my 2014 B Class is a lemon, HUGE ripoff

[lensovet]

I don't think 99% of the owners have to dispose their cars, it's more likely that those who have issues are the ones that we can keep reading about

I didn’t say 99% of owners. I said 99% of owners who get the workshop message.

 

[lensovet]

Fixing the motor costs between 1.5k-6k depending on where in the world you are

This also is bananas. No dealer fixes the motor; they replace it wholesale. That’s a $16-20k repair depending on where you are. Even QC Charge, which does rebuilds, is apparently charging over $7k per a recent post.

 

[lensovet]

I had only my battery 'service' done (the 8th and final one on a 16 plate) just last month at Mercedes (UK). No main service done (they wanted over £400 for a 'B' service!). They wanted to charge £119 for the battery service (or around that amount) and it's just replacing 2 battery dessicant cartridges accessed under the rear panel, and it took them just over 2 hours. So, the battery warranty is maintained without having an A or B service, or so it seems, which is actually contradictory to their T&C's, but I didn't say anything.. Anyway, they didn't charge me a penny for it after checking.

I asked for the old cartridges (you can refresh them and re-use them or replace the silicant in them) and when I asked why I hadn't been given them I was told "Due to health and safety, used parts may be a fire hazard and therefore have to be disposed by us".

Keeping the old parts is standard and the cost of the repair includes the fact that they might recoup something from recycling them. Battery warranty TC never required doing A or B service, it was always just the battery check and desiccant replacement which should always be free of charge. I had issues with this in 2016 and 2017 (the original advisors never understood this but I stood my ground and by checkout I never had to pay), but by 2018 it was fairly standard (though some advisors were still clueless and I had to refer them to previous years’ records).

 

[nrkmann]

There is no A & B service for the B electric. Here in the US a service costs me about $140 at the dealership. Ask you dealer for a printout of the two services, go to your maintenance book or online. Now the dealer will also try and upsell you to wiper blades, brake fluid change, etc. Last time they tried to sell me tires that were no where near the wear bars. The desiccant filter(s) cost me $80 and the labor is about $120.

 

[jjo]

This also is bananas. No dealer fixes the motor; they replace it wholesale. That’s a $16-20k repair depending on where you are. Even QC Charge, which does rebuilds, is apparently charging over $7k per a recent post.

That's why I said, "depending where you are in the world". I know that there are specialised workshops rebuilding this motor for as low as €1500 in Europe. QC Charge apparently charges a huge premium for their services and probably one of the most expensive in the world (which is no surprise given their location). The total cost of parts for the rebuild is at around $500, not counting the coolant delete of course.

 

[lensovet]

The desiccant filter(s) cost me $80 and the labor is about $120.

This service should not cost anything if you’re still under your 8-year battery warranty.

There’s definitely A & B service as outlined in the service manual but 90% of the stuff on there is inspections and filter and wiper blade replacements.

 

[AlexRandall5]

Is the dessicant filter the most common failure in the B-class?

I had a 10 year service done just a few weeks ago and they replaced all kinds of stuff.. I assume this would be part of a ten year service.
What are other common problems folks have had.

 

[jjo]

Is the dessicant filter the most common failure in the B-class?

I had a 10 year service done just a few weeks ago and they replaced all kinds of stuff.. I assume this would be part of a ten year service.
What are other common problems folks have had.

The desiccant filter is not a reason for failure, I think Mercedes-Benz just "invented" this consumable so they can still charge for something in place of oil change on ICEs. It's a Tesla battery but Tesla cars don't have such filter, interestingly.
The most common failure of this car must be coolant leaking into the motor, causing a complete motor failure if not caught early (you can find plenty of conversations on this forum related to this error.

 

[asavage]

The Model S/X has no dessicant in the HV battery case. MB added that feature to their implementation.

Toyota installed a small, noisy, low-volume air pump (not a fan) on the top of the battery case that runs during charging, presumably to circulate a small amount of air through the battery and keep the humidity/moisture level down. Mine is notable in that its sound became became intermittent a few months ago, and it's now completely silent. The pack has to be dropped to service it, and of course no replacement is available from either Tesla nor Toyota.

At least MB's engineering is somewhat serviceable.

 

[B250E-Fan]

I have has this same problem and had a similar diagnosis. I ignored it and the car has been driving fine for 6 months. I have other issues regarding a replacement of the battery that I don't believe needed to be replaced. Im involved in a lawsuit that MBUSA has just been adjoined to, we will see where that goes? just a note: if you car will not start detach the 12 volt battery for 1 seconds and reattach. this is what I did until I found out that I needed to charge the 12 volt battery ever other day. now I have a little plug hanging out the front to attach the 12v charger to and I just ignore the message and it works fine.

I'm in the US and I'm wondering what your lawsuit is about. I have the red Malfunction Visit Workshop message and my car is bricked. I'm trying to find a way to get this resolved with a reasonable cost or find a private service shop the knows its stuff. Thanks.

 

[Electric Benzo]

I'm in the US and I'm wondering what your lawsuit is about. I have the red Malfunction Visit Workshop message and my car is bricked. I'm trying to find a way to get this resolved with a reasonable cost or find a private service shop the knows its stuff. Thanks.

I would like to know as well because mine is just sitting as decoration in my driveway since I bought it in January. I’m in Virginia and took it to a private service shop and they still quoted $15,000 to replace the electric drive unit (EDU).

 

[Hussain]

my car, which I purchased in Nov. 2015 used with 1500 miles on it from a luxury car resale store in Indianapolis and had shipped to me in Fort Lauderdale, came with a 4 year, 50,000 miles warranty. the car has 21,000 miles on it and the 4 years expired in august 2018, so no warranty.

On Tuesday May 19, 2020, a warning on the dash read: "malfunction. visit workshop". I drove straight to Mercedes Fort Lauderdale and left it there after authorizing $195 for diagnosis. My service advisor Peter Montaldo called me later that same day: "it's bad news. you need a new motor". When I asked "how much", he said "don't even know. a lot. over $10,000". I was in shock as the car had been fantastic, no trouble ever, and found this diagnosis hard to believe. Needing a new motor means the car is dead.

I called MBUSA to register my issue and seek redress. The person I dealt with there, "Hona" (female), after speaking to the dealer her, bounced me back to Mercedes Fort Lauderdale, this time to the service manager. John Salzlein, who said they needed to do more diagnosis, and he needed me to authorize another $300 for it, which I did.

It's been 3 weeks, and my service advisor Peter Montaldo called yesterday: it truly needs a new motor, and Mercedes will pay $5000 toward it, but I must pay $7000. And I already owe $500 for diagnosis.

I now must deal with MBUSA again, as it is incredible that Mercedes would sell a car that dies at 21,000 miles and not fix this issue at their cost, or redress it in some other way. would putting in a new motor even solve the problem, if they only work for 21,000 miles? why would anyone spend that on a defective motor replacement? I was told in the initial call that the mechanic, Willie, researched that my problem was a bad motor in "23 out of 25" times. This means that this motor fails 92% - UNBELIEVABLE.

Mercedeese knows very well and they charge first 195 then same scam they do to every one and charge 300 more then same reply that you pay to replace motor ,trust me the 2nd motor will become bad after a while ,I know one case the guy changed motor 3 times while he drove only 41000 miles,these are bad motors supplied by tesla, mercedese not issued any recall while tesla recalled and replaced the modified motors free.
I bought the 2014 car only 35000 miles and at 38000 miles warning message appeared MALFUNCTION GO TO GARRAGE. I keep driving and at 41000 car was inspected by mescedese and asked me 21000 to replace motor ,I tried to sell the car but no.one was giving me even 5000,fortunatly someone hit my car and damaged the battery and trunk,Insurance declared it TOTAL and paid me 13000 I bought the car for 14000 ,so that accident was a good luck for me,I will advise never buy mercedese electric year 2014 to 2017 models