PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post - 2007-2009 W211 vs earlier W211 years: Any Major Differences?

EricSilver · #28 06-02-2020, 01:38 AM

It’s been over a year since I purchased this car and I thought I would follow-up on my experiences with the W211.

It took some getting used too – this car is much more svelte than my E430 was. That car was very masculine; this one is unmistakably feminine, in a sultry, sexy way. My chief concern was power, after being used to the E430’s, V-8. This one has plenty of it, along with a nice exhaust growl (I have the sports package).

It took about 6 months to truly adapt and today it feels like I have been driving it forever. Here are some general observations:

VISIBILITY
If there's any car in desperate need of a backup camera this one is it. I can't see s***t when backing up and am shocked that I haven't backed into anything. Then again, I am being extra attentive.

VISIBILITY – 2
When backing up, the passenger mirror does not tilt down, and there is no setting I could find to enable that. This makes parking frustrating and has caused me to accumulate a good amount of curb rash.

VISIBILITY – 3
I replaced the useless halogens with LED low beams, fogs and parking lamps. They are bright, white, and work exceptionally well. I replaced the high beams with Philips 5000k halogens because LED’s there would be overkill (and obnoxious) because it is a reflector housing, whereas the low beam is a projector. The fogs are the same power as the low beams (except being H11 vs H7) but, being in a reflector, are insanely bright and they are only illuminated when remotely locking/unlocking the car, when they come on as courtesy lights. Other than that, I have used them only twice.

BRAKES
The OEM Pagids were great. But they would bite too hard on this car and I would often have my head snapped forward. And the dust was horrendous; I was cleaning my wheels twice per week. I swapped them out for Brembo ceramics, which performed well – not as harsh as Pagids – but produced pretty much the same amount of dust. I have a set of Wagner semi-metallics, which are a powdered aluminum color so, after I install them, I expect to have my harsh stopping power again but less visible dust.

Also, the brake pads wear very unevenly, presumably due to this car’s negative camber? The outboard side, which one would look at to measure pad wear, wears down much faster than the inboard. When I changed my pads the inboard was almost twice as thick and, because the wear sensor is on that side, it would not activate before the outboard was completely worn away.

HEADLIGHT LENSES
I polished the headlight lenses to crystal clarity, sanding from 400 to 10,000 grit before final polish. Touch-ups will be an annual or semi-annual task because I don't believe any UV coatings will last very long and one I tried (Sylvania) dimmed and yellowed the light output. (The coating itself is a dark amber, so no mystery there). I compounded the coating off and the brightness/whiteness was restored. (I've been reading about the Spar urethane treatment and thought of trying that but it's probably easier to just touch-up polish twice a year)

MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS SO FAR
Idler pulley: I heard it squeaking one morning and, based on my experience with my e430, wasted no time replacing that. This car has a lower idler as well so I did that, as well as the tensioner, for peace of mind. It is a much easier and faster job in this car than on the e430.

Oil changes: Every 5,000 miles with Liquimoly.

Bulbs: Apart from the LED swap, I have only done both side markers and the license plate bulbs.

ODDITIES
1.) There is a plastic-like clicking in the steering column that occurs only when the temperature drops below about 40-50 degrees for several consecutive days. I noticed this on other E350’s I test drove when shopping for this one. It sounds like a couple of thin plastic disks or chips tumbling against each other.

2.) Rear sun shade: Needs to be activated daily, especially if there are significant temperature swings, or it will get finicky and stick. Pressing and holding the button for about a second or two often un-sticks it. If that fails, driving over cracks or seams in the road that jostle and bound the rear almost always shake it loose. I open/close it on the first drive of almost every day and it never sticks thereafter; only if I don’t raise it for a few days and if there are significant temperature swings.

3.) There appears to be some sort of motor or flywheel that spins down after the car is shut off. I can hear it whirring and the only thing that seems to make sense is a secondary air pump??