| NHTSA Complaint Number: 003241520 |
Incident Date: Oct, 20 2003 |
| Consumer's City: LOVELAND |
Consumer's State: OH |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO |
Manufacturers Name: Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC |
| Model Name: ML320 |
Model Year: 1999 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash:
No |
Component's Description: Engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline:belts and associated pulleys |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire:
No |
Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: 4JGAB54E1XA |
Date added to File: May, 25 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Oct, 21 2003 |
Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police:
No |
Purchase Date:
Jun, 30 2003 |
| Was Original Owner:
No |
Anti-lock Brakes:
Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 6 |
Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed:
- |
Description of the Complaints:
I have been an owner of a 1999 mercedes benz ml320, bought used about 6 months ago. recently, something went wrong on this vehicle and it started wobbling and making external engine noise. soon, i discovered that there was a non-metallic part, a ring, the size of a palm was found in my engine bay. i took it to my local mb dealer, mercedes benz of cincinnati ohio and received a quote of $3700.00. the dealer's service manager told me its not a problem commonly seen but it sounded like awfully too popular as they knew exactly what it was when i described on the phone. the mercedes e320 engine (supposedly 1998 through mid 2000) called m112 as well as the same engine or substantially similar engine on c280, ml320, e430 etc., has a harmonic balancer, a rubber ring sandwiched between 2 metal pulley to isolate the engine vibration from the rest of the pulleys being driven by the engine. this is what the serpentine belt rotates on.over time, the poorly designed harmonic balancer pulley fails, the rubber ring cracks, breaks or falls off, depending on the temperature of the vehicle driving conditions and stress/load. it is typically seen on ml320 in the range of 40,000 miles, but is not as commonly reported as typically it is still under warranty. on e320, it tends to be around 60 ,000 miles though, often it could be as low as 25000 miles. the issue is, when this part fails, the engine timing belt cover , oil pan etc get seriously gouged by the rotating pulley. in my case the dealership, mercedes benz of cincinnati is charging $3700.00 for the repairs. often dealer profess innocence or lack of similar failure (common across board, every user in my group mentions that the dealer said 'never heard of it'.) . the issue become more dangerous and expensive as well, when less mechanically inclined people just keep driving until something smells or makes terrible noise etc., often resulting in a middle of the road complete breakdown and seize of the engine. *la
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