Folks,
Thought I'd post my recent experiece as a warning to all, and to be aware of this issue. I will not be naming the dealership but they are not one of the franchised branches and is the official Mercedes Benz dealership.
On my W205 C Class C43 I recently had the "Auxiliary Battery Malfunction" warning pop up on the dash. After doing some research I found that my car does not have an auxiliary battery but has a votage regulator in the footwell that is known to go faulty and cause this warning.
So I booked it in with the dealership as my car is under an extended warranty.
I recieved a call after diagnosis to state that the aux battery was faulty and this is not coverred under the warranty. I then argued that the car does not have a aux battery but has a voltage regulator and asked if they had spoken with the warranty people and the reply was "yes and it is not covered". I then asked to speak to the service manager, and I was questioned as to why I need to speak to him. After insisting, I got a callback from the workshop manager rather than the service manager. he repeated the same as the previous guy.
So, I asked them to proceed and replace the part but advised him that I get 10% discount on parts and labour as I am a member of the official MB owners club. His reply was that he had worked there 6 years and had never heard of the Owners Club or any discounts. I then insisted that he speaks to the parts department as what he was saying was incorrect. He came back to me stating that yes I was entitled to the 10% on parts and labour.
Later in the day I collecred the care after it was repaired and paid a bill of £400 which included a 10% discount.
The following morning I contacted the Mercedes Benz Extended Warranty department to confirm the issue regarding the regulator and as to why it was not covered. They told me that the dealership had never contacted them and furthermore the part IS covered as it is not a battery and advised me to call the dealership and ask them to contact the warranty department.
As we all probably know, calling a dealership service department is near impossible, so I drove down there, explained the situation to the receptionist and again asked to speak to the service manager. The person that deals with warranty claimsfor the dealership then appeared and said that they have looked into this, remembered the conversaion in the office regarding this the previous day and sheepishly told me that the part IS covered and they will give me a full refund and blamed it on Xmas and lack of staff !!!
I really don't know what Xmas as to do with poorly trained staff but I was not happy and expressed it, and I said I wish to raise a compaint, to which I was told that he would raise the issue and someome would get back to me.....so far I'm still waiting, but that doesn't surprise me.
Now this particular fault of Auxiliary Battery Malfunction is a fairly common issue, and I hate to think of the number of people that have been incorretly charged by this and other dealerships when their car has been under an extended warranty.
So, if this fault occurs on your car, research your car to find out if your vehicle does or does not have an aux battery fitted and don't take a "not covered" answer from the dealership if your car has a voltage regulator and not an aux barttery.
The part no in question that goes faulty is A205 905 34 14. If you don't have a warranty, it is an easy fix and takes 20 - 30 min max to replace.
Hope this helps.
Thought I'd post my recent experiece as a warning to all, and to be aware of this issue. I will not be naming the dealership but they are not one of the franchised branches and is the official Mercedes Benz dealership.
On my W205 C Class C43 I recently had the "Auxiliary Battery Malfunction" warning pop up on the dash. After doing some research I found that my car does not have an auxiliary battery but has a votage regulator in the footwell that is known to go faulty and cause this warning.
So I booked it in with the dealership as my car is under an extended warranty.
I recieved a call after diagnosis to state that the aux battery was faulty and this is not coverred under the warranty. I then argued that the car does not have a aux battery but has a voltage regulator and asked if they had spoken with the warranty people and the reply was "yes and it is not covered". I then asked to speak to the service manager, and I was questioned as to why I need to speak to him. After insisting, I got a callback from the workshop manager rather than the service manager. he repeated the same as the previous guy.
So, I asked them to proceed and replace the part but advised him that I get 10% discount on parts and labour as I am a member of the official MB owners club. His reply was that he had worked there 6 years and had never heard of the Owners Club or any discounts. I then insisted that he speaks to the parts department as what he was saying was incorrect. He came back to me stating that yes I was entitled to the 10% on parts and labour.
Later in the day I collecred the care after it was repaired and paid a bill of £400 which included a 10% discount.
The following morning I contacted the Mercedes Benz Extended Warranty department to confirm the issue regarding the regulator and as to why it was not covered. They told me that the dealership had never contacted them and furthermore the part IS covered as it is not a battery and advised me to call the dealership and ask them to contact the warranty department.
As we all probably know, calling a dealership service department is near impossible, so I drove down there, explained the situation to the receptionist and again asked to speak to the service manager. The person that deals with warranty claimsfor the dealership then appeared and said that they have looked into this, remembered the conversaion in the office regarding this the previous day and sheepishly told me that the part IS covered and they will give me a full refund and blamed it on Xmas and lack of staff !!!
I really don't know what Xmas as to do with poorly trained staff but I was not happy and expressed it, and I said I wish to raise a compaint, to which I was told that he would raise the issue and someome would get back to me.....so far I'm still waiting, but that doesn't surprise me.
Now this particular fault of Auxiliary Battery Malfunction is a fairly common issue, and I hate to think of the number of people that have been incorretly charged by this and other dealerships when their car has been under an extended warranty.
So, if this fault occurs on your car, research your car to find out if your vehicle does or does not have an aux battery fitted and don't take a "not covered" answer from the dealership if your car has a voltage regulator and not an aux barttery.
The part no in question that goes faulty is A205 905 34 14. If you don't have a warranty, it is an easy fix and takes 20 - 30 min max to replace.
Hope this helps.
