Attention Canadian Flexible Service Vehicle Owners! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

need2speed · #1 11-27-2002, 10:40 AM

I recently contacted M-B Canada to ask for their position on the class-action lawsuit brought by American owners of M-B vehicles with Flexible Service System (FSS).

In short, MBUSA is negotiating a settlement of the class-action suit that would involve extending the warranty, at no charge, for FSS-equipped vehicles.

Here is MBCanada's response:

We are writing to respond to your inquiry about the class action settlement
reported on the Jacobsenlaw-pa website..

Mercedes-Benz Canada had no involvement in and no connection to either the
lawsuit or the settlement. They are a product of circumstances that are
unique to the US and their effect is confined to that jurisdiction.

We can assure you the Mercedes-Benz has always designed, engineered and
manufactured vehicles that embody the very best in quality, durability,
reliability, longevity and safety. This is supported by a comprehensive
manufacturer's warranty of 4 years or 80,000 kms, whichever comes first.
In addition to the basic coverage, your vehicle is warranted by
Mercedes-Benz Canada for 5 years or 120,000 kms on major components.

Beyond this, if you have any concerns about the performance of your
vehicle, depending on the issue, as long as your vehicle has been properly
maintained by an authorized dealer, we can assure you that we will provide
reasonable assistance whenever possible even after the warranty has
expired.

Yours Very Truly,
Siegfried Zeller
Manager, Warranty and
Technical Literature
Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.

I've followed up this reply with another message:

Thank-you for your reply expressing the official M-B Canada position on this issue.

Unfortunately, I cannot agree with your assertion that the circumstances of the lawsuit are not also applicable in Canada, unless you are only referring to the legal circumstances in the US that make class or representative action easier.

The fact is that my local M-B service centre has done the following due to concerns over FSS vehicles:
1. recommended a change from conventional to synthetic motor oils for FSS vehicles,
2. recommended oil changes more frequently than indicated by the FSS system.

I appreciate your indication that M-B Canada will consider reasonable assistance after warranties expire, however, that is discretionary and very often involves partial costs to the owner, as extensively discussed in the American lawsuit.

My '99 ML320 follows the profile of problem vehicles, having followed the FSS-recommended oil change intervals (at 17,000 km for the first change) using conventional oils until I specified a switch to synthetics one year ago. I have since had to add two litres of oil between FSS-recommended changes, which is considered "normal" by the service centre but alarming based on my experience with other manufacturer's vehicles.

The service manager suggested I could purchase the extended warranty for peace of mind. The cost of "peace of mind" will be $2600, including inspection fees.

As a member of the local MBCA chapter as well as two M-B internet forums, I can assure you this issue is receiving a great deal of attention by other owners in Canada. At this time, I am not recommending that friends or acquaintances purchase FSS-equipped vehicles until M-B offers extended warranty coverage at no additional cost.

Regards,
Dean Albrecht

I'd like to suggest that other Canadian owners of FSS-equipped vehicles have their engines inspected for oil sludge and express their concerns regarding warranty coverage to MBCanada by contacting 'bulkowskin@mercedes-benz.ca'.

Let us know what you hear back

blackmercedes · #2 11-27-2002, 02:59 PM

And MBUSA had to be sued to get people a worthless extended warranty (only if you can prove that a sludge problem really occured and caused damage and a $35 certificate.

MB Canada won't give an inch until a judge hands down a judgement against them, just like MB-USA.

blackmercedes · #3 11-27-2002, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by need2speed
I'd like to suggest that other Canadian owners of FSS-equipped vehicles have their engines inspected for oil sludge and express their concerns regarding warranty coverage to MBCanada by contacting 'bulkowskin@mercedes-benz.ca'.

Let us know what you hear back

[/B]

Dean, our 1998 C230 has the FSS. We did the first oil change at 2500 km's, and switched to Mobil 1. From that point we pretty much ignored the FSS, and changed the oil/filter every 5-7K km's.

When I bought the Signature Warranty ($2600 for the ML? Yikes! Our C-Class cost was only $1400 for the three years...) one of the stipulations was a check for sludge build up and a compression and leakdown test BEFORE they would sell me the extended warranty. The car had about 62,000 km's on at the time.

This stipulation tells me they knew about the potential problem for FSS engines that live on dino-oil and use the FSS change guidelines. But, legal grounds this does not make. They did not consider that my engine was treated differently, and made their inspection regardless.

Of course, I have no idea of what would have happened had my inspection not gone well. Would they have fixed the "problem" under the original warranty, and then sold me the extended warranty? I never asked. In fact, I never gave the inspection much thought until the MB-USA law suit was brought forward.

Is your service manager Karl? He's not much of an advocate for the customer. A friend of mine had some serious tranny troubles with his C280, and had better luck getting Rob Knight to beat help out of MB-Canada. Don't know if that's true all the time, but it was inthis case...

blackmercedes · #4 11-27-2002, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TANK
Blackmercedes, from what I understand, you can't even buy parts from any other than a dealer in Canada, mbcanada is so tight. Is this true??

Not OEM parts, but there are lots of suppliers of jobber parts. Does MB USA allow indies to sell factory parts? Interesting...

blackmercedes · #5 11-27-2002, 05:47 PM

I asked my indie mechanic today, and he can indeed sell me OEM factory parts. For all these years I assumed it was not so...

...serves me right for not asking.

need2speed · #6 11-27-2002, 08:10 PM

John: I've had nothing but good service from both local MB dealers.

But if MB Canada isn't going to cover the warranty work, I don't expect the local dealer to pay for it either!

Geez...even the Chrysler half of the family offers a 7 year warranty. What does this say about MB?

Also, that $2600 extended warranty price doesn't include the 7% tax, so make it $2780. Plus, they've already told me I'll need to change the coolant before they'll grant the extended coverage so add whatever that is.