bad news from Merc. re: blown engine (1 Viewer)

[jacken]

Hi,

Had a letter from Mercedes Germany to-day saying basically that they won't help with costs towards the new engine I had fitted in Spain recently. They state their reasons as: 1. it had a chip fitted which may have contributed to the damage, 2. the engine was 5 years old and 3. that the van had 2 owners. The chip was not fitted by me but was on it when I bought it. To recap: my engine blew whilst in Spain this summer and I had to pay 11,000 euros for a complete new engine. They only said the chip may have contributed, not that this was the cause.

So there you are, all you with chips fitted out there: learn from my expensive lesson.

ken

 

[pappajohn]

Bummer !!!!!!

 

[hilldweller]

The chip was not fitted by me but was on it when I bought it.
ken

Damn - perfect get-out for them.

So if they throw doubt on the chip ( was it a chip or just re-flashed ? ) then how about writing to the chip people - even slimmer chance but it costs little.

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[kickstart]

Damn - perfect get-out for them.

So if they throw doubt on the chip ( was it a chip or just re-flashed ? ) then how about writing to the chip people - even slimmer chance but it costs little.

You would think that you would have a case,not fit for purpose and all that but they probably have it covered with disclaimers and the like.... and if it was fitted before you bought it bad news all round. :shout:

 

[vwalan]

the sprinter as always had a bad name . i wanted one when they first came out but was soon told by my friends in germany to stay away. sorry to hear your bad news ,hope your replacement is a good one. cheers alan.

 

[jhorsf]

I wonder how many of the hundreds of people who have holed pistons on the merc have heard the same rubbish from merc

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[ourcampersbeentrashed]

Try the consumer action group website, they help out with all sorts of things perhaps someone might be able to help you there xxx sorry I am not knowledgeable on engines

Its a free website that has helped people with lots of problems.

 

[hilldweller]

the sprinter as always had a bad name . i wanted one when they first came out but was soon told by my friends in germany to stay away. .

You wouldn't think so reading this forum - "I'd like one on a Merc, good they are" all the time.

Like the other one "Wow Harley Davidson, they are the best bike in the world, aren't they".

And, "you never get shot for buying IBM." though I don't think you can any more.

 

[Geo]

Hi Ken
This is/was the expected result
Do not give up yet
You now have the opportunity to point out that this problem is a well documented and known fault caused by faulty injectors, not as a result of the chip/re map
it has happened to hundreds of mercs with no alteration to the ecu
I would inform them it is your intension to challenge the findings in a civil court and will be asking the court to make them produce the history of this engine and of this known fault.
Offer them another chance to reconsider making a contribution, and point out that if this is rejected you will be going for the full amount, get a solicitor to write on your behalf, this wont cost a lot
you can then decide based on the response he gets whether to take it any further
Geo

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[lebesset]

while camping in london recently had an AA man come and park near me for a couple of hours while he awaited his next call out
we discussed vehicles used for motorhomes and his take was that whereas fiat engines seem to be bombproof the current merc sprinters are a bundle of trouble .....so maybe I should be happy that the possibility of gearbox problems on my 2.8 fiat is the lesser evil

 

[tincan]

Like the other one "Wow Harley Davidson, they are the best bike in the world, aren't they".

.

An old pal of mine once told me that since he sold his boat he had no need for a Harley. When I queried this, he told me that he no longer needed an anchor.

Noel

 

[haganap]

Hi Ken
This is/was the expected result
Do not give up yet
You now have the opportunity to point out that this problem is a well documented and known fault caused by faulty injectors, not as a result of the chip/re map
it has happened to hundreds of mercs with no alteration to the ecu
I would inform them it is your intension to challenge the findings in a civil court and will be asking the court to make them produce the history of this engine and of this known fault.
Offer them another chance to reconsider making a contribution, and point out that if this is rejected you will be going for the full amount, get a solicitor to write on your behalf, this wont cost a lot
you can then decide based on the response he gets whether to take it any further
Geo

That sounds worth a try.:thumb:

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[johng]

bad news this , very sorry..

An old pal of mine once told me that since he sold his boat he had no need for a Harley. When I queried this, he told me that he no longer needed an anchor.

now now

 

[Wildman]

Keep pushing don't fall at the first hurdle, what year did these sprinter engines first put in an appearance? can anyone tell me.

 

[hilldweller]

Keep pushing don't fall at the first hurdle.

Quite right.

Fiat would have done FA about juddergate but for the pressure and power of the internet.

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[hilldweller]

An old pal of mine once told me that since he sold his boat he had no need for a Harley. When I queried this, he told me that he no longer needed an anchor.

Noel

You may say that I could not possibly comment

 

[scotjimland]

, what year did these sprinter engines first put in an appearance? can anyone tell me.

Hi Roger

1995 ... second generation 2006

some history here

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

jim

 

[JumboBeef]

the sprinter as always had a bad name .

I (sometimes) drive a Sprinter at work which is 7 years old, has covered more than 200,000 miles, most of which at 90+ with very hard driving/high revs from cold, and it is still on it's original engine. This is in addition to our other Sprinters (with less mileage but with the same hard driving) which are also still going strong.

I've always found them to be very good.

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[vwalan]

well i must say some of the merc range seem good but i think they went down hill with the bigger sprinters .if you had the vario or the early 8i4 vario style mercs ok .there as been continuing problems with mercedes over the years with the sprinter . also the mb 100 but that was g,box trouble. shame they never admit it though. cheers alan.

 

[jacken]

Many thanks for your replies and ecouragement. I will take Geo's advice and keep on to them as per his post. I will let you know the outcome.

ken

 

[Stephen & Jeannie]

You may say that I could not possibly comment

Oh how I miss that series !!!...

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[Blisters]

Hi Ken

I'm with Geo on this, I feel you will have to take it to court though

First do you have legal cover insurance that could cover this for you

Now then, where to start, the first thing is that there is a little known peice of legislation which i'm sure is part of the consumer goods act for the UK (not Europe theres is only 5 years) which offeres you protection for goods which are not fit for purpose for 7 years

second, if you were/are a enginenner/mechanic then yes merc might and i stress might have a case that you contributed to the failure, but given the knowledge that this is a known faulty i think they may well struggle with this

Thirdly, if you can prove that you didn't fit the chip and can therefore claim ignorance of it exsistance prior to the blown engine ( or better still you could claim complete ingnorance, claiming to the best of your knowledge there was no chip fitted to the engine - although i suspect you have already acknowledged your knowing of it)

Bottom line for me, i would use the UK ledgislation and the fact that i was a layman i am ignorant to the the workings of an engine, the fact that you didn't fit the chip and claim that fisrt and for most the engine is not fit for purpose because of the known faulty

Good luck you'll need it, but please consider this carfully as you have already spent 11K

 

[Losos]

Hi Ken - What a bummer !! Please keep us posted on what you do now and any further response from Merc. Personally I have always been a bit suspicious of the 'wonder chip' and all that they claim to be able to do to an engine, not that I have any first hand experience just going on what people on here say.

As it happens I've been looking at a Sprinter today (On the internet not in the flesh) I'm sure you'll tell me no, no, NO, but they do tick a lot of the boxes for me.

I wonder what the previous owner of your van used to drive like, and more importantly what fuel did he use, during the very high prices a few years back I'm told a lot of dodgy fuel got on to the market.

Is it true that only Shell keep the refining process entirely 'in house' and every one else uses a bit of 'third party' stuff ??? Can anyone confirm or deny that ????

 

[scotjimland]

Is it true that only Shell keep the refining process entirely 'in house' and every one else uses a bit of 'third party' stuff ??? Can anyone confirm or deny that ????

Hi

I can categorically deny that, I worked for Shell for several years, we had tankers from every major and the supermarkets filling up.. all from the same bowser.. Tankers fill up at the nearest refinery .. irrespective of company, they have reciprocal agreements.

Can you imagine a tanker coming from South Wales to fill a station in Inverness ? Of course not, it will come from Grangemouth .. and visa versa


jim

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[wireman]

Having already spent 11k I would suspect that another 2k to fight this (and probably being able to add it to claim if they insist on going to court when if you win you can get costs awarded; and make very sure that Merc understand that if it goes to court you will be applying for ALL costs as well as the origional 11K) will be less of a bitter pill.

FWIW we have a sprinter van as a works vehicle which has not been the most reliable of vehicles but then has not been the worst (that allocade belongs to a LDV). The last fault that manifested itself was a faulty injector that caused afwul starting problems and cost £200 to sort FOR ONE INJECTOR and the diagnostics and labour. It now starts on the button Mileage: 170,000

Fiat 2.8JTD motor home...engine water leak that despite the best efforts of two garages (main dealer and another) still remains. It loses about 1.5 litres then stops: no overheating problems as yet. I ought to point out that the main dealer said'we can't find anything' and refused to look at it further. The other garage is looking at the problem as an ongoing thing everytime I take it to them for a service and is giving excellent service as well. Horn has stopped working, reversing camera has stopped woring (due to reversing light failure, not bulb) has had two new alternators (both under warranty) and I'm on the thrid radiatior(all replaced under warranty) other than that its been reliable ....

 

[Geo]

Hi Ken me again
Do you or in fact anybody, know an Ambulance mechanic of a friendly nature ?
The reason I ask is the Ambulance service in the last few years have swapped from Renault, due to cracking and failing chassis, to Merc
and due to the volume of vehicles purchased, their workshops have been granted dealer status and as such have access and copies of all internal Merc bulletins and the details of the known injector problems and holed pistons are contained in such a bulletin, a copy of that would be very helpfull:thumb:

 

[JumboBeef]

The reason I ask is the Ambulance service in the last few years have swapped from Renault, due to cracking and failing chassis, to Merc and due to the volume of vehicles purchased

Depends where in the UK you are. Some Trusts have moved away from Merc and are now onto VWs.

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[jacken]

Thanks for the useful replies, as always. I perhaps should point out that the chap I bought this van off, bought it in Germany, so I am not sure if our consumer laws apply. I genuinely did not know it had a chip fitted until he told me when it blew up. He is a very nice person and I am in regular contact with him, indeed we will be meeting him at the Shepton show next week.

ken

 

[Losos]

Hi

I can categorically deny that, I worked for Shell for several years, we had tankers from every major and the supermarkets filling up.. all from the same bowser..

Thanks Jim, so basically, if there is one refinery with a quality problem, the product could end up in any filling station (i.e. Shell, Total, Supermarket, etc. etc.)

I know you'll say it's very rare but it has been implied on some of these forums that fuel quality (or lack of) might be the cause of engines blowing up.

 

[Geo]

Thanks Jim, so basically, if there is one refinery with a quality problem, the product could end up in any filling station (i.e. Shell, Total, Supermarket, etc. etc.)

I know you'll say it's very rare but it has been implied on some of these forums that fuel quality (or lack of) might be the cause of engines blowing up.

Poor starting and or running, damaged lambda sensors, damaged cat converters, possible
Serious engine damage or engines blowing up!!!! due purely to poor quality fuel Highly unlikely
Geo

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