Hi, I have a 2003 E320 4matic wagon I got earlier this year, it seems in decent shape and has 165,000 miles.



While my daughter was driving yesterday the big red SBC brake warning light came on. She made it home, but said brakes did not work very well.



I do a lot of my own work on older cars, but after a little research it seems this brake system, which was only used from 2003-2005 has a lot of problems I might not be able to fix.


There is an on line rumor that this might be covered with a new extended 25 year warranty, but dealer is far away, and I would probably have to get the car transported there. Am kind of afraid there will be a lot of other things they will tell me they "need" to fix while it is there that will cost me. The dash says there are "6 faults".



Has anyone gotten SBC on a car this old fixed under warranty lately?



Can anyone recommend a scanner that would help me with all or most of systems on car? The scanner I have can only read the engine.



Is this car worth fixing? I don't even have a "smart key" for it so I can not even check oil, apparently. Was planning just to pump out and change, if I keep the car.



I paid very little for this car, and do not want to "buy" it again with a multi thousand dollar repair bill.


My other Mercedes is a '83 300D, on which I can fix almost all systems, but am thinking this new Benz may be a can of worms.

25 year extended warranty on SBC unit. call the dealer and schedule an appointment and they should fix it for free. get AAA and have them haul it to the dealer.
i have 5 w211 cars and don't find them to be that much harder to work on thank earlier models.
i have read a lite about the scanners and the icarsoft i980 seems to be the one most people recommend.....like $150 new so not terrible.
good luck w/ the SBC issue and keep us posted!

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James 4:8

"...let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses"
-Saint Gregory Palamas, ---Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ


Centrally located in North East Central Pa.

Email MBUSA customer service to get their response in writing. Tell them your issue and that the car will need to be transported to the dealer for warranty work. They should cover the transport. Forward the response to the closest dealer.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

awesome!

__________________
0o==o0

James 4:8

"...let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses"
-Saint Gregory Palamas, ---Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ


Centrally located in North East Central Pa.

You should not habe to pay a thing for having MB resolve under extended warranty.

Personally I think all the newer MB cars are easier to work on than years past but only if you have proper scan equipment.

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Jim

Thanks for the replies, quite encouraging. So I went ahead and ordered a i carsoft MB 2 scanner, now I can't junk the car, seems a little too nice to anyway.

I'll post back when I know more, which might not be right away. I have to get the car off island, then to dealer. I have triple A, but I doubt they or MBUSA is going to cover boat trip.

I'll want to run a scan before I send it off to dealer so I have some idea about what they will be reporting.

I see there is a sunroof glass recall open on the car as well.

I don’t mean to crash the party but a 2003 E320 Wagon is a 210 chassis, not a 211......

nice catch!!
funny but about 6 months ago this guy was selling one on FB marketplace and i had to look it up when i saw the w210 body with the model year listed as 2003. i thought the w211 started in 2003 but the wagon carried over an extra year.....
totally forgot about that....as emily Lutella used to say......"never mind"

__________________
0o==o0

James 4:8

"...let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses"
-Saint Gregory Palamas, ---Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ


Centrally located in North East Central Pa.

Thanks for the heads up ILUVMILS. I did not realize this.

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Jim

I'm thinking the OP must have the model year wrong? Maybe it's a late '03 production date? The complaint description is very clear but he says this is what his daughter told him. It's not clear if he saw it himself. He also says he can't check the oil because he has no "smart" key. I have no clue what this means. Obviously some confusion here.....

At least he is dependable.

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Jim

I was going by the mfg date on door, which is 12/03. The model year on registration is indeed '04.

Good news is I emailed MBUSA and they replied that the SBC system in this car is covered by extended warranty, and they will cover transport (I'll still have to find out if they will get it off island). I'll be contacting the nearest dealer soon, to see about appointment. Have been busy, and now my kid is back at school there is no rush.

I can see the rear brakes were done recently, and the front rotors look like they should be replaced soon. I wonder if dealer will insist they need to replace to fix & test system.

Spending a little money on this car does not scare me, but I'd prefer not to pay dealer prices for repairs I can easily do myself.

My confusion on oil check is from reading owners manual. How do you check the oil in these then?

Update; A transport company working for MB is going to pick up the car next weekend and take to dealer at no cost to me. Dealer will repair the SBC and also fix an open recall on the sun roof.

They would have come earlier, but ferry boats have heavy traffic this time of year, and that is soonest they could get a reservation both ways on same day.

can't beat that!!

__________________
0o==o0

James 4:8

"...let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses"
-Saint Gregory Palamas, ---Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ


Centrally located in North East Central Pa.

Be ready for the dealer to come up with some surprise diagnostic fee or surprise repair you weren't expect. Ask for everything in writing, ask for diagnostic codes etc. Dealers are independently owned from MBUSA and will try to find other ways of making money off of you while they have your car captive. Good luck.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words