I have a 2008 GL 320 CDI. Engine shut off on the highway while driving at 60 mph. 28000 miles on the odo. Diagnostic was a clogged fuel filter. I was told I should have replaced it at 20000 miles. Normal? I pay the big buck to have it serviced at the dealership, guess I am waisting my money...Thanks!

 

I had the same thing happen to me last week. Car completely lost power. I was told it was a clogged fuel filter. My GL320 is a 2007 and I have been really disappointed with the number of times it has needed repairs.

 

want to know more, I'm getting one soon.

 

I am not arguing the importance of that little filter, but Mercedes suggest a replacement at 20K miles. "Suggest", not mandatory; if it's for the engine to fail 8K miles later, it should be mandatory. I think this is BS since day one, and here's why...

After being told it was my fault (they wouldn't even pay for the tow truck, which they eventually did), I drove off with my SUV a bit pissed to say the least, but then, well, that's the way it is, and I have a new fuel filter! About 2 weeks later... I get a call from my wife, upset, because she almost it a car entering a parking lot, because the engine shut off just as it did the first time!!! She's with the kids, going to an appointment, etc. I got there within 15 minutes, was able to restart the engine, and as with the first time, the check engine light was still lit. Another interesting fact is both times, the low fuel light would come on and the engine would stop at that same time. I managed to drive it to the dealership after putting a bit more fuel in the tank, just in case it had anything to do with the light (electronics) and that time, they replaced a fuel rail/regulator assembly on one side of the engine. I re-assured my wife it was fixed for good, no more worries...

About 2 weeks later, guess what? While waiting at a red light, engine stalls again! This time, no low fuel light, and the engine would not restart before 3-4 minutes. She was blocking traffic, was going to be late to pick up the kids and was really, really pissed. When she was able to restart it, it would not take its fuel and engine was not running smoothly. At least she could pull on the curb.

I showed off once again, she threw the key at me and said "I am not driving that car again". It was after dinner, I managed to drive back home and drove to the dealership again the next morning without problems.

Of course, I said to myself "that's enough" ( on top of that, I did not mention the faulty air compressor for the suspension, the enormous vibration we had since the beginning (they loosen up the exhaust system which fixed about 80% of it). Not to mention the speakers (we had 2 replaced so far, and a 3rd one still going on and off), the battery that died after 1 year (we were stuck at the pool parking and were leaving for a 4000 miles trip the next day... confidence wasn't very high). The lift gate latch (which has been replaced twice and adjusted 3 times (rear latch would not close all the way). And the constant pulling on the right, which disappeared after I changed the tires (every time they said the alignment was good so they adjusted the tire pressure…). Would that be a good candidate for the Lemon law???

So after the 3rd time, I had a chat with my sale guy, telling him we kept having issues with the car, so he proposed to talk to the head of service. Actually, I have no issue with the service guys, they’re fine and very cooperative. While walking to the service department, I started to enumerate all the problems; he then stopped walking and told me “I guess you don’t want to drive that car anymore?”. Exactly, I didn’t have to tell him… So no problem, we’ll make you a good deal on a 2010 and get you out of that car. They found a comparably equipped 2010 GL 450 (no diesel) for about $74K. They evaluated my pristine car and offered me $44K for it (a 2008 30K miles)!!! So I “only” have to pay the $30K difference! What a deal!

After laughing at me like that, I guess the only way would be the legal one. What a waste of time and money…

 

I forgot to mention that they replaced both fuel pumps and the crank position sensor last time (they didn't know for sure, but after their research, that is the most probable cause...). It's been 2 weeks now...

 

After reading all this I am not that sure I should make that move.. my R350 with 70K is doing just fine, apart from the door lock actuator and a vibration on the highway after 60MPH the car is perfect but is now starting to showing its age...

 

If it can help you decide, we've never had any more problem after they replaced the fuel pumps and the sensor. My wife really likes that truck so we decided to keep it. It's almost been a year since the last incident, we've been traveling to Florida and Canada putting more mileage and it's fine. At least they fixed it!