Bought the car 2 weeks ago... took it back today..

[JimE]

It hasnt been a good few days. It seems the 2004 ML270 I bought wasnt as good as it first looked, seems like something stopped working or went wrong every day for the last few days....
ESP light on, Fault code mentioned Steering Angle Fault. then ABS light came on, CD player stopped working, smell of exhaust fumes in the cabin, found the source, I took off the engine cover to give it a clean and the first 3 injectors were buried in what looked like solid lumps of a coal/tarlike substance so after a few hours of cleaning it up and chipping it off I found the 2nd injector was leaking and looked like a little steam train puffing out fumes, with the amount of crud that was built up and solidified it must have been doing this for years. I had phoned the dealer who agreed to take it back and either repair it or I could choose something else, jumped in this morning and blow me.. .the wipers and washers wouldn't work, fuse alright but not a flicker.... Anyway took it back this morning, (and yes for me it was an essential journey as I need a working car to get me to work for various shifts and short notice as we get more staff in A&E falling victim to coronavirus) and picked up another ML, a 2006 ML320 this time.
So far so good but only time will tell hahahaaa

 

[JimE]

Only 24 posts to go....

Happy Easter everyone, stay safe.

 

[Nobbymogs]

Good luck with the new whip

Lets see some pics then

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[JimE]

Good luck with the new whip

Lets see some pics then

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Umm...How do you upload pics here?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

It hasnt been a good few days. It seems the 2004 ML270 I bought wasnt as good as it first looked, seems like something stopped working or went wrong every day for the last few days....
ESP light on, Fault code mentioned Steering Angle Fault. then ABS light came on, CD player stopped working, smell of exhaust fumes in the cabin, found the source, I took off the engine cover to give it a clean and the first 3 injectors were buried in what looked like solid lumps of a coal/tarlike substance so after a few hours of cleaning it up and chipping it off I found the 2nd injector was leaking and looked like a little steam train puffing out fumes, with the amount of crud that was built up and solidified it must have been doing this for years. I had phoned the dealer who agreed to take it back and either repair it or I could choose something else, jumped in this morning and blow me.. .the wipers and washers wouldn't work, fuse alright but not a flicker.... Anyway took it back this morning, (and yes for me it was an essential journey as I need a working car to get me to work for various shifts and short notice as we get more staff in A&E falling victim to coronavirus) and picked up another ML, a 2006 ML320 this time.
So far so good but only time will tell hahahaaa

That’s a shame. The ML270 is a great car it sounds like you had a lemon. Good luck with the ML320, that’s a step up in terms of refinement. Enjoy.

 

[JimE]

That’s a shame. The ML270 is a great car it sounds like you had a lemon. Good luck with the ML320, that’s a step up in terms of refinement. Enjoy.

I really enjoyed the car for the short times when it worked, love the driving position ( am slightly disabled and found the seating great) The dealer was happy to go ahead and fix everything but I tend to lose faith in things going wrong very quickly hence getting the 320, and yes it is a totally different experience.

 

[219]

It hasnt been a good few days. It seems the 2004 ML270 I bought wasnt as good as it first looked, seems like something stopped working or went wrong every day for the last few days....
ESP light on, Fault code mentioned Steering Angle Fault. then ABS light came on, CD player stopped working, smell of exhaust fumes in the cabin, found the source, I took off the engine cover to give it a clean and the first 3 injectors were buried in what looked like solid lumps of a coal/tarlike substance so after a few hours of cleaning it up and chipping it off I found the 2nd injector was leaking and looked like a little steam train puffing out fumes, with the amount of crud that was built up and solidified it must have been doing this for years. I had phoned the dealer who agreed to take it back and either repair it or I could choose something else, jumped in this morning and blow me.. .the wipers and washers wouldn't work, fuse alright but not a flicker.... Anyway took it back this morning, (and yes for me it was an essential journey as I need a working car to get me to work for various shifts and short notice as we get more staff in A&E falling victim to coronavirus) and picked up another ML, a 2006 ML320 this time.
So far so good but only time will tell hahahaaa

The crud around the injectors is colloquially known as ‘black death’ and is a common fault on diesels when the injector seals fail , the escaping gases , as well as being toxic , wear a channel in the side of the injector , resulting in a costly repair . I had a C270CDI and had to replace all five injectors across my 18 months ownership. There are lots of threads in the engine section of the forum on this subject .
You are well rid of that car , but do pop off the engine cover and check for early signs on your new one .

 

[Petrol Pete]

JimE. You say you 'picked up a new car...' Is this a loan car or a replacement for the one you took back ?

 

[JimE]

Its a replacement car which seems to be great at the moment, only thing not working is the parking sensors hahah

 

[JimE]

I am going to try and put some pics of what I found under the engine cover

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Oh. My. Goodness.

 

[Flyinspanner]

That’s appalling

 

[clk320x]

Wow clearly that engine cover hasn’t been off in a while...

 

[robparker]

Wow clearly that engine cover hasn’t been off in a while...

Or it has and was quickly put back on!

 

[Nobbymogs]

Wow ive heard of it but until this thread i hadn't realised how bad it could be

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[219]

I am going to try and put some pics of what I found under the engine cover

Worst case I’ve ever seen

Wow clearly that engine cover hasn’t been off in a while...

or if it had , it was quickly put back !

 

[Najam]

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[219]

Wow ive heard of it but until this thread i hadn't realised how bad it could be

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My 270 had the same issue : no5 started ‘chuffing’ not long after I got the car - got it fixed , then 4,3,2 all in one go , and finally , no1 let go days before the car was going to its new owner . Then in his ownership the turbo packed in .
My first and last CDI .

my normally aspirated W124 E250D was a good car ; I’d have another Diesel of that generation or earlier , but nothing newer .

 

[JimE]

Worst case I’ve ever seen

or if it had , it was quickly put back !

It hadn't been off for years, I had to drill out one if the retaining bolts as it was damaged and couldn't be undone so I reckon someone thought ah bugger it we'll leave it as it is....

 

[Deleted member 151559]

Straight to auction for that.