Air conditioning unit did not work in the rear of the car.
The engine bay makes strange whining and beeping sounds 10 minutes after shutting the engine off. This can go on for hours.
Front window was smashed while parked and the dealers told me the nearest replacement was in Germany. 2 weeks minimum wait.
Temperature control on drivers side of the car stopped working, and stayed stuck on maximum heat.
Plastic interior bits already breaking and bits of trim peeling.
Before I start my rant, let me say that this does drive very nicely, and the sports pack makes this the quickest minivan you're likely to drive.
From there it's all downhill. Having had this car only 5 months, it is already starting to fall apart as noted above. On top of that, there are absolutely no accessories for this model, which is a real shame as we live in the country and wildlife is a problem. Some sort of bumper bar would be greatly appreciated.
Lack of general consumable parts availability is unforgivable though, and my 3 hour drive home with no drivers window, wife and 4 kids in the back, in the middle of winter was really miserable. Knowing the nearest spare window was in Germany just made me mad.
I consider this a massive learning experience that has cost me a lot of money. I'm sticking to older land rover disco's, which I can service and make some sense.
Don't be like me and be fooled by the marketing hype. That's where they're spending their money, not on the quality of their cars.
What parts of the interior are breaking off? I had a 2001 A-Class here in Australia, and went through 4 seat height adjustment handles. They would break very easily on the third or fourth use with absolutely minimal pressure applied. I had hoped DaimlerChrysler had fixed the poor quality plastics in their new models. Disappointing.
This car is actually produced in the United States.Alabama to be precise.
Plastic trims, altough specified by Mercedes in Germany, are all made in the USA.
Most of these trim suppliers don't know how to read the German specs...
To the above comment about not reading German specs...
Who cares?
Fallacious argument since Mercedes should be responsible for making sure this is done correctly, regardless of where the car was made, if this is even the case. It does not matter where is was made as MB quality control authorizes these products at their HQ I am sure.
I have sat in this minivan and got the feeling that it was more of a Korean car than a German car. This did not feel like an E or S class, and costs just about as much.
Postscript:
I sold this car and lost a third of its value in six months. An expensive lesson, but one I won't make again. It's six months on now and I have no regrets whatsoever. I have also noticed that Mazda here in Australia is now selling a car which appears to be identical to the R-class. What's that??? It's a third the price!!! Now I really feel like an idiot!!!
This review does not line up. The R class is made in Alabama not Germany. Windshield replacements and other parts come from America.
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