Reading various reports with interest....my SL500 (2011) has been super reliable, only covered 40k miles. Just replaced all front and rear bushes, well worth it but I'm afraid the old rust worm is attacking. The usual wheel arch inner lip, leading edge of spare wheel well (external), then I removed rear plastic cover, blisters everywhere, decided to remove all under trays, much the same, nothing serious but will be in a year or two. Rear exhaust hangers rusty and also seams behind rear wheel arch liners (up top). So.....blew the dust off the old DA ....poor show for such low miles, especially as she is in dehumidified garage from Oct till march each year.....I still love my SL though!
R230 SL350 The road to 200k miles
- Thread starter Burtonization23
- Start date
My only experience , or knowledge, of the R230 series has been with my former neighbour who has a 500 .
The few times I have been out in it , it is certainly an impressively quick car , but I know he has been plagued with electrical issues , not least of which the most recent one where something went on fire in the compartment behind the drivers seat ; no rear lights , no roof operation and quite a lot not functioning, although the car still starts and drives .
He previously had issues with the battery becoming discharged and had it repeatedly into the dealership, including new batteries ( both. ) and an alternator . I don’t know what else , but he has spent a lot on it .
By contrast , my R129 , which I got as a cashless swap seven years ago with 100,000 miles on it , no history to speak of and 13 previous owners was as much of a dog of an SL as it is possible to get , but the difference is that it is much less complicated and easier to maintain , and I’ve never needed to take it to a dealership.
Other than a new stainless exhaust system , and a full brake rebuild , which I did myself , it has been tyres , oils , filters and a new battery .
Despite servicing the gearbox when I got it , and again at 150000 miles , it just went bang at 202000 miles and I was going to look at it this summer but for a change in domestic circumstances which resulted in me giving the car to one of my pals who has space for it . He has bought another gearbox and I will help him fit it , so the car will live on , and the replacement box is less than the cost of either the brake rebuild or the exhaust system , so far from the end of the world . Being 27 years old , it needs new front wings , a new soft top and both front seat cushions , but I did enjoy 100000 miles of spirited motoring over my seven years with only an ignition coil and a couple of distributor caps along the way , she also consistently returned 400 miles for a roughly 90L fill up , so fuel economy wasn’t bad , oh I replaced the fuel tank and charcoal filter in the front wing after the fuel evaporation system became blocked , causing the tank to implode and leak .
Once my domestic situation is resolved , waiting to sell two houses and buy another with space for cars , I will have another SL , and it will be another R129 , ideally another 300SL-24 , same again .
OP
OP
Burtonization23
Member
So we are now at the end of summer 2022 and the SL 350 is now at 173k miles and the engine has been fine with usual oil changes when service indicator instructs.
Since my last post I have had my vehicle serviced with Maxwell Greene my regular independent Mercedes specialist in Fulham, London as Mercedes’ dealership are increasing labour costs and our current times of high cost of living its sensible to commit to know my specialist who have been reliable and reasonable.
The ac wasn’t blowing warm enough air in winter 2021, it was warm but not toasty hot, although the ac condenser got replaced back when engine was out in 2019 there was no signs of corrosion or anything there visually so after a few airlines to blow out any blockages that solved that problem as removing the dash would’ve been an extreme to access or replace the main motors for the interior ac which was happily avoided.
The 722.9 transmission I have (vgs 2 for this particular vehicle 57 reg) threw itself into limp home mode a few times and obviously behaved once your turn engine off and restart the car. But then permanently stayed in limo home mode July 2022. The famous speed sensor fault was diagnosed by star machine at Maxwell Greene which was bizarre as this fault was sorted 5 years by Mercedes Brooklands.
But yes I needed a new conductor plate but we found the valve body was original so 5 years ago the dealership solved the problem I had but didn’t future proof the replacement by replacing the valve body hence me experiencing this issue 50k miles later.
Maxwell Greene sourced a reconditioned conductor plate and valve body from Mercedes in Germany so waiting for the part to come was about a weeks wait and the repair (no more than 2 days) and scn coding the part will need too so that total repair cost £1700 which you can’t argue about as your transmission is serviced and torque converter is fully flushed in that experience too.
The gearbox has been good to me before and after with careful re adaptation but it’s also 173k mikes and does slip at times but not frequent to annoy my daily driving so this is mechanical signs of wear even after adaptation but something I’m prepared to sort hopefully for another few years if this doesn’t get worst.
The interior has been absolutely fine, the drivers door handle was unable to manually unlock the car from inside so that was a cheap fix, the drivers head rest, armrest on centre console and door storage are steering wheel are all showing signs of wear so will look to have steering wheel re trimmed for next summer and re dying the head rest and arm rest should keep those areas in check.
I steam cleaned my interior of my vehicle but stupidly (while the roof was down) might have got some form of moisture in the centre light and as a result when putting the roof up it couldn’t fully close. I didn’t realise till my Indy replaced that interior light unit part did my roof fully close but good to know some of the roofs sensors are located in that unit too.
But although I can still afford and continue to pay for repairs on this amazing vehicle that I’ve had more love than hate relationships with I feel this may seem costly to others, but if I was restoring a used r230 unlike mine would I be paying less or more to what I’ve paid to now to run such a vehicle?
Has anyone experienced more or less issues with their m272 or 722.9 box let me know your stories.
Since my last post I have had my vehicle serviced with Maxwell Greene my regular independent Mercedes specialist in Fulham, London as Mercedes’ dealership are increasing labour costs and our current times of high cost of living its sensible to commit to know my specialist who have been reliable and reasonable.
The ac wasn’t blowing warm enough air in winter 2021, it was warm but not toasty hot, although the ac condenser got replaced back when engine was out in 2019 there was no signs of corrosion or anything there visually so after a few airlines to blow out any blockages that solved that problem as removing the dash would’ve been an extreme to access or replace the main motors for the interior ac which was happily avoided.
The 722.9 transmission I have (vgs 2 for this particular vehicle 57 reg) threw itself into limp home mode a few times and obviously behaved once your turn engine off and restart the car. But then permanently stayed in limo home mode July 2022. The famous speed sensor fault was diagnosed by star machine at Maxwell Greene which was bizarre as this fault was sorted 5 years by Mercedes Brooklands.
But yes I needed a new conductor plate but we found the valve body was original so 5 years ago the dealership solved the problem I had but didn’t future proof the replacement by replacing the valve body hence me experiencing this issue 50k miles later.
Maxwell Greene sourced a reconditioned conductor plate and valve body from Mercedes in Germany so waiting for the part to come was about a weeks wait and the repair (no more than 2 days) and scn coding the part will need too so that total repair cost £1700 which you can’t argue about as your transmission is serviced and torque converter is fully flushed in that experience too.
The gearbox has been good to me before and after with careful re adaptation but it’s also 173k mikes and does slip at times but not frequent to annoy my daily driving so this is mechanical signs of wear even after adaptation but something I’m prepared to sort hopefully for another few years if this doesn’t get worst.
The interior has been absolutely fine, the drivers door handle was unable to manually unlock the car from inside so that was a cheap fix, the drivers head rest, armrest on centre console and door storage are steering wheel are all showing signs of wear so will look to have steering wheel re trimmed for next summer and re dying the head rest and arm rest should keep those areas in check.
I steam cleaned my interior of my vehicle but stupidly (while the roof was down) might have got some form of moisture in the centre light and as a result when putting the roof up it couldn’t fully close. I didn’t realise till my Indy replaced that interior light unit part did my roof fully close but good to know some of the roofs sensors are located in that unit too.
But although I can still afford and continue to pay for repairs on this amazing vehicle that I’ve had more love than hate relationships with I feel this may seem costly to others, but if I was restoring a used r230 unlike mine would I be paying less or more to what I’ve paid to now to run such a vehicle?
Has anyone experienced more or less issues with their m272 or 722.9 box let me know your stories.
SnowBear57
Active Member
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- Feb 23, 2023
- Messages
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- Location
- Surrey
- Car
- A140 sold, S500 sold, R320 sold, 2004 CLK 500 AMG? Not a real one Nissan Leaf for local trips
The R500 8s a pretty rare car , I had an R320 diesel with AMG styling pack, to be honest I think ir was the ugliest estate car ever made by Mercedes, saying that in 3 years of ownership the only thing I had to have changed was the turbo. My independant MB specialist said he could get me one that would come in a Mercedes box for £2000 or I could have the same Garrat turbo with the same part number in a Garrat box for £1000, guess which one I went for?
pioneercollector
MB Enthusiast
All i can add to this thread is yes they do need looking after and tweaking but it is all well worth it, and every task completed is another item that is unlikely to go wrong again soon. I opted for the V8 purely because it is a V8! No other reason than that.
I have owned lots of V6 powered cars over the years ( Including a beautiful Ford Scorpio Cosworth V6 ) ...... And even more straight 6 cars ( I really love a straight 6 engine ) ...... But just had to have the V8.
And yes i did have to replace the ABC struts, and no they were not cheap, But the car handles like a new car.
Good thread and an excellent choice of model - I love the R230
I have owned lots of V6 powered cars over the years ( Including a beautiful Ford Scorpio Cosworth V6 ) ...... And even more straight 6 cars ( I really love a straight 6 engine ) ...... But just had to have the V8.
And yes i did have to replace the ABC struts, and no they were not cheap, But the car handles like a new car.
Good thread and an excellent choice of model - I love the R230
OP
OP
Burtonization23
Member
Well what a summer its been, My R230 SL 350 (2007) has passed 200k miles and I can happily say I've no ideas of giving up the car. Since my last post (2022) the vehicle parts that have been replaced due to age (where they have failed or started to show signs of failure) outside of the usual wear and tear component replacements we are use to in ownership of this vehicle...
My independent Mercedes specialist MGS Bookham (Maxwell Greene Services) have been a massive part of assisting my ownership of this vehicle through their great knowledge, diagnosis and maintenance so if your based in the Surrey/ London area and want an specialist then don't hesitate to google them and have them look after your vehicle.
- Wheel bearings
- Interior dome light ( didn't realise this is super important to roof operation until moisture got inside this from cleaning)
- Ignition coils
- Water pump
- Oil filter housing
- Engine sump
- Vehicle key (yes the remote eventually stops working so i was able to start the vehicle and drive as normal but just couldn't remotely lock it)
- Front brake calipers
- Jack pads (after many years of jacking the car up replacing tyres they can wear but very inexpensive to replace)
- Rear differential (slight vibration at over 80mph even with fluid change)
- Rear subframe bushings/mounts
- Hydraulic lifters (very very faint ticking noise on idle)
My independent Mercedes specialist MGS Bookham (Maxwell Greene Services) have been a massive part of assisting my ownership of this vehicle through their great knowledge, diagnosis and maintenance so if your based in the Surrey/ London area and want an specialist then don't hesitate to google them and have them look after your vehicle.
W1ghty
MB Enthusiast
Fantastic buddy , thanks for the updates .
Happy motoring .
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