SAM module

[Doubtingtom]

Good Morning everyone,
I own a W164 M class 2006 model and the rear SAM unit has been ruined by water ingress.
My local Mercedes garage confirmed this and have told me there is not another new unit "in the world" and rendered my car as scrap saying they will not fit a second hand unit as it will quickly go the same way.
I would really appreciate your thoughts as I have owned the car for many years and do not want to change it.
If I located a used one is a simply plug in and away you go or do they need a specialist to fit and reprogram and if so can anyone recommend someone who can help.
Any advise would by much appreciated.

 

[markjay]

Good Morning everyone,
I own a W164 M class 2006 model and the rear SAM unit has been ruined by water ingress.
My local Mercedes garage confirmed this and have told me there is not another new unit "in the world" and rendered my car as scrap saying they will not fit a second hand unit as it will quickly go the same way.
I would really appreciate your thoughts as I have owned the car for many years and do not want to change it.
If I located a used one is a simply plug in and away you go or do they need a specialist to fit and reprogram and if so can anyone recommend someone who can help.
Any advise would by much appreciated.

Welcome.

You've received what is known as the "please go away" quote from a Mercedes dealer....

Look up a reputable independent specialist in your area and take it from there.

Good luck.

 

[Doubtingtom]

Hi Markjay,

Thank you for your reply to my question.
The dealer who looked at my car was not a "please go away" type of guy and he genuinely seemed interested in helping me, the problem being he was unable to locate a new sam unit and would not fit a used one.

My question is still If I located a used one is a simply plug in and away you go or do they need a specialist to fit and reprogram and if so can anyone recommend someone who can help.
I really love this old car and it has been with me for many years so I desperately need a bit of advise on what is the best course of action.
Thanks, Nick.

 

[Riva811]

Welcome to the forums. I hate it when the aftersales engineer drives a pegaut 406 but considers any Mercedes over 6 years old not worth it.

 

[markjay]

The new SAM module is provided 'blank', and when fitted to the car it will connect to the Mercedes-Benz central computer in Germany (via MB STAR Diagnostic computer) and download the car's specific configuration from the Datacard based on the car's VIN. This will allow all the options that are fitted to the car to work, and will prevent error messages from coming-up in relation to options that the car does not have.

A second hand SAM will not be blank and will instead have the configuration of the donor car. If you fit a second hand SAM unit from another car, it will generally work, however certain options that your car has, and the donor car did not have, will not work, and vice versa - you might get error messages on the dash regarding options that your car never had in the first place. Of course, if you choose a second hand SAM from a car that is from the same year as yours, and has the exact same trim level, then you might get away with it without having to reprogramme the SAM - assuming that neither car had any additional options specified on top of those that are bundled with the time level as standard.

A second-hand SAM can be reprogrammed from one car to another, but MB dealers do not generally sell or fit second-hand parts. You'll need to find an independent specialist with genuine MB Star who has access to the MB central computer and knows how to do this. Even so, the advice is that the starting point should be a second-hand SAM that has the exact same MB Part Number as yours (there have been many variations over the years, even for the same car model).

 

[Doubtingtom]

The new SAM module is provided 'blank', and when fitted to the car it will connect to the Mercedes-Benz central computer in Germany (via MB STAR Diagnostic computer) and download the car's specific configuration from the Datacard based on the car's VIN. This will allow all the options that are fitted to the car to work, and will prevent error messages from coming-up in relation to options that the car does not have.

A second hand SAM will not be blank and will instead have the configuration of the donor car. If you fit a second hand SAM unit from another car, it will generally work, however certain options that your car has, and the donor car did not have, will not work, and vice versa - you might get error messages on the dash regarding options that your car never had in the first place. Of course, if you choose a second hand SAM from a car that is from the same year as yours, and has the exact same trim level, then you might get away with it without having to reprogramme the SAM - assuming that neither car had any additional options specified on top of those that are bundled with the time level as standard.

A second-hand SAM can be reprogrammed from one car to another, but MB dealers do not generally sell or fit second-hand parts. You'll need to find an independent specialist with genuine MB Star who has access to the MB central computer and knows how to do this. Even so, the advice is that the starting point should be a second-hand SAM that has the exact same MB Part Number as yours (there have been many variations over the years, even for the same car model).

Thank you so much for your comprehensive information Markjay.
I do not have the luxury of fitting a new one as I am unable to locate one and have tried several MB dealers.
Seems that, sadly no one cares about old cars anymore and just want us all to drive boring plastic stuff that has to be recycled every few years.

 

[markjay]

Thank you so much for your comprehensive information Markjay.
I do not have the luxury of fitting a new one as I am unable to locate one and have tried several MB dealers.
Seems that, sadly no one cares about old cars anymore and just want us all to drive boring plastic stuff that has to be recycled every few years.

If you can post the MB Part Number of the SAM that you need, then maybe someone on here will be able to help you locate a new one in stock with one of the online automotive parts retailers.

 

[m80]

I've fitted SAM's to an early C class, and a few 639's, all plug and play.
Sometimes it would need amending by the dash menu.

I'm not saying that's the same for yours. But I would remove, take the ID number, and be sure to match that with one off Ebay.
You may lose a few quids, you may save your motor.

The risk is that the Ebay SAM may be faulty.

 

[DSM10000]

I assume the water ingress issue has been addressed?

 

[Doubtingtom]

m80 ... Thanks for the advise, it looks like my only choice in reality. I will give it a go and report back with the results.

dsm 10000 ... Yes the issue has been solved. It was getting in via the rear light and a tube of clear bathroom sealer has done the job.