WOW... Mercedes recalling SLR McLaren's because of a "Boo-Boo"

[Equinox]

Mercedes acknowledges SLR McLaren boo-boo

"You may have heard earlier this month about the guy that found far too many things wrong with his incredibly expensive Mercedes sports car, demanding a full refund, and even going as far as to file a lawsuit against the automaker. I guess the people at Mercedes-Benz are listening, because they just issued a press release yesterday announcing that they "will conduct a voluntary recall campaign on certain model year 2005 - 2006 SLR McLaren vehicles."

That's not to say that owners of the affected high-powered cars can just waltz into their closest dealerships and demand that everything that is just slightly off be fixed. Oh no, who knew Mercedes would own up to anything like that. Instead, the German carmaker is admitting to an issue concerning the alternator. It turns out that under, let's say, spirited driving conditions, the temperature under the hood can boil up past what the alternator can handle. The result? "The potential for an engine compartment fire."

The fix involves the improvement of engine compartment cooling, the installion of a modified control unit, and the replacement of the faulty alternator."

source: http://www.htlounge.net/articles/791...cLaren-boo-boo

[jediali]

back to normal mercedes quality then?

[Ferrer]

back to normal mercedes quality then?

I guess that's a yes...

[Balayanboy]

what ever happen to mercedes build quality...

[Street_Dreamer]

BMW are no different. My dad's Mini One D is on it's third alternator now and it needs to be replaced again!!! it's worth mentioning that the diesel engine is a Toyota unit though.

my brother's mini Cooper has had 2 clutches and 2 gearboxes (including the original ones)...And he's been told by the dealership that it's just that Mini clutches and gearboxes are badly made, and for all the Mercs we have had in our family, none of them have gone majorly wrong, the most we've had to do is have the CPU fixed after 7years and 120k miles... Though we sold that car not long after, as we had been planning to sell it for a while.

[Street_Dreamer]

what ever happen to mercedes build quality...

Call me biased, but i must stick up for Merc, lol . I have read about how the build quality is improving after a hiccup (which lasted about 7 years ). The A-Class was voted the most reliable car in Germany 1 year after release (Mk2), and Merc are ditching faulty electronic devices, such as the stupid brake system on the E-Class, which was ditched when the facelift came out.

EDIT: Oh, and Equinox, i find your avatar quite funny, if not slightly offensive. But still think it's cool , some others may not though

[Matra et Alpine]

what ever happen to mercedes build quality...

The bad results in survaeys and bad rep was in the main driven by the large number of electrical failures with the abundance of electric motors in a typical Mec being the source. They addressed this and at one time removed 300 from thier range IIRC

my brother's mini Cooper has had 3 clutches and 2 gearboxes (including the original ones)...And he's been told by the dealership that it's just that Mini clutches and gearboxes are badly made

Time to change dealership.
Is it this dealer doing the replacements ? I would questiuon their ability to perform their job and especially if they are claiming they are "badly designed".
Even common sense tells you thatr's BS or the world would have borken down Mini's littering the roadsides !!!
A good dealer woudl also be discussing with your brother how he is driving it.

[Street_Dreamer]

Is it this dealer doing the replacements ? I would questiuon their ability to perform their job and especially if they are claiming they are "badly designed".
Even common sense tells you thatr's BS or the world would have borken down Mini's littering the roadsides !!!
A good dealer woudl also be discussing with your brother how he is driving it.

The dealership is meant to be a good one, they said that the first batch of gearboxes were just crap, the last one hasn't broken down (yet) and Minis aren't very reliable anyway. My brother had a conversation with him about his aggressive driving style, but apparently that's not the main reason - his driving is smooth, despite his fast driving, and he said he thinks they're are a good dealer, and likes them.

Then again, i just think the New Mini is shite for several reasons, let's not get started on that. Oh, and the clutch was a typo, i think it was 2, but i'm not sure. The dealer also said several other people have had theirs replaced under warranty as well.

[Street_Dreamer]

Our dealership is the same. We use Stratstone (Derby) for our Minis, it took them 5 attempts to sort out a faulty air conditioning condenser and as I've said, dad's car is on it's 3rd alternator and that's going to have to be replaced again soon. Not only that but one week after a service, in which the brake pads should have been checked, the rears completely wore off and the calipers started scoring the discs. The problem was we were in London at the Motorshow when we started hearing noises from the back of the car, by the time we got it home it needed the discs replacing as well as the calipers and pads, and my dad had to use it the next day for work.

Petrol Minis do have a known weakness in the clutches, dad hears about it in his driving insructor circles.

CONCLUSION: Need a premium hatch? Wait for the A1 or buy something else.

[Quiggs]

Our dealership is the same. We use Stratstone (Derby) for our Minis, it took them 5 attempts to sort out a faulty air conditioning condenser and as I've said, dad's car is on it's 3rd alternator and that's going to have to be replaced again soon. Not only that but one week after a service, in which the brake pads should have been checked, the rears completely wore off and the calipers started scoring the discs. The problem was we were in London at the Motorshow when we started hearing noises from the back of the car, by the time we got it home it needed the discs replacing as well as the calipers and pads, and my dad had to use it the next day for work.

Petrol Minis do have a known weakness in the clutches, dad hears about it in his driving insructor circles.

And you keep going to this dealer, why?

[Matra et Alpine]

It was about 5 years ago there was a known batch problem adn it meant the clutch didnt' disengage properly and made it difficutl to change gears. Remember there was a large recall on VIN numbers back then. Isn't this just that cable/lever problem story carrying on ?

But, Clivey, that is atrocious service and warrants a letter to BMW and a request that they assist in you finding a better dealer.

[Ferrer]

How didn't know Minis had so many problems. Our Cooper S has just passed the 52,000km mark with no problems at all, just a change of tyres and two regular services. It's now 2 years old.

[The_Canuck]

, kudos for guessing what had actually happened...(clue: both rear lights did this).

Austin Powers, shooting reverse lights option?

[Quiggs]

Did the bulbs get scared driving really fast in reverse and try to commit suicide?

[Matra et Alpine]

MINI = 5th in JD Power ... one of the few surveys I trust

M-B at 15th is kind of middle of the road !!