Does anybody else HATE their ML?

Dizzman · 11-17-2004, 02:54 PM

I have a 2002 ML 320 and am dealing with Lemon law Lawyers trying to get MB to take my piece of crap back. Just wondering if anybody else has similar issues.

blindside.AMG · 11-17-2004, 03:53 PM

What's wrong with it?

Dizzman · 11-17-2004, 04:49 PM

it is a poorly manufactured car. I do not fit into the textbook definition of a Lemon Law buyback, but it is a piece of garbage. Trim falls off, lights inside the dash burn out, auto windows go right back down, the rear bumper came half off on its own, passenger seatbelt locks after about 50' of travel, the ride is so rough that i cannot leave a full drink in the drink holders, Radio has gone nuts while driving, etc...

And i thought geting a mercedes would be a pleasurable experience!

blindside.AMG · 11-17-2004, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dizzman

it is a poorly manufactured car. I do not fit into the textbook definition of a Lemon Law buyback, but it is a piece of garbage. Trim falls off, lights inside the dash burn out, auto windows go right back down, the rear bumper came half off on its own, passenger seatbelt locks after about 50' of travel, the ride is so rough that i cannot leave a full drink in the drink holders, Radio has gone nuts while driving, etc...

And i thought geting a mercedes would be a pleasurable experience!

"Trim falls off" - Not likely unless it has been previously removed or has been abused by owner

" lights inside the dash burn out" - It happens, light bulbs are light bulbs, they burn out sometimes

"auto windows go right back down" - Possibly the hall sensor in the window motor is bad. Takes only about an hour to replace it.

"the rear bumper came half off on its own" - On it's own? Seriously? That is impossible.

"passenger seatbelt locks after about 50' of travel" - Possibly needs a new seat belt. Or you are pulling it too fast and the inertia switch is locking the seat belt as intended.

"the ride is so rough that i cannot leave a full drink in the drink holders" - Didn't you test drive the car before you bought it? And if you don't want a rough ride, DON'T BUY A TRUCK.

"Radio has gone nuts while driving" - No idea what "gone nuts" means.

Sounds like you're gonna lose your lemon law case, sorry.

Dizzman · 11-17-2004, 07:01 PM

Trim has indeed fallen off on its own. ANd the glove box fell off as well. suprised the crap out of my wife. THe center console lid has been replaced twice due to it falling apart. how about the rear seat folding assembly that stopped working so the seat was stuck halfway. i took it in two time for it and they still did not fix it. now i figured it out and fixed it myself.

Lights inside the dash... i know that lights burn out. You even had one burn out on you? i haven't in 20 years of owning cars. Now i have twice. BTW, this is a known MB problem, it even happens in the E class.

Auto window up crap has been replaced and adjusted about 6 times. Works for about 6 weeks then off we go again.

Came half off, not left side off or anything like that, you could move it up and down about 6 inches as the bolts had loosened on it.

Seat belt has been replaced three times. I am not talking about pulling it too hard (although most cars you cannot pull it hard enough to lock it, it needs the braking or skidding inertia to lock it) i am driving, it is fine, then my wife cannot move.

The ride. I have borrowed/rented tahoes/suburbans, other ML's and none of them compare. Mine rides like a military grade vehicle. I traded with a friend who has a suburban for a few days a while back, he still gives me a hard time about it.

How about riding down the road and the radio started turning up of its own accord. the only way to get the volume down was to turn it off.

And i won't even get started on the time i tried to use teleassist and it would not disconnect.

I recognize that it is not a standard case and i do not have high hopes. the lawyer thinks he might be able to get them to take it back. I hope for the best and plan for the worst.

All i did here was ask if anybody else has had troubles with theirs. Mine was obviously a Friday car coming out of the plant in tuscaloosa county there.

Thats Gawbage · 11-19-2004, 07:32 PM

i hope you realize that the ML is not a Benz...it's a collaboration of crap...mostly from the US...GM relays...Ford transfer case and (get this!) seat belt connectors! HAHAHA...bet you didn't see that coming...and on top of all of that...the ML is built in Alabama...do you honestly think that anything good could come from there?...i can't wait for the R-class (cough...Pacifica...cough, cough)...as the name sez..."Thats Gawbage"...sorry...

Dizzman · 11-20-2004, 02:04 AM

i have rented a pacifica and loved it. But i am not going to a new car for a while after this experience. Maybe a lexus though

Shpyder · 01-27-2005, 12:58 AM

the ML is 100% chrysler.

porscheguy9999 · 02-04-2005, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blindside.AMG

"Trim falls off" - Not likely unless it has been previously removed or has been abused by owner

" lights inside the dash burn out" - It happens, light bulbs are light bulbs, they burn out sometimes

"auto windows go right back down" - Possibly the hall sensor in the window motor is bad. Takes only about an hour to replace it.

"the rear bumper came half off on its own" - On it's own? Seriously? That is impossible.

"passenger seatbelt locks after about 50' of travel" - Possibly needs a new seat belt. Or you are pulling it too fast and the inertia switch is locking the seat belt as intended.

"the ride is so rough that i cannot leave a full drink in the drink holders" - Didn't you test drive the car before you bought it? And if you don't want a rough ride, DON'T BUY A TRUCK.

"Radio has gone nuts while driving" - No idea what "gone nuts" means.

Sounds like you're gonna lose your lemon law case, sorry.

When he said "lights inside the dash burn out", I agree that lightbulbs burn out. But they should never, EVER burn out in a car that is only 3 years old. On top of that, it SHOULD be built well, being a MERCEDES and all. If the lights burn out, it's not built well. My 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee hasn't had lights burned out. For being such high-end cars, Mercedes sure arent built well.

Dizzman · 02-05-2005, 01:15 PM

exactly my point. Unfortunately Mercedes does not agree. ANd for the record, it burnt out TWICE! in three years. And apparently this also happens in the E class as well.

gti1689 · 02-14-2005, 07:56 PM

hmmm, MB's are crap for the money, eh? that is absolutley not true. I cannot speak for your ML experince, but I would like to comment on porscheguy's post (while addressing some general issues).

Modern MB's might be considered unreliable due to their electronics, but engine problems are not ususally at the top of the list. The ML has one of the worst reliablility recorders around, and there are bound to be some lemons out there. I would recommend skipping the ML if you ever buy another Mercedes.

Mercedes Benz interiors are VERY nice and luxurious. I owned a 1996 C36 AMG, and the materials were excellent. In addition to the C36, I recently had the privelege to drive a Mercedes C55 amg, and an E500. The interiors on both of these cars are well made, and the materials are of a high quality. The E500's leather felt better than that of my J.Crew leather jacket, and the jacket was $300.

Mercedes is not a bad value for what you get. They may be more expensive, but they are very useful and their longevity is second to none. Newer models may not be as reliable as my C36, but that is why most european car buyers (at least the smart ones) buy a car later in its model cycle. Case and point, Motor Trend and Automobile magazine both had minor issues with the reliablilty of their e-class long term test cars.

porscheguy9999 · 02-21-2005, 01:18 PM

Sorry, dude, but that doesnt change the fact that MOST (not all) Mercedes are poorly built cars. For bieng so expensive, you think that Mercedes would put some money into upping the quality of the electronics and engine, instead of making a car or SUV for every single niche out there, and even ones you didnt know existed.

You may be rich enough to keep your AMG running for a long time. But most people dont have the funds to just throw money at problems that can and will arise.

Dont get me wrong, Mercedes have nice interiors and exteriors, but you think that they would at least TRY to improve the quality of their products. If you want a high end luxury sedan or suv, get a Lexus. It'll last MUCH longer, and wont be very problematic.

talonlover · 02-21-2005, 05:30 PM

Quote:

You may be rich enough to keep your AMG running for a long time. But most people dont have the funds to just throw money at problems that can and will arise.

Word to those without any common sense....If you are on a budget where a 2000.00 repair bill may bother you then a Mercedes Benz(of any kind) is not the car for you.

porscheguy9999 · 02-27-2005, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talonlover

Word to those without any common sense....If you are on a budget where a 2000.00 repair bill may bother you then a Mercedes Benz(of any kind) is not the car for you.

If you are spending $2000 to repair your Mercedes, then you should relize you are spending $2000 to repair it. And that is much, MUCH more than nickle and dimeing you. It looks like your the one without any common sense.

gti1689 · 02-27-2005, 06:04 PM

porscheguy, who has no common sense? i never mentioned anything about spending $2000 on a repair, and i am not implying that a $2000 repair bill is acceptable.

I can only speak from my experince, but I have owned Mercedes twice in my life.

My first was a 1993 190e 2.6, and my second was a 1996 c36 amg. The 190 was a reliable car that didn't require ANY major repairs. The reason why I bought the C36 was that I was in a car accident, and the 190 was totaled.

The C36 didn't have ANY major (by major i mean more than $600) repairs that were caused because of the car itself. The one time the bill was over $600 was when i filled her up w/fuel which was contaminated with water. As a result, the dealership had to replace all 6 fuel injectors, but this was covered under warranty.

$2000 for a repair is NOT reasonable, and if such repairs became a trend I would ovbiously sell the car.

You have your own opinion about mercedes reliablilty, and I also have my own opinion. I base mine off of experience, and, for all i know, you may have also owned a mercedes at some point.

My observations/opinions will remain what they are unless I buy another mercdes and have it breakdown constantly. I will repaeat this again: if one is concerned about mercedes reliability, then they shouldn't buy one until it is at least in the middle of its model cycle.

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