Well, my car is in the dealer again, brought it in on Thursday to replace the catalytic converter.
My family owns two CLKs, 230 kompressor and 430. Both have horrible qualities compared to the other Mercedes we've owned.
The 230 k had problems with the fog lights, the left one always burn out within 2 weeks after being replcaed. Then there is the problem with ESP/BAS light coming on and off. The fuel sensor has been replaced twice, and then power windows / seats, the ordinary electrical bugs.
The 430 has similar problem with the 230, just that the fog light bulb (also dashboard and ash tray ) and fuel sensor had only been replcaed once. Now the car is having its catilytic converter replaced at 36500miles and less than 4 years old.

 

Mio, sorry to hear about all your CLK problems. I have had a few fit and finish issues with my CLK but nothing like you're having. Keep the faith and try to look on the bright side of things. Has your experience soured you on the CLK series or MB altogether?

 

My family has owned several other Mercedes, and none of them had any serious problem,
My dad had a 95 E230 and put on nearly 200,000 km in 8 years.
The car only had one unscheduled shop visit, and it was because the CD changer got stucked....
We also had a C180 and C280, 96 and 95 model I think.
The C180 had one problem which I can't remember right now, but it isn't anything big compared to the CLKs. (oh yeah, the flip-key broke....it wouldn't click back in place) We kept this car for about 4 years.
The problem with the C280 was it had a bad driver, my brother. The car was totalled in 2 years.
There was also a 1998 S 320, which we traded in for the clk430 jsut before its second service was due (around 26,000miles) For this car...the cup holder broke.
Currently we've got 3 Mercedes, 2 CLKs and a 2003 s320 (also suffers from lots of electrical problems) which replaced the E230.
For these past few years, Mercedes had been the exclusive brand my parents look for when they shop for cars. But until Mercedes can do somthing on its reliability, and I hope they will, otherwise Mercedes just 3 more customers. (although it might take more than 10 years for me to get my own..[8D] )

 

Sounds like you and your family have a long "MB" history. I'm sure you've seen many things over the years and can look back and really take stock of the quality issues. I've never really been loyal to a single brand over the years... I've had just about everything from several GM cars, 1 Ford, a Honda, a Saab, and various other things, and I must say the Saab and Honda were just about bullet proof. I didn't hold them to as high a standard I do with the Mercedes, but neither of them went in for unscheduled service! Anyway, this is my first Mercedes so I'll see what happens.

 

Actually we had own a BMW 525i (1990) before we bought the Mercedes, but my parents didn't fall for the"Ultimate Driving Machine", since they prefer comfort over performance.
We also owned other brands like Isuzu, Nissan, and Mazda. Japanese cars are much more reliable.
I am very surprised the CLK needs new catalityc converter this soon. (the new one was just shipped from New Jersey to the California, this Tursday, 3 (business) days after I brought the car in....probably won't get the car back until next week)

 

All you're having are minor problems, IMO.

Drop an engine or a trans. Watch one of your wheels pass you on the highway. Hear loud clunks and thuds when the car hasn't left the driveway yet. Find oil puddles wherever you park.

You've yet to have a bad hair day.

 

That happened to my friend's car once.
He bought a mazda 626 from a private seller, and one day the front right side wheel just fell off and went off to the side.
He was lucky that the wheel didn't damage any other cars around him.


(damn it....where is my catalytic converter?!?!!??!??!??!!?)

 

Yea happened to a friend of mine too, but under some different conditions... Friend just bought his dream car 1971 Mustang 351 Cleveland. Out one night on a dark, deserted country road he smoked 'em up... real hard. Low and behold the rear axle had quite a bit of rust through and the well, just like a bad country... "ol Ray smoke the wheel right off that car! True story... hand to God!

 

I have a 2000 CLK 320

It was my third Mercedes, I was happy to say I was a loyal Mercedes Owner when I made the purchase.

But the quality of this car is HORRIBLE.

Now the warranty has worn out and my TRUNK LOCK is RUSTED all the way through.

I could have bought a Chrysler !

YIKES

 

I'm sorry that you guys are unhappy with your cars.
Thankfully, mine is nearing 150k without a single problem.

Well, I did rub through the paint in one spot with rubbing compound. The paint could have been thicker.

As I've said earlier, the fuel injection is sensitive to watery gas and improper octanes usage.
The sticker inside the gas-cover is "dead serious" about using premium fuel. There was an article in a recent issue of Popular Science that covered how gas can and is watered down in the US, and how to test it at home. I know gas is expensive and people are tempted to use cheap fuel, but the newer cars don't deal with it very well. One time I ran out of gas in the Keys, and had to fill-up at this dump of a gas station, and I knew the gas would be full of saltwater, but I didn't have any choice;I swear my engine light came on one mile down the road, and went off when I re-fueled.

A story about fuel: My wife is a Honda-nut, and we built a custom engine for her, and I'm NOT talking about air filters and exhaust tips. The ci was increased to 1.8L, the compression was increased to 10-1, balanced to run clean at 10K rpm, a belt drive supercharger, polished/ported/blueprinted, the car was bad to the bone. It sounded like a Ferrari, and one touch on the pedal let you know instantly that we had spent 10k on the engine. The ONLY requirement was that she ALWAYS use premium fuel in the car since the compression with supercharger approached the octane limits of pump gas, and she promised she would. Well, she kept burning valves and overheating, and we kept pulling the head and intake off looking for air leaks. We even had the head and the intake tested at an aircraft testing facility to find any air leaks. I gave up trying to find the problem, and sent the car to a friend who called me back to tell me the gas tank was full of 87 octane fuel which was causing predetonation and valve burning. So only at that point did she admit to putting low octane gas in the car to save 20cents per gallon. One problem solved; now if the vehicle could to made to withstand a 15mph crash that would be great.

Here's another story: There was a recent (last year) news report about a black CLK that was taken on a joyride by tire mechanics. The car was described as going through the intersection like a bowling ball, knocking 12 or 13 other cars out of the way, before escaping onto the highway. The helicopter shot looked like a friggin tornado went through the intersection. Now I'm not saying the car makes a great get-away-car, but I do feel very safe in mine now. I mean if it totalled-out all those other cars and took off down the highway, its got some rigidity right?. I found out about this story when I went to the dealer on that day to get some oil filters, and they asked me jokingly, " that wasn't you on the news was it?" LOL. I jokingly replied, "yeah, I was trying to get here before you closed..."LOL Seriously they caught the guys, and the owner was pissed. The store is out of business now for hiring illegals. Glad it wasn't my car!

So, I like cars I can sit on and lean against without popping the whole fender in. I don't like feeling like ketchup inside of a foil ketchup packet, waiting for my number to be up. I respect the reliability of Japanese engines, but in order to sell me a car, It will take more than a 1 inch tube in the door. All the folks that are all crazy about small imports need to visit a junkyard sometime. I saw a Toyotra truck at the junkyard, ironically with a "No Fear" tint-strip across the front wind screen. The truck colapsed in the passenger compartment so that the dashboard now fitted nicely over the front seat, and the seat filled nicely under the dashboard. The dash and the seat fitted together sort of like yin and yang. Good grief, if anyone survived that, they "know fear" now. But dead plantiffs never sue, or cause impacts on consumer reports, so who knows? Seriously, visit a junkyard sometime before you buy your next car.

Ok I'll stop now.

Blue