EQC Problems

[CharlieKerr]

Hi, I bought an EQC one year ago and have had a number of problems, after approx 8 weeks a coolant pump failed and the car was in the dealers workshops for a week, then the 'fuel' flap locking mechansim jammed (electric cars do not need a locking flap!) and had to be replaced which involved two visits to the dealer (1st attempt 'failed') the car has now been off the road for 4 weeks after a number of warning lights came on, so far they have replaced a motor but still no sign of it being fixed.

For the first three weeks I was supplied a rental E400e (nice car), but have now been given a dealers car, an GLA200 (1.3 petrol), which must be the most un-mercedes model ever!

Does anyone have similar experiences? I would also appreciate any advice as to how to best leverage my position with the Dealer (Mercedes Glasgow).

 

[Smiley]

I bet that the MB workshops are playing catch up in how to maintain / repair the new EVs and MB Glasgow is learning on your car. It does not seem fair to pay a large amount of money for a "quality EV" and then to be given a modest 1.3 petrol after the dealer has failed to fix it within a reasonable period of time. I would suggest keeping a record of all the dates that you have been without the car and a record of the comms with the dealer; I would also put a written request to the dealer principal asking for an equivalent car (which has to be an EQC really as you wanted an EV for a reason presumably) to be provided whilst your car is being repaired. If the problems persist over an extended period then it may get to the stage where you will wish to consider rejecting the car - and from what I have seen on the forum MB will not agree to that without a battle and you will likely end up needing a solicitor rather than the view of a "bloke on the internet". A detailed record of dates / conversations / promises / loan cars will make the solicitor's job easier. Hope it does not come to that but better to be prepared if it does.

 

[markjay]

When you say 'leverage', what are you expecting? The dealer is unlikely to be able to fix your car any sooner.

If you are thinking of keeping the car beyond the initial 3 years, you might want to try and get the dealer (or MB UK) to extend the warranty on the car I.e. give you free warranty for year 4 in exchange for you not starting a formal rejection process.

 

[Deleted member 126969]

There's an equally sorry tale on Pistonheads of a buyer with an Audi Etron that's been under repair for months now with no end in sight, and the owner given an entirely dissimilar loan vehicle in the interim - paying £700 a month for a barely £350 a month car they don't want.

Some advice given there was to try and get some sort of recompense from Audi financing - no idea it that helped them , nor if the OP here has bought or leased their EQC

It sucks, for sure. At the absolute minimum, they should be proving a similar loan vehicle, as in the same model, if not necessarily exact spec. But 'should' and 'have to' are very different things.

Can't imagine how I'd feel about that if it was me. Incandescent springs to mind.

 

[CharlieKerr]

Thanks to all, my faith in MB is being stretched to the limit, I had an E250d for four years with no problems, in 2018 I changed that for an E350e hybrid, and in early 2019 this car was in the workshop for 9 weeks whilst they waited on parts, the entire charging unit needed replaced, when it went in I was given a rental C220 for 8 weeks and that was taken back and I was given a CLS350 for a week, it seems like under warranty MB fund a rental replacement up to and when the dealer is issued the replacement parts, then its withdrawn and the dealer has to provide a replacement. When the E350e was returned I was given a £200 MB voucher as compensation, which to date I still have not used.

The E350e was a great car, my commute is only 15 miles and with the ability to charge up at home and at work I hardly used any fuel (but to do this you need to drive very sedately). in late 2019 I decided to go the whole way and changed to the EQC, it truly is a fantastic car, performance is outstanding and the finish is definitely E class style, range is not a problem for me so it was a great fit. If you get a chance try it out, you cannot fail to be impressed. The car and Insurance are expensive but as a zero-emission car there is no road tax or higher value car tax, and 'fuel' costs are a fraction, here in Scotland for a one off £20 fee all the public chargers are free to use.

When I got a 'coolant' warning I was a bit surprised, but the car has three coolant pumps for the battery, when it was taken in I was given a rental GLA200 which apart from being black and had a MB badge there are no other similarities, after a couple of days of complaints this was changed for a C class, even though I was promised an E class. This time I was compensated with the dealer funding the £299 activation fee for Apple CarPlay in my EQC, ridiculous you have to pay for this!

Then the charger port flap jammed closed, the roadside technician had to break it to open it and thought that he had a replacement, but it seems the EQC has the same mechanism but the connecting cable is different. It took the technician literally 30 seconds to remove the unit, and the same to refit had it been the right connection. The dealer did not have the part in stock and booked me in 5 weeks later, during which time I had to drive about with sticky tape holding the flap closed. I phoned the week before to make sure they had the part in stock before I brought the car in, and was assured it was. When I went to the dealership (40 miles round trip) I was told they were going to do some software updates, and the whole process would be about 2 hours, after 3 hours they told me they could not get the new part to 'communicate' and needed to order a new one (see above about 30 seconds to change this switch) and they would now start the software updates, another hour later the car was returned. I was promised the new part would be ready the following week, it was and I went to the dealership again, this time it was changed in 20 mins, but it then took another hour and twenty to have the car washed (my reward for waiting)!

About four weeks ago when I unplugged from the charger I had 'Malfunction' and 'Low Power Mode' warnings on the dash, this time they came and picked the car up from my home, and arranged a replacement rental which was delivered the next day, this was a new E400e, which has more range and power than my previous E350e, so much so I ran up about 400 miles without the engine coming on at all. For three weeks all I got was that the fault had been reported to 'Technical' which I assume is MB Germany, last Monday I got a call saying that they needed to change a motor which would be available the next day, and that the rental company needed the E400e back, once again I had to go to the dealership to return the car, and again they provided a GLA200, after much annoying discussion I was told it was all they had and if I didn't want it I didn't need to take it!!! but not to worry I would have my own car back in a day or two.

On Wednesday I got a call asking my permission to road test the car as the repair had been completed, I agreed, on Thursday I got a text saying the car had passed the road test and showed no faults and that 'Technical' had been informed, this is now Saturday and no further news! let's see what next week brings?

My comments re leverage was seeking some advice as to what phrases or comments have been successful with dealers in the past to get maximum compensation, I do not intend to keep the EQC beyond its warranty period, if even. It was my intention to trade down to the new EQA which is coming along soon, but now I'm thinking I need to look elsewhere, maybe even a Tesla...

 

[Smiley]

If the car is on finance then you should let the finance company know that you do not have the use of the "product" that they are financing and see if they can add their weight to the dealer to move more quickly. In your situation I would be really hacked off to be paying for a car of xx value per month and driving something worth half that. I would be paying a solicitor for an initial advice session and getting a warning letter to the dealer to give them notice that the service level being provided is not good enough, you are without the car for too much of the time, too much of your time is being wasted chasing their incompetence and if the situation does not improve then [insert remedy advised by solicitor]. If your finance deal allows you to get out of the car in a year or two then at least you are not in it for the full £70k.
The German car makers have produced some really good cars but their investment was all in diesel and petrol until relatively recently and my guess is that all of the manufacturers have rushed the hybrid and EVs onto the market and that's why users are having the sort of problems that you have had.

 

[markjay]

now I'm thinking I need to look elsewhere, maybe even a Tesla...

We have a Model-X at work, for just over a year now, the car had 8 miles on the clock when it was delivered to us on a trailer with some appalling paint and trim defects, which required several trips back to dealer to get sorted, including a partial respary (of a brand new car!), and even so there are still some ill-fitting trim bits that they gave-up on, and said they've done the best they could and it can't be sorted any better .

But setting aside the poor build quality of the cabin and the substandard paint finish... the car never gave any grief in the terms of the electrics, electronics, or mechanics. In fact I can't fault it in that area.

My take on it is that the Tesla is a very expensive car as it is (Model-3 not withstanding), and so the price goes almost exclusively towards the technology its packed with. If they were also going to build it and paint it properly then it would have probably cost like a Veyron.

I didn't come-up with the concept myself, BTW. Back in the eighties when Fiat came out with the Uno Turbo, many people said that the car had amazing performance (for the period) but the interior was made of cheap plastic bits that disintegrated when touched, and the body was prone to rusting, to which owners replied "true, but given the ridiculously low price, we in fact only paid for the engine and gearbox, the rest of the car came free....".

(Well, of course, our Model-X may have just been a Monday morning job - perhaps they're not all like that...).

But my point is that based on my experience, you shouldn't have these type of problems with a Tesla. It's a sad day that I have to say it... and on an MB forum.

 

[glojo]

I feel your pain and if you want a decent courtesy car, remember the old saying, "Treat folks how you would like to be treated"

Am I wrong to think that the harder you push, the more resistance you cause?

I feel your pain and I would be seething.

Lockable fuel filler cap???? Yup, clearly a LOT of thought went into that item. I have some wires that we might use to syphon off some of your 'tricity'

Old style dealers are history but we onced purchased a new Mercedes that developed problems which were a longish term issue. The owner of the dealership gave us 'his' car to use and after a fortnight sent my wife a bouquet of flowers and me the usual bottle of rum as a way of apology. This dealership has made me a loyal fan to the brand but in this modern age of large dealerships where only money counts. The customer is not to me, treated as we deserve

Apologies for being out of step with everyone but please try not to get too angry over this poor (very poor) treatment

 

[CharlieKerr]

We have a Model-X at work, for just over a year now, the car had 8 miles on the clock when it was delivered to us on a trailer with some appalling paint and trim defects, which required several trips back to dealer to get sorted, including a partial respary (of a brand new car!), and even so there are still some ill-fitting trim bits that they gave-up on, and said they've done the best they could and it can't be sorted any better .

But setting aside the poor build quality of the cabin and the substandard paint finish... the car never gave any grief in the terms of the electrics, electronics, or mechanics. In fact I can't fault it in that area.

My take on it is that the Tesla is a very expensive car as it is (Model-3 not withstanding), and so the price goes almost exclusively towards the technology its packed with. If they were also going to build it and paint it properly then it would have probably cost like a Veyron.

I didn't come-up with the concept myself, BTW. Back in the eighties when Fiat came out with the Uno Turbo, many people said that the car had amazing performance (for the period) but the interior was made of cheap plastic bits that disintegrated when touched, and the body was prone to rusting, to which owners replied "true, but given the ridiculously low price, we in fact only paid for the engine and gearbox, the rest of the car came free....".

(Well, of course, our Model-X may have just been a Monday morning job - perhaps they're not all like that...).

But my point is that based on my experience, you shouldn't have these type of problems with a Tesla. It's a sad day that I have to say it... and on an MB forum.

Thanks for the feedback, your Tesla quality comments are not the first I have heard, there seems to be a general QA issue with their finish, someone even said that's a common US build issue! When I bought the EQC my son commented 'Tesla do tech, but Merc do cars' maybe there is more too that given my recent problems. He also pointed out that the more I pay for a car the more problems I get, so in fact its all my fault for 'trading up'

 

[CharlieKerr]

I feel your pain and if you want a decent courtesy car, remember the old saying, "Treat folks how you would like to be treated"

Am I wrong to think that the harder you push, the more resistance you cause?

I feel your pain and I would be seething.

Lockable fuel filler cap???? Yup, clearly a LOT of thought went into that item. I have some wires that we might use to syphon off some of your 'tricity'

Old style dealers are history but we onced purchased a new Mercedes that developed problems which were a longish term issue. The owner of the dealership gave us 'his' car to use and after a fortnight sent my wife a bouquet of flowers and me the usual bottle of rum as a way of apology. This dealership has made me a loyal fan to the brand but in this modern age of large dealerships where only money counts. The customer is not to me, treated as we deserve

Apologies for being out of step with everyone but please try not to get too angry over this poor (very poor) treatment

Thanks, I am old enough to know that anger gets you no where, reasoned arguments work so much better, along with some curtesy!
It's the dissapointment that hurts.

Like most service industries now there is no accountability, Managers hide in offices and let low paid 20 odd year olds 'deal' with the public!

 

[glojo]

Thanks, I am old enough to know that anger gets you no where, reasoned arguments work so much better, along with some curtesy!
It's the dissapointment that hurts.

Like most service industries now there is no accountability, Managers hide in offices and let low paid 20 odd year olds 'deal' with the public!

Wise words and apologies for my poor choice of words but thankfully you took it in the spirit it was meant

 

[CharlieKerr]

If the car is on finance then you should let the finance company know that you do not have the use of the "product" that they are financing and see if they can add their weight to the dealer to move more quickly. In your situation I would be really hacked off to be paying for a car of xx value per month and driving something worth half that. I would be paying a solicitor for an initial advice session and getting a warning letter to the dealer to give them notice that the service level being provided is not good enough, you are without the car for too much of the time, too much of your time is being wasted chasing their incompetence and if the situation does not improve then [insert remedy advised by solicitor]. If your finance deal allows you to get out of the car in a year or two then at least you are not in it for the full £70k.
The German car makers have produced some really good cars but their investment was all in diesel and petrol until relatively recently and my guess is that all of the manufacturers have rushed the hybrid and EVs onto the market and that's why users are having the sort of problems that you have had.

Thanks, if I do not get the car back this week I will be contacting MB finance, the car is on a PCP so they actually own more of it that I do!

I asked for a settlement quote last week, the car has depreciated £22k in the first year, not too much of a surprise, but that works out at £1,800 per month, so for Nov (when I have not had the car) it has cost me £2,500.

 

[markjay]

Thanks for the feedback, your Tesla quality comments are not the first I have heard, there seems to be a general QA issue with their finish, someone even said that's a common US build issue! When I bought the EQC my son commented 'Tesla do tech, but Merc do cars' maybe there is more too that given my recent problems. He also pointed out that the more I pay for a car the more problems I get, so in fact its all my fault for 'trading up'

Just to add, that the remaining ill-fitting bits that we've learnt to live with are the trim around the rearview mirror which is still wonky, and the right-hand corner of the rear bumper which isn't straight and hangs a bit low compared to the rest of the bumper. In both cases, several unsuccessful attempts were made by the dealer to remove and refit the offending parts.

And, I forgot to mention that the shut-lines gaps on one side of the car are about 2mm(!) bigger than on the other side, while on the other side the front door handle isn't fully aligned with the rear door handle. Of course this is not fixable, but it's the first I've seen that on a car made in the West... that would have bugged me if it was my own personal car.

Also, while the car was at the dealer, we were given a Model-S as a loaner, personally I find it too low for my taste and therefore uncomfortable to sit in, but that's a question of personal preferences - and I much prefer the sitting position in the Model-X.

But - again - if you are prepared to overlook these cosmetic issues - the car is a cracker, and never let us down - Tesla's technology is very sound and reliable (in my experience, anyway).

 

[CharlieKerr]

Car returned yesterday, all faults cleared but turns out no parts were replaced, only some 'control' software updated! let's hope no more problems

looks like my rant at them last week worked, I have been refunded a months finance payment, unsolicited, took the wind out my sails, so pleasantly surprised.

Driving the EQC again after the GLA has just remined me of how good the EQC is, especially in the regen mode and the one pedal driving, if you haven't tried this you should, takes a bit of getting used to but worth it.

Maybe I'll keep it a bit longer, or at least until the next problem

Thanks to all that replied.

 

[grober]

I am a trifle disappointed that the prestige manufacturers all seem to have gone down the same big 4x4 model route for the first models. Is it because they are more profitable, or that they feel the weight of batteries is less of a compromise in these heavy vehicles. Suffice it to say that I feel the future for the majority of future EV owners lies in the "small is beautiful "approach rather than current Tiger tank approach. Mercedes had a ready-made solution when they electrified the old B Class which was an excellent car apart from the meagre battery capacity which could be doubled using today's technology. With EV are we going to enter the mobile phone obsolescence territory where after three years your car propulsion unit is going to be out of date?

 

[grober]

This was 4 years ago!- 4 YEARS of battery and fast charger development ago. For those unfamiliar with the original A and B class-they had a sandwich floor construction which was initially envisaged as a battery compartment in the mid-90s-at a time when battery technology was in its infancy

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[Deleted member 126969]

I am a trifle disappointed that the prestige manufacturers all seem to have gone down the same big 4x4 model route for the first models. Is it because they are more profitable, or that they feel the weight of batteries is less of a compromise in these heavy vehicles. Suffice it to say that I feel the future for the majority of future EV owners lies in the "small is beautiful "approach rather than current Tiger tank approach. Mercedes had a ready-made solution when they electrified the old B Class which was an excellent car apart from the meagre battery capacity which could be doubled using today's technology. With EV are we going to enter the mobile phone obsolescence territory where after three years your car propulsion unit is going to be out of date?

In their defence, they appear to just be responding to consumer demand. For some reason that escapes me, the 'SUV' style seems to be increasingly popular.

FIAT have produced a non-SUV EV, as have Honda, VW, Tesla and probably others, so it's not all bad news on that front.

Sadly, the latest Ford offering is yet another pseudo-SUV, that for some utterly bizarre reason, they have called a Mustang.

 

[grober]

Nothing against SUVs per se but they are big heavy vehicles with poor aerodynamics --all factors which mitigate against EV vehicle range? they appear to have all the off road capabiities of vehicles which will probably never go offroad. maybe its an American Market thing?

 

[tafarawacho]

Hi, I bought an EQC one year ago and have had a number of problems, after approx 8 weeks a coolant pump failed and the car was in the dealers workshops for a week, then the 'fuel' flap locking mechansim jammed (electric cars do not need a locking flap!) and had to be replaced which involved two visits to the dealer (1st attempt 'failed') the car has now been off the road for 4 weeks after a number of warning lights came on, so far they have replaced a motor but still no sign of it being fixed.

For the first three weeks I was supplied a rental E400e (nice car), but have now been given a dealers car, an GLA200 (1.3 petrol), which must be the most un-mercedes model ever!

Does anyone have similar experiences? I would also appreciate any advice as to how to best leverage my position with the Dealer (Mercedes Glasgow).

 

[tafarawacho]

Hi guys . I received an eqc on the 23rd of December and on the 28th of January I broke down. I dropped my boy at school 12 miles away and when I went back to the car It wouldn't start " transmission fault. " walked down the road to get a charger for me phone ( car has no wireless charger ) when I came back 20 mins later -it started as normal. Head home and breaks down as soon as I got home
They recovered it from home and gave me an e300e merc- lovely car
. Called after about a month to say it's sorted. I collect it and it goes into limp mode 6 miles down the road. Return the car cruising at 6 miles an hour. They take the e300e away and give me a GLB diesel -not too bad .
I am called after 3 weeks and collected it and seems ok so far but am still going to reject it. Car has 1300 miles. 70 plate.
Shame coz it's a lovely car.