1999 Mercedes-Benz M-Class 320
Summary:
A glorified Ford Explorer..
Faults:
Battery went flat, which may have caused the brake system to malfunction (and remained a problem even after the battery was replaced). It would suddenly lock one of the tires while driving at speed. Seemed to fix the problem by switching the ignition off while rolling down hill (in drive), and then cranking the ignition (this somehow may have reset the computer).
Front and back brake pads wear out very quickly, and rotors needed to be changed regularly.
All of a sudden, it started to rust in multiple areas, like pepper all over the bonnet, and large patches on the roof and near the hinges of the boot. The car will leak soon.
The interior plastic is brittle. One of the plastic seat levers broke off, and other plastic parts have cracked.
The driver's seat does not stay fixed in one position, and wobbles when driving.
Electronic windows malfunctioned, center console switches needed to be replaced.
Leak in the exhaust system made loads of noise.
The car burns oil.
The tie rod ends need to be replaced.
The air condition compressor is leaking.
The electronic keyless entry and alarm stopped working.
The fuel gauge does not work.
General Comments:
It looks the part, but don't be fooled, it has the quality of a typical American car. It's not worth the materials it's made from.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 9th June, 2011
6th Apr 2021, 12:09
These cars were plagued with issues right after leaving the showroom. Search on Edmunds the 1 star comments of actual owners that bought these from new, surely pretty wealthy people all angry about constantly having to spend time at the dealership wait room. Not major problems, but constant problems anyway.
11th Mar 2015, 19:12
My guess is that you purchased a rebuilt car or a lemon that was not maintained.
I have 276,000 on mine and the problems have been (in order of requiring replacement):
Tires (40K).
Brake pads and rotors (around 80K).
Tires again (around 80K).
Tires again (115K).
Power steering pump flushed (125K).
Tires (125K).
Trans flush (around 125K - I pull a trailer for softball equipment).
MAS (144K).
Plugs, tires, pads and rotors (front only) for brakes (150K).
Tires (192K).
Radiator holding tank replacement (198K).
Tires (228K).
Rebuilt transaxle (230K) (oh, and I did put a master window switch and front window regulators in somewhere along the line).
Replaced fuel pump (240K).
Tires (251K).
It's due for tires, and needs a steering pump reservoir and seal replaced.
276K, here is what is wrong currently:
Driver's seat torn in a couple of places where you first sit.
Drivers door lock actuator does not work (that has been about the last 100K miles - the other 3 work fine).
Trans is beginning to slip occasionally accelerating around corners or stop signs.
Paint is chipped in places - back bumper is terrible.
Now, at 276K I have hit upon a problem that I cannot figure out. My CEL has been on and off for about the last 3 years, but it seems that when I put SeaFoam treatment in it, it ran fine again. Now it has gotten so bad that I decided to fix it. I replaced the plugs, plug wires, and coils since my reader said multiple misfires - did everything and it still has a loss of power on takeoff and idles really bad at stop lights.