Tales of Woe (Updated)

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

KwickWilly

New Member
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
6
Location
Berkshire
Car
SL350
For those of you that see my original thread entitled “Tales of Woe” and would like an update, well here it is.

The main problem you may recall is with the 7G gearbox and problems with the shifting. The car went back to the supplying dealer on Saturday 21st for further investigations and was collected the following Saturday. As said previously, the dealer has been very good in looking at the problem and supplying a service car F.O.C, but sadly not resolving!

In brief, they changed the gearbox oil and filter (needed the 37K service change) and did the gear adaption thing again, and did a number of short trips. In their opinion it was all within specification, the oil was clean (not burnt) and so was the filter (no sign of debris). Even the general Manager took it out for a spin and said that it drove fine. Problem is though, the main issue is intermittent, but I feel that it is also noisy and rough shifting compared to other examples of similar age and mileage I have driven.

When starting the return journey (over 90 miles), initially I was delighted in that the gearbox did seem different and felt confident that the problem may have been resolved. Unfortunately after approximately 20 minutes of driving and whilst approaching a roundabout, I had the freewheeling sensation again, looked at the speed (10-15 mph), and at the point I depressed the accelerator firmly, the gear came in with a bang and a jerk! This also happened a second time some 10 minutes later when approaching another roundabout.

What I haven’t experienced though is the late engaging of the gear when stationary however, I did experience a jerky change from 2nd to 3rd whilst accelerating, something I haven’t experienced before! This all happened within a 30 minute window and where the remainder of the journey (90 minutes) was trouble free but mainly motorway.

On the Sunday after returning, I conducted a short journey to a retail park and experienced the jerky shifting from 2nd to 3rd again and on virtually every acceleration. It is enough to make you lean forward slightly, and then push back into your seat. In addition, what appears to be excessive engine braking or 1st gear being selected to early, again something that I hadn’t experienced before. I have now also experienced the late gear selection when stationary again!

So I have written to MB-UK (on paper and copied to the dealer) with a detailed description and log of my experiences, and have diplomatically said that we need to get this resolved ASAP, and that they can call or email me on a whole host of different numbers and addresses. Despite sending this out first class on Tuesday morning, so far no call or email!

As I have only had the car just over two months, I was hoping they would be on the case fairly quickly, especially as I have already spent 7 weeks trying to resolve the problem. Maybe I’m expecting too much?

I will give them until the middle of next week and if no contact, will call to enquire if they got the letter. If so, will give them until the end of the week to present a viable plan or it’s off to trading standards we go! I hope it doesn’t come to this.

Anyone else got any history with dealing with MB-UK regarding intermittent problems and warranties on used cars?
 
When I had my inlet problem I sent email to MB UK top guy. Had phone call from Holland within 5 hours. Then dealer who liaised between me and warranty dept and sorted it out.
Maybe I was lucky, but I find the service dept and warranty dept at MB Swindon on the ball and always willing to go that extra yard.
Good luck with the gearbox; invite MBUK to send an engineer to examine it.

Just a question? Why did you go to MBUK and not your dealer? Did your dealer tell you after your experiences there was nothing more they could do?
 
This sounds identical to a gearbox fault i've had on a previous car, albeit a BMW. It would happen a good 10-20 minutes into a drive because that was the time it had heated up (and according to the onboard computer, overheated). The problem turned out to be the gearbox cooler was packed with sludge and wasn't doing its job at all, so the gearbox would overheat, and I'd get that 'freewheeling' as you described it and bang/thud noises once i engaged drive again.

If your car doesn't do it from cold, i'd highlight this to the dealer.
 
When I had my inlet problem I sent email to MB UK top guy. Had phone call from Holland within 5 hours. Then dealer who liaised between me and warranty dept and sorted it out.
Maybe I was lucky, but I find the service dept and warranty dept at MB Swindon on the ball and always willing to go that extra yard.
Good luck with the gearbox; invite MBUK to send an engineer to examine it.

Just a question? Why did you go to MBUK and not your dealer? Did your dealer tell you after your experiences there was nothing more they could do?
Hi Crockers, the car was purchased at a dealer some 90 miles from where I live, and this was down to them having the vehicle I wanted both on spec and price. After two visits where they had the car 3 and 7 days, they have said that they can’t find anything wrong and all is working to specification! The trouble is, the problem is intermittent and can go days without issue. Then suddenly it will play up. This can be any time, from cold, after a 250 mile journey or 15 minutes down the road and appears completely random.
One thing I have noted is that if switched to “C” mode, then the problem is hardly noticeable but still there. In “S” (normal driving mode), the problem seems to be amplified.
I worked in the motor trade myself many years ago as a BMW Master Tech specialising in vehicle electrical/electronic systems and as a result, know how difficult it can be getting the time back on warranty jobs, as well as money for parts that are returned from the manufacturer as no fault found. At the end of the day, if MB-UK gets involved and say replace the gearbox, valve body, ecu etc, then at least the dealer is guaranteed to get the time and parts cost back, even if it turns out not to be the problem.
As I paid a fair sum for the car and in 9 weeks of ownership, have only had 2 weeks of trouble free motoring, I would now like to see it fast tracked and resolved quickly, something I feel only MB-UK can do. I’m also off to North Wales touring in the first week of July, and would like to see it sorted by then.
I do have a local dealer and have already spoken to them however, they have a reputation in being very business focused as opposed to customer focused and where this has been confirmed both when looking to buy a car and recent visits to get some of the faults looked at.
 
Being an Ex BMW Master Tech you will know all the words and phrases to push "World Class" buttons at Mercedes.

Do you ever get a chance to talk to the Mercedes Techs investigating your problems? Just coming from the same disipline could well help your cause and let them know you have the knowledge not to be fobbed off by a business focused set up rather than a customer focused (and therefore repeat positive customer) experience.

Good Luck with it all and thank you for the detaled feedback.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom