MBUSA. There is no campaign in Europe - not even on the balancer.

Sheesh.....
 

Sorry, I don't usually think about Grey market and non-US customers.
99% of the people I deal with have the correct US spec cars and are within guidelines for coverage. As are most of the people on this Forum.
People not in the USA or with Gray market cars should complain to their respective agency they bought their car from.

Looks like USA wins this round!

Dr.D

It's interesting that in the Rest of The World (non-MBUSA), MB pretty much has the attitude of: "Regardless of where it was sold - if we made it, we will fix it." Not so in the US.

WARranty.
 

MBUSA LLC. is a seperate company from DaimlerChrysler AG. Who pays for what on which cars is a fairly sticky subject. It is just like cars from Canada that don't automaticly have warranty coverage when driven into the US and vice versa. In the US however, MB cars have a 4y/50K warranty. In lots of other places like Germany, it is only 1y/12k warranty. If MBUSA had to pay warranty expenses for every Euro/grey car in America, that would just add on to the cost for the new car customer here in the US. What DaimlerChrysler AG. needs is a standardized world wide warranty with the same coverages in all 190 countries that MB products are distributed and sold in.
I doubt that would ever be possible.
Dr.D

Hear, hear!

clueless service advisors
 

I just spoke to the dimwitted clueless service advisor that I was forced to deal with when I got my harmonic balancer replaced on my own dime. he stated that I would only get reimbursed the warranty rate and nothing more. I was also told that I wouldnt get reimbursed for the loaner car that they charged me for after I returned it.....

Harmonic Balancer
 

Hang tight. When the service campaign was first announced, I was reimbursed only for the balancer itself and associated labor ($260). Last week I received another check for the balance of the repair (oil pan, timing cover, etc...originally negotiated to around $2,000).

I have yet to receive any notice from MBUSA in the mail about the service campaign related to the balancer. Good luck.

Got my balancer check/repair notice today
 

MB sent me a notice to have a local dealer perform this service. They will check the balancer and replace it if necessary; about a 2 to 3 hour job -- at no cost to me. Mine looks AOK, but I certainly would not object to getting a new one installed anyhow. BC

Got my letter on Saturday. Drop my car off and have it done on Monday. The car drives beautifully as always now with a little more peace of mind. :)

JeffreyP

I am pleased to announce that I received a check in the mail last week for 100% of my expenses related to the harmonic balancer failure including all parts, labor, towing, and rental car.
I'm happy that this is over but it's a shame it took so long. All of the rest of you should contact the service manager of your dealer regardless of whether you've received a letter yet or not. I NEVER received a letter and it's been over 3 months since this campaign began. I went straight to the service manager who handled it for me.

recall harmonic balancer
 

would a defective harmonic balancer make the car not "turn over" (or "start"...it tries to crank but never catches)?

No it will not.

I have 2001 ML 320. Dealership says that the VIN number on my vehicle is outside the ones included in the harmonic balancer recall. I looked at the part number on the HB and it is A112 035 00 00. I understand that these are the defective units. Additionally, it has cracks in the rubber all away around the front of the exposed rubber. Were these parts OK in the later part of 2001?

That is a bad # balancer, call your dealership and tell you want replaced under recall. If no luck call MBUSA, that's what i had to do. Good Luck

Here's a pdf copy of the harmonic balancer service bulletin. It's not a NHTSA recall, although some shops may name it such. The pdf also includes a copy of the letter MB sends to owners, at the end.

"Service Campaign #3005-0200003"
"April, 2005"
"Dear Mercedes-Benz owner,"
"Your vehicle is equipped with a harmonic balancer...." etc etc

http://www.whnet.com/4x4/pix/SC2005020003.pdf