New recall for the G350 Bluetec - more engine cooling problems?

Thank you Arnie, makes interesting reading, the fuel choice is probably a good point; by (unscientific) observation, I think that it is not hard driving that causes problems but easy journeys in the 5 - 10 mile journey range:  it takes 5 - 10 miles for the engine to reach temperature (i.e. fuel consumption drops from about 20mpg to 25 mpg) but at the end of a 10 mile journey (B roads/ minor stop and go) the fans are active for a while once the car has been parked; this does not happen on longer journeys (did 90mph in Germany for hours) nor when going off-road.

My guess would be lack of  crank ventilation which has something to do with emissions.

Oil sludging imho (and issues I have seen in non automotive environments) is created by moisture / water. Fully synthetic and frequent oil changes can reduce it but won't cure the basic design flaws.

I'd agree that the larger oil to water cooler is actually there to get the oil up to temperature quickly rather than keep the engine cooler.

Modern diesels are more trouble than they are worth. They'll no doubt see horrific depreciation over the coming years

Two comments related to reliability - and we have already had VW Touareg Bluetec in for vast over consumption of AdBlue (36 litres in 9,000 miles ) - not related to engine sludging... but on a theme.. Needed a 4 hour software upgrade that it kept rejecting apparently :-) The mechanics who work on my G - Extensive specialist experience in diesels (middle of pennine farming community and have a passion for Rally in which they compete) as well as providing latest knowledge - so are trained to within and inch of their lives on engine technology and electronics, have the following sage advice about the lasted generations of Diesels specifically and electronics in general (they get all the 'awkward' cars in from Main dealers when they can't sort them) On new generation diesels - the regurgitation systems are literally strangling them to death and the days of the 100k diesel is going to be a distant memory very soon - so if it's new, and a keeper they suggest Petrol :-)) On electronincs - with the advent of fly by wire multifunction paper thin 'painted on' wiring looms and indirect connection fairly innocuous faults are going to start writing off 4-6 year old cars as they become uneconomical to repair - or to echo another forum post, result in a lot of unnecessary and very expensive repairs due to perviously simple to identify and rectify problems. So.. Less emissions, Less Reliability, Less durability, but more cost... Progress!!

 

You'll need a rocket scientist to figure that conversion out Gav.

On the up side they'll be cheaper than a very scabby 460 so it could be financially viable to fly someone in from NASA to figure it out.

 

I agree that it would be better (for the engine) if Exhaust Gas Re-circulation  systems did not exist. The mechanical simplicity that made diesels reliable has been lost with all the electronics required to increase their specific power and economy, and with all the emission-controls systems to meet Euro-5 /6, they are now much more complicated than equivalent petrol engines.

As for the wiring looms these days, it's true that they are so flimsy compared to ones of old. Even my 2001, G400 has wiring and connectors of the quality that one would expect to find inside a cheap, plastic toy. There must be a drive to save on copper and all the new microelectronics perhaps does not lend itself so well to chunky wiring and connectors, but I think the last G's with decent wiring were probably up to  1999 .

 

Yes, Simon, that's true. if you want all the toys and safety features and gimmicks, then you need the electronics. It can't be done with relay-logic. I guess MB has its price-point for these and I wish at least the connectors could be of somewhat better quality. The indicators and courtesy lights packed-up in my G400 the other month and I was surprised to find that the control module (on CAB bus) was located inside the door cavity and none of its flimsy connectors were water/moisture sealed. Unsurprisingly one had corroded. However, with just one heavy duty power wire and two thin, CAN bus wires (passing through the concertina rubber conduit into the door), the module is able to control the indicators, electric windows, seat adjustment and door lights, etc, so, yes, the amount of copper is reduced.

 

 

In 2011, Mercedes' logic for not offering the G500 was that ML500 and GL500 do not sell in the UK and that the G350 and G500 have similar amount of torque.  I tried to explain that the potential buyer of a G500 is not likely to buy a G55 but to no avail.  All eyes are now on the 2017 model, the side-pipes on the 2016 G500 are not promising but hope dies last.

Yes,there are even dual-fuel diesel/NGV,  but the UK and Europe have a shortage of natural gas, and if everyone was using it, I am sure the government would soon hike taxes.

 

Totally agree. North Sea gas should have been kept for domestic and limited commercial/industrial use.  Obviously cheaper to set-up gas-turbine-powered generation using industrialised aero engines than to keep the mines open and build more coal-fired stations, which require a longer-term view, or even to invest in more nuclear. Britain was at the fore-front of nuclear energy, but all that has been lost now to the extent that we are now planning to get the Chinese to build them for us and guaranteeing them a return based on electricity prices 2x those in Europe. Meanwhile, Germany has ditched nuclear in favour of coal. I don't think our politicians have a clue. The UK steel industry is on its way out now, too. So much for 'Made in China'. Britain has sold-off just about everything and ironically, all the prestigious,  top brands which are identified with the UK are now foreign owned (RollsRoyce, Bentley, Jaguar, mini, Raleigh, Harrods, Weetabix, Cadbury, Boots....) At some point people will realise that the UK cannot continue to compete just on the City and service industries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, co-incidentally I've just now seen the news tonight about government plans for increasing gas-powered generation and closing-down coal. Of course the excuse is given as reducing carbon pollution, but in fact the plan, will as you say, increase our dependence on Russia. There is no reason why coal cannot be reasonably clean with the appropriate scrubber technology. And, without the spinning inertia of the large generating sets the grid will become highly unstable. It's all extremely short-sighted thinking, but no government of late has been able to think any further than the next election.