Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER - STORAGE - FUEL GAUGE SYSTEM | |||||
| 470036 | 05/01/2009 | PB-47-00-36B | 10016670 | Mercedes: the fuel level indicated in the instrument cluster does not match the actual fill level. this may be caused by a fault in the fuel level sensor function chain: hydraulic and electrical lines and their connections, rear sam or in | 09/27/2005 |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | |||
| 02/14/2011 | |||
| Fuel tank baffle failure 2003 sl 500 mbz | |||
| 08/18/2010 | 100000 | ||
| I have a 2003 sl500 mercedes . i hear either a free dangling object behind the seats or perhaps a noise from an object in the gas tank (not sure where the tank is). this clanging noise is heard when car is shook. even a light nudge of the car will cause it to clank. like a dangling object, hard accelleration will cause the noise to go away but when the car stops accelerating a clanging noise is heard. the car is running perfectly. this may have started happening while my car was parked overnight seeing as though it would have been hard to miss it when parking the night before. i can not rule out vandalism of some sort but i am having a hard time seeing how this could be the case. mercedes dealer states that there is an anchore that holds the gas tank in place and it has broken, that's why the i get the clanging noise!! striking the rear wall of the interior compartment seems to make a noise consistent with the clanging. is this suppose to happen to car of this calibur? the dealer wants to charge $3000. | |||
| 03/24/2009 | 67000 | ||
| 1. events leading up to failure. driver started noticing sloshing sound coming from gas tank area. next day, a rattling noise starting coming from gas tank area each time the car would come to a stop. the noise was consistent with something floating around and hitting something mental inside. the sound comes from the gas tank area, consistent with a loose piece of metal floating in the gas tank. 2. upon inspection, the baffle within the gas tank had broken off and was loose, floating in the gas tank. each time the driver comes to a stop, the baffle will float around and bang on the inside of the gas tank. preliminary inspection reveals that subsequent model year gas tanks are differently designed to prevent such failure. consequences of having a loose piece of metal floating around the gas take are extremely serious. if not taken care of promptly, there is a potential that the metal piece may damage the gas tank and cause a fire or other harm. 3. the entire gas tank must be removed -- a $3000 procedure. because of the nature of the defect, many repairs will fall outside of the warranty period. the dealer pretends as though this is an uncommon issue. independent mercedes shops confirm this is a widespread issue. | |||
| 02/22/2010 | 70739 | 1 | |
| Mercedes-benz built baffles inside the fuel tank to prevent fuel sloshing noise during stop and go motion. these baffles were poorly designed and weakly welded into place resulting in them coming loose and banging around inside the fuel tank. being a small convertible and given that fuel tank is immediately behind passenger compartment, end result is a very loud banging noise making driving a slow torture. aside from irritating loud banging noise there is also a potential of explosion since this is a moving metal part inside a metal fuel tank containing gasoline as both liquid and fumes. there are also many reported instances of this design flaw with some dealers reporting 10 fuel tanks replaced in 1 week. please visit http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r230-sl-class/1295215-sl500-noise-rear-interior-wall-gas.html and http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=57846&page=2 i believe there are enough of these complaints to warrant a class action suit. both mercedes dealer and mercedes corporate (supervisor mr. mariano) have refused to fix this issue insisting car is out of warranty, and there is no open recall on this issue. dealership quoted $2400 to replace fuel tank. *tr | |||
| 09/03/2008 | 65000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mercedes benz sl500. while driving at any speed, the contact heard a rattling noise coming from the trunk. he took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the baffles in the gas tank failed, which caused the rattling in the gas tank. the gas tank needs to be replaced; however, the dealer refuses to take responsibility for the repair. through online research, the contact discovered numerous complaints for the same failure. he believes a recall should be issued. the current and failure mileages were 65,000. | |||
| 12/20/2006 | 44000 | 1 | |
| 2003 mercedes benz sl500 - baffle breaks free within gas tank seemingly causing a safety hazard. mercedes does not replace the tank for free in all cases. gas tank needed replaced. *tr | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - STORAGE - TANK ASSEMBLY | |||
| 01/01/2003 | 18000 | 1 | |
| My mercedes 2003 sl500 developed banging noise in the gas tank, in january 2010 , having about 18,000 miles, prompting me to call the dealer. i was told that the baffle broke off and couldn't be fixed, advising me to replace the tank for $2,500. i argued that it was an obvious manufacturing defect considering the low miles and requested a free tank replacement, but i was refused on the grounds that the warranty expired. i couldn't believe what i heard, did some research and discovered that early models in 2003 and 2004, had similar tank problems and were replaced with a better design later. but, i was not informed about it. furthermore, i found out that many other owners from that time had the same problem as i did. i waited for a while to see if mercedes corporation would recall the early models, kept the gas tank full to avoid the annoying noise (the broken baffle cannot float and bang when the tank is full) and when i got convinced that mercedes would not do anything for the victims i decided to file this complaint. it is a shame that a manufacturer wouldn't want to correct their own mistakes, considering a $100,000 price tag that i paid. what happened to that german quality and ethics? they certainly lost this customer for good. | |||
| 02/01/2011 | 1 | ||
| 2003 sl500 mercedes benz. consumer states noise inside gas tank when vehicle is moving *tgw | |||
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER | |||
| 03/20/2010 | 60000 | ||
| I purchased my sl500 used, with only 29,000 miles on it, directly from rusnak mercedes in arcadia, ca. service has been beyond poor since day 1. my current problem is an obnoxious banging that comes from behind the head. i called rusnak about this and the lady was very firm telling me it's not a recall, although i'd read lots of complaints online about the same problem. so i took it to a local garage- after a week of labor they find it's a hole in the gastank, $2000 to repair. i do not understand why this has not been recalled. everything i've read has said this is a common problem, all in 2003 sl500s around 60,000 miles. how can mercedes ignore this? | |||