This particular car is one I’ve recently purchased, its now on 310,000 miles, I’ve had it since around 308,000. I purchased from a chauffeur, my work has done every single service & defect repair.
Its a 2016, W212 Facelift, SE Premium, Standard Suspension, Obsidian Black, OM651 Engine. Its worth noting that there are many different options – take a look here for a little bit more info
If your thinking of buying one but not sure on the servicing / repairs have a read through this! Primarily this is aimed at models OM651 engines (4 cylinder diesels). Although this has suffered from only a few defects in its time so far, I will mention my experiences of repairs I would consider common. Just for notes, I run the front desk of an independent Mercedes Specialist.
Servicing
In short, most Mercedes from 2008 onwards have an alternating ‘A’ / ‘B’ servicing schedule. Dependant on age / mileage covered addition service items will be due. Additionals are indicated by a number or letter after the ‘A’ / ‘B’. The details of this are beyond this post (maybe another time!). (I will put up a post detailing the W212 Service schedule) Here are the services it has had:
- 15846 Miles. 04/02/2016 – A Service
- 32803 Miles. 13/04/2016 – B0 Service (Additional: Panoramic roof clean / regrease)
- 48938 Miles. 21/06/2016 – A3 Service (Additional: Air filter, Fuel filter)
- 65330 Miles. 14/09/2016 – B0 Service (Additional: Panoramic roof clean / regrease, gearbox oil and filter change)
- 81836 Miles. 29/11/2016 – A Service
- 97839 Miles. 21/02/2017 – B4 Service. (Additional: Panoramic roof clean / regrease, air filter, fuel filter)
- 115152 Miles. 09/05/2017 – A1 Service (Additional: Brake fluid change)
- 132472 Miles. 08/08/2017 – B7 Service (Additional: Gearbox oil and filter change)
- 149704 Miles. 24/10/2017 – A5 Service (Additional: Air filter, fuel filter) Set of wipers.
- 166343 Miles. 24/01/2018 – B Service
- 182500 Miles. 10/04/2018 – A7 Service. (Additional: Gearbox oil and filter change)
- 199139 Miles. 19/06/2018 – B4 Service (Additional: Panoramic roof clean / regrease, air filter, fuel filter)
- 215427 Miles. 19/09/2018 – A Service
- 231711 Miles. 04/12/2018 – B0 Service (Additional: Panoramic roof clean / regrease) Set of wipers.
- 248368 Miles. 28/02/2019 – A0 Service (Additional: Air filter, fuel filter, gearbox oil and filter change)
- 264526 Miles. 16/05/2019 – B0 Service (Additional: Panoramic roof clean / regrease)
- 285000 Miles. Approx – Must of been an A Service
- 297919 Miles. 13/11/2019 – B9 Service (Additional: Panoramic roof clean / regrease, air filter, fuel filter, brake fluid change)
- Each time it was serviced the adblue has been topped up, taken around 25 litres.
Brakes
- 59410 Miles. 22/08/2016 – Front brake pads & discs
- 65330 Miles. 14/09/2016 – Rear brake pads (On Service)
- 115152 Miles. 09/05/2017 – Front brake pads and discs. (On service)
- 149704 Miles. 24/10/2017 – Rear pads and discs. (On Service)
- 182500 Miles. 10/04/2018 – Front brake pads and discs (On Service)
- 231711 Miles 04/12/2018 – Front brake pads and discs, rear brake pads (On Service)
- 264526 Miles. 16/05/2019 – Adjusted parking brake shoes, lubed parking pedal mech. (On Service)
- 291667 Miles 10/10/2019 – Front brake pads and discs. Rear brake pads.
Defect Repairs
- 149704 Miles. 24/10/2017 – On service noted water pump was leaking – Replaced.
- 182500 Miles. 10/04/2018 – On service noted numberplate bulb inop, note LED type – Replaced.
- 199139 Miles. 19/06/2018 – On service noted inner steering rack joint worn – Replaced.
- 264526 Miles. 16/05/2019 – On service noted numberplate bulb inop, note LED type – Replaced.
- 269958 Miles. 11/06/2019 – Parking brake release handle pull broke in two! – Replaced.
- 282884 Miles. 29/08/2019 – Whilst driving, battery warning message on dash – Alternator found to be defective – Replaced.
- 286753 Miles. 17/09/2019 – Since service @ 263526 miles and also on alternator repair, noted that engine excessively noisy on cold start. Timing chain elongated / chain tensioner worn. Replaced and all OK.
- 286753 Miles. 17/09/2019 – Coolant expansion tank leaking on seem – Replaced.
- 305831 Miles. 24/12/2019 – NSF tyre pressure fault. Battery in tyre pressure monitor defective – Replaced unit and all OK.
- 309000 Miles 31/01/2020 – EML light has been on since tyre fault. NOX Sensors replacement. Both replaced (As they are modified) and SCN coding and software updates carried out.
Common Problems For The W212
Being the front of an independent specialist gives me the hand of being able to say what common issues we do actually see on these! Thankfully my car seems to not of suffered with most of these!
- DPF Related faults / will not regenerate; As a general rule, in my opinion, a DPF only gets blocked up if there is another issue with the car. If your car develops a DPF fault it is probably due to a engine related fault as listed below. Normally a blocked DPF can be forced through the regeneration process after repairs. Its worth noting that DPF soot content goes up to ‘400%’, in Mercedes terms anyway.
- Air charge pressure faults; See two below issues:
- Split rubber boost pipes. Air intake systems in diesels generally breathe a bit of oil, over time this oil can deteriorate rubber and the flexible boost pipes that go from the turbo to intercooler and intercooler to intake manifold split open. If you have a ‘wooshing’ noise and lack of power, check these first.
- Intake manifold bolt snapping. (OM651 Engine only) The bolts that secure the intake manifold to the cylinder head cannot be removed from the manifold, occasionally one breaks and under the boost pressure from the turbo it leaks air around the bolt. Quite a pain to diagnose.
- DPF pressure sensor open circuit / implausible signal faults. We change these a lot. If you have to carry out a forced regeneration on the DPF, i would say its good measure to replace this. On early models there was a modification to the wiring loom where it joins the sensor, worth noting for 651 engines only.
- Coolant leaks:
- Waterpump leaking. (OM651 Engine only). Bearing fails.
- Thermostats leaking. (OM651 Engine only). Unit leaks on seams.
- EGR system leaks. (M651 Engine only). All of the EGR is water cooled, early models used to suffer this but barely see it recently)
- Oil Leaks:
- Oil filter housing (OM651 Engine only). Leaks where it seals to cylinder block
- Oil cooler (OM642 V6 Engine Only). Leaks where it seals to the cylinder block.
- Estate models have rear air suspension. Air suspension pumps wear out. Airbags are made of rubber and deteriorate with use / age. Fact. Have replaced a faulty valve block too – only once though.
- Timing chains / tensioner. OM651 engine more than OM642 engine. Chains elongate, tensioners wear. We’ve replaced chains at 100,000 miles, some like mine made it quite far.
- Front seats base cover splits open.
Whats it like generally?
I find it pretty effortless to drive! I’ve driven a few pre facelift models and found them a little softer / floaty, comparable to its predecessor the W211. The facelift feels a little firmer to drive, as does the interior / exterior look a little sharper.
The 7 Speed gearbox is smooth.
Seats are comfortable.
Media connectivity is great – DAB, FM, Bluetooth audio, iPod connect, internet radio, SATNAV
The facelift model has intelligent LED headlights as standard. If you’ve not driven a car with these headlights, well you won’t want to go back after. Watch this video to get an idea of what they do.
Final thoughts
Given the milage that this vehicle has covered it has not had a bad life. I expect it to go on for many hundreds of thousands of miles.
Other Info
Always use the correct specification oil that is approved not meets the requirements. In the case of the OM651 engine the specification is 229.52.
Take a look at these eBay links, you might find a bargain! UK Based!
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