Ouch! Man, that is a lot of cars...

I know I would not be happy if I had paid Mercedes Money for a car and then have a recall of that magnitude.

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That shows that they really sell a lot of their cars "worldwide". I wonder how many of those are in the US. I know a lot of taxi's overseas are the E-Class. At least its not a recall for wheels falling off or engines bursting into flames. Upgrades to good brake systems and simple battery/alternator problems are nothing and owners don't mind the valet service at the shop.

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It is so obvious that you guys are bias toward BMW big time!!! This is not a professional journalism attitude but then again, you guys are just a whole bunch of bloggers!!!! Is BMW's quality really that much better than MB? As a matter of fact, BMW and BM were rancked by consummer report amoung the bottom 5. You guys are just big time pro BMW bloggers!!!

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Chuck. It's called SARCAMS.

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This is actually less of a recall and more of a quality initiative. The new head of Mercedes worldwide, Dr. Cordes, has stated that one of his goals was to enhance the quality of M-B vehicles already in customer's hands, not just in new products. This initiative is entirely voluntary on the part of M-B and reflects their renewed committment to quality regardless of whether the vehicle is new or not. Also the types of issues addressed are fairly minor in nature (a voltage regulator and two software upgrades).

I hope the media don't run away with this and brand it as another M-B failure (I already know AutoExtremist.com will have a field-day with it). It's really a very positive action on the part of Dr. Cordes and M-B. It shows the level of detail and customer care the company is now focused on.

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"At least its not a recall for wheels falling off or engines bursting into flames. Upgrades to good brake systems and simple battery/alternator problems are nothing and owners don't mind the valet service at the shop"

BTW the recall regarding the brakes IS a safety issue. Currently the software causes the cylinders to be too rigid and this increases braking distance as additional force is required for proper braking. Several accidents caused by this problem have been logged in Germany.At least its not a recall for wheels falling off or engines bursting into flames. Upgrades to good brake systems and simple battery/alternator problems are nothing and owners don't mind the valet service at the shop.

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OMG...reading these posts is good humor.

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"Dr. Cordes, has stated that one of his goals was to enhance the quality of M-B vehicles already in customer's hands, not just in new products."

I don't believe that one bit. Why? Simply because MB has discontinued their free scheduled maintenance program. Looks like even MB has to admit that their cars are beginning to become excessively faulty to the point where all the repairs is costing them too much money.

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I've on the fence to buy my third Mercedes for over a year now. It seems like everyday I wait the news gets worse. My salesman has a million and one reasons to defend all the bad rankings, surveys and recalls. "Oh, our customers are bit more discriminating than others." The fact is that Lexus is not getting the same amount of bad press with those same "discriminating customers". I've personally experienced the MB quality slip, the cost cutting in services. My car has been in the shop over a week now awaiting for a part from Germany. Can it get better? I don't think a third Mercededs is in my future. I'd just look like an idiot that spends too much money on a crappy car.

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As recently as Friday my Mercedes dealer was insisting that the reason our 6-month old E-Class's battery went dead was that we were not driving it enough. Admittedly 2200 miles in 6 months is not a lot but this seemed surprising. Now I hear there is a recall because of an alternator/battery charging problem! Also the dealer has failed to correct a fault with the CD player after 4 attempts!

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Here are some reasons why M-B is going to have a bad twelve months:
(a.) Exchange rates - the strong Euro means M-B will have to increase prices at just the time the Japanese are getting stronger. One impact is that the B class won't be coming here soon. Another impact is that the E class was just beaten by three Japanese vehicles (Infiniti M45, Acura RL and Lexus GS430) in a Car and Driver comparison - primarily because of poor value for money.
(b.) There's a major shareholder revolt brewing, with large German institution's outraged at the Daimler Chrysler management team over the management's incompetence in dealing with quality issues
(c.) The e-Class is aging fast and sales are declining due to repeated quality issues
(d.) The new ML doesn't look different enough from the quality-challenged prior model
(e.) The brand used to stand for dependability, safety, road presence, loyal customers - what does the M-B brand mean now - how about "look alike vehicles, product proliferation, repeated trips to the dealer to get things fixed"?
(f.) The percentage of existing M-B customers who buy another M-B is declining. The list of dissatisfied M-B owners is growing
(g.) M-B resale prices are collapsing, take a look at the prices on used S Class and CL Class models as an example. Over time this will make M-B much less attractive lease propositions and owners will get hit at trade-in time
(h.) A significant segment of the population is still unaware of, or in denial about, M-B's decline. As these folks are educated by the press, by their friends, and through their own experiences with M-B's, we can expect the brand image of M-B to continue declining but with an accelerating speed

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I strongly believe that MB will face very tough days in near future. I have a MB A series (sold in only overseas) since 2001 and i had lots of quality problems. And, worse, MB is not trying to solve this problems, only wants to charge you the bills. I have had a Volskwagen before and never had this kind of problems. An advice from a MB owner: DO NOT BUY Mercedes Benz and BMW. Germans are not listening to you as a customer, they just sell and forget you. They are just old marketers. I have got a Honda motorcycle, and the quality and service is perfect. Just buy a Honda, Acura, Lexus or whatever, they don't broke!

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We have driven about 6 MBs over the years. Two 500 SECs (one was a 1994, the other older, don't remember the year), 500 SEL (1992), SLK 230 (1998), and an E500 (2002). I can safely say that the only cars without major problems were the 500 SEL and the older SEC (don't remember the yr/model). It was absolutely the best MBs I've ever seen. Every other car in this collection have had their fair share of problems. Granted, as cars get more complicated, there will be more problems. The SLK was absolutely brutal. I love the car to death, but the number of time I've had it in the shop is insane. My service record book is about 1-2 CM thick! I couldn't believe that even the E500 had problems. I could list the problems that go on and on...but it's insane. Would I ever buy another Benz? Probably, but I'd definitely look around. Just went to a Lexus dealer last week (actually, a whole bunch of dealers)...and I wasn't impressed by a single one of their cars (except Volvo and BMW). There's a certain sense/feeling/excitement when you sit in a Benz/BMW that none of these other cars give you. The quality of their newest cars definitely brings excitement. Lexus cars are so boring in style when you sit inside them. Of course, it's personal taste...but a Benz is a Benz (likewise, for BMWs).

Expensive toys such as Benzes or BMWs are like Sonies (Sony) and Apples. You're paying more for the latest and greatest, but hell...do they have a lot of problems. But hey, they'll stay stylish for many years before anybody else has anything even close to their designs. And when people match them (eg. Lexus LSes are exact perfections of the old 500 SEL/SEL500s), the press seem to compare the wrong years. The germans are years ahead of styling. It's amazing. Don't get me wrong. I love Japanese cars. I drive them everyday...but you just don't get the feeling and excitment of a nice European car.

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