Failed HV Battery W222 S400L 63 plate

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@garywh Apologies. I missed that you have the W222. There is a hybrid battery for W222 from the same seller on Aliexpress but again, not sure if compatible with your car, and it's around £6,800

Might be worth contacting them (and others offering hybrid batteries) and asking to be kept informed when they get a battery in that matches your specs. Your ordeal does sound very frustrating but unless you can get the battery repaired by someone (UK or outside) then it's a case of waiting for a W222 S400h to be written off somewhere in the world and getting first dibs on the battery.

If it was me... £6,800 plus shipping plus customs(?) plus 20% VAT plus fitting plus disposal charge... for a battery of unknown quality and with practically no warranty (if the new battery failed, you'll need to pay shipping back to China, shipping from China, potentially taxes again, and refitting again on top - hardly worth it) - I'd get it repaired in the UK with a good solid warranty instead, parts abd labour, or just leave it as it is and live with it. Personal opinion.

Unless the OP wants to repair it on the cheap then quickly Px it before anything goes wrong again.
 
This may be dumb question, but... what happens if you don't replace the battery? Can't you just enjoy the car like it was a normal petrol car? The range on battery is very small anyway. And you are unlikely to save £15k worth of fuel over the next few yeaes ..... or does the car not run properly without a fully-functioing HV battery? Of course you'll have an issue when selling the car, but by then many other W222 of the same age will likely have failed batteries anyway.
I thought exactly this when I saw the thread but, after a little research, it would seem that the general answer is No. It would seem that some vehicles, Toyota Prius was the one mentioned, would work, albeit not very smoothly.

I sympathise with the OP as this seems to be a ridiculous state of affairs.
 
It's a poor show from MB.

Did you buy the car from MB OP?

Reminds me of early laptops where a duff battery meant the laptop wouldn't function at all.

At least they changed that so you could run a laptop with a duff battery albeit just never off the mains.

This is how it should have been with these vehicles.

then it's a case of waiting for a W222 S400h to be written off somewhere in the world and getting first dibs on the battery.

You've got to hope the battery is very young and even then, I imagine the breaker would charge a few quid for it and you've no idea of the state it's in.
 
How did you find that? you must have great search skills, i spent plenty of time on their site after you suggested, but did not get that one to jump out at me. I am going to investigate those part numbers. Thanks.
@garywh My work involves spending a lot of time on Google search, finding the most random and hard to find things. You are really unlucky with your situation, and I will continue to search in the days ahead, to see if I can find something or someone that helps you get your car back on the road as quickly and cheaply as possible!
 
Holy lord OP thats ridiculous.

If I was you and you have the money and want to keep the car. Get an original and press MB for a contribution.

MB "normal" batteries are rather good. I know we cant compare apples and pears.

Also going original gives some quality. I went on a spree a few years ago getting batteries for 4 laptops. I got the "OEM" chinese replacements thinking great bargin. All died pretty fast and it was money wasted.

Whatever you do. GOOD LUCK AND PRESS MB
 
@garywh Here is some more information that may be helpful. It's a whole page on the problems with the S400h, but in particular, this bit stood out;

"In the newer W222 S-Class, the battery can be opened by a trained technician and can be repaired" - so perhaps it's a matter of finding a trained HV technician who knows what they are doing as well as being able to source new Li-Ion cells to replace the ones that have failed. In terms of the cells in your battery, the spec sheet says they are projected to last 15 years!
 
@garywh These videos might be of interest. One talks about the 2 common problems with the S400h batteries - These guys seem pretty switched on, they might be able to help source new cells or point you in the right direction. I would suggesting contacting them if you haven't already. I personally tried searching for replacement cells online but I couldn't find anywhere that has the exact cells for this battery.

The other video is a more general purpose one and shows a garage in Sri Lanka, replacing a W222 S400h battery (with a MB replacement it looks like)
 
Whilst it doesn't immediately solve the OP's battery problem, it's interesting how MB's approach to hybrid batteries isn't the same in every country.

"Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM) has issued a statement regarding the pricing of battery replacements for its E 300 BlueTEC and S 400 h hybrid models. This is in response to a recent photo of an invoice for a battery replacement involving an E 300 BlueTEC Hybrid that went viral on social media, in which it was shown that the cost of the battery was over RM120,000 (£20,483)"

The company has announced that the new recommended retail price is RM50,000 (£8,532) for a E 300 BlueTEC Hybrid replacement battery and RM65,000 (£11,093) for a S 400 h Hybrid replacement battery. With the public announcement of a Hybrid Battery Extended Warranty programme that extends coverage for the hybrid battery for an extra four years, existing owners are unlikely to pay for a battery replacement, although the warranty itself is not free, costing RM2,688 (£459) to ensure the unit gets the extra coverage.

In September 2018, the company came out with the extended warranty programme for owners of the E 300 BlueTec Hybrid (and later, to include the S 400 h), essentially adding on to that covered by the car’s standard four year (or 2+2 year) warranty, bringing it up to eight years or 180,000 km, whichever comes first."

So in response to the publicity surrounding crazy price for replacement batteries, MB Malaysia reduced the price of replacements (but still charging crazy money) and introduced a paid for warranty that would cover batteries for 8 years in total.

As someone suggested earlier in this thread, @garywh could complain to MB UK, and perhaps even resort to sharing the quote for his replacement battery on social media, tagging MB UK and MB German HQ in those posts, and hope that in an attempt to avoid bad publicity which may put off other consumers from buying MB hybrids, they may look into the situation and help out in some way (ideally replacing for free) - I've complained on social media before about products provided by different brands, and you'd be surprised how helpful the companies can be, compared to just sending an email to customer service
 
For battery nerds (I'm not one of them), this reddit post from a year ago discusses one person's attempt to rebuild the hybrid battery of a S400 but using better/newer cells - unclear if they actually managed to do it though
 
I would question the diagnosis. The battery does not usually suddenly fail - it degrades over time and it may be possible to recover some of the degradation through replacement of individual cells. But MB won't get involved in this and I would really question the proposed solution. I would suggest that you get your car inspected at a HEVRA independent. Cleevely EV in Cheltenham are very good and even if they are not close to you may be able to point you in the right direction.
I would not get involved in buying a cheap battery with unknown quality; that could end very badly.
 
Just been quoted £15k for a new HV battery replacement. A scandal if ever there was one.
I am reaching out to try and locate a used replacement, or indeed a repairer. My searches have identified many that will do such work on Toyota's, Lexus's etc etc, but nothing for Mercedes.
If there is anyone who can assist, it would be very much appreciated.

The vehicle is a 63 plate S400L, the diagnosis is one failed cell.
Part Number; 222 340 37 00

I have been a Mercedes driver for 30+ years, thought it was a good idea to try and be a little green while still driving one of the greatest luxury cars ever made.
This apparent profiteering by Stuttgart, has left a very bad taste in the mouth.

Thank you.
Hi did you eventually replace HV battery or did you manage to repair?? I've been told £15000 by mb dealers ☹️ any info Appreciated
 
Hi did you eventually replace HV battery or did you manage to repair?? I've been told £15000 by mb dealers ☹️ any info Appreciated

The OP has not been back since the day after his post so may not return.

Would have been interesting to find out the result.
 
I would get a second opinion on your car from a HEVRA independent. May be sign up to the speakev forum to get a recommendation near you.
It may well be a much cheaper repair than MB has indicated, unlikely to need a complete replacement battery.
 
I would get a second opinion on your car from a HEVRA independent. May be sign up to the speakev forum to get a recommendation near you.
It may well be a much cheaper repair than MB has indicated, unlikely to need a complete replacement battery.
I've been to by mertruck mercedes dealers they can't do the next test which is a insulation test on the hybrid wiring apparently only 3 mercedes hybrid centers have the equipment to do this test , they reckon there is a break in the wiring, I've booked it with mercedes in NOTTINGHAM for 8 of December having to pay for diagnostic again and then the extra for hybrid insulation test!! The battery malfunction light has come on or the problem of car not starting it's been nearly 2wks now I've also drove the car nearly 500 miles , could it have been a glitch??? Im just so confused what to do!!! Do I keep driving it and let it happen again, the report on the xentry is showing gear selector leaver malfunction , I have no engine management lights on my dash😩
 
How much is a 63 S500 these days ?

I know what I’d be doing ……
 
There have been several posts on this forum from owners of hybrids having problems with the main dealers - it seems that they are poorly set up to look after these cars. I would get independent advice - are you tied to using MB because of warranty? A word of caution if you think it is covered - there have been posts on here from members who have had warranty claims rejected because "the warranty does not cover wiring". Go figure but it is the case.
I would be looking for an independent to test the car - give Olly at PCS in Horndean a call - I think he has hybrid training and he may be able to point you in the right direction. Or google HEVRA independent near your location.
The other option is to trade the car in - as you are finding out the hard way the cars are over complicated, difficult to maintain and, imho, a completely stupid idea.
 

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