Question for Jim Smith re E300TD...

[Jay Gibbs]

Jim,

Just read your post from back in Dec. that mentions the "clicking front seats" in your E300TD. I have been back to the dealer several times in my '99, with the same problem, and they tell me they can't find anything!

Please tell me what the problem was, and HOW DO YOU FIX IT??!!

It's been driving me nuts since I first brought it home new in Oct '99

Many thanks!!

J.G.

[JimSmith]

Jay,

My car seats would click when you started to either accelerate or decelerate. When I got the car the driver's seat was doing it pretty badly, and with my wife sitting in the passenger seat it was not noticeable. I took it to the dealership and complained. They knew about the problem as it apparently is a "class" issue and modified, fitted bolts have been developed as a kit to address the problem. My driver's seat was too far gone and they installed a new seat frame in that postion.

Shortly after getting the driver's side fixed, I had the opportunity to ride in the passenger seat, and I guess the added mass of my body caused the clicking to happen in that seat too. So I took it back and had the fitted bolts fix installed in that seat. No problems since.

I am sure your dealer can find out about the clicking issue if he tries. My fixes were covered under the Starmark Warranty. Yours should be covered by the new car warranty, especially if you have been complaining about it for a while.

Good luck and I hope this helps. Jim

[Jay Gibbs]

Jim,

Thanks so much for the prompt response. My seat clicking happens EXACTLY as you describe- on acceleration or deceleration, and occasionally if I rock in the seat in just the right way. I'll take it up with the dealer again with this new ammo! Fortunately I'm under warranty until Oct 03.

Best regards,

J.G.

[LightMan]

My drivers seat was also clicking and creaking on my E300, when i'd stop and take turns etc, it was annoying as hell. I took it in once, and they claimed to change bolts and lubricate, but the problem came back shortly thereafter. I finally complained about it again, and they replaced the entire seat rails. Not a peep since. Glad it was under warranty, I think they are very expensive.

[Jay Gibbs]

Many thanks for the info. You are right about it being annoying as hell!!

If you by any chance still have the repair invoice, could you reply back with the part numbers they replaced, or any "description of repair" they wrote. I want to have as much ammo as possible when I go in so they don't drag this out by trying one thing, having it fail, and trying something else later.

J.G.

[JimSmith]

I am taking my car in for some service this Monday evening. I will try to remember to ask what the service bulletin and other particulars are. The parts guy also noted to me that the early models had a propensity for burning out light bulbs and there is a fix for that also, but it is not very well publicized. I have gone through a set of headlamps, and a side marker light in front, as well as a pair of lights in the rear, all in a year. So I will be asking about that too.

I have also noted when I turn the rear window defogger on the radio dies. I am having that looked at too on Tuesday. I will keep you posted. Jim

[Jay Gibbs]

Many thanks, Jim -I appreciate the assistance. I'll await your visit to the dealer.

J.G.

[98E300man]

Jim:

I too have had continual light issues......the sockets are bad sometimes, not the bulbs...it is only a mechanical connection between the socket and the chassis,a nd sometimes it rusts or corrodes or continuity declines sufficient to trigger the light-checking circuit.

I would be VERY interested to know if there is "The Fix" for this in the W210 chassis......

Otherwise I love my 98E300 TD. What a great car.

best

Michael

[JimSmith]

Jay Gibbs and Michael,

It seems the seat fix is very well known and there are special fitted bolts that are provided by a "Special Parts Support" group at MBUSA. If your dealer denies the existence of these parts it was recommended you call the 800 number for support. The parts are not listed in the normal parts book or list as they are not standard parts. And if you get it done before the warranty runs out it is free.

As for the lights, the service specialist I deal with basically said if the light bulbs are burning out, it is not necessarily the same problem that they change the boards (with the bulb sockets) to correct. If the sockets are going bad, it is a problem that is not corrected with a new bulb, but it is a problem with a factory developed fix. They put new boards in. I have not had a bulb failure in several months and I have only replaced one bulb twice in the year and change I have owned the car. The service specialist implied this could be a problem that is covered if it persists, but from his perspective when the boards are bad, the issue is very repetitive and not likely to go away for months at a time.

I will let you know what the deal with the antenna/defroster interference is when that gets fixed.

By the way, I am very happy with the car so far. It has never failed to start and run, and the service I have had done has been excellent - fast and, when outside the warranty, pretty reasonable (as a MB Club of America member I get a good discount on most parts and labor charges, typically 20%). I love the torque and the mileage.

Good luck, I will keep you posted. Jim

[Jay Gibbs]

Jim,

Thanks for that info. I'm going in within the next week to have them fix the seats. From your info, it sounds like they shouldn't have any difficulties ascertaining the problem and the fix.

Sounds like you have had quite a few electrical gremlins. From what I've read, such is relatively common with the '96-'98 W210's- not so much '99+. The only problems I've ever had were the original glow plugs were replaced a month ago (40,200 mi)and a rear interior dome light bulb-under warranty. All other bulbs are original. I'd venture to say that this car has been as trouble free thus far as my 1979 240D which I traded with terminal frame rust in '99 on this car. Unfortunately the new W210 cars definitely don't have the "carved from a single block of stone" feel of quality as the old 123 body cars... but neither is it slow as that old block of stone was!

Best regards,

J.G.

[jcyuhn]

Folks - Can you post part numbers for the clicking seat fix, if possible? I've got a bit of this on my '98, but the warranty is long gone. It's not really bad enough to address yet, but I'd like to be able to tackle it myself, or at least give my indy a pointer to the correct fixit kit.

I've had my '98 for five years. No problem with bulbs burning out - I just replaced the first headlight yesterday (H7 bulbs are expensive!), and I've only had one or two other bulbs go the entire time. I do get sporadic (presumably false) bulb failure warnings from the brake/tail lights. I know there's an issue with with an easy/cheaply replaced portion of the tail light assembly, but haven't needed to look into it yet.

- JimY

[JimSmith]

Jim Y,

I asked for the part numbers this morning and the service specialist said he calls the Special Parts Support number, which he also says we can access through the 800 number, and asks for the special front seat bolts. It is not on the parts guy's list, apparently, and I did not push him for a set of numbers.

As I noted before, the driver's seat fix for me involved having the whole lower frame replaced, as the problem had progressed quite far before I bought the car. The bolts worked on the passenger side, just fine. It has been about a year now, and no further problems. If you have the clicking and the bolts work I think the problem is a fraction of the cost to fix than if you go the frame replacement route.

I may be overly sensitive to the head light/tail light bulb issue because I heard there was a fix out there. It may be normal to see bulbs failing after 5 years or 60,000 miles, and since I have had no pattern of recurring failures I am hoping all is really normal. The radio and rear window defogger issue is another situation though. I will post the problem definition and solution when I get the information.

Good luck, Jim

[Rick Miley]

I never had a problem with the clicking seats, but I only weigh 150 pounds so that may make a difference.

I wanted to mention something about the light bulbs. I haven't had a lot of bulbs fail, I think just three over the 87,000 mile life of this car. A couple weeks ago the lamp defective message started coming on when I hit the brakes, but only when cold! If I started the car in the middle of the day, it wouldn't come on. I looked at the brake lights from oustide the car and they seemed to work fine. Finally I got disgusted with it and just decided to change the bulbs anyway. Lo and behold, one was discolored on the inside. The filament wasn't burned through, but the bulb was clouded with black on the inside as if it might burn out any time. Now that's one smart monitoring circuit!

[jcyuhn]

Jim Smith -

Thanks for the info. I appreciate your time and effort.

I too see nothing wrong with bulbs burning out on a five year old car. To a large extent it depends on the number of hours on the bulbs. For example, my spouse always drives with the lights on - even in stop & go traffic on a blazingly sunny day. I think it's pointless, but neither is it worth fighting about. I replace bulbs on her car at a rate many times higher than on my car.

- JimY

[barkford]

the "bolt" replacement was the first attempt. Did not silence the seat very long. The last fix was called a "seat frame" and the seat has been solid ever since. PART NUMBER from invoice: 210-910-41-36 My car is a 98 E300.