[riceball4u]

looks like they got paid and decided to withdraw the motion

STIPULATION AND ORDER WITHDRAWING WITHOUT PREJUDICE 107 PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT for Seifi et al v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC :: Justia Dockets & Filings

 

[DSSG]

I wonder how much money they got? Lawyers are expensive!

Too bad they didn't win a class action suit then every SLK owner with the problem would get some money?

 

[efair]

So the whiners/car owners have given up on their plea to the judge to decide right then and there that MB should pay a bazillion dollars... Duh.

Lawyers. Wish I knew one that understood roof hydraulics - wouldn't mind paying $150/hr then.

 

[journeyman]

I wonder what Mercedes is using as their reason for not being responsible for the balance shaft problem? This balance shaft problem is the herpes of their endless lawsuits filed against them.


Fortunately my car was built in June/2005. I browsed the class action lawsuit website and read others' complaints, and as others have pointed out, the 2005 model year seems to not have balance shaft problem.

 

[efair]

Two words: warranty period.

 

[riceball4u]

I wonder how much money they got? Lawyers are expensive!

Too bad they didn't win a class action suit then every SLK owner with the problem would get some money?

MB Probably give enough to cover the cost of what it cost them to fix the car and pay for the lawyer fee and of course Made them sign a none disclosure agreement.

That's what happen when I apply the lemon law on my other brand car.

I wonder what Mercedes is using as their reason for not being responsible for the balance shaft problem? This balance shaft problem is the herpes of their endless lawsuits filed against them.


Fortunately my car was built in June/2005. I browsed the class action lawsuit website and read others' complaints, and as others have pointed out, the 2005 model year seems to not have balance shaft problem.

As efair said, warranty is over, so they used that as a loop hole to get out of paying everyone and milk as much money from users as possible when it is a known defects. Not taking the appropriate responsibility.

 

[DSSG]

Don't worry Mercedes' Lawyers thoroughly punished the company with their legal fees. I guess some of you aren't aware just how high their hourly rates are. For the run-of-the-mill legal work in Ohio expect to pay $200->$400/hour. For corporate, >$500/hour! Also this class action suit was brought in the United States, so the results only apply here.

Another factor is the cars affected by this defect. The engine serial number is the best way to determine and not the MY. The MY could be anywhere between '04->'08, that's five MYs!

I have noticed on this forum that the cars turning up most often are the 280s, but of course, this is anecdotal. For obvious reasons, the cowards at MB won't give the complete details of exactly what cars might fall victim to their poor quality control. The question is are there a lot of cars or just a few? If it were just a few, why not just acknowledge the problem and fix it?

Look at the cost in lives and the loss of treasure for companies like GM who hide their incompetence in designing something as simple as an ignition switch. Or the Takata airbag fiasco, where the company is refusing to recognize the seriousness of the flaw in the design of their product.

I'd never buy a GM product, but then I have only bought one new American car in my life. It was a GM and what a POS! Now I have three German cars - ouch! Well one is a museum piece, and the SLK might be another if it misbehaves. My '13 BMW 135i with the performance and sport packages is my current gopher! If it breaks down, I had better get my Schwinn out of storage!

 

[robreynolds]

So they settled out of court for cash instead of going through with the trial.

Does that set precedence for other owners to sue and/or settle out of court as well?

 

[SoCalSLKDude]

It seems only Mercedes knows the statistics on this sprocket failure. The teeth wear occurrence is sporatic; I've found the mileage range to be from 20k-120k. How are some cars having this issue at only 20k miles?

My trusty mechanic says if you use a good oil (not Mobil 1), and change your oil every 5k miles, you will not see this sprocket wear problem. The main goal for engine oil is to prevent wear of the internal metal parts. There is a reason why Mercedes updated the oil change interval from 12k miles to 5-6k miles.

What is considered Good Oil - better than Mobile 1? If I had a car in the SN range of the sprocket problem, what Oil should I run in Southern California, and how often should I change it?

 

[Beekster]

What is considered Good Oil - better than Mobile 1? If I had a car in the SN range of the sprocket problem, what Oil should I run in Southern California, and how often should I change it?

Mobil 1 is the factory fill and is perfectly fine; so is the service interval recommended by Mercedes-Benz. Changing brands of oil will not prevent a balance shaft sprocket from wearing out. It's metallurgy, folks...the bad sprockets were improperly heat treated by the vendor, intermittently throughout production for a couple of years. It doesn't matter how slippery the oil is or what magic anti-wear chemicals are in it if the metal part it's lubricating isn't as hard as the engineers specified for the part.

 

[Akonion]

Mobil 1 is the factory fill and is perfectly fine; so is the service interval recommended by Mercedes-Benz. Changing brands of oil will not prevent a balance shaft sprocket from wearing out. It's metallurgy, folks...the bad sprockets were improperly heat treated by the vendor, intermittently throughout production for a couple of years. It doesn't matter how slippery the oil is or what magic anti-wear chemicals are in it if the metal part it's lubricating isn't as hard as the engineers specified for the part.

It is like staining a piece of rotting wood. Does not matter what you use because the wood is still rotting underneath. In this case you do not know if your wood is rotting...

Glad I bought a higher mileage car that is out of the "danger" area for this to manifest.

Still... *knocks on wood*

 

[SoCalSLKDude]

Thanks Beekster,
I didn't know that the problem was sporadic, or that it was a hardening process problem. It's actually comforting to know that my sprocket may or may not be soft. I thought it affected EVERY car within the serial number range. So that is a clarification that reduces the stress and provides a ray of light in the dark tunnel!

Thanks!

 

[Beekster]

Thanks Beekster,
I didn't know that the problem was sporadic, or that it was a hardening process problem. It's actually comforting to know that my sprocket may or may not be soft. I thought it affected EVERY car within the serial number range. So that is a clarification that reduces the stress and provides a ray of light in the dark tunnel!

Thanks!

The intermittent nature of the problem likely contributed to the length of time it took to root it out. Every member of the V6 family had the issue during that time; 2.5l, 3.0l, and 3.5l across all the various car models which used them. The problem usually showed up before 75,000 miles and often much sooner than that, so buying a high-mileage car from those years is the best defense against the problem. I bought my car last year with almost 90k on the clock, now at 96k and going strong...as a Mercedes-Benz should.

 

[joemackem]

The intermittent nature of the problem likely contributed to the length of time it took to root it out. Every member of the V6 family had the issue during that time; 2.5l, 3.0l, and 3.5l across all the various car models which used them. The problem usually showed up before 75,000 miles and often much sooner than that, so buying a high-mileage car from those years is the best defense against the problem. I bought my car last year with almost 90k on the clock, now at 96k and going strong...as a Mercedes-Benz should.

Well mines getting near to 75,000................and my indy dealer uses petronas oil (5w30), not read any threads of any one using this oil..........

Joe

 

[Beekster]

Well mines getting near to 75,000................and my indy dealer uses petronas oil (5w30), not read any threads of any one using this oil..........

Joe

Then you're probably not going to experience the gear failure, Joe. Not impossible, of course, but the longer you go without it happening the less likely it is that it ever will. I use Mobil 1 in both my Mercedes-Benz cars, but so long as the oil you're using meets the factory specifications then it's all good.

 

[joemackem]

Then you're probably not going to experience the gear failure, Joe. Not impossible, of course, but the longer you go without it happening the less likely it is that it ever will. I use Mobil 1 in both my Mercedes-Benz cars, but so long as the oil you're using meets the factory specifications then it's all good.

To be honest when I first read this post on the balance shaft last year after buying the car I was concerned, but after meeting up with woolly a few weeks ago and a chat about it I now drive the car with out worrying as he put my mind at ease..........

Joe

 

[TomH]

I kept the old balance shaft from my wife's SLK 280. That engine was beautiful inside, clean as can be and extremely well maintained. The only exception was the balance shaft, which was worn to the point that the teeth were just nubs. There's a reason I kept it. I will use it to beat anyone who says I used the wrong oil to death.

 

[SoCalSLKDude]

Haha, no worries, Tom. We understand!

Driving mine from LA to San Francisco tomorrow! That one has about 105K miles - must be a keeper! I will drive it as usual - it may be out of the woods now! I actually have another one purchased recently with 77K on it, also within the SN range. I'm hoping I get lucky with that one, too!

 

[HitoriAsur]

My mechanic sent me this:
Mercedes-Benz Agrees to Settle Engine Defect Class Action Lawsuit

I'm not fluent in legalese, but I think it's good news for everyone.

Mercedes-Benz Agrees to Settle Engine Defect Class Action Lawsuit

On March 23, the plaintiffs of an ongoing Mercedes-Benz engine defect class action lawsuit informed a California federal court that they have agreed to an unopposed class action settlement with the automobile manufacturer that will provide monetary relief to engine defect Class Members in form of thousands of dollars in reimbursements for car repairs related to the allegedly defective engine parts.

According to the engine defect class action settlement:

“Defendant Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (‘MBUSA’) prospectively [will] cover future repairs for the allegedly defective parts at issue for the lesser of 10 years or 125,000 miles, subject to certain conditions and limitations. This extended coverage more than doubles the durational limit of MBUSA’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty’s term of the lesser of 4 years of 50,000 miles.”

Each Mercedes-Benz Class Member will receive varying amounts for future repairs depending on when the engine defects manifests itself from this point forward. Based on the engine defect class action settlement, Class Members should expect the company to pay 100 percent, 70 percent, or 37.5 percent of the reasonable repair cost required by the presence of the engine defect.

Additionally, Mercedes-Benz will reimburse eligible engine defect Class Members for past repair costs that they incurred while attempting to replace the allegedly defective Mercedes-Benz engine. If these car repairs were not performed at an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer, then participating Class Members will be reimbursed up to $4,000 for these engine defect repair and replacement costs.

The engine defect Class, should it be certified, would include: “All current and former owners and lessees of Mercedes-Benz branded automobiles equipped with certain M272 or M273 engines … who purchased or leased their Subject Vehicles within the United States.” The plaintiffs claim that there are potentially 300,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles that fall within this Settlement Class definition.

Mercedes-Benz denies all wrongdoing in this engine defect class action lawsuit, but has agreed to settle in order to avoid the uncertainty and cost of future litigation. This Mercedes-Benz engine defect class action settlement does not have a monetary cap.

This Mercedes-Benz engine defect class action lawsuit was originally filed in 2012 by plaintiffs Majeed Seifi and Tracey Deakin, who allege that certain Mercedes-Benz vehicles were equipped with engines containing defective gears that would wear out prematurely without warning. This alleged engine defect would cause the “check engine” light to turn on and cause the car to misfire or stop driving all together. Repairs for this engine defect typically cost Mercedes-Benz consumers several thousand dollars and required them to go without a car for several days in a row.

The plaintiffs further allege the automobile company knew of the Mercedes-Benz engine defect since 2007, since during that year the company distributed service bulletins to its dealers on how MB technicians should diagnose and replace the allegedly defective engine parts. However, Mercedes-Benz allegedly did not inform consumers of the defect at that time and instead concealed the engine problems.

During the course of the engine defect class action lawsuit, Mercedes attempted to dismiss the suit from court. Though the presiding federal judge would not allow the automaker to duck liability charges, he did trim some warranty claims during the trial. Over the next couple years, the plaintiffs pressed on, and in November of last year, they asked for summary partial judgment against Mercedes-Benz. Soon after this motion by the plaintiffs, both parties entered into mediation sessions to discuss settlement terms.

The plaintiffs are represented by Roy A. Katriel of the Katriel Law Firm and Gary S. Graifman of Kantrowitz Goldhamer & Graifman PC.

The Mercedes-Benz Engine Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Majeed Seifi, et al. v. Mercedes Benz USA LLC, Case No. 3:12-cv-05493, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

 

[jbanks15]

Hitori, Thanks

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