[taranch]

Hello,

Our R320 has been in the shop quite often in the last 2 months. Everything from a faulty harness throwing CEL to bad air bag in the rear suspension. The latest issue, was noxious fumes invading the cabin making driving EXTREMELY uncomfortable to the point we had to drive with the windows down. Not very comfortable when the outside temperature ranges from -12 to +2 degrees Celsius. Hence, we brought the car into the dealer Thursday evening.

Our technical advisor sent me an email advising us that the turbo needed to be replaced and that the parts would be in on Monday only. No CEL, no loss of power. I don't get it. Car has 123000km of which 40000 to 50000 km have been long hauls. All services have been followed to a tee.

Anyway, THANK GOD we bought the extended warranty! Otherwise, this car would have cost us a bundle over the last year.

Cheers

 

[shingleback]

Thank you for the information. I have been lurking here for a few days now trying to absorb information on the different model years and their issues. I am really interested in getting a MY10.

Did you buy your R at the MB dealership? Did you get the MB extended warranty? From what I see, MB wants a pretty penny for the extended warranty as well as the car. Here in Vancouver they are about $10K higher than other comparable cars. I have noticed a few for sale in PQ; are they very popular there? The prices seem to be lower than the west coast.

 

[starbound01]

With the R the extended warranty is almost a must. Its expensive but the repairs will be considerably more than the cost of the warranty. You can read many threads about suspension bags, transmission, truck latch, sprockets, balancer shaft, front differential). Frankly I am surprised that they cover the airmatic bags since they are really wearable components. All that said, you don;t see much on the new model yrs. Maybe they are much better or maybe no one has much milage on them yet.

To the first poster, The exhaust system is sealed to the rear bumper. Unless the turbo has a hole in the housing, how would you get exhaust gas in the cabin? I would think the more likely issue will be the plumbing itself. Maybe its all one piece or something. I'd be curious to the result

 

[taranch]

Thank you for the information. I have been lurking here for a few days now trying to absorb information on the different model years and their issues. I am really interested in getting a MY10.

Did you buy your R at the MB dealership? Did you get the MB extended warranty? From what I see, MB wants a pretty penny for the extended warranty as well as the car. Here in Vancouver they are about $10K higher than other comparable cars. I have noticed a few for sale in PQ; are they very popular there? The prices seem to be lower than the west coast.

Hello,

It was bought new and put on the road mid-November 2008. It's a MY2009. The first week we had it, the climate fan stopped working completely. The rear latch became problematic after the second year of ownership. Faulty driver-side folding mirror after 3rd year of ownership. It was plagued by the CEL for different issues after the first 2 years of ownership. During the last 6-months, we were getting CEL every 4-6 weeks. They finally realized the root cause which was a faulty wire harness which was replaced.

As mentioned in my previous thread, all oil changes and maintenance regiments were carried to a tee.

These cars are fantastic in ride, comfort, power, presence, safety and versatility. However, they haven't been very popular in North America even though you get a lot for your money. You're basically driving a big S-class for the price of an E-class.

Reliability seems to have been plaguing all MBs built in the last 20 years. They don't have the same track record of lore. I can't say that all American built MBs are problematic. We had a MY2003 ML320 which was rock solid and never gave us ANY issues in 5 years of ownership. That ML320 was built in Alabama as well.

Hence, if you are planning on buying an MB, make sure you do spring for the extra ~$3500 extended warranty. It will pay for itself.

Cheers

 

[shingleback]

Many thanks; I hope your R settles down.

 

[taranch]

Many thanks; I hope your R settles down.

Thanks!

 

[taranch]

So, it was a leaky turbo which caused noxious exhaust fumes to infiltrate into the cabin. No other warning. No loss of power, just the fumes. Anyhow, THANK THE LORD, all repaired under extended warranty.

Cheers

 

[gvz19t]

I have the same problem. I thought the smell was from the exhaust. Anyway, it is good to know its fixable. Would you like to show me a copy of the repair invoice? The extended warranty on my car has just expired and I might just fix it myself later.

 

[taranch]

I have the same problem. I thought the smell was from the exhaust. Anyway, it is good to know its fixable. Would you like to show me a copy of the repair invoice? The extended warranty on my car has just expired and I might just fix it myself later.

Here's the invoice.