I’ve been a Mercedes guy for the last 15 years and bought multiple cars for them. I’m currently selling my 2019 GLC 43 and it will be my last.
I am a car guy – grew up racing and have turned some wrenches in my day. I stayed on top of maintenance and had the dealer do every service and oil change.
First it was the transmission. It was awful and jerky but I was told nothing is wrong after 5 attempts. I just learned to live with it.
Then control rods started failing at 30,000 miles. Never hit a curb or any outlandish driving.
Then it was the oil seals – leaking on the cam covers and oil pan. Fine – very premature to start that at 45,000 miles but I get it.
But the reason I will never buy another MB car is the last one. 55,000 miles and I get a P06DA00 indicating a short in the oil solenoid. $7,000. The sensor is deep in the car and requires removing the sub frame and lifting the engine up. No help from Mercedes since it’s 5,000 past the warranty.
All in this car has receive about $10k in maintenance and repairs for 55,000 miles. When the car runs it’s great but too many gremlins and a brand that doesn’t stand behind their product. We wanted a GLE53 for our expanding family – but we won’t be pursuing that any longer.
Go ahead. Rip me to shreds.
EDIT / UPDATE: -Thanks everyone for the responses. And also thanks to those who told me not to be poor – super helpful guidance. Money isn’t the issue – it’s the principle -another thing is that the remote start / Mercedes app stopped connecting to the car 2 years in. Under warranty the could not find any issues and said it would be resolved in the future. I had paid for 2 years of that service that I never got and they would not refund me at all – just said they would start the clock when it started working. Well – 4 years and countless software updates later it still is a dud. -yes I made a typo with control rod. Happens when you are tired and had drinks earlier in the day with a friend who runs nuclear subs for the USN -it’s amazing how many are calling out my ego, etc. I am not disappointed that Mercedes isn’t covering something that is out of warranty. Im not entitled to anything out of warranty – unless it’s a common flaw that I would expect them to own. A $15 wiring loom that is known to short and a design that invokes dismantling half the car is a poor product. -for what it’s worth here in the US – the discount from an independent mechanic where I live isn’t all that much. A loaner car makes up the difference very quickly. -as stated before – I love the car (when it works). Handled great, good brakes, loved driving it. But you can’t fault someone for being turned off to a brand when everything goes wrong. Yes – I get it happens with other brands but I can’t foresee myself ever willingly paying a ton of money for a paperweight – and then going back for more.
Further Update: I am 0/7 with calls into independent shops to fix this problem. No one will do the oil sensor change (due the sensor breaking under their warranty period and having to redo the whole thing). Multiple techs today said they are scratching their head as to why this generation of sensors was never the subject of a recall.
Another update: talked to a couple more shops. Multiple shops claim there is a rumor / they are expecting Mercedes to recall this sensor shortly. Fingers crossed. If not – sounds like there is enough for a class action.
