164 and almost all new model MBZ's have more problems that later ones. Another thing to consider is the transmission. Through about My2008, the 722.9 can have issues with the torque converter dirtying the fluid and also some internal speed sensors failing. The dirty fluid is not an issue (it need to be changed every 40K miles anyhow) but the speed sensor failure can be an expensive repair as it's pretty much a dealer-only job because it requires SCN coding where firmware is downloaded from MBZ corporate. If I were looking for one, I'd go for MY2009-MY2011. Not only will they be less likely to have those engine and transmission issues, they also upgraded some electronics like giving the radio built-in Bluetooth hands-free calling and adding an iPod interface in the glove box that can be used for BT streaming with an adapter. And of course the later build for the model are more reliable. I would avoid the diesel, but if you happen to find an ML550, buy it! That V8 is a great engine choice with plenty of power.

Having said that, poke around in the W166 forum, too. They tend to be more reliable and more refined, but of course more expensive. When the lease on my wife's last car (Cadillac XT5) was up, we discussed looking at a pre-owned W166. We just both assumed that's what she wanted, but after we looked at one, she changed her mind. It was nothing serious, just some little things that she did not like about it. We were also having a hard time finding one that was fully loaded. Down here in The South where we don't get much snow, AWD cars are not as popular. Most of them we looked at had MB-Tex instead of leather, halogen headlights instead of HIDs or LEDs, often lacked KeylessGo, etc. She ended up finding a BMW X5 that had everything she wanted. Ironically, the seating position and ride remind me a lot of my W163 ML and we really like. There are somethings about MBZ that I like much better than BMW, but overall, the X5 has been a good choice.

 

Wow!

(Psst:- go for the Porsche Cayenne!)

 

I like the Cayenne, but it lacks something we need in an SUV - cargo room. I had one as a loner once when my wife's Audi A6 was in the Porsche + Audi dealer's shop. I liked it a lot, but when I compared it to the W163, the interior and cargo room was severely lacking. That was a deal-killer. One of the problems moving from a W163 to any other midsized SUV is what you lose in interior volume. You'd have to look at a GL/GLS to get comparable cargo volume.

 

I didn't know.

Cargo space is valuable in a practical SUV.

Many are just poser mobiles, for show, and aren't taken off-road.

Our Toyota Prado LandCruiser is a proper 7 seater with plenty of cargo space.

A friend was disappointed by the X3, it's tiny.

Does the X5 have good cargo space?

 

Oh, my W163 went off-road a good bit. We had a lake house and I used it to pull boats. I pulled my cousin's F150, with his fishing boat attached, when he is got stuck in the mud when the water level was down past the paved launch ramp. Now, I don't need off-road capabilities, but I do like having AWD for rainy days and the once-in-three-years snow we get. But the SUV is my wife's. She likes sitting up high, and not having to drop down into a "car". I prefer a car and that's why I have an SL, which she won't ride in. Mostly because it's hard to get in and out of being low with wide sills. Getting old is a real PITA. And she cares nothing about top-down driving - it messes up her hair. She'd have had a really bad hair day had she been with me last weekend. The kid and I took the SL out to the Talladega Superspeedway for a charity drive event. Going 125mph+ with the top down on 33-degree banked turns is crazy fun! Had the guy in the pace car not held me back, I'd have gone faster.

Speaking of the X3, when I sold my W163 ML320, I ended up buying a MY2006 BMW X3. I was looking for a W163 ML55, but had a hard time finding one in good condition. I ended up at the local BMW dealer who advertised one, but it sold before I arrived. The eager young salesman I met there tried to talk me into an X5, but its cargo capacity was far too small. Ironically, that year's X3 actually had more cargo capacity than the X5. It was nowhere near the W163's but I drove it and liked it (and my wife was griping at me to get an SUV because we needed to have one to travel in). It was actually a good car and I enjoyed driving it. It was very sporty, yet had decent utility. That was "my" last SUV. I've had cars ever since. The kid has gone through a few cars, but her favorite was the W164. I really liked it, too. I hate that some idiot had to T-bone her in it. At least it gave its life to keep her safe and completely uninjured.

The X5 is about the same size as the W166. I think the cargo capacity is smaller by maybe 1 or 2 sq. ft. I like the split rear opening - it has a liftgate and a small 10-inch high "tailgate" that drops down. It's still no W163 in terms of cargo space, but it is larger than the W164. I wish it were a bit sportier in terms of handling. That was one thing I liked about the X3 - it handled like a good European sports sedan car. The X5 is a little too "soft" for my tastes. But it's less soft than the W164. The W166 is even softer. I haven't driven a new W167, but I have heard they handle much better than the W166, but are smaller.

 

What we like about the W163 is the amount of cargo space, relative to the overall size of the vehicle. This is why we are considering a W164 or W166.

An X3 is definitely too small. I haven't been in an X5 lately, so not sure how much space it has. The X5 has an optional 3rd row of seats, which would be occasionally useful.

 

Thanks for the insight @rudeney !

 

The JD Power ratings for the X5 and the ML320 are about the same over the past 10 years. But, the dealer network and independent mechanic network in the US is so much better for MB than for BMW I would never consider owning another BMW.

 

That's interesting, because my experiences with my local MBZ and BMW dealers are quite the opposite. The MBZ dealer rarely fixes anything on the first or second try, and almost always breaks something else in the process. Their SAs are more interested in making commission on selling you additional services than getting your car fixed. Up until just a few years ago, the entire dealership was dreadful - an old building, and the furniture in the waiting room came from the service manager's grandmother's house (literally it did - I worked there and know for a fact that's what it was). They don't have loaners, but charge $25/day for a rental, unless they keep you car for extra days, then they will pay. The BMW dealership was nice, open, had a great waiting area, and the service advisers never tried to upsell. I never had them break anything or fail to make a repair as promised. They always provided a no-charge BMW loaner, even if I was just in for routine service. This was almost all based on visits for warranty work. With one exception (722.9conductor plate replacement on my CLK550), I do my own work or (very rarely) use an indy.

As for indy shops, the two best ones around here do both MBZ and BMW. One of them is owned by a guy that used to be a Porsche dealership service manager. They are very good, but also very expensive. He does not like MBZ transmissions and won't touch them. If you have an MBZ transmission issue, he's not the guy to go to.

My concern with BMZ is just that I don't know much about them. Almost all of my knowledge and experience is with MBZ, though I can usually translate that into other cars, I just don't have the same resources for them.

 

Thank you everyone for your replies. I like the W164 and I'd be happy to own one, but looking at the ones on the market, they are of the age where it's very hard to find one that doesn't have a lot of miles (i.e., low milages, only 189k!!!). My W163 has 163k kms. I don't want to make a sideways or backwards move. Also, they are only being sold by sketchy used car dealerships, which I trust about as far as I can throw them. I'm looking at the W166 market, where there are a few more vehicles that don't have a lot of miles.

 

The W166 seems to be a solid vehicle. Check the forum - you will find very few chronic problems. Good luck with your search!

 

Thanks. I found a 2014 with low kms and in nice shape.

 

Would you tell us how much they wanted?

 

I bought the vehicle from Land Rover Vancouver, which is also a Jaguar Aston Martin Bentley dealership. They received it on a trade-in. They had originally listed it for CAD $31995 (which is well above market value), but reduced it to CAD $26989. According to AutoTrader, this price is CAD $784 below the local "market value" (good, but not great). I paid less than the reduced asking price. (FYI, the current CAD / USD exchange rate is 1.25.)

I live in Vancouver. There are lots of diesel MLs available here, but relatively few gas MLs. There are a few somewhat similar vehicles (gas) on the market in the same price range, but they all had higher mileage and most have been in multiple accidents. One of them had been in 4 accidents that amounted to more than the asking price for the vehicle. This vehicle has only been in one minor accident. Prior to LR Vancouver putting it on the market, they had it serviced at a local MB dealership including a couple of new tires and some other things. I was able to see the full MB service history, which was unremarkable. Also, it's pretty well equipped.

A car is worth what someone will pay for it. I don't mind paying a bit more for a car in good condition with low mileage. YMMV

 

Yep, sounds like a good find, well done.

As you say it's worth paying a bit more for a better car.

 

Love my 2010 ml350 and decided it is my forever car. If it ever needs an engine or trans will do without hessitation. It does everything so well with less computer issues than newer versions. Towing capacity (7 thousand lbs or more?) is great but will not fit full 4x8 plywood sheet. My only complaint is air cooled seats are too stiff. Saw a youtube on removing the plastic board out of the seat bottom but never bothered to do it. Beautiful interior. Car has every option except the Aegis weapon system.

 

Not sure if this was covered, but look into the replacement status of the entire air suspension system. I ended replacing at least 3/4 of mine at around 200,000 km at a cost of maybe $5k parts only, DIY. Included all 4 air bags, air compressor, valve block. It seems issues compound quickly, and parts are pricey. Awesome handling when running correctly though..

 

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