2003 (03) Mercedes SL500

[ph80]

Hi all.

I bought a Mercedes SL500 on 5 August 2014 from a Mercedes Dealer. The car looked stunning but had a few of issues. Despite, giving them 2 chances to fix it, they haven't, so i'm giving them chance number 3!

I just wonder if anyone might be able to help 'diagnose' what might be going on albeit I understand the difficulty this poses without actually seeing the car!

1.There is a nearside rear rattle which I can only hear with the roof down. It sounds like loose metal, is only present when the car is moving and seems to happen on uneven/rough road surfaces. One of the senior technicians came on a test drive with me and thought it was the brake cable (I wasn't convinced). They said they 'fixed' the brake cable yet the noise is there;

2.There is vibration/rattle/creaking noise heard from the windscreen/centre console area. It sounds like it could be coming from the engine bay. It is not present when stationary or idling but happens when accelerating either slowly or quickly. It also happens when the car is on cruise control and the car needs to accelerate slightly to maintain its speed. The technician said he thought it was the wheels not being balanced and re-balanced them all. I was far from convinced by this and although they 'repaired' it, it is still there!

3. There is also an obvious rattle coming from the engine when idling after cold start up. I got flagged down by a colleague who heard it and once I got out I could hear it (maybe its related to the vibration/rattle/creak that can be heard from the windscreen/centre console area). Having spoken to the main dealer, they tell me that the car is flexible and isn't as stiff as other cars. I told him that it happens when the car is stationary, so what has this got to do with the cars chassis. He then told me that these cars have idiosynchratic rattles. Does anyone else have a SL500 that rattles like mine?

4.The keys work intermittently - on occasions the car refuses to accept the key when trying to start the car and the other day the car would not lock. Today I locked the car and I saw it lock as I watched the door locks go down. However, when I was walking back to my car a few minutes later, I could see the door locks were in the raised position (before I was close enough for the key to re-open the doors). The technician thought it might be the batteries so replaced them in both keys, this hasn't worked.

5. The Sat Nav does not find satellites. They tell me this is the aerial, I hope they get this right as so far they've not had much luck!

6. Water pours into the boot when raising the boot lid and its raining. I have been told that this is normal and that there's nothing they can do! It seems to me like the seal channels aren't deep enough for the amount of rain. He tells me that the drains become blocked (I told him that they have told me that they've cleared them twice now)

7. The roof leaks inside the cockpit on the passenger side, where the roof mechanism can be seen.

8. Does anyone know if there are screw caps which cover the screws in the foot well as i'm sure I had some and now they are missing after they last 'fixed' the car.

9. The boot is temperamental. Sometimes it opens first time, but most of the time it needs to be tried 3 or 4 times (when using keylessly). Also, when using the button the remote I have to press it a few times. I have been told that this is normal, that it is the SAM module and that it will always be a problem. The other day it kept re-opening and seemed like the soft closure wasn't working. 7 attempts later it closed.

I thought getting an older car from a main dealer with the promise of the car being "in perfect working order" was sensible, but it has proven to be troublesome. My last merc had a few problems but the dealer fixed everything first time!

 

[DSB SL AMG]

Unfortunately early SL R230 can be a money pit...your cars sounds like it has many of the known issues...many do have 'fixes' which I am sure others will post...

Good luck with the 'stealer', unfortunately they now have your hard earned...it may be better getting the car into a recommended local MB indie for a second opinion and car inspection...(most will charge 1-2 hrs labour only), if they are good at least they can give you a report and direction on robust repairs...

 

[cb1965]

1.There is a nearside rear rattle which I can only hear with the roof down. It sounds like loose metal, is only present when the car is moving and seems to happen on uneven/rough road surfaces. One of the senior technicians came on a test drive with me and thought it was the brake cable (I wasn't convinced). They said they 'fixed' the brake cable yet the noise is there;

Where is it coming from... low, high, outside, inside, back, front. My first port of call would be to ensure the suspension is all properly secure and brake calipers aren't loose.

2.There is vibration/rattle/creaking noise heard from the windscreen/centre console area. It sounds like it could be coming from the engine bay. It is not present when stationary or idling but happens when accelerating either slowly or quickly. It also happens when the car is on cruise control and the car needs to accelerate slightly to maintain its speed. The technician said he thought it was the wheels not being balanced and re-balanced them all. I was far from convinced by this and although they 'repaired' it, it is still there!

3. There is also an obvious rattle coming from the engine when idling after cold start up. I got flagged down by a colleague who heard it and once I got out I could hear it (maybe its related to the vibration/rattle/creak that can be heard from the windscreen/centre console area). Having spoken to the main dealer, they tell me that the car is flexible and isn't as stiff as other cars. I told him that it happens when the car is stationary, so what has this got to do with the cars chassis. He then told me that these cars have idiosynchratic rattles. Does anyone else have a SL500 that rattles like mine?

These two may well be connected. What sort of rattle is it. Tinny or deep. Could it be the exhaust/heat shields. Post up a Youtube vid if you can record it.

4.The keys work intermittently - on occasions the car refuses to accept the key when trying to start the car and the other day the car would not lock. Today I locked the car and I saw it lock as I watched the door locks go down. However, when I was walking back to my car a few minutes later, I could see the door locks were in the raised position (before I was close enough for the key to re-open the doors). The technician thought it might be the batteries so replaced them in both keys, this hasn't worked.

Have both batteries in the car been fully checked. R230s can do funny things even if one battery is only slightly out of whack. My car had all sorts of funny little intermittent faults with electrics including the keyless go not working occasionally until I changed the rear battery for a brad new one... been faultless ever since. The batteries are connected together by the car's systems so it only takes one to be slightly duff...

5. The Sat Nav does not find satellites. They tell me this is the aerial, I hope they get this right as so far they've not had much luck!

I think they're probably right on this although I would get them to check the cabling first

6. Water pours into the boot when raising the boot lid and its raining. I have been told that this is normal and that there's nothing they can do! It seems to me like the seal channels aren't deep enough for the amount of rain. He tells me that the drains become blocked (I told him that they have told me that they've cleared them twice now)

I think your drainage channels are still blocked. After heavy rain I can open my boot and maybe gte a little bit of water in there, but it's drops not 'pouring in'

7. The roof leaks inside the cockpit on the passenger side, where the roof mechanism can be seen.

First thing I would do is lubricate all the roof seals as that gets the roof to close tighter. If that fails try getting it adjusted. If it still fails you need a new seal.

8. Does anyone know if there are screw caps which cover the screws in the foot well as i'm sure I had some and now they are missing after they last 'fixed' the car.

Whereabouts exactly. No screws obviously showing in my footwells. Post up a pic please.

9. The boot is temperamental. Sometimes it opens first time, but most of the time it needs to be tried 3 or 4 times (when using keylessly). Also, when using the button the remote I have to press it a few times. I have been told that this is normal, that it is the SAM module and that it will always be a problem. The other day it kept re-opening and seemed like the soft closure wasn't working. 7 attempts later it closed.

Those batteries I mentioned earlier.... this could be part of the same issue. Otherwise the mechanism needs cleaning and adjusting before looking at replacing anything.

I thought getting an older car from a main dealer with the promise of the car being "in perfect working order" was sensible, but it has proven to be troublesome. My last merc had a few problems but the dealer fixed everything first time!

The dealer should rectify all these and it should be fairly easy for most of them. Sadly the dealers are not always great. Can you use a different dealer? In agree with David above that it may be worth you getting it inspected by a reputable independent. Whereabouts are you?

 

[JasPed]

Hi,
I had a 500 SL just like yours and the same age too. You don't say what kind of mileage your at!
1. The engine rattle at cold start could quite possibly be engine and gearbox mounts as the rubber in the mounts go very hard after a period of time thus giving you the impression something is seriously loose under the bonnet. If it is the gearbox mounts there are 2 underneath the centre console area too also giving the impression of metal to metal contact. This is due to the amount of weight involved in the engine and gearbox and eventually these need replaced with new mountings. These are also not easy to replace on your own due to access restrictions under the bonnet.

2.your central locking problem is almost certainly caused by the boot seal underneath the back window, you will find the rubber seal will be rotten and letting in water where the seal is joined on to a metal strip at the bottom of the back window. This is quite serious as your boot will fill up with copious amounts of water and will almost certainly destroy your central locking pump thus causing your central locking to fail. You will probably find your pump is on it's way out and hasn't failed completely yet but when it does you will not be able to lock your vehicle even with the key provided. Also make sure your boot separater is not open otherwise you might not be able to open your boot if the key barrel is seized but you can still work on the pump by opening the roof!

These faults are vey common on these cars and not inexpensive to fix I'm afraid, had to do my central locking pump twice and at £1350 a time is not cheap.
You can buy the boot seal under the window from mercedes but fitting is best left to some one with knowledge as you have take the roof mechanism apart.

Hope this helps.
Jasped.