2005 CLK 350 (New Purchase)

[voguev8]

Evening
Just purchased a nice 2005 CLK 350 convertible, to go with my ML 270.
The 350 was quite cheap and has a few faults, comand pauses, no keyless start key etc. But after reading some reports it seems as though my car will soon be scrap due to the harmonic balancer, which seems to fail between 60 and 110k miles. Mine has done 105k, and as its a early car is the ones worst effected should I just sell the car on or is there a chance it might keep going for a few years?. From speaking to local Mercedes garage the repair cost would be over half the cars value, so probably not worth doing.

 

[mark_le_b]

Evening
Just purchased a nice 2005 CLK 350 convertible, to go with my ML 270.
The 350 was quite cheap and has a few faults, comand pauses, no keyless start key etc. But after reading some reports it seems as though my car will soon be scrap due to the harmonic balancer, which seems to fail between 60 and 110k miles. Mine has done 105k, and as its a early car is the ones worst effected should I just sell the car on or is there a chance it might keep going for a few years?. From speaking to local Mercedes garage the repair cost would be over half the cars value, so probably not worth doing.

If you do a google search on the issue there is a site that lists the range of VIN numbers that were effected, try that first just in case
I assume you have no warning lights on dash? If you have a code reader read the codes and see if any are stored that relate to the issue
I bought (returned and got my money back) on an E350 that had the issue - the indy I took it confirmed the problem when codes were read (a warning light popped up on the dash too) - it is an expensive fix
I don't think it happens to every engine in the VIN range (but I stand to be corrected) but its a risk I guess
I'm not sure if a good service (if you have that) makes any difference in the failure rate

 

[grober]

Check the M272 thread on the forum. Contains details on the M273 V8 also.
https://www.motor-talk.de/forum/aktion/Attachment.html?attachmentId=681441

 

[clk320x]

How much does it cost to fix?

 

[PobodY]

There is a lot of doom and gloom about something that might never happen.

I appreciate that given enough time, if something is going to fail, the balancer shaft is the weak point. So if the car hasn't been looked after, given regular oil changes with appropriate oil, driven hard from cold, the chances are higher.

Part of the problem is that you only ever hear from people who have experienced the issue. Those who haven't are likely to be blissfully unaware and silent about it.

I decided that I was willing to roll the dice; it's quite a lot of car for the money.

 

[voguev8]

Thanks for the replies, I have no warning lights as yet. I purchased the car from a private seller so don't have any comeback. The car does have a goodish service history and the oil seems to have been changed every 10k or less with mobil 1. I have just changed it again. As you say they are bargains at the moment so I suppose I will just use it. I probably will not do more than 3k a year and it will be locked away in the winter.

 

[grober]

I would venture the V8 is less likely to develop symptoms than the V6 due to its inherent better balance putting less inertial loading on the valve gear. The problem occurs due to inherent weakness in the metalurgy of the timing chain gear wheels in the early versions of these engines. As Pobody says the time to worry is when that engine light starts to come on -- and do check it does come on at ignition switch on and goes out on start up - unscrupulous sellers have been known to disable the engine warning light on cars with the fault. Other advice would be keep the engine oil /filter in good nick and while you should enjoy the performance that V8 has to offer try to resist the temptation to "rev the nuts of her" !

 

[tanuie]

How much does it cost to fix?

I have heard it is about £2000, not cheap.

 

[PobodY]

I would venture the V8 is less likely to develop symptoms than the V6 due to its inherent better balance putting less inertial loading on the valve gear. The problem occurs due to inherent weakness in the metalurgy of the timing chain gear wheels in the early versions of these engines. As Pobody says the time to worry is when that engine light starts to come on -- and do check it does come on at ignition switch on and goes out on start up - unscrupulous sellers have been known to disable the engine warning light on cars with the fault. Other advice would be keep the engine oil /filter in good nick and while you should enjoy the performance that V8 has to offer try to resist the temptation to "rev the nuts of her" !

In some respects I regret not holding out for a V8 model, but I naively thought the facelift corresponded with fixes for things like this.

My gut says that if you address the problem when the ECU starts throwing codes (rather than leaving it and deleting them), the fix is cheaper than if you leave it until it has to be fixed. - I base that on no empirical evidence though.

Probably time to treat mine to some esther synthetic oil and a clean filter.

 

[voguev8]

Guess what, no engine light on start up. So unless the bulb has failed I suppose it means someone has taken bulb out.

 

[grober]

Guess what, no engine light on start up. So unless the bulb has failed I suppose it means someone has taken bulb out.

You mean on ignition switch on? It should then extinguish on engine start up after a couple of seconds. If the engine light fails to light up --at all! its time to get the fault codes read.

 

[voguev8]

Yes job for next week, as no light at all

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Unnecessary pessimism?

Given that more than 90% of CLK350's ever made are still on the road, this seems like unnecessary pessimism.

Here's the stats on the numbers sold and the numbers still running. Have a look:

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=✓&q=clk350&commit=Search

 

[mark_le_b]

Thanks for the replies, I have no warning lights as yet. I purchased the car from a private seller so don't have any comeback. The car does have a goodish service history and the oil seems to have been changed every 10k or less with mobil 1. I have just changed it again. As you say they are bargains at the moment so I suppose I will just use it. I probably will not do more than 3k a year and it will be locked away in the winter.

mine that I got a full refund on was also a private sale
when I thought I'd been duped I spoke to trading standards and they said I should push for a refund on the basis they sold the car knowing it had an issue
I'm thinking if the bulb has been removed that's a clear cover up, so you too may have the law behind you......worth a try if it turns out engine has an issue?