Picked up 2002 E320 4Matic Wagon - What To Do? :-)
 

Picked up wagon from Lexus dealer in Atlanta and drove it back to Northern Virginia last night. Appears to be a nice car, well described with no surprises (well, except books have been lost). Had an OK Carfax with pretty consistent visits to the dealer during the first 60k miles showing "Servicing" - ate lots of tires, but dealer did disclose they remembered the owner as driving aggressively - still doesn't explain the tire replacements, but guess I'll find out about that soon enough :-)

What I need help on is what to do to inspect, change fluids, etc based on the huge amount of experience in this forum. Can you guys recommend first series of things I should do (myself)?

OK to use Lexol on the seats and leather surfaces? Works great on my 91 SDL, but just making sure don't run down the wrong path.

Car is silver exterior, blue interior, 74,000 miles, standard equipment (no CD changer).

Thanks!

I just picked up a 2000 version of the same car in October. It had 70,000 miles when I bought it. Here's what I did:

engine oil/filter
air filter
fuel filter
rear differential oil
spark plugs
engine coolant
harmonic balancer (Canada doesn't have a recall, just the US)

My records showed the transmission fluid as being changed at 32,000 miles when the transfer case was replaced under warranty. My tech had a look at the fluid and felt it was consistent with the time/mileage since the record indicated it was replaced, so we're going to leave it for another 20,000 miles or so.

The only thing I forgot to do at that time was replace the brake fluid. I'll do that at my next service. Keep in mind that for these vehicles you should only use synthetic oil.

George, I'd be having the trans serviced ASAP.

Re Service Work

I Would do....

Spark Plugs
Air filter
fuel filter
oil filter and oil change
Service the trans
Service the diff
Flush the brake fluid
replace the coolant
replace the cabin filters
replace front and rear wiper inserts
And replace the Mono belt

re the seats..try leatherique..I Have used most all the products and REALLY like the product

Re tire wear..make sure that you rotate them @5K check the pressure COLD
and have it aligned at least once a year

Good luck on the Wagon

Thanks!

I'll get everything on order and get ready for a couple of exciting weekends!

I plan on doing my own stuff so if ya think of any tips of hints, please let me know!

I'd think twice about doing the transmission yourself. These cars don't come from the factory with a dipstick. There is a check tool you can buy from the dealer. The level of fluid is *very* temperature sensitive. You have to make sure the fluid is 80 degrees C in order to get a good reading, otherwise you could easily overfill it and this leads to a lot of trouble with these transmissions.

Your wagon is too new for the harmonic balancer problem.

I'd take the car to a dealer for fluid changes. They will check for recalls and if anything do the door rubber seals if it hasn't been done.

I'd check the brake pads/rotors first and do them myself.

I saw no recalls in the NHTSA reference, a few TSBs on engine control software updates, and a power steering noise issue ... would appreciate any experiences you all have had regarding other fixes the dealer would be expected to know about or that I should have done.

It sounds like everyone is saying same thing regarding doing transmission fluid change - is the issue simply the right amount of fluid being reinstalled? Is the check tool a dipstick the dealer has or is there another more complex device? Would seem easy enough to only replace the exact amount one drained out - i.e. measure what you drain (drain both the torque converter and the autotrans portions?) and then replace same amount? Temperature issues would not seem to be an issue since would be apples to apples replacement?

Yeah, harmonice balancer not an issue, but what about the door seals? What is the issue there? Mine don't appear to be glued on very well - pretty easy to pull them from the surface.

Thanks!!!

Ditto to Mark's list. I would add exchanging power steering fluid and changing the filter.

I've changed transmission fluid before on cars without a dipstick. You're correct in that you can measure the fluid drained out and replace that fluid. That's assuming that you can do a clean drain and capture all the fluid. Plus you'll have to account for clingage loss when measuring.

This'll get you by for the first change. The second time around you may want to have the level professionally checked.

If you take your car to the dealer and have them run the VIN, it will tell them what recalls have / have not been done.

They will be more than happy doing them for you because MB USA is paying the bill.

There is a service they are performing on the door seals. They peel back the rubber trim at the top of the doors and apply a silicone sealant.

A visit to the dealer it is, then!

I did notice the seals didn't stick to the door frames ... looked like the yellowish adhesive had pulled off the seals. They reapply adhesive, then?

Is the transmission fluid tool just a dipstick they use to measure the level?

I have done the power steering filter before - have mine power steering pump apart on my W126 right now ... easy to do and a good way to make the main shaft seal last.

Thanks!