SL500 ownership - year 1

[khushy]

Well its been a year since we bought our SL500 (2003) and in the 20,000 miles we have covered I have to say it generally been a pleasure.

We have had 2 services and a bit of Warranty work . . .

Last week - I noticed (as I drove away from our Merc Garage) a banging sound - I stopped and tried to find out what it was and then carried on down the road - the banging just continued and I quickly located it to the FUEL TANK!!!!

Anyway - went back to the Garage who immediately said that there have been some issues with something coming loose in the fuel tank - my warranty runs out this week luckily - and that Merc would obvioulsy cover it under warranty - anyway - all the work has been done - no worries - thanks Merc WSM - they are great.

So the only other issue I have with the car - ever since we picked it up - is that when you get up to motorway speeds the whole car starts to vibrate - we have balanced all the wheels several times - had new tyres put on - changed the wheels - but it makes no difference!!!

VERY annoying - livable - but annoying and we are still no clearer as to the cause - any suggestions would be welcome.

Now we come to decision time to renew the Merc Warranty or take a risk???

At £1400 its not cheap - but if one suspension leg fails thats £1500 at least - the fuel tank must have been about £2500 all in to change etc etc so I will probably go for it - 3 more days to save up and decide.

I have had other Warranty Quotes - but I am certain that their cover (whatever they say) will not be as comprehensive and they will try and wiggle out as best they can.

Comments/suggestions on the vibration - much appreciated - Khushy

Edited by khushy on Monday 2nd June 09:39

[paoloh]

khushy said:

Well its been a year since we bought our SL500 (2003) and in the 20,000 miles we have covered I have to say it generally been a pleasure.

We have had 2 services and a bit of Warranty work . . .

Last week - I noticed (as I drove away from our Merc Garage) a banging sound - I stopped and tried to find out what it was and then carried on down the road - the banging just continued and I quickly located it to the FUEL TANK!!!!

Anyway - went back to the Garage who immediately said that there have been some issues with something coming loose in the fuel tank - my warranty runs out this week luckily - and that Merc would obvioulsy cover it under warranty - anyway - all the work has been done - no worries - thanks Merc WSM - they are great.

So the only other issue I have with the car - ever since we picked it up - is that when you get up to motorway speeds the whole car starts to vibrate - we have balanced all the wheels several times - had new tyres put on - changed the wheels - but it makes no difference!!!

VERY annoying - livable - but annoying and we are still no clearer as to the cause - any suggestions would be welcome.

Now we come to decision time to renew the Merc Warranty or take a risk???

At £1400 its not cheap - but if one suspension leg fails thats £1500 at least - the fuel tank must have been about £2500 all in to change etc etc so I will probably go for it - 3 more days to save up and decide.

I have had other Warranty Quotes - but I am certain that their cover (whatever they say) will not be as comprehensive and they will try and wiggle out as best they can.

Comments/suggestions on the vibration - much appreciated - Khushy

Edited by khushy on Monday 2nd June 09:39

My local Merc dealer do a service package that you pay for monthly and includes all servicing and warranty. Works out about the same as a standard warranty.

As for vibration, Buckled wheel?

[Limahl]

Is the vibration on normal driving or when braking etc

Brendan

[khushy]

Vibration is NOTHING to do with Wheels or tyres - I have had new tyres and new wheels!!!!G

The vibration is constant at m'way speeds - not on acceleration or braking.

As for the warranty/service package - I dont think its available for cars after a certain year or model - when I enquired about this they said no!

khushy

Edited by khushy on Monday 2nd June 11:30

[markbe]

khushy said:

Vibration is NOTHING to do with Wheels or tyres - I have had new tyres and new wheels!!!!G

The vibration is constant at m'way speeds - not on acceleration or braking.

As for the warranty/service package - I dont think its available for cars after a certain year or model - when I enquired about this they said no!

khushy

Edited by khushy on Monday 2nd June 11:30

Possibly rear gearbox mounting or bush or prop-shaft U/J.
I also had new wheels on my S600 and one of them went oval in 100miles!!! so
also have them carefully checked again.

Mark.

[After Eight]

My friend had an SL and he had the same problem, the dealer said they all do it, so he ended up selling it. Has yours always done this at motorway speeds?

[khushy]

it has done this ever since I have had the car (12 months) the dealer that I use had an SL on the forecourt - they took that out for a test drive as a comparison and . . . .

it did exactly the same!!!!

Anyway - I have already spoken to them and they will have a good look at the prop and the mountings - the vibration seems to come from th rear of the car!!!

Please keep suggestions coming in - most useful - thanks.

khushy

[cptsideways]

Wheels might be balanced but are they round!! When they balance them they often do them under a plastic cover on the macahine, they could be very wobbly. What tyres are they & how old are they? (date code in stamp on side)

[Howitzer]

On my 500E I just cured this exact problem by replacing both propshaft donuts.

Dave!

[khushy]

the wheels are perfect - as I have said already - I have checked them myself!

My Merc dealership have ordered a new prop and are going to have a good look at the bearings and the mounts and I will get them to also look at the donuts (although I am sure they have seen plenty before) - thanks again for all the comments and suggestions so far.

PLEASE GIVE UP ON THE "ARE YOU SURE THE WHEELS ARE ROUND" STUFF!!!

LOL

khushy

[Howitzer]

A new prop?

Does the SL500 not use propshaft doughnuts to connect to the engine, Diff etc?

I queried this with my local place as the diagram shows 1 Doughnut seperate and 1 on the prop, but the part numbers for each end are the same and they have worked fine.

Dave!

[Lewy]

After Eight said:

My friend had an SL and he had the same problem, the dealer said they all do it, so he ended up selling it. Has yours always done this at motorway speeds?

Never had any vibration at any speed when i had my SL500 so hope you get to the route of the cause.

[Andy G Bmth]

Off subject, could someone help me and check their fusebox to see if there is a space for another big yellow fuse thing (technical i know!!)

i have a couple of electrical item that arn't working and am wondering if there is one missing. the items are both fold seat button on the seat shoulder, the dropping of the passenger mirror, moving the seat back for easy entry and fold mirrors in when locking despite all of these being set up to.

i'm hoping its just a fuse issue rather than a controller

cheers

Andy

[khushy]

why dont you start a new thread?

[carrotchomper]

khushy said:

why dont you start a new thread?

Oooh, thread possessiveness!

[mickyveloce]

Had the symptoms you described been in relation to a C class or E class ( older model) then I`d have said that the steering damper had worn out .

Mercs fitted with the traditional steering box (as opposed to rack and pinion) are equipped with a steering damper (which costs about 30-40 pounds from Merc ) . It`s a very simple operation to replace them and the major symptom of their failing is the vibration at 70mph .

As I`m not an expert on the SL500 you have then this could have been a complete red herring (!)

MickyVeloce

[khushy]

carrotchomper said:

khushy said:

why dont you start a new thread?

Oooh, thread possessiveness!

not really - this problem seems to affect a few cars so why go off topic with something completely different?

khushy

[khushy]

mickyveloce said:

Had the symptoms you described been in relation to a C class or E class ( older model) then I`d have said that the steering damper had worn out .

Mercs fitted with the traditional steering box (as opposed to rack and pinion) are equipped with a steering damper (which costs about 30-40 pounds from Merc ) . It`s a very simple operation to replace them and the major symptom of their failing is the vibration at 70mph .

As I`m not an expert on the SL500 you have then this could have been a complete red herring (!)

MickyVeloce

The only things is that my vibration comes from the rear of the car - not the front!

khushy

[Howitzer]

khushy said:

mickyveloce said:

Had the symptoms you described been in relation to a C class or E class ( older model) then I`d have said that the steering damper had worn out .

Mercs fitted with the traditional steering box (as opposed to rack and pinion) are equipped with a steering damper (which costs about 30-40 pounds from Merc ) . It`s a very simple operation to replace them and the major symptom of their failing is the vibration at 70mph .

As I`m not an expert on the SL500 you have then this could have been a complete red herring (!)

MickyVeloce

The only things is that my vibration comes from the rear of the car - not the front!

khushy

Have you changed the propshaft doughnuts?

This cured the exact symptoms you describe on my E class.

Dave!

[khushy]

its going into our merc dealer on the 23rd to have a new prop and a GOOD look around - I have mentioned the donuts and hopefully they will be checked and sorted too.

khushy