Just curious as to how far these cars can go? Any MAJOR problems after 150,000 mi?

Mine has a lowly 66k. Still a baby, I expect!

My f-i-l's has 46k.

__________________
Chris

'04 ML500 - 53k, Inspiration Edition, Desert Silver
'11 Audi A4 Avant - Brilliant Black
'87 300SDL sold
'99 C280 Sport sold
'85 190E 2.3 sold

Not there yet, but I'm working on it. 103,000. My major complaints would be the interior materials and the plastic fuel lines near the filter.

__________________
Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

130 ish K & counting no probs just routine servicing

151,800 on my '97. I found that the plastic fuel lines near the filter can be tempoarily fixed with JB Quik Weld. I cracked one of mine re-installing my intake manifold.

Ohh well...

__________________
#dieselFLEET
---------------
'97 E300
'99 E300

My 97 have 244 k miles and run strong..

My 1996 e300 bit the dust at at 96K due to the spring perch failure. Please be careful, this could be a life threatening issue...

__________________
1996 (W210) E300D 86K - Traded in for a Lexus
1992 (W124) 300D 2.5 Turbo 202K - Sold
1983 (W123) 300D, 146K - Sold
1970 280S, 263K - Sold - Beginning of addiction

I saw my passenger side perch incurring some rust on the seam.

I pulled the caulk back and sprayed some rubberized coating on it. I'm gonna check it out againand if so retreat the area with a rust neutralizer primer it and re-rubber coat it.

I think this should prevent any other future hazard. Sometimes the factory caulking isn't enough and water and othe relements get in behind the caulk. I had to pull my caulk back alittle to notice it.

__________________
#dieselFLEET
---------------
'97 E300
'99 E300

I don't know these cars...what is a spring perch?

__________________
1994 C 280 117.5k, White (Good as new)
1997 Toyota Camry 149k Miles (Not so pretty anymore)

1990 190e 2.6 95k (Sold-Should not have)
1981 240d Stick ??? Miles...sold

Regarding the spring perch - please read this thread:

W210 Diesel owners: Spring Perch Failure - Please read

If you have any questions, please let me know as I see this as a life threatening defect on some E-Class Mercedes. The problem is that the structural flaw is not apparent by visual inspection.

-Dan

__________________
1996 (W210) E300D 86K - Traded in for a Lexus
1992 (W124) 300D 2.5 Turbo 202K - Sold
1983 (W123) 300D, 146K - Sold
1970 280S, 263K - Sold - Beginning of addiction

Michakaveli,

If you see rust at the seem - IT IS TOO LATE!!! The rust originates from the spot welds and migrates outward. The removal and repair of my driver side perch confirmed this.
Please repair ASAP.

I was lucky as the failure occured to me as I was backing out of a parking space and over a small curb thus compressing the front springs. However, suspension comonents find their greatest stress loads at highway speads and spirited cornering. You do not want this to happen then.

MB has no plans to issue a recall - most likely not until many more of these failures occur - hopefully not yours. Please report the rust to MB and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

__________________
1996 (W210) E300D 86K - Traded in for a Lexus
1992 (W124) 300D 2.5 Turbo 202K - Sold
1983 (W123) 300D, 146K - Sold
1970 280S, 263K - Sold - Beginning of addiction

I was travelling in Germany last month and saw a W210 Diesel lose its driver's side front spring and various other parts on the highway in front of me. We were just accelerating onto the highway when I saw a bunch of large objects eject from underneath the car, which was about 500 feet or more in front of me. I was not driving, but the driver stopped and I openned the door to retrieve the spring and we drove over and handed it to the bewildered driver of the MB. He had pulled off to the shoulder.

By the way, mine has 87,000 plus miles and is running great. I am beginning to see I will learn about the climate control system though, as I have had a number of cases where my left side dash vent will arbitrarily start spewing hot air. And the left and right sides cannot be set at different temps and then spew different temperature air. I long for the old controls in my Euro 190E 2.3-16 and the W123 240D's. Nothing automated, nothing but simple stuff to fix. Levers to direct flow by mechanical means using your hand to provide the motive force. Temperature control by way of your skin. Too hot? Push the lever to colder. Too cold? Push the lever to warmer. This new stuff is absurd. Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

"Last year we removed over 600 functions from our cars - functions that no one really needed and no one knew how to use."

Full text of the article is here.

__________________
Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Rick,

Interesting artical... I think an "increase in product testing" is appropriate for MB across the board. This is something that the Japanese do ad infinitum, hense thier reliability results. That last comment could be an admission to guilt. Prehaps there was a decrease in product testing, or a request for an increase that was denied.

BTW I am in the market for a nice 240D Manual or 300TD. With the exception to airbags, traction control and ABS, the auto motive industry has gone too far for my tasts. Case in point: one of the most annoying problems with my 96 E300 was its failure to start when it was cold. After replacing, glowplugs, relays, the battery, and control module etc... the car would still not start. After months of playing arround we learned that an ignition computer and another computer (under the passenger floor that generates random numbers everytime the car is started) would not recognize one another. My car would crank, give no indication that anything was wrong and just not start.

For crying out loud... this is a diesel engine - it should practically be able to start itself. the above system was ment as a theft deterent device. It turned out to be a customer deterent device. I hope MB has hit rock bottom and gets its act together soon.

__________________
1996 (W210) E300D 86K - Traded in for a Lexus
1992 (W124) 300D 2.5 Turbo 202K - Sold
1983 (W123) 300D, 146K - Sold
1970 280S, 263K - Sold - Beginning of addiction

Rick,

I agree, good article. But I wonder if they will ever offer a car that is a superior car again, or have they just fallen off the edge? Used to be the car, the engine, transmission, chassis and structural design were superior. The amenities on older MB's was not "bleeding edge" while the safety systems were, and they for the most part continue to be leading edge stuff that is reliable. It is these other "features" that are too complex and of no real value that are causing the problems. I long for a great car with as little extra crap as possible, from MB. A C270 CDI with manual everything, with all the car bugs worked out. Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)