Engine Failure - Mercedes - Dealer Oil Change versus local shop

skolbe

skolbe

Well-Known Member
Oct 3, 2006
3,549
St. Louis, MO
Boat Info
320 Sundancer, Zodiac 290 Wave Inflatable Tohatsu 6HP, Boston Whaler 130 Sport
Engines
350 Mag V-Drive - Kohler 5ecd
My wife has a 2011 Mercedes GLK - At 40,000 miles I mentioned to my wife that it was making a funny noise. It was due for service anyway - my wife didn't mention it to the service writer. Ends up the person working on the car caught it, he saw it in one other Mercedes. Apparently there was a short run of engines that had a piston problem. The good news the service technician at the dealership caught it with no prompting. The disappointment with Mercedes is that they were not proactive about it. But when we hear people skipping out on the dealership - in this case it paid off. Note to manufacturers if you reach out proactively you could have a customer for life.
 
So, are they going to repair/replace the engine? And if they do repair it, how do you know the other pistons were not bad as well......in other words, I could make a case here for a complete Mercedes factory remanned engine.

Glad you caught it at the Benz dealer instead of on the side of an interstate at 11PM.
 
They are replacing with a brand new engine, takes 2 weeks to order and they gave her the same car as a loaner until it is completed. 2.5 weeks or so out. I am going to confirm that now. But they said new engine.
 
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The 40k service is $695, which includes the oil change. I can't remember what all it included. Oil change was pretty steep by itself.
 
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skolbe said:
They are replacing with a brand new engine, takes 2 weeks to order and they gave her the same car as a loaner until it is completed. 2.5 weeks or so out. I am going to confirm that now. But they said new engine.
Click to expand...

I can tell you Caterpillar doesn't do that
 
Wow I was looking to trade my c300 for a GLK ,I'm always throwing boat stuff in the trunk. I'm glad you posted this (not for your inconvenience though) I'm second guessing this now. Good luck with your repairs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
 
The dealership has been outstanding. We are working with the largest Mercedes dealership in St. Louis. They only have had 2 including ours. They are a very tight run of cars apparently. I can't complain - but obviously concerned. I have googled it and haven't found any other post on it. I am assuming if it was a large issue that some post would show up.
 
It is a remanned engine. Do you think it is reasonable to extend the warranty on a car due to an issue like this? Would you be okay with a remanned engine?

On a different note - I change my own oil on the boat - save the $695 for fuel :)
 
Does your power train warranty start over again since they're replacing the engine? How does that work?
 
They are currently saying no, I am not happy, but plan to share with them what I want.
 
Update on the car, the engine is replaced and a new issue has shown up so it is back in the shop. Car shifts slowly and the heat shield rattles. While they are fixing it and the dealership has been decent. I am not super impressed with Mercedes. Everything is a secret and the dealership isn't really told much. Frankly haven't really ever had major car issues. Guess I am lucky. The worst I have had is a bad clutch or sensor. We have a loaner car through the process. Mercedes just doesn't really want to step up. Beyond discounting an extended warranty and/or taking some responsibility if the engine fails at 60k miles. They said they may step up they may not. They keep saying what happens if you don't change the oil. Which is frustrating. Because we follow their very expensive maintenance schedule. My experience with Sea Ray is that they almost always stepped up, even when they didn't have to.
 
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I worked for Mercedes for 12 years up until 2 years ago. Don't think that this is biased because it isn't. My parents are on their second GLK, and have had great results with each one. I have had a 4 Mercs between my wife and I. What happened with your GLK is nothing short of a rare occurrence. Mercedes has for the last 10 years had one of the lowest engine replacement rates in the industry. They screwed up on some engines from 1998-2000(actually not the engines, but the oil specification for said engines) and had to make the next generations right. They could have asked for oil analysis and maintenance records proving you didn't go one mile or day over their interval and denied coverage based on that. You have a warranty to protect you from defects and that's what it did. You got a loaner and the reman engine is part of the guidelines of any manufacturer's warranty. Had this been any other manufacturer, you would have gotten a reman engine also. In fact, the reman engine most likely only has a reman crankshaft in it and maybe connecting rods. Most everything else will be new components(this is a non sleeved aluminum block). The shifting issue is most likely(don't murder me if I'm wrong as I'm not standing with your car) the tech either left the air filter housing loose, or the software wasn't updated in the transmission control unit. The rattle is a loose heat shield and these aren't Mercedes' fault but the tech didn't properly road test the car to make sure it wasn't 100% back to its former glory before handing it back to you.

At least you have the dealer maintenance records to back you up if you had an issue. That is one benefit to going there. For some insight for others, a $695 maintenance on a Merc would be the major service, combined with a transmission service done every 39000 miles. In Chicago suburbs, it would cost $90 for an oil change(8+qts of synthetic oil, $15 filter), $150 for a minor(A service) done at 13k miles and every 26k after, $420+- for a major(B service done at 26k, and every 26k after. Really, it isn't far off from maintaining a Honda at a dealer.


Believe me, I know it SUCKS when your car is broken(I hit a deer with mine last week), so I do feel for you, but in reality, you have the 4 year/50k mile warranty to help you. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that be better than Chevy or Ford?

Nick
 
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I run an aftermarket repair shop
we would have caught an engine noise and referred the customer to a Benz dealer
for warranty repairs.
as for the oil change ....it's about 100 bucks with the proper full synthetic oil ...all 8 quarts of it.
In the aftermarket we do the same services(except warranty service) and do not charge the
crazy $100+ per hour labor rates for the same visual inspections.
 
Thanks guys, it is just frustrating. The main issue is the dealership at this point with the lack of attention to details. When the service manager drives it for 100 miles, I expect that they would look at it like it was just torn apart and is everything working the way it should be. I am a fairly methodical person and expect the same from a luxury car dealership. I think Mercedes will make it right. It just makes for a car we no longer enjoy. Disappointing more than anything. I suspect we won't keep it much longer and someone else will treasure it. Thanks Nick - your feedback is appreciated!
 
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Mercedes will stand up and support you. Like any business, they won't give up everything like doubling your warranty, but they do have a goodwill program to support the clients with misfortunes after the warranty expires. This is especially used when people are loyal to the dealer network.

Im glad my post didn't come off rude, it definitely wasn't meant that way. This is probably the same way the original owner of dad's 450DA felt when both his engines were replaced at 26 hours. Don't get too sour on the car, it's still a fantastic ride, and one to be proud of owning.

As an FYI regarding maintenance costs, I'll give you a quick breakdown on the parts. These are all genuine MB parts.
air filters: $40
wipers(the aero style): $50 for all three
brake fluid: $15 a liter(one per brake fluid flush)
trans filter, pan bolts(one time use torque to yield aluminum bolts), and 6 quarts synthetic trans fluid: $130
Mobil 1 oil is a commodity so the price varies.

Typically dealers don't charge the normal shop rates for maintenance services because they NEED to be somewhat competitive with independent shops to maintain your loyalty. Usually the rates are 1/2 the shop rate.

I drive these cars not because I'm loaded or snobby. I'm far from both. I bought them for the safety, and when I broke down the costs of ownership, it wasn't really too far off of other cars. The only mistake I made was our GL550 has ridiculously expensive 21" tires. Everything else has been reasonable(especially from a boating perspective).

Nick
 
Nick 55 said:
Believe me, I know it SUCKS when your car is broken(I hit a deer with mine last week), so I do feel for you, but in reality, you have the 4 year/50k mile warranty to help you. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that be better than Chevy or Ford?

Nick
Click to expand...

GM has a 5 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty.
 
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