’03 Mercedes E-500 Sport

I got in January 03  the E-500 Sport and the only thing I have had with the car is problems .Has anyone else have problems with.

1.Fuel Gauge

2.Alligment car pulls to the Right.

3.Whippers very  louds.

4. Stereo shuts off by itself.

5.Tire presure sensor error.

6. SOS malfuntion report to the shop .

7. Telephone hands free kit malfuntion.

8. LoJack install by dealer malfunction several times.

The car has been in the shop for all the items more than 6 times and they are still happening.

Has anyone else have the same problems.

 

 

 

you are not the only one. i have been having audio shut down problems to name one with my 2003 e320. many other people have it too. i intend to take complaints all the way to MB headquarters every where until something positive is done about these problems

guys,

i have the same problems on the older 2001 E430.

the pulling to the right, stereo not working periodic on the left side, fuel gauges malfunction, too many to list.

i'm fighting the MB right now. don't know what they would do. customer services are not very friendly at all.

maybe, we should try BMW next time.

 

 

I own an 03 E240 and have the same maddening problem of the pulling to the right.  The dealer can't find what's wrong with it and keeps telling me the car's "within specs".   Has anyone figured out what the problem is??

I have an 03' E320.  Its been in the shop twice for pulling to the right.  The first time, they told me it was out of align and pulled it within spec.  When I drove it away, it was still pulling to the right.  I brought it back.  They had a master mechanic at Mercedes right with me and I showed him that it was still pulling to the right.  They took it back, tried different tires (I have the Continental Tires) to see if that was the problem.  It wasn't.  They then changed these bolts that align it and said it fixed it.  Well, at fixed it for a short time and i still felt that it wasnt fixed all the way.  It is beginning to get worse again. What recourse do we have?  I am getting so tired of bringing it back to the dealership.

In the mid 90s I had an 87 300E that pulled/twiched to the right. The local Columbus dealer replaced the steering damper and did an alignment-A waste of time and money.

While vacationing in Nashville, I had the dealer check it out. Unable to locate the problem

While vacationing in Richmond I also had it checked by the dealer. A new alignment was of no use.

Finally I took it to an excellent independant shop (David Word automotive) in Richmond who discovered the right lower ball joints were bad. VOILA!! Problem cured. I sent a letter to MBUSA detailing the poor service depts at three dealers and never received a reply.

p.s. If you have an annoying wheel shimmy that balancing won't correct, find a shop that does on the car balancing which balances the rotor,spindle etc. This permanently corrected my shimmy that numerous tire shops could not figure out.

my wifes 03e55 is the best vehicle we have ever owned yes we did have an audio problem it would shut off, took it to the dealer and they changed the softwqare everything working great, yes my car pulls alittle right  but most of this is caused by road crown they crown the road to the right to allow water to run off the roads,  but in germany the roads are crowned left to let water run off, so the set to go right in ger. to compensate for the road crown, so that makes it go even

more right, i had the benz dealer take mine out of spec to drive strait, it worked

great, and the tires are not wearing weird either.

good luck

Musicmansda,  I took my 2003 E240 back for a third time and a regional service manager took a look at it.  It turns out there's a service bulletin from Mercedes about this problem.   They were very hush-hush about it and never really told me what exactly they did to the car, but they did tell me that they replaced "the arms of the front suspension", and a camber bolt.    Don't buy the argument of the road crowns, my previous 97 Honda Legend (Acura RL) drove straight like an arrow on ANY road (God knows if Honda would've updated the aging Legend/RL sooner I would've bought another one and not this expensive piece of junk).    If nothing else works, try switching tires.   My car came with V-rated Michelin XV4s instead of the Continentals that US-bound models come with.

Question for anyone out there.   My car came with the Audiocodes 20 stereo system, which is supposed to have a built-in cellphone.    The dealer says the system isn't operational in my country, however, we have both a CDMA and GSM cellphone network and GSM is the European standard. I think he doesn't know what he is talking about.   Does anyone know what I have to do to get the phone to work??

 

I have a new E500 and it was also pulling or should I say a very slight drift to the right.  It is within specs. I did a front to rear tire rotation and this cleared up the problem.   Most of the time a tire rotation / pressure will solve this issue.  If not even within specs of alignment, there could be an issue.  Stating "within specs" is just a cop out for not solving the problem.  All specs have a + and - value to be within specs.  Typically the right front wheel caster is the same as the left.  Caster will not cause abnormal tire wear.  Drift (not heavy pulling) can be resolved by adding a little more caster and possibly 1/4 degree of + camber.   Drift is normally road crown related.  IF the dealer is just w/in specs. ASK what are the specs, then review the numbers.   From these numbers you can make changes to correct a drift problem.  Don't let them Cop out on this one.   Pulling is not a normal condition.  There does not have to be a serious problem here, but attention to detail.  vettdvr

Fuel gauge problem.  I have not dug into this problem but on my Corvette GM has issued a service bulletin for high sulfur compounds in fuel causing erratic gas gauge issues.  If you have an erratic gauge switch brands of gas and try several tanks.  There could be nothing wrong with the gauge or sending unit,, but just sulfur causing a change in resistance at the level transmitter.   I have switched my corvette to Shell premium clean fuel and had no gauge problems.  GM did offer a reprogram of the on board computer to dampen the gauge which also helps.   I have the E500 but use the same Shell in it as the Vett and so far the Vett gauge has cleared up and the E500 had no issue.  vettdvr  PS  E500 is wifeys..

I had a 2003 E Class.

I have disposed of it.

Yes, the car was problem ridden. 

Noisy wipers. 

CD changer jammed.

Noisy brake cylinders.

Trunk lock defective.

Sunroof switch cracked.

Keyless go defective.

But the most serious problem with the car was a safety issue.   The car did not have childproof rear door locks (a feature found on virtually every other manufacturer's car).  For someone with small children, this can be a critical issue - as it was for me. 

The rest of the items are quality issues - or "lack of quality" issues.

I am pleased that I no longer have this vehicle.

I currently have a 2003 E500. I have had continuous issues with the vehicle...Initially it was in the shop constantly until I got to the point I could not deal with it any longer. It is in the shop once again at 30,000 miles having rear shocks, front shocks, front bushings and new battery replaced. Additionally, it needs front shock sensors. I have also had to have rear brakes and rotors replaced and front brakes and rotors replaced. It was all under warranty except for the service on the brake replacement. I sent letters directly to Paul Halata, CEO of Mercedes Benz N/A for releif on the vehicle and/or, at a minimum, I wanted to be reimbursed for the service charge on the brakes. I received a letter back that they cannot reimburse for service charges etc. Either way, I am getting rid of the vehicle as soon as possible and wanted to warn anyone about the potential defects in this vehicle. There were several other issues with the vehicle, too numerous to mention. I did not have any of the issues mentioned by the previous email, but it goes to show that alot of the problems with the vehicle are computer related. I did have to admit that I had a very early 2003 model, October 2002 it was delivered. I have known others who have had the same vehicle and have had no trouble. I also have other MB's that are 2004 SL and 2002 CLK and have had no issues. Too bad Mercedes is more proactive with vehicles that are obviously greatly flawed or at least that was my experience.

i deal with 211 also everyday but find that most problems are just normal.

if it is warranty covered, then you don't have to worry much.