BIL's 2012 S550 Mercedes Repair Bill

[ls1mike]

My brother in law bought a used one about two years ago. It currently has 54,000 miles on it. Very nice car. I like it.

He had a repair bill recently that blew my mind. He told me about today at our annual Easter egg hunt for the kids.
I saw the receipt and I was speechless.

He got a check engine light and took it in. It seems one of the of the Cam Position sensors leaked oil and wicked its way through the engine harness to the
computer. What blew my mind was to fix it the Engine and transmission had to come out. A refurbished computer alone was 1070.00 dollars, bunch of parts were
replaced that totaled just over 3000,00 dollars.

Total cost was over 7000.00 dollars. I told him next time we will just LS swap it.

Has anyone here ever heard of something like that? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it.

 

[Leo99]

The best or nothing.

He had to pay for that out of pocket?

 

[JLTD]

Originally Posted by Leo99
The best highest cost of repair or nothing.

He had to pay for that out of pocket?



Fixed it for you.....and how used is it? Figure at only 54k there should be SOME warranty left.

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted by Leo99
The best or nothing.

He had to pay for that out of pocket?


Out of pocket.. It was not under warranty. That was the total but he got a break because he bought it there and his dad has purchased three cars there.
Not sure how much he paid I didn't ask. I didn't want to know.

My head can't handle it. I could put a 500hp LS and built 4L80E in my truck for half of that and pull down 200,000 miles easy. Or course it wouldn't be an S550 but man that is pricey.

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted by JLTD
Originally Posted by Leo99
The best highest cost of repair or nothing.

He had to pay for that out of pocket?



Fixed it for you.....and how used is it? Figure at only 54k there should be SOME warranty left.

It Is 7 years old, he just hit 54,000. The repair was in the last month. Out of warranty at least that is what my BIL said. I can understand the labor, there is no room in that thing, but 3,000 dollars worth of parts.
Some items were the harness, Cam Seals, CPSs, O2 sensors, engine computer I forget what else.

 

[The Critic]

Yes, this is not unheard of on the MB V8s. It also happens on the E550s. The oil seeps out of the cam sensors (or other areas) and will wick itself thru the harness. You end up having to replace the ECM and the entire harness. I am guessing that he started to see misfires?

This phenomenon has also been seen on 4Runners where the trans fluid will wick thru the trans solenoid harness which results in a damaged Engine Harness, Trans Harness and ECM.

edit: $1K for an ECM is inexpensive. A new dealer ECM for the 370z/G37s that we see a lot of is in the $1500 range.

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted by The Critic
Yes, this is not unheard of on the MB V8s. It also happens on the E550s. The oil seeps out of the cam sensors (or other areas) and will wick itself thru the harness. You end up having to replace the ECM and the entire harness. I am guessing that he started to see misfires?

This phenomenon has also been seen on 4Runners where the trans fluid will wick thru the trans solenoid harness which results in a damaged Engine Harness, Trans Harness and ECM.


He took It in the day after the light came on. Never mentioned a misfire. I have seen stuff wick on cars and Submarines. It was just it cost so much money! Crazy man!

 

[ls1mike]

That was a refurbished one. I can't remember paying more the 400 for an LS type ECM. I have an extra, untuned one for the Caprice and Truck.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
Originally Posted by The Critic
Yes, this is not unheard of on the MB V8s. It also happens on the E550s. The oil seeps out of the cam sensors (or other areas) and will wick itself thru the harness. You end up having to replace the ECM and the entire harness. I am guessing that he started to see misfires?

This phenomenon has also been seen on 4Runners where the trans fluid will wick thru the trans solenoid harness which results in a damaged Engine Harness, Trans Harness and ECM.


He took It in the day after the light came on. Never mentioned a misfire. I have seen stuff wick on cars and Submarines. It was just it cost so much money! Crazy man!

I have said it again and again on this forum - modern cars are very expensive to repair when out of warranty. No one believes me when I say that larger repairs, if done at a higher mileage, often exceeds the value of the car.

On a semi-related note, my buddy's 2016 E350 had an issue where the spark plug for cyl #5 just did not want to come out. The dealer had no luck either and ended up replacing the cylinder head. Luckily, the car was under the unlimited mileage CPO warranty (it had around 75k) so the $6k bill was covered.

 

[slo town]

Typical Mercedes. I owned one, bought new, and it was one of the worst cars I've ever owned. Getting them to do warranty work required begging.

Chronic brake problems - the right front caliper dragged from new which over heated and warped the rotor. Multiple warranty attempts never fixed the problem. After warranty ended, out of desperation I pulled the fuse for the ABS and it fixed the problem. I drove without ABS for 50k miles. Engine swallowed a broken plastic part that was INSIDE the intake manifold, which hammered the spark plug gap closed, which burned up the right side catalytic converter after driving just 3 miles on five cylinders. Conductor plate and valve body failed in the transmission - $5k repair at an independent. MB could never fix the drivetrain vibration at highway speeds. Eventually the service manager, soon to retire, told me in confidence that is was a huge problem and MB had no fix.

I should have lemon lawed the car.

Scott

 

[4WD]

There are a few of those and Beemers around the office … always hear of the cost of repairs or even general service. Some have gone to a lease to bail from that moment in time … Lot different from the older simpler MB's that ran forever …
The smaller 200 Diesel in the EU are pretty darn reliable … Waiting for one to get me now …

 

[geeman789]

I remember a friend who was considering buying a new Mercedes. He was an engineer, a logic to the extreme sort of guy.

He said, if a luxury brand car costs twice as much or more than a mainstream brand car, why isn't the warranty twice as long ? Great question ... none of the dealers could answer it to his satisfaction. If the car is so vastly superior to other brands, then don't be afraid to back it up with a vastly superior warranty ...

 

[slo town]

Originally Posted by 4WD
There are a few of those and Beemers around the office … always hear of the cost of repairs or even general service. Some have gone to a lease to bail from that moment in time … Lot different from the older simpler MB's that ran forever …
The smaller 200 Diesel in the EU are pretty darn reliable … Waiting for one to get me now …

Having owned the same generation MB and BMW side by side, there is no comparison. From fasteners, to suspension pieces, to floor pan stiffeners; the BMW was SUPERIOR.

That said, our E90 will be the last BMW I ever own. Our E46 will go down in history as one of the best vehicles I've ever owned - and I've owned over 30. The E90 is very, very good. But the new BMWs I see in showrooms seem to be ridiculously over engineered and complex. Not for me.

Scott

 

[Revving2Redline]

Ah the German gremlin showed his head from the black forest. Seems the elves got their money.

 

[SZR48207]

There is a legendary thread about a guy who did his own work on one of the rare MB models here. It may take you a few hours to follow along, so there is a summary link below.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/f...-unicorn-of-my-destruction/110824/page1/

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cu...ding-his-engine-to-avoid-a-57000-repair/

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by geeman789

I remember a friend who was considering buying a new Mercedes. He was an engineer, a logic to the extreme sort of guy.

He said, if a luxury brand car costs twice as much or more than a mainstream brand car, why isn't the warranty twice as long ? Great question ... none of the dealers could answer it to his satisfaction. If the car is so vastly superior to other brands, then don't be afraid to back it up with a vastly superior warranty ...


Because as a luxury vehicle, you should be replacing it every 3 years to remain on the cutting edge of comfort and style. This is why people lease these kinds of cars vs. buy them.

 

[Chesterr]

I have 93k on a el cheapo 14 focus and nothing has gone wrong with it, same go's for the 7 other new gm and Ford's I have bought. I think the mbs and bmws of last 10 years are just overcomplicated , too many electronics ,overpriced and cost way too much to fix. ...domestics have had their faults but right now German luxury cars are worse

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by Chesterr
I have 93k on a el cheapo 14 focus and nothing has gone wrong with it, same go's for the 7 other new gm and Ford's I have bought. I think the mbs and bmws of last 10 years are just overcomplicated , too many electronics ,overpriced and cost way too much to fix. ...domestics have had their faults but right now German luxury cars are worse

Ive gone to Japanese only. Been pleased.

 

[RooflessVW]

Though rare, it can happen to BMWs with the N52.

I bet it's a shared part.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
That was a refurbished one. I can't remember paying more the 400 for an LS type ECM. I have an extra, untuned one for the Caprice and Truck.

GM keeps making the same part for a decade or more, and make more in a year than MB probably makes in a decade. Hyperbole I know, but with shades of truth in it. Want something cheap, buy something made by the bucket.

Originally Posted by The Critic
I have said it again and again on this forum - modern cars are very expensive to repair when out of warranty. No one believes me when I say that larger repairs, if done at a higher mileage, often exceeds the value of the car.

Pretty sure that has been true for a very long time. Otherwise people wouldn't have gotten into the habit of new every 5.