E350 2010 S212 Battery dead
Discussion
Chaps,
Need some input from the PH collective.
Our E350 battery died today (although I only replaced the battery with a genuine MB item 2 years ago).
Drove the car this morning, started ok but have noticed over the last few weeks that the fuel consumption is a bit poor and the car is a bit sluggish compared to our other E350. Anyhow parked the car up, returned to it an hour later - battery totally dead.
AA chap came out, booster connected and car started ok but rad fan was now running (temp ok) and the electrics doing some weird things. In my experience, low battery voltage can play some funny games with the car's systems? Car taken to local MB dealer and they want £196 to check the battery and "if" the battery is faulty - the old one is not covered under any guarantee??!!
What to do? I'm now thinking to collect the car and take it to an independent as i'm not happy being charged 1 hour for a battery check when the battery (although only 2 years old) is not under any guarantee anyway
Thoughts?
stevemcs said:
Does yours have an auxiliary battery, any fault codes ?
Just a starter battery. Really surprised that Merc don't warranty their batteries. AA chap didn't pick up any fault codes apart from rad fan short circuit (the fan was running constantly after he restarted the car) but i'm guessing that that could be a by-product of low battery voltage? Most only warrant it for 12 months, the aftermarket batteries we fit (varta) are a pain, we have to test and charge them then send them off and only if they find them faulty do they replace, it can take 4-5 days and then they say there is nothing wrong.
If the fan is running constantly are you sure thats not the drain ?
What happens if you get it running, does it hold a charge ?
If the fan is running constantly are you sure thats not the drain ?
What happens if you get it running, does it hold a charge ?
stevemcs said:
Most only warrant it for 12 months, the aftermarket batteries we fit (varta) are a pain, we have to test and charge them then send them off and only if they find them faulty do they replace, it can take 4-5 days and then they say there is nothing wrong.
If the fan is running constantly are you sure thats not the drain ?
What happens if you get it running, does it hold a charge ?
Steve, I 've driven the car over the last few days. No rad fan running at all and no cranking issues etc - nothing to suspect that the battery was pas it's best or there was a drain. The rad fan was only running when the AA chap started the car from dead. 1st time I've ever heard it runIf the fan is running constantly are you sure thats not the drain ?
What happens if you get it running, does it hold a charge ?
My feeling is that the battery shorted a cell or something top cause immediate battery failure. I've seen this before.
Whether it holds a charge or not I don't know as the car was started and driven to a local MB dealer. I'm collecting the car in the morning as I refuse to pay £196 for a diag - if only to be told - battery has suddenly and catastrophically failed - which was the AA chaps opinion. Even his opinion was that MB's approach was laughable. It's pure profiteering on the MB dealers part IMO
Edited by Candellara on Monday 9th March 20:10
We sometimes find the fans run when certain fault codes appear on Mercs and its almost a protection setting.
We had a 2017 S212 in this week with a warning on the dash for auxiliary battery failure, its not a battery as such more like a black box that sits at the back of the footwell.
If you feel its the battery fit one from Euros, if the car starts and works as it should then see what you can get out of Mercedes.
We had a 2017 S212 in this week with a warning on the dash for auxiliary battery failure, its not a battery as such more like a black box that sits at the back of the footwell.
If you feel its the battery fit one from Euros, if the car starts and works as it should then see what you can get out of Mercedes.
stevemcs said:
We sometimes find the fans run when certain fault codes appear on Mercs and its almost a protection setting.
We had a 2017 S212 in this week with a warning on the dash for auxiliary battery failure, its not a battery as such more like a black box that sits at the back of the footwell.
If you feel its the battery fit one from Euros, if the car starts and works as it should then see what you can get out of Mercedes.
Swapped the battery from our E350 saloon into the estate. Battery is the same and all seems well. Started straight away and fans are quiet - so it would seem the battery suffered a catastrophic failure. I phoned MB head office in Milton Keynes as I purchased the battery in Sept 17 and would have thought that MB would warranty their batteries for at least 3 years (standard Halfords batteries are 3 year or 5 year warranty)We had a 2017 S212 in this week with a warning on the dash for auxiliary battery failure, its not a battery as such more like a black box that sits at the back of the footwell.
If you feel its the battery fit one from Euros, if the car starts and works as it should then see what you can get out of Mercedes.
I'll update accordingly but MB head office said it's normal practice that MB dealers charge £196 diagnostic charge to check the systems / battery (basically download fault codes which is a 10 min job).
I'm still awaiting comment / feedback from MB UK at Milton Keynes regarding the battery.
They've said it's normal practice to charge £196 to test the battery to see if it's faulty.
I fitted a genuine MB battery supplied by MB Chichester in July 2017 - MB UK couldn't answer what guarantee their batteries have. Halfords offer either a 3 year or 5 year guarantee on their batteries.
Can anyone shed any light on what guarantee genuine MB batteries have? as it appears that MB UK don't know? They've said that they need to contact MB Chichester and will come back to me within 5 days. In the meantime, we have a dead E350 that just needs a replacement battery.
I don't want to buy a new battery just in case they say the battery is under warranty. Pretty crap service which ever way you look at it
I've calculated that I've spent circa £160k with MB products over the last 5 years, purchasing cars from MB Leseberg in Hamburg (service was exceptional), MB Norwich (great service), MB Derby (just recently and was great) and MB Chichester (don't ask). Whilst I recognise that you can have rogue dealerships, how difficult can it be for MB UK to call one of their dealers and say we have a problem - please supply a new battery and appease this MB customer. How hard can that be?
They've said it's normal practice to charge £196 to test the battery to see if it's faulty.
I fitted a genuine MB battery supplied by MB Chichester in July 2017 - MB UK couldn't answer what guarantee their batteries have. Halfords offer either a 3 year or 5 year guarantee on their batteries.
Can anyone shed any light on what guarantee genuine MB batteries have? as it appears that MB UK don't know? They've said that they need to contact MB Chichester and will come back to me within 5 days. In the meantime, we have a dead E350 that just needs a replacement battery.
I don't want to buy a new battery just in case they say the battery is under warranty. Pretty crap service which ever way you look at it
I've calculated that I've spent circa £160k with MB products over the last 5 years, purchasing cars from MB Leseberg in Hamburg (service was exceptional), MB Norwich (great service), MB Derby (just recently and was great) and MB Chichester (don't ask). Whilst I recognise that you can have rogue dealerships, how difficult can it be for MB UK to call one of their dealers and say we have a problem - please supply a new battery and appease this MB customer. How hard can that be?
Edited by Candellara on Tuesday 10th March 18:52
You would have thought they would test the battery at no cost, if it fails replace it foc, if it passes the test then simply charge you £60 for 30 mins labour. Having said that we have a customer with a BMW that needs front brakes, they have distorted and the back plate is only holding on with one screw. We have offered to fit parts they supply but they still won't allow it, instead they are doing a 200 mile round trip, collecting it, leaving a car for the customer and doing it themselves as they believe its the paint on the back of the wheels......
Candellara said:
Update:
No contact at all from MB UK or my local dealer despite an open complaint and them promising they'll come back to me. We'll see how this progresses
Update on this. MB Head Office got in touch saying pretty much that they only guarantee their batteries for 2 years (as opposed to pretty much every battery manufacturer who guarantee for either 3 or 5 years) and have basically said - tough sNo contact at all from MB UK or my local dealer despite an open complaint and them promising they'll come back to me. We'll see how this progresses
t.So, rather than MB Head Office and MB Chichester look at the bigger picture (I've purchased 9 MB cars in the last 15 years, spent thousands with MB Chichester and currently have four MB cars in the household) they've decided to through all of that away for the sake of a battery costing £170 which was 2 months out of their warranty period. Go figure!?
On a positive note, I came across John Haynes Mercedes Benz in Worthing who were really helpful and come highly recommended - so all cars will be going there instead.
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