2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550 Problems

The contact owns a 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power steering assist functionality. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V899000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Our power steering went out all of a sudden. We took this to our mechanic who said it was a recall for the power steering. Fletcher Jones Mercedes' looked at the vehicle did a computer update recall and said the power steering is not covered. The car is very unsafe and we need this fixed.

Started the vehicle and used the gear selector to shift to Drive. Car did not go into gear. Towed to dealer. Dealer found faulty “ism module.” Apparently a very common issue with these cars. So common that the part is in an “indefinite back order.” The replacement part is also revised because Mercedes knows there was a manufacturer defect with the existing part. I am being charged more than $1600 on a part that the manufacturer has already acknowledged was faulty and created a replacement for it.

THE CAR SUDDENLY SLOW DOWN IN HIGHWAY GOES TO LIMP MODE FOR EXAMPLE FROM 69 TO 35 MILES IS VERY DANGEROUS I HAVE TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY

I was driving on a country road when all of a sudden my car lost power all the warning lights camo on the dashboard. Smoke started billowing out from the back and front of the car. It turned off and I only coasted about a 100 feet. I could not safely pull off to the side of the road as the car had no power. Thankfully the road was not very busy and the tow truck collected the vehicle. Upon further inspection I saw a lot of oil on the road and the mechanics were able to confirm that the engine block was cracked and there were 2 large holes. Upon further research I was able to find a lot of similar cases with this specific M278 Mercedes engine and premature failures that happen because of bad cylinder coating. In later engines they update the cylinder lining to a more durable steel sleeves. I think this is a very well documted issue and a huge safety risk. There is a class action lawsuit running about the M278 engine and I think you need to get involved and hold Mercedes accountable for their poor design.

Cam sensor seals failed which leaked oil into the wire harness, O2 sensors, and ECM. This happens to be a common problem with M278 engine. The repair was $10,217 to fix this issue. The car would not pass emissions without this repair. Could oil into the electrical system pose a fire hazzard?

AUTO MOVING AND NOT MOVING. MY HUSBAND IS OCD AND VERY PARTICULAR ABOUT OUR VEHICLES. I HAD A FLAT TIRE ON A RUN FLAT AND DAMAGED MY LEFT DRIVER'S SIDE BACK WHEEL. WE DECIDED TO REPLACE ALL 4 TIRES AND THAT WHEEL. MY SPOUSE REMOVED ALL 4 WHEELS FROM VEHICLE, CLEANED AND INSPECTED EACH WHEEL AND WE CAREFULLY PUT THEM IN THE BACK OF OUR TRUCK. I TOOK THEM TO ALDERSON MERCEDES IN LUBBOCK. I WATCHED AS MONTE THE SERVICE ADVISER CAREFULLY REMOVED ALL 4 WHEELS. LATER IN THE DAY ALDERSON CALLS AND SAYS THAT THE RIGHT BACK WHEEL HAS A CRACK IN IT AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I'M FLABBERGASTED AS I KNEW IT DIDN'T BEFORE I BROUGHT IT. BUT ITS A HE SAID SHE SAID. UPON RESEARCHING THE INTERNET FOR COMPLAINTS OF MERCEDES BENZ WHEELS CRACKING I FOUND A LOT OF THEM, ENOUGH FOR A CLASS ACTION SUIT. THE PROBLEM IS WHEN NEW RUN FLAT TIRES WHICH ARE EXTREMELY TOUGH ARE INSTALLED IT IS SO DIFFICULT THAT THEY CRACK. THIS IS A DEFECT OF THE WHEEL, NOT THE TECHNICIAN. I'M AFRAID THAT IF THEY CRACK THIS EASILY WHEN JUST PUTTING A NEW TIRE ON THEM, THAT THEY WILL CRACK WHILE DRIVING ON THEM. IF THIS HAPPENS THEN THE VEHICLE IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. PLEASE LOOK INTO THE STRESS FRACTURE PROPERTIES OF MERCEDES BENZ WHEELS. I THINK THERE IS A POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD ISSUE. I DID NOT DRIVE OVER A POT HOLE, SO I KNOW AS OTHER COMPLAINTANTS KNOW THIS IS A MANUFACTURING ISSUE.

TIRE WAS LOSING 1-2 POUNDS OF AIR A DAY. TOOK TO COSTCO TO FIX WHAT I BELIEVED WAS A TIRE LEAK. UPON EXAM COSTCO FOUND THAT WHEEL HAD A CRACK IN IT THAT WAS CAUSING PROBLEM AND TOLD ME THAT THEY SEE SEVERAL OF THESE CRACKS EACH YEAR ON MERCEDES. I THEN TOOK CAR TO MERCEDES DEALER AND BOUGHT A NEW WHEEL. MERCEDES WOULD NOT WARRANTY WHEEL ALTHO CAR STILL UNDER WARRANTY SAY I MUST HAVE CAUSED CRACK. I NEVER HIT ANYTHING THAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THE CRACK. MERCEDES DEALER ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE WAS BO EVIDENCE OF ANY DAMAGE TO WHEEL OR TIRE. I TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF CAR. NO DAMAGE TO TIRE. IT WAS RT REAR WHEEL. MERCEDES WOULD NOT GIVE ME BACK THE CRACKED WHEEL AFTER I BOUGHT THE NEW ONE. THEY SEEM TO HAVE CARS ON ROAD WITH DEFECTIVE WHEELS THAT COULD GIVE AT ANY TIME.

THE CAR SUDDENLY SLOW DOWN IN HIGHWAY GOES TO LIMP MODE FOR EXAMPLE FROM 69 TO 35 MILES IS VERY DANGEROUS I HAVE TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 MERCEDES BENZ SL550. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE PADDLE SHIFTERS WERE OPERATED AND THE CONNECTOR PLATE FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. ON ANOTHER OCCASION THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP, THE VEHICLE LURCHED FORWARD WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE THE FAILURE WAS UNABLE TO BE REPLICATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER INFORMED HIM THAT THE SUDDEN LURCH WHEN THE VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP WAS THE WAY THE VEHICLE WAS DESIGNED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,200 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE 9,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

JUN 2017: ANNUAL SERVICE. ASK TO HAVE BRAKES CHECKED BECAUSE BRAKE PEDAL WAS TRAVELLING DOWN TO THE FLOOR. JUN 2018: ANNUAL SERVICE. COMPLAINT: BRAKE PEDAL WOULD HIT THE FLOOR AND AS IT TRAVELED DOWN FURTHER, THE ENGINE ACCELERATION TICKED-UP, AT WHICH TIME I RELEASED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND RE-APPLIED THE BRAKES SUCCESSFULLY. JUN 2019: ANNUAL SERVICE: STRONG COMPLAINT: DITTO JUN 2018 EXCEPT AS THE BRAKE PEDAL APPROACHED THE FLOOR, THE ENGINE ACCELERATION WAS INCREASING. 12 MAR 2020: ACCIDENT: TIME 0645 AM PST, TRAVELING WEST-BOUND ON A NEAR-STRAIGHTAWAY (SLIGHT 5-DEGREE CURVE TO THE LEFT) AT 40 MPH IN A 50 MPH ZONE ON A 6-LANE ROADWAY, IN FAR-RIGHT LANE WITH 8-CAR-LENGTHS TO THE CAR AHEAD, I APPLIED THE BRAKES AS THE CARS AHEAD OF ME SLOWED TO A STOP IN THE RIGHT LANE. I CONTINUED INCREASING PRESSURE ON THE BRAKES UNTIL THE PEDAL WAS ON THE FLOOR, THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES SYSTEM NEVER ENGAGED AND AT ABOUT 20-FT TO THE CAR AHEAD, THE ENGINE RPM TOOK OVER DEFEATING THE WHOLE BRAKE SYSTEM RESULTING IN MY CAR ACCELERATING AND SMASHING INTO THE CAR STOPPED AHEAD OF MY CAR. IN HIND-SIGHT, I FOUND OUT THAT M-B OF SAN DIEGO SERVICE DEPT. NEVER PERFORMED A DRIVE-TEST TO CHECK-OUT MY REQUESTS BUT INSTEAD PERFORMED A STANDARD BRAKE-PADS & FLUID-LEVEL CHECK AND RETURNED THE CAR TO ME IN AS-IS CONDITION. UNTIL 12 MAR, THIS PROBLEM OF THE BRAKES TRAVELING TO THE FLOOR BEFORE THE RPM-INCREASE ENGAGED HAD BEEN UNDER CONTROL, BEING MOST NOTICEABLE AT LOW SPEEDS OF 10-12 MPH IN THE COSTCO PARKING LOT THRU-WAYS AT WHICH TIME I HAD AMPLE DISTANCE TO RELEASE THE BRAKES, DISENGAGE THE RPM-INCREASE AND RE-APPLY THE BRAKES. IT APPEARS M-B TOOK MY REQUESTS AND COMPLAINTS IN A LESS THAN LITERAL SENSE OR URGENCY.

The rear subframe experienced excessive levels of rust which caused the rear left side to suddenly collapse. After the collapse, the car would fish tail at low speeds (i.e., less than 15 miles per hour). I am thankful that the collapse did not happen when traveling at higher speeds such as an expressway, which would have certainly caused an accident. The Mercedes Benz dealer refused to cover the cost of the work to replace/repair the subframe. The dealer stated that they would cover the cost under an “extended warranty” if the car was manufactured for the US, but, as I found out, the car was made for Canada based on the VIN #. This is the case even though the subframe in this model had the same rusting issue in the US and in Canada. Additionally, I purchased the car in Florida. I am surprised that there had not been a full recall on this issue especially since it appears to impact over 500,000 Mercedes cars. Drivers are on the road with this issue and are unaware of this issue unless they happen to bring their car in for service specifically for this issue. Additionally, not honoring the recall for the car because it was made for Canada even though I am a US Citizen, the car was purchased in the US, and the car operates in the US does not make sense. This issue is a hazard on US roads, and should be proactively communicated and remediated. Not doing so poses a safety issue. I am further surprised that the Department of Transportation has not taken an active role in this issue.