Thursday, June 16, 2011

[rant] Fix my car dawg.

I'm a total gearhead / petrol head. Same goes for Ed and somewhat Dask. However, I currently am driving my '08 ML350 that I paid cash and wanted for a simple luxury SUV. Here's a list of problems I've had / having in the 31K miles.


Engine & Transmission
  • Engine is currently lurching and slipping out of the powerband, letting the car sit while completely warm seems to suggest that either a spark plug needs to be replaced or maybe a faulty fuel injector.
  • Transmission is completely mental. 
    • It only upshifts when I'm revving the tits off it @ the 7K redline and trying to drive economically.
    • It upshifts right when I'm out of the torque range and a good 2-3K from the real power when I plant my foot down and want power.
    • The shifts them self seem to come straight out of a '88 Honda civic, they jerk the car like it's a manual and the car seems to lurch when a gear is finally selected.
  • Transmission has too many fucking gears and the ratio's are shit. Seven gears. The 1st gear can bring the car up to 40mph while the 7th gear will let the car keep highway speeds at 60mph @ 1.9K rpm. The car fucking idles at 900rpm...

    Suspension & Steering
    •  The Continental's the car originally came with lasted a nice... 20K miles. The rubbers were rated for a good 50-65K miles. Currently on Pirelli PZERO ROSSO  Mercedes Spec @ a cool $360 a pop (literally!).
    •  The stock OEM brakes the car came with lasted a cool... 20K miles with like 90% freeway miles. Just like the tires, they were overrated. In this case, these were rated for 30K city to 40K freeway.
    • The brake rotors themselves were also swapped along with the pads. Those rotors were scuffed to shit and were rated for 80K MINIMUM.  
    •  The steering rack has to be rebalanced every time I take the damn thing in for a service. 10K miles.
    • The car is a bitch to park accurately (as in tiny spots in parallel parking), the car seems to be angled when using wing mirrors.
      •  Speaking of the wing mirrors, the passenger mirror was completely smashed off (by the DEALER during a service) and replaced... poorly. The damn thing works when I fold them in, but when it comes to unfolding them, it takes a good 10-30 seconds to lock it in place. Compare to 2-3 seconds for factory spec driver side.

      Electrical
      • The right turn signal has been utter shit since 10K miles and has been acting up repeatedly. It will either work, or not work. That simple.
        • I've probably spent close to 5K to addressing this specific problem.
      •  Replaced the OEM factory headlight bulbs with Philips H7's. The OEM ones failed simultaneously while I was on the freeway @ 8pm.
      • Center console had to be replaced at C service at 20K.

      Build Quality & Etcetera
      • Half the buttons and switches in the car are either loose or falling off.
        • Something that happened today made me do this rant. I was driving on the freeway doing 80mph tonight @ 3am. Both the rear windows failed for some reason and rolled completely down. Now I usually keep the rear button lock engaged because it gets in the way. I figured no big deal so I tried to roll them back up from the front. I pulled the buttons... and they popped out. I mean just popped out. They flew up and landed in the footwell. I figured, 'Sowut I'll just unlock the rear windows and use those switches'. I pushed the unlock button... and it got stuck. Physically stuck. As in, no movement at all. Great. I had to pull over on the hard shoulder and spend 10 minutes searching for them (and finally finding them under my seat. Spent another 10 minutes getting them back in and working.) Stealership, here I come.
      • Sunroof leaks a tiny bit when it's raining hard.
      • Passenger side vent for the backseat broke and can't be aimed anymore.
      • Rear badges for ML350 & 4MATIC fell off. They were made of plastic.
      • Driver's seat has lost lumbar support. The bar doesn't exist anymore.
      • Driver's seat has lost back support and has a small amount of give in it. Picture a computer chair that has a lock to prevent you from rocking back. That small rock you get when you lock it? That's what I have to deal with when driving.
      • The left blister / bolster on the drivers seat has collapsed. I drive at an angle facing toward the door now...
      • The leather on the dash is prone to sun damage.
      So please, fix my car dawg.

      *Team stuff : I'm leaving for a China vacation next Wednesday, Ed will be translating at full speed Monday.*

      -Tech

      *EDIT : I own more than 1 car.

        7 comments:

        1. What's this for, again?

          And it's still not for certain that I WILL be translating "full speed" by Monday. Only if time permits, but I'm finishing up a dissertation and thesis for my MBA while juggling hospital work at the same time, so don't count on me to have any much work done on that end.

          Also, please elbow the people working on reak. It's taking forever, kthxbai.

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        2. Oh... and might I add... either you're too damn meticulous about your auto-needs, or you're just as fail sauce with cars breaking down on you as you are with computers breaking down on you.

          Just an observation. ;)

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        3. Damn that's a shitload of issues for car that age. I was looking at merc, bmw, or lexus to replace my now ancient honda sedan. Friends and colleagues were saying their benzes had been good to them, but I seem to see more complaints of mechanical issues for bmw and benz than lexus. Not sure whether its cause the owners are the type to talk about service issues more openly or they are more prone to issues...

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        4. @Anonymous

          I bought at a wrong time looking in hindsight. I bought my car right when Daimler kicked Chrysler to the curb and all hell was set loose. Shit, the only warranty I got for my car was a limited drivetrain.

          Now, don't let this rant turn you off. I'm pretty sure what I bought was either a lemon, or I drove it into the ground with my aggression. The new E-classes are pure fucking Sex.

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        5. Well good to know at any rate. Use to think that it was mostly vw and audi that had these sorts of manufacturing inconsistencies (amongst the non American brands). I hate servicing crap so guess it's safer to get a model that didn't just have a redesign or change of plant etc. At least I can get a better idea of what to expect. I wouldn't consider lexus if servicing didn't bug me that much, they mostly drive like salted slugs. Still wouldn't consider them if they hadn't changed their suspension post 2009, shitty ass mcpherson strut they used before made me feel sick.

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        6. @Anonymous

          Service wise here in California, Lexus is #1 and I would personally rate it #1 with BMW being #2.

          Benz recently changed their servicing policies and when you require a loaner, they just send you to Enterprise and you get a shitty Dodge Neon. Doesn't matter if you dropped off a '01 C230 with a million miles or a brand new '11 S65 that needs it's break in service, you still get a Neon. Some stealerships here offer to loan you C300's for 10$ a day but you better return it with a full tank or they charge you like 10$ a gal to fill it.

          Lexus gives you a courtesy car no questions asked. They don't even screw you over with them, they actually 'one up' the car you bring in. Bring in a IS, they loan you a ES.

          BMW is similar, bring in a 1 series and they'll loan you a 3 series. Apparently they do this at BMW to try and sell you a higher priced car while yours is in the shop.



          Driving wise, I personally have been a Mercedes fan because of the utter smoothness with all of their cars minus the C class (the AMG is a different matter). The styling of the newer Mercedes also have a much more agressive tone to them compared to the bland watered down mush they used to look like.

          Thinking of pulling the trigger on a clean '09 E63 with like 5K miles I found stashed away at a local stealership.

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        7. I'm missing? :o I'm sure I replied to that mail xD
          Well anyways, if you need me, I'm always there and I'd be really glad to ts that once I get the script :D
          -Lyon

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