Like a lot of others I've always liked the Mercedes styling. To me it's clean and timeless, but it has always been way outside my price range. I've had Beamers, Nissans, Chevys, and Fords and have always done my own wrench work, but that was when I was somewhat younger and my knees didn't scream every time I got down under the vehicle. So along comes an opportunity to purchase not one but two....count'em....two MB's (06 ML350 & 06 E350 wagon). Both were in good shape body wise, both had check engine lights on at the time so I had them checked at AUTOZONE (fault #1 on my part), both came back with the same codes P0016 & P0017-bad camshaft sensors. Now I'm thinking...I just repaired this on my truck(fault #2 on my part) so........this will be a piece of cake! So I go ahead and make the purchase. Then I start with my info search.....and the more I read the more depressed I got!
For those that are reading this and don't know, "M272 engines that were sold between 2004[1][2] and 2008 with engine serial numbers below 2729..30 468993 often show early wear of the balance shaft gears, requiring extensive repairs at a retail cost of over $4000.[3][4]" (Wikipedia excerpt)
The M272 is a 3.5 liter engine and is found in MY E350 and ML350.
My question is...did you buy one of these used vehicles (out of warranty)? Did you fix this problem? If so how did you do it?
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
