In reply to wae :
Woah! You actually got a check!
I can't even remember, is that the amount you were expecting?
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
It worked out that the total payout per vehicle was $3,590, but if a vehicle had more than one owner, they could take $897 of that and split it among any previous owners. I was hoping against hope that the previous owners wouldn't have filed a claim for their $900 share and I'd get the full nut, but I didn't realistically expect that to happen.
The claim was a couple dollars more than the $2692 because they also paid for my Uber rides from the dealer after dropping it off and my Uber ride back to the dealer to pick it up, which I was absolutely going to stick them with!
wae said:
Woot, There it is!
My experience with the local dealer's service department didn't leave me with the warm fuzzies. It may have been them, it may have been me, I don't know. I do know that they let the car leave with a check engine light for the swirl motor which I am fairly certain was replaced as part of the AEM. I also can't reliably read the codes myself at this point since my copy of DAS doesn't know about the AEM-version of the ECU so it gets all confused and locks up. I need to "find" an updated copy of that for the future but I really should also update my shop computer at the same time so rather than doing both of those things, I've gotten pretty good at doing neither. Since the AEM extended warranty covers having the dealer read the codes, I made an appointment this morning to take it all the way up to the northern side of Cincinnati to a different dealer that isn't owned by Wyler. I'll have them tell me what the computer says right now and whatever they say the warranty will cover, they're welcome to do.
I'm also getting a little bit torn as to how much longer I want to keep it. On the one hand I really do love driving that thing. Compared to other three-row SUVs that can tow 6,900lbs, I'm getting fabulous fuel mileage - 19 around town in the cold, 22-23 on the highway, 18-20 towing a car. It's very comfortable and quiet and rides really well. Much like Seth's experience, though, I just don't know if I can trust it. Okay, so I took it to Florida and back and didn't need to touch a wrench to it. The motor should be good for at least another 110k miles, especially since I'm doing Liqui Moly changes every 5k. Sure, it's drinking down DEF at a much increased pace compared to before the AEM, but that stuff isn't all that expensive. I just feel like maybe I should get out while the getting's good.
Of course if I had to replace it, there isn't much in the equal-value price range that I think I'd rather have after cruising the classifieds for a while. I figure I could maybe get 12k out of it and the $12k seats-five-in-comfort towing-capable market is a bit thin. There's a 13 year old Escalade with 168k on the clock and some truly horrendous wheels, a couple F150s with lots of miles, and a Grand Cherokee at what appears to be a buy-here-pay-here lot. So maybe I just bite the bullet and wait until my almost-two-challenge-cars-a-month tuition bill starts to ramp down as the kids start to graduate.
And on top of that, it just drives and rides so damned nice and I absolutely love driving it.
See? I'm really torn on this.
While eastside Tim and I were moving some roast tires from his car to mine at the junkyard on Saturday, a younger guy in a newer ML rolled up and commented on the GL. I laughed and told him it was the worst car I've ever bought and long story made short, he parked his car and came over to chat for a bit. Turns out that he works for the roadside assistance portion of the third dealer in the area. Didn't even know they existed until he very patiently and slowly explained that Mercedes-Benz of Westchester and Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati are, in fact, two entirely different establishments. I was having a bit of stupid, apparently, and it took me a minute to grasp the concept.
At any rate, after conversing for a while I figured that if he was a representative sample of the type of employee that this dealer hired it was worth giving them a try. Granted, my sample size was 1 but that is infinitely more than the sample size from the other dealer - none - so I changed the appointment around and headed up there this morning.
I was a little bit concerned because initially the service advisor told me that I'd need to agree to the $179 diagnostic fee if whatever problem existed wasn't covered by the warranty. My response was that I was fairly certain that pulling the codes should be covered by the extended warranty and he didn't seem convinced. But we basically tabled that discussion and I didn't hear anything more about it. For reference, this is the relevant section of the warranty:
OBD System: the cost of any OBD Diagnostic Scan for malfunctions that trigger the MIL, regardless of whether the malfunction is attributable to a part that is covered under the Extended Modification Warranty, as well as the cost of troubleshooting to determine the reason for the malfunction, but only if the malfunction is determined to be attributable to a part that is covered under the Extended Modification Warranty
As I read that, pulling codes is covered, but the diagnostics are not unless the fault lies with a covered system. But that's all beside the point because I assume he either checked it out himself and saw the same thing or he decided that it was more work to fight with me about pulling the codes than it was worth.
After about 30-45 minutes he came back and told me that the issue is with the swirl valve motor (which I already knew had been causing problems) and that it would be covered by the warranty. He didn't have the part on the floor but he said they'd order it up and call me to schedule when it comes in. A few days is the estimate on how long it will take for that to arrive. After that, they ran it through the car wash for me and sent me on my way.
But I can't just have a good news day with der Scheißwagen! All of a sudden this morning when it starts up, it complains that the Pre Safe system is inoperable. No idea why, of course. Oy.
Last night while driving to get tacos, it shredded its serpentine belt. Not sure what was up with that. Since the water pump is run off that belt, I didn't really want to risk driving it, so I had it flatbedded back to the shop this morning. The previous belt was a Conti 7K2035 Metric Multi V-Belt. The new one is a Continental 4070802 Multi V-Belt. I'm not sure what the difference is but the "metric" has a 12 month warranty compared to a 36 month. The new one is also about .08" longer and .02" wider. I can't fathom that would have made a difference. I'm wondering if the bad pulley bearing in the alternator could have caused additional stress to the belt, but I still am a bit shocked that it only lasted about 6 months and 12k miles. I'll keep an eye on this one, I guess.
In reply to wae :
Is the OAD pulley still bad? If yes, change it ASAP. The pulley is available separately from the alternator. The special R&I tool set can be borrowed from O'Reilly's.
Also on my engine there 2 idler rollers that were identical flat rollers, though the belt went flat-side around one and groove-side around the other. They were replaced with "correct" idlers.
LMK if part #s and sources would be helpful and I'll get them off the repair order on the real computer.
Oh, if an overrunning clutch is bad, it will absolutely shred the belt. And other accessories.
The replacement alternator came with a brand new pulley, so "in theory" that should be good now. I changed that back in January before going down to Daytona. The belt had close to 12,000 miles on it and I'd say about 5-8k of those were with the bad pulley before I got around to changing the alternator. Ordinarily I wouldn't put a used belt back on but (a) the belt for this thing is $50 and (b) it was "newish". Perhaps that was my folly.
When I replaced the belt the first time after the water pump locked up and shredded my first belt I also replaced the two idlers. They listed the same part number for both of them. I'm going to order up a new tensioner just to be on the safe side since I never replaced it. I assume that it's the same one that was put on there when it was new. It doesn't really make any noise and it's smooth so I left it in place.
You know, one of the biggest advantages of owning a modern Mercedes is that you really get to enjoy an active lifestyle while meeting new people. The only downside is that you get that benefit when it strands you and you have to walk and/or get an Uber to complete your journey.
On Saturday I had some very time-sensitive running around to do while my wife was out of town and, of course der Scheißwagen decided that was a good time to pull one of its tricks. After doing some driving around to drop off kids and stuff I pulled in to the parking lot for #1 daughter's job and shut it down while I waited on her. Eventually she came out and said that someone else didn't show and she was going to pull some extra time. No big deal, I was just going to head home and wait.
Enter the narrator's voice saying "But he did not go home".
Kicked the key over to start and it ran the starter nice and strong and that was it. No chugging to life, just chugging. Okay, this has happened to me before and I was able to get it to start by holding the foot-operated torque-request button (aka "gas pedal"*) down while starting. No joy this time. So I decided to wait a bit. After 15 minutes or so, still nothing. At about this time, my #3 daughter started texting me that the movie she and her friend had been dropped off to see had technical difficulties and was canceled. Meaning I had to come pick them up. With a recalcitrant car that wouldn't fire. So now, instead of having an hour or so before I really needed to get moving, I needed to be on the road immediately. So I ordered up an Uber for the ride home to collect my wife's car.
We came back to it around 90-120 minutes after I had shut it off initially and it chugged to life. It was a bit of a hard start, but start it did, so we left the Mazda and drove the GL home so that it would at least be in my own driveway. Rather than have someone come and get me to take me back to the car, I decided to walk back up there. It was about 3.5 miles and took around 50 minutes. Honestly, it was kind of the high-point of the day. Our subdivision is off of a very curvy country road that has bad sightlines and no shoulder so while we've walked around the subdivision before, we've never tried to venture out. So I made a slightly death defying dash down that country road and in to the next subdivision over to the West and connected to some walking trails that got me over to the main drag where the shopping center was located. I was always curious if it could be done and now I know. Although, after walking that far to get there, I was glad to have a car sitting there so I didn't have to walk back home!
Enough about the pedestrian adventure, though, we're here to talk about cars. So the general symptom is that the truck runs absolutely great and will run for literally hours on end. As long as it isn't -5 degrees outside and the fuel has gelled, it'll start right up when cold with no problems at all. But sometimes when the engine's hot, it'll take a couple extra chugs to start and occasionally won't start at all. Usually when it won't start, holding down the accelerator will get it to chug to life. And occasionally that won't work either and it needs an hour or so to cool down before it will start. It seems to happen more frequently when the tank is under 1/2 full. No codes (other than the swirl valve thing that the dealer is fixing tomorrow) and live data shows appropriate RPMs when cranking so the crank position sensor is sending something. It did this from time to time before it crapped out bearings, but I did have a code back then for a bad fuel rail pressure sensor. I replaced that and I don't think the problem came back after, but that was a while ago and I don't really remember exactly.
My understanding is that for diesels in general, a hot-start problem is usually the injection pressure pump starting to wear. Problem is that a new one is $700-$800. I wouldn't have a problem throwing one on if I knew that was the problem, but I'm not sure how to diagnose that at this point and confirm that it's getting weak. I guess the fact that it has about 138k on it is probably an indication that it's ready to be replaced - I've heard that the Bosch injection pump is one of the many weaknesses of this motor - but, still. I'm currently looking in to the options for rebuild kits for these pumps to see if that's something that I can possibly do myself.
* - Okay, fine, the "diesel pedal"? That just sounds stupid. And it's not really a pedal any more is it? I mean it's just a button that makes a suggestion to a computer somewhere.
Gah this thing is not giving you a break.
In general, Diesels crank at "full throttle", then cut the fueling back when the engine lights off and exceeds the requested RPM. Throttle position should be ignored by the ECU while cranking an electronic Diesel. IOW, Coincidence doesn't equal causality.
If the HPFP is failing, shouldn't it throw a code for "fuel rail pressure too low"? Or could that be observed in live data while cranking?
Is the fuel system covered by warranty now?
In reply to FJ40Jim :
Ah, see, that's where my lack of knowledge about anything diesel becomes a big hinderance. I figured I was doing the same thing that a gas vehicle would do and going in to "flood clear" mode, keeping the injectors quiet while starting. My initial guess was that I might have had an injector or injectors that were dribbling in to the cylinder flooding it out, but then I have no idea if it's possible to flood a diesel.
Way back when, I had this problem and I did have a code for a fuel rail pressure issue. If I recall it wasn't so much that the sensor was bad - it had been mostly melted along with its wiring. That was the sensor at the back of the right fuel rail and it was replaced along with its wiring. I don't think I had the no-start problem after that, but it's been a minute. Right now, though, I do not appear to have any codes related to low fuel pressure. Unfortunately the only way I have to get codes on it right now is just a regular OBDII reader - since the AEM ECU update my version of Xentry/DAS doesn't know what to do with that computer and it just poops in its shoes and locks up the Open Port. The other problem is that my shop laptop is from 2013 and just epically slow. To solve that problem, I stopped in at Microcenter today and picked up a more modern laptop and to solve the DAS problem, I'm going to see about getting an updated version that can speak my language. Then I can watch the pressures on startup and see what it's doing. And I can keep the laptop in the truck with me so that I might be able to do some diagnosis the next time it does it to me.
As far as the warranty goes, the fuel injectors are covered but it doesn't list the injection pump, so I assume that's not covered. I was doing some hunting around and it looks like there is a seal kit available for that pump - it's a fairly standard-ish Bosch product, or at least a member of a family of standard Bosch pumps - so I might be able to rebuild it or have a local shop rebuild it for me. I was about to pull the trigger on buying a rebuilt unit from an outfit out of North Carolina that advertises that they've got decades of experience rebuilding these pumps and everything. A quick search of the domain name, though, led me to a bunch of really angry VW TDI people. It sounds like his rebuilt pumps commonly fail within a pretty short window and he'll refuse to warranty them. So I guess you get what you pay for there. I'm back to looking at the $800 Bosch reman from Rock Auto or calling the local diesel shop and seeing if they rebuild these.
In other news, der Scheißwagen is at the dealer today having the swirl motor fixed under the emissions extended warranty. While they're working on that, I've got a 2023 E350 loaner car that I've been driving around. Thirty years ago I don't think I would have taken a $60,000 car with an inline 4 cylinder seriously, but this thing will pin you in your seat. The only problem is that from inside the cabin it still sounds like an inline four instead of throaty and rumbly. Not a bad ride overall, though: I can see why they sell a bunch of these.
AFAIK, all OM642 have a Bosch CP3 HPFP, which is far superior to the economical redesign CP4. CP4 might only last 150k miles, then grinds itself up and pumps metal powder into the rails & injectors. The CP3 lasts hundreds of thousands miles on Cummins & Durtymax engines, which need more fuel than a OM642. So I'm saying it's robly not the $1000 pump. I would look closely at something not functioning when hot, like an electric fuel pump, air/coolant/fuel temp sensor readings out of range, etc...
I enjoyed the part about your pedestrian adventure. The fact that it happens when tank is under 1/2 tells me you might have an air leak inside the tank pickup.
That's a good point about getting some data before jumping off any bridges. That's the biggest problem with an intermittent issue like this. But, if I can get a newer version of DAS that can read my computer and then carry it around with me in the truck, I can check some of the values when it's working and then have it ready to capture data when it won't start.
I'll have to look and see how easy or hard it is to get a look in to the tank. I'd like to get some numbers and data first, but if it's not a big deal to gain access to the fuel pickup, it might be worth taking a look if I don't find anything in the numbers.
All of that said, though.... I just got a text from the dealer:
(Don't criticize him for "signing" his text messages. That's a whole messaging platform that he's using, so it's the system doing that)
So, I guess I'm driving the E350 for a little while longer. And if it's melting that, maybe another sensor is getting affected by some underhood heat. Or if there's stray voltage buzzing about in there, who knows what HAL9000 would think about that.
In reply to wae :
HAL is a psychopath who revels in schadenfreude.
In reply to FJ40Jim :
You literally made me laugh out loud!
So it's breaking in new and imaginative ways...
In reply to wae :
In a funny-not-funny way, it is hilarious to me that it makes complete sense that part of your standard operating procedure for this vehicle includes riding around with a laptop and diagnostic software. Thanks again for taking us on this journey...
Still don't have the GL back from the dealer. The service advisor just texted me and said that when the tech was putting the turbo back on, he noticed that it was damaged internally. He ordered up a new turbo for me which should arrive on Thursday.
I wasn't sure what to do about that so I thought about it for a minute and finally decided that my integrity isn't worth a free turbocharger. so I texted him back and said that I appreciated it but the other dealer told me that they noticed it was damaged and since I didn't buy a new turbo from them, the warranty would no longer cover the turbo. He pinged me right back and said that it was absolutely covered.
I am glad for three things: #1, I didn't buy a new turbo from Wyler; #2, I didn't get around to rebuilding the turbo; #3, I didn't go pull that turbo from the E350 BlueTec out at Bessler's. To be fair, #1 had zero chance in hell of happening. But I did almost order up the new turbo cartridge on the day I got my settlement check.
Was Jeff Wyler Mercedes just unaware of how the warranty worked? Were they completely aware of how it worked and just wanted to try to extract more dollars out of me than what Mercedes would give them for warranty work? Is Mercedes Benz of Cincinnati just better at working the warranty system?
Glad to hear they are taking care of it.
With Wyler, it should be safe to assume malice versus incompetence every time. The few times I've darkened their door, I've felt like I needed a shower afterwards. If I haven't told you before, next time you see me, ask about my Grand Marquis shopping experience on their used lot.
In reply to wae :
My buddy, a Mercedes tech, told me they are pretty much fixing everything on the engine under the diesel extended warranty. He recently replaced timing chains for a customer.
In reply to yupididit :
Surprisingly, the chain is mentioned as a warranty item in the AEM documents.
Not sorry I replaced the worn chain during engine rebuild. Better than having the dealership try to replace it in chassis.
You'll need to log in to post.
