W205 C Class needs new headlights and control units

[jacksmith17]

Hi All,

Just been to the dealer to get my service done and the other day I had lots of warning lights flash up on my car-

Lights malfunction
Intelligent light system inoperative
Adaptive high beam assist inoperative
Collision prevention assist plus inoperative

One of the headlights no longer works and the other seems to work

Asked them to look at it while it was being serviced so they diagnosed the headlights as me needing 2 brand new headlights and control units as looks like they may have been damaged with water - quoted me well over £4k! They will need coding in and not many places can do this so looks like I am stuck

To top it off they wanted to charge me another £350 to take the bumper off and diagnose the collision prevention assist!

Has anyone ever experienced any issues like this or know any garages in the midlands who are able to sort this out? Now I know it is going to cost a fair amount to fix but I can't justify spending that much on it for some lights

If anyone can recommend me any place please let me know It is much appreciated

 

[Rubyred]

Hi there.
Im no expert on these cars as I’ve only been a Mercedes owner since last July.
By reading your post your car seems fairly new what with the intelligent light system etc.
But I reckon you dealer/garage is taking the proverbial.
How can they say it’s water damage, unless you’ve driven through a river, as all the systems you’ve mentioned should be protected against normal water ingress.
I think they are taking the easy way out at your expense.
Can you not find a reputable independent garage to look at your car.
Hope you get it sorted.

 

[GeeJayW]

£4K...Ouch!!
I hope you find a more reasonable solution.

 

[jacksmith17]

Hi there.
Im no expert on these cars as I’ve only been a Mercedes owner since last July.
By reading your post your car seems fairly new what with the intelligent light system etc.
But I reckon you dealer/garage is taking the proverbial.
How can they say it’s water damage, unless you’ve driven through a river, as all the systems you’ve mentioned should be protected against normal water ingress.
I think they are taking the easy way out at your expense.
Can you not find a reputable independent garage to look at your car.
Hope you get it sorted.

Hi Rubyred, yeah mine's a 65 plate (2015 saloon) model with the intelligent light system and 360 camera. I know the weather's been bad recently but they're acting like I've driven it through a river! No idea how the water has got in there - did notice the other day one of the headlamps has condensation in (dealer claimed it was full of water). I've rang a couple specialists to find out what they can do for me and even they have said it seems too much. Honestly did not expect such a costly repair. MB did also notice one of the front undertrays is missing - it had very minor collision from previous owner (and I am talking very minor here) but they are taking it out of context

I've rang my warranty company too and they won't cover anything if it is water related - so I paid extra for no reason at all

I just want to be able to drive my car again - so sad to see it just sitting there costing a fortune with very few garages looking to take the job on

 

[jacksmith17]

£4K...Ouch!!
I hope you find a more reasonable solution.

To put it into perspective I had my BMW engine rebuilt for 2 grand! That doesn't seem too bad now lol

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Hi there.
Im no expert on these cars as I’ve only been a Mercedes owner since last July.
By reading your post your car seems fairly new what with the intelligent light system etc.
But I reckon you dealer/garage is taking the proverbial.
How can they say it’s water damage, unless you’ve driven through a river, as all the systems you’ve mentioned should be protected against normal water ingress.
I think they are taking the easy way out at your expense.
Can you not find a reputable independent garage to look at your car.
Hope you get it sorted.

I was told last week that seals/gaskets are excluded from the used approved warranty. (In my case it was puddle light failure).

If the OP’s car was less than 3 years old it would be covered by the manufacturers warranty.

 

[jacksmith17]

I was told last week that seals/gaskets are excluded from the used approved warranty. (In my case it was puddle light failure).

If the OP’s car was less than 3 years old it would be covered by the manufacturers warranty.

Did the dealer fix it under warranty and if not how much did you have to fork out to fix it? And was the control unit replaced too?

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Did the dealer fix it under warranty and if not how much did you have to fork out to fix it? And was the control unit replaced too?

Mine is 2017 and out of the standard 3 year warranty. It’s used approved but as I said the fault didn’t qualify. I didn’t even get a price from them tbh. My indie will sort it at next service as they’re just puddle lights so not essential like your headlights.

 

[jacksmith17]

Mine is 2017 and out of the standard 3 year warranty. It’s used approved but as I said the fault didn’t qualify. I didn’t even get a price from them tbh. My indie will sort it at next service as they’re just puddle lights so not essential like your headlights.

I've read online the puddle lights are quite a common failure and people have replaced them and they have gone again, manufacturing defect from MB no doubt, might be worth asking the indie why it's failed to get to the root cause

 

[Deleted member 113659]

I've read online the puddle lights are quite a common failure and people have replaced them and they have gone again, manufacturing defect from MB no doubt, might be worth asking the indie why it's failed to get to the root cause

Will do mate. Thank you.

Good luck with yours.

 

[jacksmith17]

Will do mate. Thank you.

Good luck with yours.

Cheers mate, will keep this post updated incase anyone else experiences problems like this

 

[Skd884]

Modern cars, overly complicated electrics, well over £4k for headlights fookin hell..............

Keep it old skool c36 c43 c63 204.

 

[jacksmith17]

Modern cars, overly complicated electrics, well over £4k for headlights fookin hell..............

Keep it old skool c36 c43 c63 204.

Can't beat the good old cars - my 18 year old Honda has done over 230k miles and never had a problem with it

 

[markjay]

Try also these trusted specialists:

MERCLAND - Mercedes Sales & Servicing in the Midlands | Members Offers by Traders

Exclusive Members Offer: MBClub UK members recieve 10% off labour on servicing and 1 year RAC warranty with all cars purchased (as opposed to 3 or 6 months) click here to see if you are eligible Mercland: Mercedes Sales & Servicing in the Midlands We specialise in the sales and care of...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

Website Family-run Mercedes-Benz specialists in Nuneaton, Warwickshire | Mercland

ACID

forums.mbclub.co.uk

Website MSL Performance | ECU Tuning | Mercedes Specialists

 

[Alfie]

The headlamps alone are over £1,000 each so your £4,000 doesnt surprise me. Its ludicrous but not a surprise. I would find a good independent. They will either have the alignment tool or be able to hire it in. Coding is straightforward provided they have genuine Xentry.

 

[jacksmith17]

Try also these trusted specialists:

MERCLAND - Mercedes Sales & Servicing in the Midlands | Members Offers by Traders

Exclusive Members Offer: MBClub UK members recieve 10% off labour on servicing and 1 year RAC warranty with all cars purchased (as opposed to 3 or 6 months) click here to see if you are eligible Mercland: Mercedes Sales & Servicing in the Midlands We specialise in the sales and care of...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

Website Family-run Mercedes-Benz specialists in Nuneaton, Warwickshire | Mercland

ACID

forums.mbclub.co.uk

Website MSL Performance | ECU Tuning | Mercedes Specialists

Thanks, will give them a ring to see how much they quote

 

[jacksmith17]

The headlamps alone are over £1,000 each so your £4,000 doesnt surprise me. Its ludicrous but not a surprise. I would find a good independent. They will either have the alignment tool or be able to hire it in. Coding is straightforward provided they have genuine Xentry.

Yeah I’ve just got some quotes from some
Independents and parts are expensive, headlights are 1200 and then control units are 370 so looking to be around 3800 then the radar sensor on top which is around 500

not ideal at all but I’ve got to get it done

 

[SMS]

Just doing one now, broken wire, one headlamp out but sides work, the other headlamp works but sides out.

 

[jacksmith17]

Is it a

Just doing one now, broken wire, one headlamp out but sides work, the other headlamp works but sides out.

is it a big job and how much did you pay for all parts? Would consider doing myself but won’t be able to code them in as don’t have Xentry so would have to go to dealer

 

[Petrol Pete]

An unscrupulous person might 'accidentally' drive into a low brick wall and claim the whole lot on their insurance....but could also 'accidentally' write the car off What a conundrum , modern electrical systems will be the death of most cars built today long before the bodywork or engine becomes unfit for purpose. Sign of the times .