E53 Coupe Problems

[Jules335]

I have had my E53 coupe for nearly a year now and while it has been a great car, it has developed a number of faults.

Every time I set off in the dark I get a warning message saying that Adaptive High Beam Assist is unavailable. The car will not switch to main beam although the fault clears after about 15 minutes.

I am also getting another intermittent warning that the Adaptive Brake Assist function is limited. I am wondering if the two systems share a sensor or camera that is faulty and that is causing the problems.

Thirdly, the whole panoramic roof is rattling and buzzing constantly. This has now got so bad that it takes away all the pleasure of driving the car. It has already been in twice for this and it has been fixed for a few weeks then it comes back again. It is now worse than it has ever been. Could it be caused by the recent very damp and wet weather?

It is going in later this week for its first service and for all the above to be looked at under warranty.

Has anyone else had similar issues and know what the fixes are?

If the roof can’t be fixed I will have to sell it as I can’t put up with a car that rattles so badly, especially one that is so expensive in the first place.

I am very disappointed with Mercedes build quality as I wouldn’t expect all these problems on a £20k car let alone one costing over 3 times as much.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

My son has one, also about a year old - he does high mileage in his and was saying the other day how great it is! He has had no problems with it.

If I was you, I'd be all over MB like a bad rash.

 

[John]

For the first two, I would make sure the car is clean and retry.

The safety systems are a bit fussy when it comes to that.

 

[ShaunB]

For the first two, I would make sure the car is clean and retry.

The safety systems are a bit fussy when it comes to that.

This is definitely true.
I got a message on my E63 last week about adaptive high beam assist neing unavailable after I'd use the windscreen washers.
Something got smeared over the windscreen camera, not too sure what it was, could have been bird a bit of bird sh1t I suppose.
After I cleaned it, the error went away.

 

[Atavus]

Good luck getting it sorted.

 

[Jules335]

Thanks for the advice about cleaning. I have tried this and it doesn’t seem to make any difference, the fault still comes and goes randomly.

 

[unimog]

Have you had the windscreen replaced at all?

 

[John]

Diagnostics next to see if anything has failed which as you state will happen.

 

[Jules335]

No, the windscreen has not been replaced.

 

[amzchhabra]

Obviously not the same car but my W212 E63 has the same issue with active high beam assist not working. for me however this only happens on first startup in cold, dark conditions. It doesnt happen any other time of day weirdly! I spoke to MB about it, they said it happens when the windscreen is changed and the system is not re-calibrated. I pointed out that the windscreen was changed by them, so they must have forgotten, after re-calibration it is still the same, i have learnt to live with it, and it comes back online after about 5 mins.

the panoramic roof also rattles like no mans business, only when the weather is really hot.I had the roof re-adjusted, it was a lot of work under warranty (drop the interior headlining, and then tighten every bolt underneath), and to be honest the creaking came back after 12 months.

Now i have learnt to just live with both niggles, everything goes away when the loud pedal is pressed all the way down!

 

[Atavus]

It’s disappointing they can’t seem to sort out these problems.

 

[unimog]

Even without the windscreen being replaced, could be a bad seal between glass and sensor array allowing moisture into the sensing area, hence why it goes away and functions as normal after 10-15 minutes drive. Does it do this after every start up or only the first of the day after cold?

 

[Philh80]

I have had my E53 coupe for nearly a year now and while it has been a great car, it has developed a number of faults.

Every time I set off in the dark I get a warning message saying that Adaptive High Beam Assist is unavailable. The car will not switch to main beam although the fault clears after about 15 minutes.

I am also getting another intermittent warning that the Adaptive Brake Assist function is limited. I am wondering if the two systems share a sensor or camera that is faulty and that is causing the problems.

Thirdly, the whole panoramic roof is rattling and buzzing constantly. This has now got so bad that it takes away all the pleasure of driving the car. It has already been in twice for this and it has been fixed for a few weeks then it comes back again. It is now worse than it has ever been. Could it be caused by the recent very damp and wet weather?

It is going in later this week for its first service and for all the above to be looked at under warranty.

Has anyone else had similar issues and know what the fixes are?

If the roof can’t be fixed I will have to sell it as I can’t put up with a car that rattles so badly, especially one that is so expensive in the first place.

I am very disappointed with Mercedes build quality as I wouldn’t expect all these problems on a £20k car let alone one costing over 3 times as much.

Hi,

I had the same problem with the high beam assist and it was just a bit of crap on the windscreen where the forward sensor / camera is.

Sometimes get it when there is ice on the windscreen too.

As for the roof, If it’s a persistent fault that MB can’t fix and the car is still under manufactures warranty then you can always choose to reject the car.

I “think” this can be done within the first 90 days with any issue you have.
Then after 90 days you have to give MB the chance to fix it.
If they can’t fix the issue (has to be the same problem) then you can choose to reject it.

I’m not sure of the in’s and out’s but I’ve had a successful rejection go through before.
Maybe worth threatening then with that as it will escalate upto MBUK and then to Germany.

 

[Jules335]

Thanks for all the comments and advice. The problem with the high beam assist has only started since it got darker, colder and wetter and does sound similar to the issues that others have had.

The roof is the worst issue as it’s driving me mad.

It goes in tomorrow, I’ll give an update when I get it back.

 

[JBD]

I get the same warnings on our A35 when there’s ice on the screen and grille. After 10-15 mins the warnings go.

If the sensors can’t see because of ice, they’re simply not going to work. It’s exactly the save on our Mazda and Suzuki, we get similar warnings in cold weather


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[JBD]

Thanks for all the comments and advice. The problem with the high beam assist has only started since it got darker, colder and wetter and does sound similar to the issues that others have had.

The roof is the worst issue as it’s driving me mad.

It goes in tomorrow, I’ll give an update when I get it back.

Sounds like the pan roof needs lubrication, which generally gets rid of rattling sounds


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[Jules335]

Sounds like the pan roof needs lubrication, which generally gets rid of rattling sounds


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Yes you are right, that’s exactly what they did! It seems better at the moment.

 

[Jules335]

The issue with high beam assist was dirt on the camera but inside the windscreen not outside. I have no idea how it got there.

 

[Nighthawks25]

From my experience - had a lot of pan roof rattles on my c43. Three visits to the dealership only confirmed they had no idea how to fix it - looked like the rattles did not come from parts that would require lubrication, but from spots that touch other spots (plastic) when the roof is closed.
Can you check if you have same rattles when driving if the roof is in the "half open" position?
In my case when "half open" the rattles were entirely gone. In the end I bought few meters of black felt tape on amazon and put it on all parts of the roof and the plastic below/in-between that I could access (specifically surfaces that touch other plastic parts when closed). Rattle-free now (the roof at least )

 

[Jules335]

The rattle is back again already. I was a bit sceptical that just some lubrication would fix it. I have wanted to see if it goes away with the roof open for a while but there hasn’t been a dry day to test it.

Thanks for the tip about the tape, I may try this as it is obvious that the dealer doesn’t know how to fix it.