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My SLS woes... are not getting better!

14K views 59 replies 39 participants last post by  Mgent 
#1 ·
I'll try to keep it simple...

We purchased a 2012 SLS on November 7th 2011 it arrived to the dealership a few days before. Picked it up with 36 miles. Over the course of the first week it had about 400 miles on it.

On Wednesday November 16th the car locked its transmission in park with the ebrake on and wouldnt let it disengage. After speaking to the dealership they had to send a tech to my house to put a hub-bearing on the wheel to get the car to roll. We had to push it down my drive (since the design of my garage wouldn't let a tow truck get to it.

They stated this has happened to a few people from 2011 model year; cars called for a new transmission, I wasn't happy about this, then they came back and said the control unit was bad and replaced it. Picked up the car on November 18th everything seemed fine.

Fast forward a week car was driven once since its trip to the dealership. I noticed the front grill had been pushed in and the tow hook cover kept coming lose. ZIP TIED it in place and drove to the dealership today the 28th.

November 28th drove to the dealership, they fixed the clips on the grill and sent me on my way. When I got home I noticed smoke bellowing out of the passenger side front end. Oil leak was hitting oil cooler and burning off.

Also noticed both headlights were flooded with water, (very heavy condensation). I am driving the car back to the dealership tomorrow.

Now here is my issue the dealership is 65 miles away from my house. In the first 3 weeks of ownership the car has had to be returned to the dealership 3 times. So out of the 700 miles on my car now 260 of them have been spent driving it to the dealership.

I understand its a low production car, but most of these bugs should have been handled in the 2011 models.

I'm keeping my cool but just want some feedback on what you guys think its fair.
 
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#2 ·
Small update. You guys and ts are my place to vent and at this point who knows when the venting will end.

Spoke to my SA today, he mentioned that Charlie H. a regional service advisor stated that smoking from the passenger brake duct was normal. Since it was just some water splashing up and steaming off of the oil cooler. Here is a picture... of what I saw after 1.5 hours driving!



I have spoken to MB USA today they are forwarding me to rep tomorrow. The car is getting a new windshield because of the pitting (at 700 miles) and supposedly there is a bulletin on the headlights.

Then they came and took my sweet E class loaner and gave me a C class. lol I took my 08 Cayenne to a new dealership that I've never been too nor did I purchase the car from them and they gave me a 2011 Cayman as a loaner.

I know you guys are telling me to keep my cool, and I am (trying to) but I've kind of had it, I am going to see what MB USA and the AMG rep have to say. If I don't get some hella compensation for the troubles. I dont know what I am going to do.

Lemon law in Florida is 30 days in service within 2 years. I'm at 6 days in 3 weeks! Going to count down the days...
 
#3 · (Edited by Moderator)
I haven't heard from my dealer since Tuesday except to get there loaner car back and give me a C class.

I contacted MB USA on Wednesday at 6 pm. They told me they will forward the info to a case rep and contact me within 24 hours. Its now Saturday with no word from them.

So I'm completely in the dark. This thread started as information for me, but proved to be a great tool. An AMG rep mentioned to another member who has been helping me in the shadows to stop posting negativity. (but I'd comply but no one wants to tell me whats going on)

Good news we are at 8 days out of the necessary 30 days to Lemon law the car with 23 months to go.
 
#7 ·
I believe you should be treated with much more compensation and service with what you had to go through. The amount of miles you've thrown on the car alone to handle this is outrageous. Personally, I'd be pissed as fuuu. I respect your cool in this but enough is enough sometimes. It's a freakin' SLS!
 
#10 ·
Ya sometimes that's the crappy part about buying limited production cars. Things go wrong, the manufacturer isn't as motivated to actually fix issues since I'm sure profit margin is very minimal on those. Stay persistent though. If the dealer wants you to quit posting "negativity" then they need to make sure their techs are working their ass off to get you what you paid for. Keep us posted and good luck!
 
#32 · (Edited)
I don't think these problems have anything to do with the car being limited production. A few months ago I test drove a brand new CL and 2 of the features didn't work. I wasn't shocked this new car needed service, I bought a C-class for my wife about 10 years ago. That thing was in the shop so often that I became a regular at the dealer. I saw the same people many times. They were becoming so friendly that it ended up as a social club. These other regulars had Benz of all types so it wasn't just my c-class.
Benz cars ride like no other. They feel like no other. They break down like no other.

Check out this forum:
http://www.mercedes-benz-usa.com/
 
#13 ·
Wow.

My mother had some major issues with her XJR when it was 3 days old. Jaguar took the car back, told her that she could have any car she wanted for a discount. She picked up an XKR as a result. The XKR was a year wait at that time (2001), so Jaguar gave her a brand new, loaner, XJR. This is for a $80k car. MB should probably be able to help you out considering the SLS's price tag and exclusivity.

Also, speak with a manager about the loaner you receive. When I had my H1 and had a good relationship with the dealer for ~5 years, they still tried to give me a shit car for a loaner. I spoke with a manager and ended up in fully loaded CTSs, which was nice. Just don't be a dick, and let them know that while you are in an MB, like the rest of their customers, you are not in a standard MB and need to be held to a higher standard.

Nick
 
#17 ·
I would def. keep record of everythig and the days. I would much rather have it lemoned. The treatment you are getting is retarded, speak to a higher up and look into a lawyer if you plan to have it lemoned. I hope it all works out for you, GL and keep is posted.
 
#18 ·
that sucks, ive heard nothing but bad things about the sls, a friend of mine does deliveries for the local mb dealer and he had to pick an sls up from an owners house who had every exotic under the sun and when he asked the owner why he was sending it back he said the car was just horrible, especially the trans.
 
#19 ·
I'm sorry to hear about all the issues you've been having with your sls. My dad has had issues with his as well though nowhere near as severe. The dealer constantly provide "fixes" the four times my Dad's brought it in but to no success,

For my Dad's his air brake would frequently be locked upright into the air after it's deployed ie won't recline back. It happens randomly and without any apparent reason. The 4th time he brought it in, they replaced everything down to the electronic control module but the problem still persisted but less frequently and if he restarted the car it would recline back down.

In the end, he sold the car back, at a significant loss of course...he just got sick of the constant problem/back n forth and gave up. It was a good thing I didn't get those ADVs from Ben for his birthday lol.

Best of luck with yours, at least in the states you have other pursuable options.
 
#20 ·
i use to have a youtube video of a guy that bought a very rare clk gtr and had horrible problems.mercedes flew techs in to try to fix the car to no avail . they pretty much left the owner with a car that couldnt be fixed. the owner had news media there to report on his unfortunate situation. given the price of the car was in the stratosphere he had to take legal action against mercedes.im surprised the dealer you bought it from isnt being more proactive. i would contact the media before they come i would have a license plate made that said "lemon" and put it on the car...i would have a license plate frame that showed the dealer you bought it from...bad press for the maker and dealer
 
#21 ·
So sorry to hear about your woes with the SLS. It seems that over the years more and more MB dealers have lost the idea of quality service and the newer models seem to have just too many issues that MB service can't even fix. My father had a 07 S550 Launch Edition which he had to Lemon because it wouldn't stop giving one problem after another. After that incident he didn't even bother with another Merc. To me it seems that the older models were much better because even I have had my fair share of issues with my C63 AMG.

The best you can do at this point is to give MB USA some time to respond, but if they don't rectify this situation, hire a good lawyer and blow off some steam intelligently.

I was also looking for an SLS as well, but I'll hold off to see how they respond with your situation. Subscribed!
 
#22 ·
I think you should just give it back.....my uncle just return his sls almost same problems like yours every week something, and on top of everything yesterday on his (more of his wife's dd) '10 gl550 with 35k on it transmission totally broke down it wont shift more then 1st gear no reverse also, this morning we called the dealer and they said that we have pulled something heavy and that is why it happened which is nonsense we all live in down town high rise building and this suv never pulled more than 5 people at times........I was considering and actually waiting on new '12 ml63 amg with same dealer but now with all this experience ill probably cancel and pick up Q7 sport package as my dd or something. I'm not going trough this with mb
 
#23 ·
From working at several high end dealerships (and a few regular ones) once you start the process of returning the car to them, they will do everything in their power to fix your car and keep you happy. Its always baffeld me how a honda dealership provides better pick up and delivery/customer/warranty services that a Ferrari dealer will. Ensure that you have the service mananger or GM of the dealership test drive your car after it has been "fixed". So if you experience issues again you dont have to argue your case with service advisors and can go right to the top. Theres no worse feeling than getting a car youve wanted for a long time and are passionate about only to have it let you down and not be supported by the dealer properly.
 
#24 ·
Just got a call from the dealer saying my car is ready for pick up. Told them I am not picking it up until I hear from AMG or MB. She told me that she contacted her Representative who said nothing is wrong with the car now.

I made a complaint with MB USA on Wednesday November 30th at 6 pm. Was told I'll hear from someone within 24 hours. Still haven't heard from anyone.

They are really adding insult to injury!!!

Also they said they couldn't get the smoking to reproduce, which means nothing is wrong with it. I SHOWED THEM A PICTURE OF THE DAMN CAR SMOKING!!!!!!!

I think I am going to go pick it up, start a pool on how soon its next trip to the dealership is!!!?!?!

Any takers?
 
#25 · (Edited)
Damn bro! Can't believe this. I think I dealt with that same rep when I finally managed to get my CL63 bought-back by Mercedes. Keep me posted.

Also, I'm willing to bet it will go back in less than a week. I hope it doesn't have to, but I never had any luck with Mercedes fixing my issues.

Oh, and I'm glad we gave our SLS back after hearing about your issues.
 
#28 ·
Headlights were already full of condensation after 30 minutes of driving. I saw almost 220 degree from the tranny temps. And after arriving to the dealership I noticed a black magic marker type stain on my seat, which the conveniently missed when detailing my car. They had to call out a line of details to come out and fix it. I know everyone is probably pressing that I use a new dealer. But they all seem to bogus in my our area.

Oh well. I am just going to drive the car again until it breaks or I find a car oriented attorney in the area to get a full refund so I can buy a MP4 or 458 next!!!
 
#26 ·
@Bisan - They always say that they couldn't reproduce it. You have to have video of it happening or else they don't even bother unfortunately. I hope the car doesn't have to go back in but if it does, you are better off seeking legal action and return the damn thing.
 
#27 ·
Wow, they should be f*cking ashamed of the shit service they've provided you with. You having to drive the car to them over and over is unbelievably ridiculous. My neighbor used to have a Maserati Gran Turismo and anytime ANYTHING went wrong with the car, the dealership had a tow truck sent out to pick up the car and return it once they were done with it. Hell, my friend with a Honda had a few problems with his car and the service he received was nowhere near how shitty you've been treated. Wish you the best man, good luck.
 
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