164 ml 320cdi

[WGB]

While driving my wife's ML 320 on Saturday a picture of a thermometer in water appeared in the centre of the speedo.

The car is now 4 years old and has covered 70,000km.

I stopped and checked coolant level but all was well so I ran through the menus that bring up coolant temperature in the speedo display (there is no native coolant temp gauge in a 164).

I have long since stopped looking at coolant temps in this car and my previous ML 500 as it never budges from 85 degrees and is usually a waste of time - comments have been made on another forum about whether the readout is a dummy display or not.

I was surprised to see 95 degrees showing and so long as I kept the car moving it would drop to 85 degrees - on one occasion after a prolonged stop in traffic and again after climbing the Hill to get home it peaked briefly at 105 degrees.

Once home it was obvious that the large all electric cooling fan wasn't working and after a brief and unsuccessful search to find which one of the three fuseboxes contained the fuse and relay for the fan and being unable to see any obvious wiring to the fan itself it was left to sulk in the corner of the garage for the rest of the weekend.

Today my wife drove it carefully to Diesel motors where a defunct fan was diagnosed as well as a non-functioning Glow-plug.

The car is now back to it's best and I am $2345 lighter - which includes a 15% discount on the cost of parts.

I asked for the old fan back as I will see if they are repairable - for next time.

Bill

 

[Styria]

....hmm - the joys of motoring. I should just shut up and mind my Ps and Qs, but I think back to the Statesman job - radiator R & R, new water pump and coolant, new thermostat, and all that for $440.00. I know we're not comparing like with like, but there is an element of realty to all of this. Regards Styria

BTW Bill, my symphaties are with you.

 

[BenzBoy]

While driving my wife's ML 320 on Saturday a picture of a thermometer in water appeared in the centre of the speedo.

The car is now 4 years old and has covered 70,000km.

I stopped and checked coolant level but all was well so I ran through the menus that bring up coolant temperature in the speedo display (there is no native coolant temp gauge in a 164).

I have long since stopped looking at coolant temps in this car and my previous ML 500 as it never budges from 85 degrees and is usually a waste of time - comments have been made on another forum about whether the readout is a dummy display or not.

I was surprised to see 95 degrees showing and so long as I kept the car moving it would drop to 85 degrees - on one occasion after a prolonged stop in traffic and again after climbing the Hill to get home it peaked briefly at 105 degrees.

Once home it was obvious that the large all electric cooling fan wasn't working and after a brief and unsuccessful search to find which one of the three fuseboxes contained the fuse and relay for the fan and being unable to see any obvious wiring to the fan itself it was left to sulk in the corner of the garage for the rest of the weekend.

Today my wife drove it carefully to Diesel motors where a defunct fan was diagnosed as well as a non-functioning Glow-plug.

The car is now back to it's best and I am $2345 lighter - which includes a 15% discount on the cost of parts.

I asked for the old fan back as I will see if they are repairable - for next time.

Bill

Do you have the liquid cooled alternator? Replacement of that might make the fan look cheap. Yes, I know you get a 2 year unlimited distance warranty with the new fan and glow plug but really sometimes the prices are scary - and independents are not cheaper so you may as well go to the Dealer and have a coffe and croissant while you're there.
Regards,
Brian

 

[WGB]

At least the motor never overheated and the warning system gives you plenty of time before you reach any sort of critical temperature .

The thought of a cooked all aluminium V6 diesel is too much to even contemplate.

From memory the alternator is somewhere deep down the side of the motor and I don't really want to know what it is like.

I will keep any further mechanical excitement in the "need to know" category.

Any way we were on our way to look at a Honda Jazz (subsequently ordered a new VTi-S Jazz in Azure Blue which is on it's way from Japan as we speak) and have handed over the BA Falcon to my son with the proviso that I can borrow it back if I need the Towbar.

Bill

 

[Tony66_au]

$2300 isnt too bad considering the price of Glowplugs and the $100 plus per hour some mechanics charge.

Id be curious to see the breakdown of items on the invoice and id suspect the glow plugs are the exxy bit, then the fan and then labour.

I recall the glow plugs in my HJ45 troopy were $172 each plus tax (Pre GST) from the local toyota dealer and with a preheat relay the parts alone were near $1300.00 in the mid 80's, add 5 hours labour and youd have a similar bill.

And thats the thing with Oil burners, you might save on fuel but by christ they bite you on servicing, dont even start me on Injector pump rebuilds.

 

[260ebenz]

Do you have the liquid cooled alternator? Replacement of that might make the fan look cheap. Yes, I know you get a 2 year unlimited distance warranty with the new fan and glow plug but really sometimes the prices are scary - and independents are not cheaper so you may as well go to the Dealer and have a coffe and croissant while you're there.
Regards,
Brian

Must be very expensive coffee and croissants at the Dealership?

$2345 repair bill yikes!

 

[WGB]

$2300 isnt too bad considering the price of Glowplugs and the $100 plus per hour some mechanics charge.

Id be curious to see the breakdown of items on the invoice and id suspect the glow plugs are the exxy bit, then the fan and then labour.

Hi Tony,

Here is the breakdown

The blower fan asembly is quite large but looks like it can be dismantled so will do this some time and see if the motor is repairable/replaceable.



The glowplugs were replaced under warranty 2 years ago as a set of six but apparently they are only replaced one at a time now.

The diagnostic computer tells them which one(s) has failed and as you can see they are around the $50 each.

They are required to keep working for a full couple of minutes after a cold startup to help emissions and this has apparently dramatically shorted their life.

A couple of picky points
- it's been some years since an M-B diesel had an injector pump - they are all electronic Direct injection these days
- If you seriously think you can get main dealer servicing for $100 per hour you are still in the 20th Century - think $200 with GST.

Bill

 

[WiSeGuYY]

LOL BILL , you and BRIAN campaining against THe ML which i personally consider the pride of MERCEDES BENZ , but dealers are a bit expensive but it is a must for new cars.

REGARDS

TAREK

 

[BenzBoy]

LOL BILL , you and BRIAN campaining against THe ML which i personally consider the pride of MERCEDES BENZ , but dealers are a bit expensive but it is a must for new cars.

REGARDS

TAREK

No Tarek, we are not campaigning against the ML - far from it. However, none of us is blind to issues when they arise. I am happy with my ML but no car is perfect so I live with a number of imperfections for the sake of peace and sanity. Mine does the job I want it to do and it does so comfortably and reliably. What more can I ask?
Regards,
Brian

 

[WGB]

And neither am I railing against the ML - and just to prove it here is a photo showing my wife's ML320CDI on the left in black and my old ML500 showing off it's max height air suspension just after her ML arrived home. I have owned three ML's now - one 163 and two 164's.




just showing the realities of owning a modern car when things go wrong out of warranty.

The car has been a paragon of consistency over the past four years - not even requiring brake pads.

It could have been a lot worse if the motor had cooked or my wife had been stranded somewhere.

The reality is that the warning system worked perfectly and in a timely fashion well in advance of any mischief happening and that the dealer network fixed the car very quickly - it just costs real money - actually more money than it costs a DIYer to rebuild a 6.9 suspension from end to end but that is a minor fact of life.

Bill

 

[Tony66_au]

Hi Tony,

Here is the breakdown

The blower fan asembly is quite large but looks like it can be dismantled so will do this some time and see if the motor is repairable/replaceable.



The glowplugs were replaced under warranty 2 years ago as a set of six but apparently they are only replaced one at a time now.

The diagnostic computer tells them which one(s) has failed and as you can see they are around the $50 each.

They are required to keep working for a full couple of minutes after a cold startup to help emissions and this has apparently dramatically shorted their life.

A couple of picky points
- it's been some years since an M-B diesel had an injector pump - they are all electronic Direct injection these days
- If you seriously think you can get main dealer servicing for $100 per hour you are still in the 20th Century - think $200 with GST.

Bill

May I say .... FAAAAAAAARK!

2 grand for a fan!

And the $100 an hour wasn't from a Benz dealer, I haven't paid a Benz dealer for anything since 1992.

Thanks for posting the invoice Bill, it is an eye opener.

 

[260ebenz]

Hit the nail right on the head Tony Invoice for repairs is a real eye opener!

 

[Tony66_au]

And neither am I railing against the ML - and just to prove it here is a photo showing my wife's ML320CDI on the left in black and my old ML500 showing off it's max height air suspension just after her ML arrived home. I have owned three ML's now - one 163 and two 164's.




just showing the realities of owning a modern car when things go wrong out of warranty.

The car has been a paragon of consistency over the past four years - not even requiring brake pads.

It could have been a lot worse if the motor had cooked or my wife had been stranded somewhere.

The reality is that the warning system worked perfectly and in a timely fashion well in advance of any mischief happening and that the dealer network fixed the car very quickly - it just costs real money - actually more money than it costs a DIYer to rebuild a 6.9 suspension from end to end but that is a minor fact of life.

Bill

See this thread has been an education, My wife is in the middle of changing jobs and as part of her career advancement I promised her a nicer car to commute and Jenn indicated that she would like a newer Benz and we were beginning to look at the ML's as they are quite a nice car and well suited to our environment.

Plenty around and between 8 and 20 k for a 2000/2001 MY we went and drove one (3.2 petrol) with the view to replacing one 7 seater with another.

I might do a bit more research I think lol

 

[WGB]

If you are going to get one buy a post update model with colour coded bumpers and front fog lights.



Hereis a picture of my wife's 2002 ML270CDI which we owned for six years and 125,000 km with minimal problems except the usual 163 rear brake pad change every 18,000 km.


There were 2400 improvements made to this model including uprated automatic gearboxes.

Bill

 

[Tony66_au]

Thanks Bill, both 320's had colour coded bumpers and were 2000 and 2001 models.

I was also watching a 2002 ML500, a black one in Sydney with 127'000 km as it wasnt much more at $14'800 and full Benz history.

I put things on hold after Christmas and suspect the V8's will come down a bit as the fuel price increases although they are quite reasonable price wise and there are plenty around.

 

[BenzBoy]

Thanks Bill, both 320's had colour coded bumpers and were 2000 and 2001 models.

I was also watching a 2002 ML500, a black one in Sydney with 127'000 km as it wasnt much more at $14'800 and full Benz history.

I put things on hold after Christmas and suspect the V8's will come down a bit as the fuel price increases although they are quite reasonable price wise and there are plenty around.

ML320s have wiring loom issues that the ML500 does not have - that could be a deciding factor. Having said that I love my 320 and a friend with a 500 reckons it is the worst car he has ever owned - but then he says that about everything made after 1935
Regards,
Brian

 

[WGB]

Well I have nothing bad to say about my ML 500 and was a happy little camper for four years until my E500 appeared.

The earlier three valve two plugs per cylinder V8 is bullet proof and fuel consumption was not that much worse than reported with ML320's with a definite boost in performance.

Bill

 

[Tony66_au]

I figured that the 5 lt really wouldnt be grossly thirsty compared to the 6 cyl anyway and im a big believer in horses for courses.

So 100 kph country roads, big hills and long distances mean I can easily justify an ML 500, This is getting better and better every time I examine it.

 

[WiSeGuYY]

i posted in previous post the problem of Hi BILL , BRIAN & TONY and the rest of the members in this post , few years back i wanted an ML 350 but due to economnic and financial calculations i settled for the BMW X3 (which was localy assembled hence the price was almost less than half the ML) due to customs and taxes laws here in EGYPT which is a bit different from your way of life and standards.
My brother bought an ML 2 years back in DUBAI when he was there but sold it cause he moved back here and the customs was too expensive that he bought a new BENZ here with less money.

My point is i face same problems withdealer invoices and same exact handicapped 5th wheel in both brands which most agree that they are considered best dominate the car market worldwide.also was shocked from the alarm of overheating when they had to keep the car for over night check to determain the cause .the car since it reavhed 70000 km and the invoices of check up was rised to the ceiling but still a joyful ride and i even prefer it over the C300 which is lower for the streets of CAIRO which is like traps in some places.

AGAIN ML is a dream i wish to fulfill , here they have a smaller vewrsion the GLK but i prefer the X3 over it after test drive and weekend ride - i PASS.
ML i will take anytime i can afford it and glad to see that the MASTERS BILL and BRIAN are among those who chose them , WELL DONE

REGARDS

TAREK

 

[Helmet]

Sorry to hear about the cost of the fan Hope you don't have air suspension as the cost of struts will make the fan seem cheap. (mostly 500's have air suspension, but it can be picked as an option)