E500 tapping noise - solved by Wayne Gates!

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David68

New Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2016
Messages
25
Location
Hertfordshire
Car
E500
MY E500 had a problem that ruined it for me: a low pitched tapping noise only heard on acceleration. I’d had a couple of very experienced people look at it, including the fantastic Terry from Wayne Gates. Terry eliminated lifter noise, transmission or cat noise and eventually suspected the worst – engine noise and probably from the bottom end. I also took the car to a very reputable engine specialist who told me that it was a hollow knock very typical of piston slap.

Wayne Gates were about to investigate further and ultimately by stripping the engine down, but advised me to first search American forums because there are loads of E500s over there. Bingo – it turns out that early W211 E500s had faulty motor mounts fitted, and a dealer bulletin was sent out by Mercedes USA and superseded mounts were being fitted for free. The notice described a “piston slap type noise”.

I phoned Mercedes HQ UK who knew nothing. I even gave them the Mercedes USA bulletin number but they weren’t interested and advised me to call my local dealer. I called Mercedes Temple Fortune who knew nothing, didn’t want to know anything and advised me to call HQ. I then tried Mercedes Colindale. Same again. Wonderful. Isn’t it incredible that Mercedes in different countries don’t talk to each other and even though Merc USA felt the problem serious enough to send out a Dealer Bulletin, Merc UK were clueless and seemingly had no way to cross reference or at least didn’t want to try.

Spoke to Wayne Gates, mounts fitted, problem gone. I bet there are people out there driving E500s convinced that the engine has seen better days, oblivious to the easy fix. Conclusion – independents like Wayne Gates are worth their weight in gold because they are genuinely interested in working with the customer. And main dealers – computer says no.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w211-e-class/1369384-lower-engine-tick-e500.html#post2812862
 
You can be sure Mercedes headquarters know about it but it's not in their financial interests to share the information with other markets.

It's interesting that the resolution came from the US. American customers don't seem to put up with this "couldn't care less attitude" from car manufacturers in the same way we do. They have the NHTSA who will listen and then take action when appropriate. A recent example is the W204 melting tail lights which presumably is a world wide problem, however only in the US has it become a recall issue fixed free of charge thanks to the NHTSA. Will MB make it a world wide recall ? Not a chance.
 
One need look no further than Porsche's GT3-gate saga, where customers all over the world were compensated, while in the UK we were told to get stuffed until threatened with a group legal action.
 
Thanks chaps. It was pretty irritating being on the phone to Mercedes HQ at Milton Keynes. They simply wouldn't discuss it and told me that there was no way that they could trace or comment on an American dealer bulletin. Anyone can - just put the dealer technical bulletin number into Google and see what comes up! What is so worrying about this fault is that in the early days several owners in the US had their engines replaced under warranty, until Mercedes figured out that what sounded like piston slap was nothing of the sort. What hope do the likes of Wayne Gates have if Mercedes themselves initially concluded that the problem was with the engine. I could easily have spent a good few thousand investigating a non existent engine problem because Mercedes aren't good enough to share information.

Anyway this is the Dealer Technical Bulletin number DTB P-B-07.00/21f

DTB P-B-07.00/21f
 
One need look no further than Porsche's GT3-gate saga, where customers all over the world were compensated, while in the UK we were told to get stuffed until threatened with a group legal action.

Or VW's 10yr warranty on DSG boxes in the US, Australia, China etc.
 
Well David 68 I have had no trouble like this with my S320,but if I did I would give up owning a Mercedes,all around us we have small medium and big companies trying there best to insure their customers are well looked after,many going the extra mile to make certain that when things go wrong they have put it right and customers are satisfied,and the you have Mercedes,I love driving my car but one instance like yours will see me gone.
 
zipdip said:
Well David 68 I have had no trouble like this with my S320,but if I did I would give up owning a Mercedes,all around us we have small medium and big companies trying there best to insure their customers are well looked after,many going the extra mile to make certain that when things go wrong they have put it right and customers are satisfied,and the you have Mercedes,I love driving my car but one instance like yours will see me gone.

You'll never stay with a brand then because quite frankly they're all the same.
 
Once they got your money they couldn't give a dam. Mercedes has become just like all the other mass producers - and us the consumer just bends down, all to keep up with the neighbours:rolleyes:
 
M-B UK excluded the W639 from the safety recall for all models built around 2007 and fitted with the OM642 V6 CDI engine (a manufacturing defect in the crankshaft position sensor which would eventually cause the engine to stop dead without warning). Everywhere else the W639 was included, as you'd expect (being a safety recall).

When the CPS failed on my Vito (owned by me from new, with unbroken main dealer service history) I tried to get a goodwill payment, but no dice. They said "if the CPS had needed replacing it would have been included in the recall" :doh:
 
Same on the W211 fuel pump leaks, US got a recall and replaced for free, UK owners have to fork out £800 and get them replaced.

Like yourself, contacted MB UK with no luck, my local dealers tried to get goodwill from mb-uk... still no luck.

Its a shame that MB seem to have different regional rules... I guess its who is most likely to sue them! ;)
 
You'll never stay with a brand then because quite frankly they're all the same.

Exactly. Even Honda and Lexus both seem to have gone very iffy. That's it, there's no-one else left now.
 
Years ago I had a W140 S500 I changed the engine mounts which are oil filled as one had leaked with parts from Eurocar parts on start up and idle you would swear blind that the engine had a light misfire spent an hour or two checking coils and plugs thinking I had another problem but not so changed them for genuine MB and silky smooth,strange things engine mounts just not looking forward to changing them on the M275 when there needed.
 
Years ago I had a W140 S500 I changed the engine mounts which are oil filled as one had leaked with parts from Eurocar parts on start up and idle you would swear blind that the engine had a light misfire...

Interesting - I know it's a very different car /engine but mine feels a bit like that. It's very subtle, but I know it's there! It hasn't awlays done it - I swear it started after its last dealer service. Actually looking at the engine at idle it looks more like a misfire.

Indie looked at it a few months ago and thought it was OK, but taking it in tomorrow for MOT and will ask him again.
 
Do any manufacturers take their perceived responsibilities seriously once the car is out of warranty?
 
Even in warranty Merc UK didn't do anything about this known problem. It's all about money I guess. In the USA there's much more of a litigious culture so Merc U.S had to address the issue. What is most irritating is that Mercedes UK simply denied all knowledge of a known problem, even when faced with an American recall notice.
 
Do any manufacturers take their perceived responsibilities seriously once the car is out of warranty?

A friend of ours who has a Nissan Pathfinder recently had a failure of his Air-con compressor out of warranty by mileage, but within the 3 year time limit.
Nissan agreed to pay for the parts, £2300 if he paid the labour, ~£300. And that was after it had been in 2 garages with damaged auxiliary belts. Only after he refused to pay for the second, did they look further, but decided that the car was safe to drive 250 miles home. Needless to say it broke down and had to be transported.

Ernie
 
Doesn't surprise me. My dealer didn't know how to reset the service mileage interval to the extended 15500 miles, arguing that my car doesn't have it. It took me two weeks of toing and froing and getting MB HQ involved until they did it correctly. Yet people still value FMBSH more as if that meant anything.
 

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