MERCEDES WOES (Dec 2022-Feb
2023)
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Just before Christmas
2022 I decided to juggle around our campervan and car to make
a bit more space for our Xmas visitors. I drove the Mercedes
onto the back lawn and was able to rotate the van and back it
close to the side of the greenhouse. That would allow three vehicles
comfortably side by side. I repositioned the car off the grass
and thought nothing more of it.
The next morning my wife was due to collect the turkey but she
was unable to start the car. |
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Let me explain. The last
Mercedes we had hated being left without a run and the new one
alas is no different. It needs regular use to keep the battery
up to scratch and as we hadn't used it for a couple of weeks
my first thought had been a flat battery so I jumped in and pushed
the start button only to be rewarded with a slow and irregular
cranking. I checked the voltage and sure enough it was way down
so I researched the type, checked around local stores and went
off a couple of days later to purchase a new one. The wait was
because my daughter and her partner were due and their car would
be a lot more convenient than our campervan (which had already
served to collect the turkey). |
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This is an "Absorbent
Glass Mat" battery hence the abbreviation "AGM"
and are fitted in cars with that "green" feature of
automatically turning off the engine once stopped.. say in a
traffic queue. |
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In fact it was after Christmas
my wife and I got around to fitting the new battery a Lion AGM115.
Not easy due to the way it's fitted in the later model B Class.
Anyway all went well apart from backstrain and I confidently
went to start the car. It cranked over a few times which is unusual
and then ran very very lumpily, in fact I reckoned on no more
than two cylinders.
I have an old pal who used to
run our local garage who knows about Mercedes cars and had helped
diagnose problems with our CLK220. He couldn't help directly
but put me in touch with a friend that he explained was a real
Mercedes expert. Duly, Tim arrived and tried a few tricks with
his super-duper diagnosis kit, reporting that two fuel injectors
had failed together with the camshaft position indicator. Very
odd.
After puzzling a while he jumped
out of the car, opened the bonnet, shone his torch inside, and
pulled off the engine top plastic cover with a flourish. Oh dear..
a large rats nest made from chewed plastic and straw was sitting
there right on top of the engine. We pulled away the thing and
brushed away loads of debris to reveal chewed wiring. This B-class
Mercedes uses a large harness connecting the ECU to vital bits
of engine and Tim spotted that the centre two diesel injection
wires were basically missing, the wire heading off to the cam
position indicator was cut and to the right, lots of wiring emerging
from the ECU harness was missing. In total I reckoned 18 inches
of cabling was gone.. no wonder the engine was a bit rough.
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Above.. the ECU cable harness bottom right connects
to a secondary harness (top) routed along a plastic tray, from
which spurs connect to the injectors. Below you can see injector
4. |
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Below, injector 2 wiring
is in poor shape. |
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Below a view of the purple
wire to injector 4 which escaped chewing. |
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What to do??? I decided to clean
up the mess and see if it was a viable proposition to re-instate
missing wiring. I found there was enough of the wiring still
in-situ to identify colours and to mate up the disconnected bits
with the ECU harness. There are protective covers clipped in
place to neaten up the wiring and removing and unclipping enough
of the covering, allowed me to estimate the quantity of new cables
needed. The ECU harness had been chewed so much I had to free
up enough cut cable ends by gently easing wires from the harness.
Eventually I'd identified the cut harness cables by colour to
the missing injector wires. An extra problem was the wires to
the plastic connectors to the injector plugs had been chewed
almost flush with the connector housings but thankfully there
was just enough insulation still in place to see the colours.
The next task was to make a
new cable sub-harness to carry the missing connections. This
comprised six pairs of wires. Once this had been made I soldered
the new harness in position (not forgetting a couple of layers
of heat-shrink tubing), clipped back the protective plastic covers
then called back Tim with his magic tester.
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The ECU end of the new
sub-harness and below a general view. |
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Above showing rat poison
strategically placed to deter future visitors. Below before refitting
the plastic engine cover. |
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.Everything went well
except a single ABS wire yet undetected was flagged up as open
circuit. This was reported by Tim's magic box as the ABS sensor
at the front passenger wheel. Still, the engine fired up perfectly
and even allowed a run round the block of a few miles. Alas,
loads of warning lights and countless messages showed up, complete
with an orange engine warning light.
We left it that I could take
another look and fix the remaining chewed wire or Tim could drive
it to his shop and use his lift, but at least we could use the
car
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The next day I decided
to tackle the ABS job and, by turning the steering fully clockwise,
I was able to see the ABS cable between the wheel and the lower
edge of the inner plastic protective wheel arch cover. I left
it there and planned to fix the broken wire later.
The next day I decided to straighten
the wheels (still turned fully right), and jack up the car to
gain access to the engine cover which masked the damaged ABS
cabling.
I put the key in the centre storage box and pressed the start
button. There was a click and nothing else and I immediately
imagined my new battery had gone flat, however a red message
suddenly lit up the screen telling me to "consult workshop".
How this makes sense remains
a mystery as the engine failed to start and I could see no option
but to get the car fixed by a dealer.
I checked and my insurance covered
the repair, albeit with a penalty of £500 excess.
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Now that I'd decided to
let professionals assume control, all I needed to do was to call
the insurance company, sit back and the car would get properly
repaired. Things didn't quite turn out that way though.
My insurer is Mercedes Benz
and their website (see excerpt below) is very reassuring…
the car would be collected 24/7, fixed by a Mercedes Benz repairer
with a loan car if needed.
Mercedes-Benz Motor Insurance features include:
" Guaranteed repairs at a Mercedes-Benz Authorised Repairer,
using genuine Mercedes-Benz parts"
" 24/7 UK accident recovery to your nearest Mercedes-Benz
Authorised Repairer"
" UK call centre"
" 180 days' cover as standard for temporary visits to most
of mainland Europe (up to 3 months in one trip)"
" Unlimited cover for in-car audio and telecommunication
equipment (including COMAND systems), fitted by the factory or
showroom"
" Your 'No Claims Bonus' is unaffected if you are involved
in an accident with an uninsured driver which is not your fault"
" Courtesy car as standard"
Without being long winded
I discovered no-one wants to fix a car damaged by rodents and
some of those Mercedes promises are just not true.
"Tell Mercedes-Benz Insurance
about the incident as soon as possible by calling
0344 4933 231. Don’t forget that if you are a Mercedes-Benz
owner you are guaranteed
that in the event your Mercedes-Benz vehicle is damaged as a
result of an incident
that it will be repaired by Mercedes-Benz trained technicians,
in a Mercedes-Benz
approved repairer, using only genuine Mercedes-Benz parts and
paint. For your peace
of mind all labour, paint and genuine parts are covered by a
three-year warranty (excluding
wear and tear). Please note that you are entitled to select a
repairer of your choice,
however, if you take this option then the guarantee on parts,
labour and paint may not apply
and you may not be entitled to a courtesy car".
First I needed to raise a claim.
The website directed me to an agent that deals with claims. They
pass on the details to what Mercedes call their "underwriter",
in this case a company called AXA. Then AXA pass the details
to another company whose task is to select a repairer geographically
fairly close. Alas I soon discovered that details seem to get
lost in the process and communication was hopeless (being told
at one point I was 69th in the queue).
I did actually get to talk to
someone (who was clearly reading from a script) after waiting
for an hour in a another queue, but it was a complete waste of
time. Reassuring words and zero action.
Eventually I was informed a local repairer had been selected
but I didn't hear from them and a cursory check suggested they
were not at all suitable for fixing my car and during the process
the term "Mercedes Approved" seemed to have been modified
to "AXA Approved"
I rang Mercedes to explain this
and discovered their reassuring words (above) were in fact porkies.
At no point in the claim was
a Mercedes authorised repairer ready to fix my car although admittedly,
at one point I was informed a Mercedes authorised repairer in
Salisbury 25 miles away had been appointed and would contact
me. I heard nothing so rang them. "We're not at all interested
in fixing your car", they said.
After ringing Mercedes loads
of times I got a phone call from AXA who said I had to supply
pictures to prove the rodents had gone. Tricky to say the least
but I did send them a collection of pictures and I was told I'd
be contacted by a salvage company Copart, who would take the
car to their depot near Bath (a 120 mile round trip) where it'd
be examined and an engineer's report issued. I queried this..
"wouldn't it be easier if the engineer came here as the
car wasn't driveable and the electronic handbrake was locked
on?", but no.. it wasn't their practice and the lady quoted
something like a fortnight to collect the car and issue a report….
With my poor car no doubt to be later abandoned near Bath.
Memory-wise things have gone
a bit vague now but I recall a lady from the Copart salvage company
ringing me one morning. "Tell me which Mercedes dealer has
your car and we'll take it to our depot in Bath where we can
formally scrap it because the damage will be greater the 60%
of its value".
I said, "you must be mistaken… my car is here, it's
in new condition apart from the rodent damage and it's only done
13,000 miles". "Oh.. I think I made a mistake",
said the Copart lady. I told her I'd sent her pictures of the
car and she said, "Oh yes here they are".
Various other, often disconnected,
events occurred. A second request for rodent-free pictures and
a second request for my V5 document as I recall, after
I'd formally withdrawn my claim... and a week or so after a month
of zero progress.. so much for the promised 24/7 recovery. "Only
if your car is blocking the road does this apply", I was
informed. I suggested that I roll it out my gate and block the
lane but the guy said that wouldn't meet their criteria. By then
there'd been 3 weeks of zero progress (not the promised 24/7
recovery). Would you believe there were 6 disjointed organisations
in the non-repair chain?
However.. I mentioned I'd withdrawn
my claim... so read on.
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My son in law Frank was
visiting. He's a solicitor but quite keen on cars and suggested
we look into the very recent fault (the one resulting in the
red warning message and failure to start the engine). |
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By then, I'd invested
in my own magic diagnostic box (above) and a digital workshop
manual and I reckoned the latest chewed wire was somewhere under
the air filter. I hadn't tackled this because under the bonnet
is a solid mass of stuff and I felt it was going to be quite
challenging. Anyway... Frank dived in and before long we were
surrounded by a collection of large and mysterious-looking plastic
parts.. a second layer was removed and the top of the gearbox
was revealed… there it is.. Frank said.. "a chewed
wire". Sure enough... a single chewed wire at the plug on
the gearbox needed stripping back, soldering and heatshrinking.
I forgot to take pictures... but I did tie a piece of rat poison
to the cable.
Within minutes all the plastic
parts had been clipped back, the engine started first press and
the car was again driveable meaning the campervan could be stood
down.
Driving the car revealed a few
other problems had materialised. That Christmas tree of ABS warning
lights was unchanged but the power steering was now very heavy
and the handbrake wasn't working. The latter seems insignificant
but is quite a vital feature. Due to the (stupid) handbrake design
lots of electronic boxes are in charge of actually stopping wheels
turning leaving the only option, other than a brick under a wheel,
was to turn the passenger-side wheel against the kerb.
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This is my Austin 16
bought for £12:10:0 in 1961.
The handbrake was a house
brick kept behind the driver's seat.
That sum sounds a lot but
it included 3 months remaining road tax and an unexpired MoT.
Third party fire and theft insurance was pricey.. it cost me
£11 for the year.
I bought it just after passing
my driving test in the driving school Ford Anglia. Eleven lessons
plus use of the car for the test cost me £7:19:6d
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The next week my younger son
Jeremy turned up with a plan to fix the bad ABS wire. As I was
mulling this over Frank turned up so, naturally the plan bulldozed
forward.
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The digital workshop manual
is incredibly difficult to use but I eventually found this blurry
picture which shows the ABS cable heading off behind the wheel
arch cover. |
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The first task was to
raise the front of the car so that the engine cover could be
removed and then the front passenger wheel removed so the wheel
arch cover could be detached. The first problem we met was our
ultra-low wheel stands would have fouled the ultra- ultra-low
bumper leaving jacking and adjustable axle stands as our only
option.
However, all went well and soon
the ABS cable connector was exposed, unclipped and withdrawn.
Sure enough a chewed wire was apparent. I gathered up my soldering
bits and pieces, lay on my back under the car, and soon the wire
was fixed. A quick check showed the ABS-dependent warning lights
had mainly gone. Another rats nest resting on the cover at the
car centre had to be hoovered out before the car was reassembled
(but leaving off the under-engine cover, a home for rodents).
The final task was undertaken
by Frank who used my magic diagnostic box to remove the dozen
or so pages of error reports. The heavy steering suddenly fixed
itself, the orange engine warning lamp extinguished and finally
the electronic handbrake gave its familiar groaning noise to
prove that too was fixed.
In fact all the displays are clear of warnings and the car drives
like new as it should except it needs a bit of a wash.
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As soon as the car was
fixed I rang to cancel the insurance claim.. then just in case
the message went astray I sent a few emails,
A couple of months later I received
the insurance renewal. I couldn't believe the figure AXA (acting
for Mercedes Insurance) wanted.. £777 instead of less than
half this for the previous year so I shopped around and found
the Market figure was around £295. The first explanation
for the sky-high renewal was I was nearly 80 last year and nearly
81 this year so does 79 to 80 accrue a huge extra risk despite
my 20+ no claims bonus? In fact this wasn't the case.
Mercedes rang on the Friday
to see if I wished to renew and I suggested £777 didn't
look very competitive. The lady explained that this was because,
although my claim had been cancelled, AXA had a rule that they
allow for a late third party claim. I asked if this would be
a claim from the mice, perhaps a medical thing that my wiring
had givem them indigestion, and eventually the lady said she'd
ring AXA to sort it all out.
Late Monday a nice chap from
AXA called to see what was going on. It seems none of my messages
re claim cancellation had been read. He promised that by end
of day he'd fix it and a sensible renewal figure would be forthcoming.
Not the case however because
Mercedes car insurance still wanted £606. By then I'd looked
on the various websites promising to save you zillions of pounds
and noted a little under £300 was the going rate. I selected
the cheapest and confirmed it offered much the same as my previous
insurer and then followed the instructions to pay. This failed...
bringing up various messages about authentication and "3D"
and "Page not found". After a few attempts the phone
rang and my bank wanted to know my mother's maiden name but despite
all this I had to give up.
Later I got a second call from
the bank. This was a very long-winded thing which gave me a choice
of three birth dates and I should indicate which one was correct..
alas all were wrong. One was about a fortnight after my birthday
but clearly the bank's software was ailing. I hung on as indicated
and after lots of stupid music a lady said she'd raise the error
with someone. I gave up and used a second bank to pay for the
insurance. Clearly programmers are (still) making mistakes (remember
the Post Office bosses choosing to lie about their software developer).
Heaven help us once driverless cars are allowed on our roads.
By then I'd rung, with extreme
delay due to a mammoth queue, the chosen cheapest insurer who
informed me (despite the lady I spoke to said she was in Accounts)
that I could only pay via their website, but a colleague would
email me a link which would fix matters. That email never did
materialise so I gave up and tried a second price from a different
website but £4 extra. I used a card from a different bank,
just in case, and it worked perfectly, saving me over £300.
A few minutes later and I'd printed my cover note for 2023/2024.
An email later from the website
from whom I'd used to select my marginally dearer insurer gave
me a Halfords voucher for £20.
What's going on? Both the cheaper
quote and the one I finally picked were for exactly the same
insurance broker and their underwriter (unbelievably) is AXA.
Handing out a £20 voucher suggests loads of cash sloshing
around and being shared out obviously to the detriment of us
motorists!
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A
day or after insuring my car for 2023-2024 various messages arrived
confirming cancellation of my rodent damage claim including one
that suggested the insurers outlay on the claim was £1.
Maybe this is a software bug in a system somewhere.. ie. you
need to enter something before you can proceed? Another was from
AXA telling me my complaint (I'd raised this complaint quite
early on with Mercedes Insurance who needless to say had replied
stating my complaint was groundless) was so complicated I should
allow them an extra 30 days to see what's what and I could now,
if I wished, raise a complaint with the insurance ombudsman.
I think I'll wait and see how they can explain away the fact
that none of their listed repairers wanted to fix rodent damage.
A lady from AXA rang and told
me she would be giving me £125 because I'd complained.
Then the next day a nice chap also from AXA discussed my complaint.
I think he wanted to see if I'd like some more money as it seemed
I'd got the rodent damage fixed. It turned out though that my
£500 excess would wipe out any benefit so I said no. He
said a cheque was on its way and it arrived today. It turns out
that all was well because of my qualifications and ability to
fix the car.. otherwise I'd have been given a cheque for £16,750
to buy a replacement car.
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