Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Recalls/TSBs, Safety, Crossovers/CUVs, Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz USA recalling 9000 diesel models
Mercedes sold over twelve-thousand diesel-powered vehicles in the US last year, but a crankshaft issue is sending 9,004 units back to the dealer for repair. NHTSA says the problem lies in a crankshaft sensor that can fail, which causes the engine to lose power and makes you the "disabled vehicle" the traffic reporter on the radio warns your fellow commuters about. That won't do. The recall affects 2007 E320 Bluetec, ML320 CDI, and GL320 CDI models. Since the sensor defect could leave drivers stranded, we're going to go ahead and recommend that you get this one fixed right away. We're still bullish on diesel, however, because high fuel economy and gobs of torque are a wonderful combo.
[Source: Auto News (subs. req'd)]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
J M C 3 12:15PM (1/19/2008)
Seems to be a problem.the crankshaft position sensor on my 2000 e 320 went disabling my car in the middle of 8th ave and 34th street in NYC rush hour.Granted it's an older car,but their crankshaft position sensors need consideration from engineering if this is still happening.By the way that $60 dollar part turned into a $650 tow and repair bill.
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Totalfixation 12:31PM (1/19/2008)
Yea i totally agree, Mine when out on my E430 1999 as well. Granted its an older car too but Mercedes has been known for this type of issue. I think this is one of there main problems that they really need to fix.
Bananas 12:27PM (1/19/2008)
That sucks. I hope they can fix it with ease. I like the potential for deisels in the future to take over a larger slice of the pie. Bad press like this does not help.
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psarhjinian 2:49PM (1/19/2008)
It'd help if the only people who sold diesel passenger cars in North America (VW & MB) weren't the most statistically unreliable makes in existence.
Imagine how bad hybrids would be if Europeans made them.
Maestro1 12:44PM (1/19/2008)
Does this also affect 2008 Model-Year Mercedes'?
I am wondering because I currently drive an 08 ML320 CDI and i'm not sure whether to bring it into the dealership...
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Pete 12:56PM (1/19/2008)
I suspect this would affect 2007 and 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD models...
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Colin Smith 1:15PM (1/19/2008)
This is nothing to do with diesels per se, rather a faulty gizmo.
The E Class has been unreliable on many levels - as friends of mine can testify: rust, electronic glitches, suspension problems, running on getyouhome mode more than once (petrol), and finally the tailgate struts going - at fewer than 60,000 miles. Everything costs a fortune in cash and time to fix too. This was supposed to be a well built car, but Mercedes caught a cold with it. Recent cars are supposedly improved, but when I read of people forming permanently negative impressions of a manufacturer based on perceptions of sometimes more than twenty years ago, I realize how significant faults can be.
Truth is, all cars go wrong sometimes, and there is no manufacturer immune from the reality. However, some are given the benefit of the doubt whereas others are seemingly cast in the role of bad-guy for ever. Snobbery comes into it a lot.
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Mr. Oak 3:22AM (1/20/2008)
"I read of people forming permanently negative impressions of a manufacturer based on perceptions of sometimes more than twenty years ago"
Come on now, the W220 (1999–2006) S-Class was not from 20 years ago. These cars are probably the worthless pieces of junk Mercedes Benz ever made. Ah, lest we forget the original M-Class (W163) 1998 - 2004. Ranks right up there with the W220 in the junk factor.
tekdemon 8:05AM (1/20/2008)
I recently had a chance to ride in an LS430 and then drive an S430 back to back (both had all their maintainence done by the dealers through the years), and it was pretty drastic how much worse the S430 had held up over the years. Not only did it just feel like the car was a lot less put-together than the LS, but the brakes made weird grinding noises (not worn pads), and the whole car just seemed like it was way older than the LS even though it really wasn't.
I hate to say it but, it really ruined my image of the S-class. All those magazine reviews and just the look of the new S550 had made it a car I was hoping to one day buy, but driving a slightly older S-class made it a lot less appealing. For one thing, I realized that the insanely overcomplex German way of designing power seat controls was not really my cup of tea. Maybe it's because I'm used to driving my Camry, but the fact that the MB seat control required 5 separate buttons and tilting the seat forward and backward required tilting 2 different buttons that also controlled other things drove me insane. Lexus just uses your usual Toyota power seat controls, and even though it's not as fancy it's a lot easier to tweak your seat while driving when there aren't 5 ridiculous buttons.
Also annoying was the fact that MB put a down arrow on the left side of the climate control, and an up arrow on the right side-which lead me to think that pushing the left side would turn it down, and pushing the right side would turn it up. But no, even though they're on opposite sides of a long horizontal control, it's actually a toggle switch (why in the world they didn't put both arrows in the center so this would have been obvious is beyond me-they would have easily fit).
The next day driving a Lexus ES I noticed that their climate control was also a long horizontal button with an up arrow on one side and a down arrow on the other side. And guess what? You actually did just have to press the side the arrow was on to turn it up or down.
MB seriously needs to make their cabin controls more intuitive (and less complex in the case of the power seat!) and make their cars hold up better. And why did all the last generation MBs still have a phone dial pad on the front console? Has to be the least used feature ever.
Anyways, point is, I'll probably get a Lexus when I have the cash to spare.
zamafir 1:28PM (1/19/2008)
Man this is unfortunate, Americans are fickle enough about diesels (in general, not those reasonable ones who've already got two in their garage *cough*).
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DavidW 2:19PM (1/19/2008)
This is why after three Mercedes and fifteen plus years of ownership I am leaving Mercedes, as did one of my best friends who owned tweleve new Mercedes over a period of twenty-something years. They can't get it right anymore. Also note their side impact crash results suck on the new models! What does Mercedes stand for now??
I have never experienced the level of customer service we are getting from Lexus over the past four years. There is no contest; in our search for a second car it will be a Lexus.
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why not the LS2LS7? 6:12PM (1/19/2008)
Agreed. I like my Audi when it works, but I'm not in the market for another German car, German engineering just means overengineering, which means lots of stuff to break.
DavidW 6:30PM (1/19/2008)
It's a shame isn't it? German cars were once so nice and did have good crash test ratings. That seems to be still true for Audi. BMW and Mercedes have slipped terribly. The results are unacceptable in their side impact test.
You mention your Audi. My friend I mentioned owned a new A6 in 2002 and a new A8 in 2004. Both were trouble free. I was very shocked! A used A8 is dirt cheap compared to the original price.
That being said nothing matches the customer service at Lexus. I wish Mercedes could over come it's troubles. I am a diesel fan.
Jake 4:37PM (1/19/2008)
man i would hate to have to be the techs that has to replace one of those. Flat rate=FTL!
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Random Task 8:34PM (1/19/2008)
Used German cars just aren't worth the risk. If you have to own a German car, I recommend leasing.
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spw 9:40PM (1/19/2008)
its not only german cars - diesels in general have more issues than petrol vehicles - powertrain is more complicated (turbo's, high pressure fuel injection, high torque - clutch/transmission, fuel quality - fuel pumps, injectors).
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j_diesel 11:22PM (1/19/2008)
i have to disagree. a turbo is not that big of a deal. there are many gas powered cars with turbochargers. high pressure fuel injection has come a long way and with proper maintenance most diesels will be trouble free for 150,000 to 200,000km.
i'm not sure what high torque has to do with diesels being less reliable. if a manufacturer specs the trans properly it's a non-issue. as for the clutch...my sister burnt the clutch out of her '90 sunbird(4 cyl) before the first oil change. that car was a gutless turd.
fuel quality is a no-brainer and diesel isn't a special case. you wouldn't buy gas OR diesel from a suspect station and quality is mandated by law.
in my opinion the issues between gas and diesel are different but one isn't better or worse than the other.
spw 7:58AM (1/20/2008)
I am talking from experience - work at dealer in Europe. Also, all reviews of used cars in german mags confirm it as well.
theory is one thing and actual facts are another. All those issues i mentioned are real life issues with diesels.
tekdemon 7:44PM (1/21/2008)
Yeah, generally speaking if an engine is more complex it's less reliable (assuming the same company is making it anyway).
The diesel engine blocks themselves tend to be pretty reliable because of how strong they had to be built, but the turbos and whatnots aren't really any more reliable.
Don 11:28PM (1/19/2008)
This is so dumb, I am a tech at the local mercedes dealer and mercedes has always had bad crank sensors. Its the first thing we do when the car has a crank/no start condition.
I mean is it like a revelation that Merc can't make a crank angle sensor that works. Every Benz since like 1998 has probably had the crank sensor replaced at one period of time.
The real problem with the Diesels is the driver side fuel rail. Ive replaced 3 of them already and they cause a crank /no start condition intermittently. So yeah thats what this story needs to be about.
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