2003 Mercedes Benz E500 complaints

WHILE DRIVING, RADIATOR FLUID LEAKED INTO THE TRANSMISSION WHICH CAUSES VIBRATIONS FROM THE REAR OF THE CAR. THE LEAK ALSO CREATED A JERKING PROBLEM WHILE ACCELERATING IN THE LOW GEARS. THE ISSUE WITH THE FAULTY RADIATOR IS GOING TO TAKE OVER $10,000 TO REPAIR.

AIRMATIC SUSPENSION LEAK CAUSED CALL TO PULL TO ONE SIDE. COULD HAVE PULLED ME LEFT OF CENTER, LUCKILY, ON A SIDE STREET AT FAILURE POINT. NO WARNING AT ALL. CAR DEPICTED "STOP, VEHICLE TOO LOW" AS WARNING IN DASH AFTER THE FAILURE. CAR REQUIRED TOWING. VEHICLE HAS 61000 MILES ON IT. FRIENDS AT WORK HAVE SIMILAR CAR AND MOST HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS FAILURE. *TR

I WAS TRAVELING ON I-65 FROM LAFAYETTE TO INDIANAPOLIS IN MY 2003 E-500 MERCEDES- BENZ. DRIVING AT HIGHWAY'S POSTED 70 MPH SPEED THE CAR SUDDENLY PULLED FROM THE FAST, LEFT LINE THAT I WAS TRAVELING INTO THE RIGHT LINE CASING THE OTHER VEHICLE TRAVELING ON THE RIGHT LINE TO TURN INTO AN EMERGENCY SHOULDER AND CONSEQUENTLY IN TO THE DITCH IN COLLISION AVOIDANCE MANEUVER. THE REASON FOR MY VEHICLE'S SUDDEN CHANGE IN STEERING AND HANDLING CHARACTERISTIC WAS AN UNEXPECTED, INSTANTANEOUS FAILURE OF AN AIR STRUT ON THE FRONT/RIGHT SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. MY ON BOARD COMPUTER NEVER INDICATED ANY MALFUNCTIONS UNTIL THE MOMENT OF AN ACTUAL INCIDENT. MY CAR IS WELL, DEALER MAINTAINED 2003 MERCEDES E-500 WITH ONLY 36,000 ORIGINAL MILES. THE M-B DEALER NEVER INDICATED A NEED TO REPLACE AIR SHOCKS FOR ANY REASONS. AFTER THE NEAR COLLISION EXPERIENCE I HAVE RESEARCHED AN INTERNET AND LEARNED THAT THE PREMATURE AIR SHOCKS FAILURE IS A VERY FREQUENT OCCURRENCE AMONG THE OWNERS OF MB VEHICLES WITH AIR SUSPENSION. I'M AN ORIGINAL OWNER OF E-500 AND AFTER THIS TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE I HAVE LOST A CONFIDENCE IN SAFETY OF THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE BECAUSE THE OTHER SHOCKS/STRUTS COULD SUDDENLY FAIL THE SAME WAY THE FIRST ONE DID. ARE THE AIR STRUTS ARE HAVING A DESIGN/MANUFACTURING DEFECT? THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND LOCAL DEALER IS ASKING OVER $ 1800 TO REPLACE A STRUT. THANK YOU. *TR

BRAKE PUMP FAILURE ON 2003 MERCEDES E500, NO ACCIDENT, LOWER BRAKING POWER, LONG DISTANCE FOR BRAKING, WARNING MESSAGE ON DASH. HAS NOT HAPPENED AGAIN. DEALER INFORMED THAT SINCE VEHICLE HAS A SALVAGE TITLE, THE RECALL CAMPAIGN WILL NOT BE PERFORMED WITHOUT COST. CAMPAIGN 2005 070007. *TR

THE WINDSHIELD WIPER RESERVOIR FLUID LEAKS AND ALSO CAUSING WARNING MESSAGE TO APPEAR ON THE DASHBOARD. NO EVENT CAUSED IT TO CRACK OR LEAK. HAD CALLED MERCEDES DEALERSHIP AND SERVICE ADVISER HAD SAID MANY OTHER INCIDENTS OF THIS NATURE HAS OCCURRED. NO CONSEQUENCES HAS HAPPENED FROM THE LEAK BUT IN A LUXURY CAR IT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. NO CORRECTIVE ACTION HAS BEEN DONE BUT DEALERSHIP COULD ONLY REPLACE IT AT A COST. *TR

I OWN A 2003 MERCEDES E-500. BOTH SUN VISORS FAILED IN 2007 AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME. THEY SIMPLY SEIZED IN PLACE AND CAN NOT BE MOVED. MERCEDES HAD REFUSED TO REPAIR THE VISORS AS PART OF THE WARRANTY CITING MILEAGE LIMITATIONS. THE REPAIR COST IS OVER $800. I THINK VISORS AND OTHER INTERIOR EQUIPMENTS SHOULD LAST MORE THAN 4 YEARS! *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 12 IN BATON ROUGE, A DUMP TRUCK MERGED INTO TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF ME SPREADING SMALL ROCK SIZED DEBRIS EVERYWHERE. I DECIDED TO TAKE THE EXIT BEFORE MY PLANNED EXIT IN EFFORT TO AVOID ANY POSSIBLE DAMAGE. I AVOIDED QUARTER SIZE ROCKS BY DRIVING SLIGHTLY ONTO THE SHOULDER WHERE I EXPERIENCED THE VIBRATION CREATED FROM THE SHOULDER GROOVES IN THE ROAD AND ONE SMALL RAISED BUMP FROM THE BLACKTOP. THIS LASTED A SPLIT SECOND AND THEN BAM!, THE DRIVER SIDE CURTAIN AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. I BECAME IMMEDIATELY DISORIENTED AS TO THE NATURE OF THE EVENTS. I PULLED OVER AND EXAMINED ANY DAMAGE TO THE EXTERIOR. THERE WAS NONE OTHER THAN SOME WINDSHIELD DINGS AND HOOD CHIPS TO THE PAINT. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE ABOUT ONE MILE HOME AND CONTACTED MY INSURANCE COMPANY. I DID NOT HIT ANY DEBRIS TO MY KNOWLEDGE NOR DID ANYTHING OTHER THAN SMALL ROCKS HIT MY CAR. I FEEL CONFIDENT THE RAISED BUMP ON THE BLACKTOP, GIVEN SIZE AND HEIGHT OF THE BUMP, SURELY COULD NOT CAUSE FOR THIS THE AIR BAGS TO DEPLOY. *TR

2003 E500 WITH 64000MLS, MY FRONT AIR SUSPENSION STRUT BOTTOMED OUT FAILED WILE DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEED.TOOK THE CAR TO MERCEDES AND IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY; WE REPLACED THE 2 FRONT SHOCKS AND COMPRESSOR BUT 3 WEEKS LATER MY BACK SHOCKS FAILED TO. TOTAL COST O REPAIRS $3500 AND STILL NOT DRIVING ALRIGHT HARSH DRIVING AND LOTS OF VIBRATION. *TR

2003 E500 MERCEDES WITH A 60,000 MLS AT THE TIME THE AIR CONTROL IN THE BACK STARTED TO ACT BY IT SELF TURNING THE HEATER ON AT HIGH; IT WAS POSSIBLE TO RESET BY THE FRONT CONTROL BUT IT WOULD GO BACK A COUPLE OF TIMES IN THE DAY. KNOW THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT OF THE CAR HAS FAILED; REPAIR COST $2200 AND 2 WEEKS IN THE SHOP. *TR

DRIVING ON CITY SURFACE STREET. CAME TO FOUR WAY STOP. HEARD A POP LIKE THAT OF A TIRE OR BALLOON. CAR STARED TO MAKE WHISTLING NOISE. PULLED OVER AND SAW LEFT FRONT AIR SUSPENSION STRUT BOTTOMED OUT. TOWED TO DEALER AND ADVISED THAT LEFT FRONT AIRMATIC HYDROPNEMATIC STRUCT HAD FAILED. THAT AIR BLADDER HAD BLOWN. FURTHER THAT AIRMATIC COMPRESSOR WAS BURNED OUT. I HAD DRIVEN A TOTAL OF 50 YARDS FROM BLOW OUT. TOTAL PARTS AND LABOR OVER $2,500.00 FROM MERCEDES BENZ OF WALNUT CREEK. *TR

THE ORIGINAL RADIATOR FOR THE 2003 MERCEDES BENZ E500 LEAKS COOLANT INTO THE TRANSMISSION AND TORQUE CONVERTER, CAUSING THE CAR TO JERK AND JUMP. THE COOLANT IN THE TRANSMISSION ACTS AS AN CONTAINMENT AND RUINS THE TRANSMISSION AND TORQUE CONVERTER, WHICH LATER WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED, ALONG WITH THE RADIATOR. THESE THREE MAJOR PART INCLUDING GASKETS, HOSES, AND LABOR ARE EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. THE DEALERSHIP IS STATING THAT THE ONLY THING THAT CAN BE DONE TO FIX THIS PROBLEM IS TO REPLACE ALL THREE COMPONENTS AT OWNER'S EXPENSE. *TR

I HAVE A MERCEDES-BENZ 2003 E500 THAT HAS A DEFECTIVE VALEO RADIATOR THAT CAUSED GLYCOL CONTAMINATION LEAKAGE INTO THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID. MY UN-DRIVABLE CAR NOW HAS TRANSMISSION FAILURE BECAUSE OF POWER LOSS WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEEDS. INABILITY TO ACCELERATE OR KEEP UP THE MINIMUM SPEED OF THE POSTED HIGHWAY SIGNS IS COMMON. I ASKED MBUSA ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND INITIALLY THEY REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM EXISTED. AFTER FINDING TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN P-B-27.55/50F DATED MARCH 24, 2006 THEY ACKNOWLEDGED THE DEFECT BUT DENIED ANY ASSISTANCE TO ME, LEAVING IT UP TO A LOCAL DEALER TO HANDLE THE MATTER. THE LOCAL DEALER WOULD NOT ASSIST ME EXCEPT PERFORMING THE $200 GLYCOL BULLETIN TEST AND DESCRIBED THE COST FOR REPAIRS. MY CAR GLYCOL CONTAMINATION TEST RESULT COMPARED TO THE CHART WAS DEEP PURPLE AS A RESULT OF THE GLYCOL AND TRANSMISSION FLUID CONTAMINATION LEVEL BEING ABOVE 400 MG/LITER WHICH IS THE WORST CASE SCENARIO OF RUSTED TRANSMISSION AND SHOWING GLYCOL CONTAMINATION STARTED MONTHS EARLIER TO THE NOTICEABLE PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR. ALSO THE BULLETIN OUTLINES TEST KITS SOLD TO DEALERSHIPS IN PACKS OF 30'S. THE BULLETIN ALSO SAYS THAT THE PROBLEM IS NOT INTERMITTENT AND CAN BE REPRODUCED AT ALL TIMES. THIS PROBLEM IS WIDE SPREAD AND NEEDS TO BE A RECALL DUE TO POWER LOSS WHILE DRIVING. *TR

I PURCHASED A 2003 MERCEDES BENZ E500 WHICH WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR MY TRANSMISSION STARTED LOSING POWER ON THE EXPRESSWAY AND MAKING A LOUD ROAR FROM THE BACK OF THE CAR. THE CAR THEN STARTED STUTTERING WHILE AT 60MPH WHICH POSED A DANGER TO MYSELF , MY FAMILY, AND CARS AROUND ME. THIS PROBLEM ALMOST CAUSED CARS BEHIND ME TO HIT ME BECAUSE OF THE SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER. I IMMEDIATELY TOOK MY CAR TO THE SHOP AND IT TURNED OUT THAT GLYCOL LEAKED INTO MY TRANSMISSION DUE TO A FAULTY VALEO RADIATOR IN MY 2003 MERCEDES E500. I WAS TOLD THE TRANS WAS COMPLETELY SHOT AND HAD TO PAY OVER 10K FOR THE TRANS, TORQUE CONVERTER, AND THE RADIATOR. THE MECHANIC ALSO SHOWED ME A TECH BULLETIN P-B-27.55/50F AND THAT THIS PROBLEM IS WIDESPREAD. WHEN I BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF THE MERCEDES DEALER THEY WANTED TO CHARGE ME DOUBLE OF WHAT MY MECHANIC CHARGE ME AND I COULDN'T AFFORD IT. THEY DID NOT OFFER TO FIX THE PROBLEM FOR FREE EVEN THOUGH THEIR RADIATOR WAS FAULTY. MY CAR ONLY HAD 30,000 MILES AT THE TIME OF THE TRANS GOING OUT ON ME. THIS WAS A DANGEROUS MECHANICAL FAILURE AS THE CAR LOOSES POWER AND CAN CAUSE SERIOUS DAMAGES IF THERE IS NOT A RECALL ACTION TAKEN. *TR

MY CAR (2003 MERCEDES E500) HAS HAD 3 OF THE 4 AIRMATIC SHOCKS FAIL IN 50K MILES. EACH TIME, THE CAR IS NOT DRIVABLE AND MUST BE TOWED. TWO OF THE FAILURES OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING. THE FRONT WHEELS CANNOT BE TURNED WHEN THIS OCCURS WITHOUT DAMAGE TO THE FENDER A DANGEROUS SITUATION. 1 OF THE REPAIRS WAS PERFORMED UNDER WARRANTY. THE OTHER TWO REPAIRS COST $3000. CALLS TO THE DEALER AND MERCEDES BENZ OF NORTH AMERICA TO REQUEST A WARRANTY REPAIR WERE REFUSED. REVIEW OF ONLINE FORUMS FOR MB OWNERS INDICATES MANY OWNERS EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM. *TR

MERCEDES BENZ E500 AIRMATIC STRUT COLLAPSE. LOW MILEAGE: 43000 AT TIME OF FAILURE. DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED WHEN STRUT FAILED. CAR LEANED TO RIGHT & MADE AN EMERGENCY STOP. MERCEDES BENZ CHARGED $1100 FOR REPLACEMENT PART, I INSTALLED. IT APPEARS TO BE A DESIGN FLAW: PROTECTIVE BELLOWS FAILS & CONTAMINATES AIR BAG. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MERCEDES BENZ E500. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG AND THE DRIVER SIDE FRONTAL AIR BAG DEPLOYED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY WITH THE DEALER, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 54,847.

INTERMITTENT PROBLEM WITH BRAKES. PEDAL HAS EXCESSIVE TRAVEL AND STOPPING DISTANCE IS NOTICEABLY INCREASED. IT SEEMS TO FIT INTO THE PROBLEMS LISTED WITH TWO RECALLS ON 2003 E500. 04V296000 AND 05V133000. CONTACTED MERCEDES AND WAS TOLD NEVER HEARD OF THIS CONDITION, THEN I GAVE THEM THE RECALL NUMBERS. I WAS THEN PUT ON HOLD FOR APPROX. 20 MINUTES AND THEN WAS TOLD NO OPEN RECALL ON THIS UNIT,AND I SHOULD CONTACT DEALER FOR ASSISTANCE. CONTACTED DEALER AND WAS TOLD TO CONTACT MERCEDES HOTLINE BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT HELP. CONTACTED MERCEDES AGAIN TO BE TOLD TO SEE DEALER. I ALSO ASKED IF IT COULD BE CHECKED OR TESTED TO SEE IF THE PROBLEM WAS WHAT THE RECALL LISTED AND IF SO POSSIBLY GET SOME ASSISTANCE FROM MERCEDES. AND IF IT WAS A DIFFERENT PROBLEM THEN CHARGE ME. THE DEALER SAID NO,AND IF I WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH THEIR ANSWER MAYBE I SHOULD SEE AN ATTORNEY. CERTAINLY SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF TROUBLE TO SEE IF THIS PROBLEM IS RELATED TO THEIR RECALL. *TR

I OWN A MB 2003 E500. WHEN APPLYING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL THE CAR WOULD JERK BACK AND FORTH LIKE THE CAR IS STALLING FOR NO LONG THAN COUPLE SECS OR LESS. I'VE ONLY NOTICED THIS HAPPENS AT LOW ROLLING SPEEDS. THIS HAS HAPPENED RANDOMLY NUMEROUS TIMES AND I HAVE YET TO FIND A PATTERN. I BROUGHT THIS TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY CAN'T REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM. *TR

DRIVING VEHICLE IN HEAVY TRAFFIC STEPPED ON THE BRAKE AND BRAKE FAILURE. WARNING INDICATED COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE STOP IMMEDIATELY. PEDAL PRESSURE WAS EXCESSIVELY HIGH RESULTING IN VERY LONG STOPPING DISTANCE. PROBLEM SELF CLEARED BUT THEN REPEATED WITH LITTLE BRAKING AND VERY HIGH PEDAL FORCE. *TR

EXCESSIVE VIBRATION WHILE DRIVING AND TIRE WEAR RESULTING IN INCREASED HYDROPLANING. *JB

BRAKES SQUEAL IN CONSUMER'S 2003 MERCEDES BENZ 3500. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES FOR REPAIR. THE DEALER HAS REPLACED THE ENGINE MOUNT, UPDATED SOFTWARE, REPLACED CALIPER,REPLACED FRONT AND REAR BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS AS WELL AS CHANGED A SPRING CLIP. PROBLEM STILL PERSIST. *TS *NM

I HAD AN ACCIDENT TODAY THE 20TH OF SEPTEMBER WHERE ANOTHER CAR CRASHED INTO ME CAUSED CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE TO THE FRONT. THE OTHER CAR WAS GOING AT LEAST 40-50 MPH. THE OTHER CAR WAS NOT AS DAMAGED AS MINE AND NO INJURIES RESULTED YET. I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THE AIRBAG SYSTEM DID NOT ENGAGE. *NM

DT: THE CONSUMER SAYS THAT ON OCT. 21 2004 HE TOOK HIS VEHICLE IN FOR A SAFETY RECALL TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. THE CAMPAIGN NUMBER IS 2004050014-SBS. THE RECALL WAS REGARDING THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT. THE LINE FROM THE BRAKE FLUID LOOKS AS THOUGH IT HAS BEEN CUT AND IT LOOKED LIKE ELECTRICAL TAPE HAD BEEN PLACED AROUND IT WERE THE CUT WAS LOCATED. HE TALKED TO MERCEDES AND THEY HAVE NOT GOTTEN BACK WITH HIM YET. HE HAS ALSO REPLACED THE INSTRUMENT UNIT WHICH CONTROLS ALL THE LIGHTS. *JB

ON MARCH 31,2005 ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL NEWS,THE CRYSLER COMPANY SAID IT WOULD INSTALL BATTERY CONTROL SOFTWARE ON THE E-CLASS AND CLS-CLASS MODELS BUILT FROM JANUARY 2002-JANUARY 2005. THE COMPANY ALSO SAID THE BRAKING SYSTEM ON THE E, SL AND CLS-CLASS MADE SINCE JUNE 2001 WOULD BE UPDATED. MY CAR HAD BATTERY PROBLEM PRIOR TO THE NEWS, SOMEHOW THEY FIX IT BUT NOT THE SOFTWARE. UP TO PRESENT, I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY RECALL LETTER FROM THE COMPANY DESPITE OF THE NEWS, DESPITE THAT MY CAR IS AFFECTED (I HAD CHECKED WITHTHE COMPANY REGARDING MY VIN # AND CONFIRMED THAT IT IS AFFECTED ). I DO NOT KNOW WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE TO START RECALLING AND FIXING THE PROBLEM BEFORE ANY INCIDENT WILL HAPPEN. IT HAPPEN TO ME ON THE HYDRAULIC BRAKE SYSTEM IN WHICH MY CAR JUST STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, WHICH I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. THE IRONY IS THAT ,THAT DAY I RECEIVED THE RECALL LETTER AFTER THE FACT. AT THAT TIME, I BELIEVE THAT THE COMPANY KNEW ABOUT THE PROBLEM 5 MONTHS PRIOR. PLEASE ASSIST WITH THIS PROBLEM.

WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS A VERY LOUD NOISE CAME M THE ENGINE. WHEN TAKEN VEHICLE TO DEALER FOR SERVICE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE NOISE WAS DUE TO DEFECTIVE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. *AK