Mercedes C class Diesel 7 years old Blown Engine
Discussion
Hi I have just experienced my 7 year old Mercedes C class with only 57,000 miles on the clock blowing the engine apart with absolutely no warning whilst in the fast lane of the M3.
I had intended to keep the car for another 5 years at least and have had it serviced every year so has been a mighty surprise that the engine would blow up with no warning.
I have spoken to Mercedes and they have helpfully advised this is wear and tear so tough luck not the response I expected from a supposedly premium brand!
The cost of replacing the engine is not viable so have sold it for salvage and am seriously out of pocket.
Just wanted to know if this is a common problem or was I just unlucky?
Needless to say will never buy a Mercedes ever again but they do not seem bothered
Any comments or views greatfully received
Cheers
Stuart
I had intended to keep the car for another 5 years at least and have had it serviced every year so has been a mighty surprise that the engine would blow up with no warning.
I have spoken to Mercedes and they have helpfully advised this is wear and tear so tough luck not the response I expected from a supposedly premium brand!
The cost of replacing the engine is not viable so have sold it for salvage and am seriously out of pocket.
Just wanted to know if this is a common problem or was I just unlucky?
Needless to say will never buy a Mercedes ever again but they do not seem bothered
Any comments or views greatfully received
Cheers
Stuart
What engine, the 220 Cdi or 320/350Cdi?
I have had one C220Cdi and three E220 Cdi's and they all did big mileages, the C class did 160k and the E classes all over 300k with no issues, so I would say it's pretty unusual for one to let go at such a low mileage.
Do you know why it self destructed?
There have been a few issues with stretched timing chains but a minute % in relation to the number of Merc diesels on the road.
I have had one C220Cdi and three E220 Cdi's and they all did big mileages, the C class did 160k and the E classes all over 300k with no issues, so I would say it's pretty unusual for one to let go at such a low mileage.
Do you know why it self destructed?
There have been a few issues with stretched timing chains but a minute % in relation to the number of Merc diesels on the road.
OP we need more info.
The Mercedes was 7 years old - what did you expect Mercedes to offer you ?
How many owners has the car had ? Have you had it from new ?
The answer to the last question will give a clearer picture. If you bought this car new from Mercedes and you are the only owner then yes, they will have potentially lost a customer from buying their next NEW Mercedes, however as its 7 years old now and you planned on keeping it a further 5, I doubt they will lose sleep over a a customer who returns every 12 years.
If YOU didnt buy the car new from Mercedes and say to Mercedes they have lost a customer - have they ?
The Mercedes was 7 years old - what did you expect Mercedes to offer you ?
How many owners has the car had ? Have you had it from new ?
The answer to the last question will give a clearer picture. If you bought this car new from Mercedes and you are the only owner then yes, they will have potentially lost a customer from buying their next NEW Mercedes, however as its 7 years old now and you planned on keeping it a further 5, I doubt they will lose sleep over a a customer who returns every 12 years.
If YOU didnt buy the car new from Mercedes and say to Mercedes they have lost a customer - have they ?
Monkeylegend said:
There have been a few issues with stretched timing chains but a minute % in relation to the number of Merc diesels on the road.
Not heard of that on diesels.I have a C Class and the only 'early' engine failure I can think of was someone who bought a C Class from auction and turned out it was being sold at auction because it had never been serviced.
I ran mine with a warranty until it was 11yrs old though - I wouldn't have a modern diesel without the safety net of a warranty in place, although I can appreciate that getting them to pay out on a catastrophic engine failure isn't likely to be straightforward.
Have I missed something? Where does it say it's a diesel? Statistically, the chances are that it is, but is it?
As already mentioned, too little information to enable anybody to offer meaningful advice.
Apart from the obvious, ie engine, service history (by whom), when was oil level last checked etc. etc., what has actually happened?
Crankshaft broken, conrod through the block, timing chain slipped/snapped, ingested a foreign object, head gasket gone (is it a C63 with stretched headbolts?).
With a lot more information you stand more chance of a realistic response other than 'sue them' which is often the response on PH.
(Oh, and it's the outside lane, not the fast lane, but that probably isn't a helpful comment at the moment.)
Generally, an engine should last for more than 57,000 miles but so much will depend on how it's been treated / serviced during those 57,000 miles. You're most unlikely to even get an acknowledgement from MB unless it has a full MB service history, as per their schedule, even down to the pollen filter being changed at the correct time. Nothing to do with the engine, but just wriggle room for them.
As already mentioned, too little information to enable anybody to offer meaningful advice.
Apart from the obvious, ie engine, service history (by whom), when was oil level last checked etc. etc., what has actually happened?
Crankshaft broken, conrod through the block, timing chain slipped/snapped, ingested a foreign object, head gasket gone (is it a C63 with stretched headbolts?).
With a lot more information you stand more chance of a realistic response other than 'sue them' which is often the response on PH.
(Oh, and it's the outside lane, not the fast lane, but that probably isn't a helpful comment at the moment.)
Generally, an engine should last for more than 57,000 miles but so much will depend on how it's been treated / serviced during those 57,000 miles. You're most unlikely to even get an acknowledgement from MB unless it has a full MB service history, as per their schedule, even down to the pollen filter being changed at the correct time. Nothing to do with the engine, but just wriggle room for them.
I reckon that variant of 220 diesel engine is probably one the highest 'cumulative milers' of all time. Used in hundreds of thousands of taxis globally as well as large number of C-Classes and E-Classes over a number of years.
Pretty unlucky to get a duff one - but as others have said, we don't know the precise service history, what oil was used and what exactly failed and why.
Pretty unlucky to get a duff one - but as others have said, we don't know the precise service history, what oil was used and what exactly failed and why.
How long is the manufacturer warranty on a Mercedes of that vintage?
Manufacturer warranties are 3 yrs or 5 yrs or whatever, for a reason.
If it's out of warranty, then it's out of warranty, how long would you expect Mercedes to guarantee your car for?, 10 years, 12, 15?
Like any consumer product, warranties are not for life.
Manufacturer warranties are 3 yrs or 5 yrs or whatever, for a reason.
If it's out of warranty, then it's out of warranty, how long would you expect Mercedes to guarantee your car for?, 10 years, 12, 15?
Like any consumer product, warranties are not for life.
Hi thanks for the various comments and just to confirm the engine was the 220 diesel.
I am the second owner and bought the car from Mercedes at a year old with it being serviced every year for the first 4 years at Mercedes.
Have been advised the timing chain broke and this resulted in the engine blowing up.
Agree that I am not a regular customer of Mercedes and am sure they will have others that will buy cars in the future.
Just unlucky really and have to put this down to experience but will never buy another Mercedes .
The positive parts of this experience Green flag recovery brilliant and the salvage company excellent
Thanks for your comments it is much appreciated
I am the second owner and bought the car from Mercedes at a year old with it being serviced every year for the first 4 years at Mercedes.
Have been advised the timing chain broke and this resulted in the engine blowing up.
Agree that I am not a regular customer of Mercedes and am sure they will have others that will buy cars in the future.
Just unlucky really and have to put this down to experience but will never buy another Mercedes .
The positive parts of this experience Green flag recovery brilliant and the salvage company excellent
Thanks for your comments it is much appreciated
The upgrade that Merc carried out to the 4 cylinder diesels in 2010 was in some ways a backward step regards to reliability.
The earlier engine had a double row chain at the front of the engine and this was ditched in favour of a single row chain at the rear.
On the Merc forums this has been discussed at length and there are videos and pictures of the chain problem.
One picture even show s a segment of the cam sprocket missing even tho the car still ran.
Some of these engine s do very high mileage but these tend to be used on Motorway's or Minicabs s
It may well be the excessive use of stopstart as this keeps dropping the oil pressure to the chain tensioner.
If buying a car fitted with this engine be sure to make certain the engine is stone cold and with the bonnet open listen for any rattle from the rear of the engine on starting.
Other problems were faulty injectors and leaks from the inlet manifold.
The earlier engine had a double row chain at the front of the engine and this was ditched in favour of a single row chain at the rear.
On the Merc forums this has been discussed at length and there are videos and pictures of the chain problem.
One picture even show s a segment of the cam sprocket missing even tho the car still ran.
Some of these engine s do very high mileage but these tend to be used on Motorway's or Minicabs s
It may well be the excessive use of stopstart as this keeps dropping the oil pressure to the chain tensioner.
If buying a car fitted with this engine be sure to make certain the engine is stone cold and with the bonnet open listen for any rattle from the rear of the engine on starting.
Other problems were faulty injectors and leaks from the inlet manifold.
Mukka3 said:
Hi thanks for the various comments and just to confirm the engine was the 220 diesel.
I am the second owner and bought the car from Mercedes at a year old with it being serviced every year for the first 4 years at Mercedes.
Have been advised the timing chain broke and this resulted in the engine blowing up.
Agree that I am not a regular customer of Mercedes and am sure they will have others that will buy cars in the future.
Just unlucky really and have to put this down to experience but will never buy another Mercedes .
The positive parts of this experience Green flag recovery brilliant and the salvage company excellent
Thanks for your comments it is much appreciated
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xc220+cdi+engine.TRS0&_nkw=c220+cdi+engine&_sacat=0I am the second owner and bought the car from Mercedes at a year old with it being serviced every year for the first 4 years at Mercedes.
Have been advised the timing chain broke and this resulted in the engine blowing up.
Agree that I am not a regular customer of Mercedes and am sure they will have others that will buy cars in the future.
Just unlucky really and have to put this down to experience but will never buy another Mercedes .
The positive parts of this experience Green flag recovery brilliant and the salvage company excellent
Thanks for your comments it is much appreciated
Mukka3 said:
I am the second owner and bought the car from Mercedes at a year old with it being serviced every year for the first 4 years at Mercedes.
Two potential ways of reading this:1 - It's 7 years old, and hasn't been serviced for the last 3 years, are you at all surprised it broke?
2 - Mercedes haven't seen the car (or any money from the car) for the last 3 years, are you at all surprised they don't give a s
t?Cars are piles of literally thousands of parts, all manufactured from different materials, in different factories, assembled into components in different places and turned into a car at the end. They have warranties because understandably that process sometimes doesn't always work quite as well as we'd like. Manufacturers offer extended warranty packages (mechanical failure insurance policies, effectively) to enable customers to drive the cars "safe" in the knowledge that "they won't be responsible for any significant repair bills". For those who are good customers, who come back every year (or every service if it's more regular than that) they may even off-warranty "goodwill" as the cost is worth it to them to retain that customer.
You bought a barely-got-any-margin-in-it used car, serviced it for a few years, disappeared off the face of the earth, and came back with a very broken car wanting something done about it. I'm afraid my sympathy at this point is very, very thin on the ground.
Thanks for your comments and your point of view but would be helpful if you actually read my first post stating the car has been serviced every year at either Mercedes or a local specialist of 40 years.
All I am saying is that I expect more from Mercedes as a premium brand and major components not to fail if the car is serviced regularly.
I have had more reliable Fiat Uno’s /Jeep Cherokee and crap Audi A6 than this car which cost considerably more to purchase and run.
I agree I am not a money stream to Mercedes and as a customer will spend my money elsewhere on more reliable cars in my view the prestige brand of Mercedes is fading fast.
All I am saying is that I expect more from Mercedes as a premium brand and major components not to fail if the car is serviced regularly.
I have had more reliable Fiat Uno’s /Jeep Cherokee and crap Audi A6 than this car which cost considerably more to purchase and run.
I agree I am not a money stream to Mercedes and as a customer will spend my money elsewhere on more reliable cars in my view the prestige brand of Mercedes is fading fast.
Mukka3 said:
I have had more reliable Fiat Uno’s /Jeep Cherokee and crap Audi A6 than this car which cost considerably more to purchase and run.
It's just random chance unfortunately - there's a thread on here from someone with a 4yr old A6 he bought privately and he's looking at towards £10K for a new DSG box.My C Class is the prior engine with the duplex chain - must admit I wasn't aware it had changed on later models, I thought it was only the petrols, which always had a single chain, that gave issues.
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