Unsurprisingly, Owning a Cheap ML63 AMG is Actually Expensive

[@PontiKau]

8:06 in South Africa. Very helpful. Thanks

[@drifter2090]

Damn, that really sucks. This is why I hate shops and do most of the work myself, but yeah occasionally you do have to take it in for stuff you cant diagnose :( You should do the headbolts/lifters and make a video on it, I am going to do this job on the weekend on my CLS63, hope all goes well.

[@monumentauto]

Yeah I try to do as much as I can by myself but unfortunately I can’t do it all at home. And yeah I’d love to - it’s definitely in the car’s future. Hope your job goes well!

[@cornpop1342]

I have an 07 ML350 that was sitting for around 7 years because we thought the whole electrical system got ruined, and the dealer at mercedes and euroshops didnt seem to figure out it was the rear sam. I just recently found out it was and I’ve been slowly repairing all the issues that comes with a car that sat for so long. But from what you’ve said its 100% the rear sam, you don’t need to even buy a new one. If you open it out from its black enclosure, you can actually just clean it with some 91% alcohol and some electronic cleaning spray and everything will work fine. That’s what I did with mine even though it was highly corroded and sat outside in rain and snow for so long, but it still works fine. I would check the hydraulic pump motor and see if water got in the case or on the trunk module though, because it’ll also fail and you won’t notice until its too late. In my case the trunk would open but it wouldn’t close and manually closing it wouldn’t work because it didn’t latch. This ultimately drained the battery and you’d have to jump the car. The pump goes out first very easily compared to the rear sam. My trunk pump stopped working and we always thought it was the fuses and not the tailgate lift motor, we found out too late and it was highly corroded and by that time the car was sitting for around 3 years since no one knew the issue, and also because the rear sam failed and we didn’t know. You can watch videos on people opening the rear sam out of its case, and people replacing the tailgate lift motor. I’d try cleaning it out first though. Rear sams go for around $500 on ebay and around $800 from the dealer but you can fix it for $3 with 91 isopropyl.

[@monumentauto]

Good tips! I’ll definitely keep an eye on the trunk motor/pump related to the rear Sam module and I’ll try cleaning the module as well. Thanks for the comment! Hope your ML repairs go well!

[@arthursliwowski9530]

The reason your rear sam went out is because water enters through the rear taillights. Mercedes in their wisdom put the rear Sam right under the taillights....bad move. Simple fix.

[@thomasbarrett4156]

I had the same exact issue with the tail light! I was concerned about electrical issues myself (rain/car wash) so I just crazy glued it shut 🤷🏽‍♂️. Problem fixed. No other issues since I’d commented last video. Just the gas is the worst thing on earth.

[@monumentauto]

good to know! I'll be figuring it out soon but sounds like the super glue worked! Thanks for the comment

[@thomasbarrett4156]

@@monumentauto yessir it worked well. No coil issues nor misfiring (yet). Truck has 105k miles. Not bad. But I’m sure I’ll run into more as the miles pile up. I haven’t taken it on a long road trip yet. Just to Atlantic City (South Jersey) I’m in northern. 2hrs. I’m kind of afraid of adding that wear and tear to the truck.

[@monumentauto]

yeah sometimes I think I put too many miles on it, but I bought it to drive it, so whatever, guess its ok

[@thomasbarrett4156]

@@monumentauto True

[@philipsgarage]

Thats a wild story with that shop, that sounds awful. Wouldn't have expected the motor mounts to cause that issue. Regarding the dipstick the pressure can actually cause the stock dipstick to pop out, I believe stock was a yellow dipstick. I upgraded mine to the new revision of the dipstick with the blue end and I didn't have the issue anymore. I replaced my PCV valve thinking it was causing the pressure to pop it out on hard acceleration, but in the end the new dipstick fixed the issue. If it keeps happening check that, I was getting lean codes too. You want to check the SAM area to see if there is any hint that water has been in there, it can get into the module. The other reason the rear hatch can open is there are sensors on the gasket around the tailgate which can sometimes have problems.

[@monumentauto]

Thanks for the great comment! I watched your vid on the Sam module and drain problem - definitely will help w my diagnosis/repair. And thanks for the tip on the dipstick - I didn’t realize they had another version of it but I’ll definitely look into it!

[@jeffbohn2576]

I hate when you think you've got an honest shop and they prove you wrong

[@monumentauto]

Yeah at least they knocked the labor charge off the compressor install but I wasn’t happy when the bill was an extra 1,000 without me approving the work

[@wowman6317]

Ready to buy one today, an 08 w 83k but It is a bit sketchy, lol I will post of I got it or not later today.

[@monumentauto]

83k is nice and low! How’d it turn out?

[@wowman6317]

@@monumentauto terrible was a piece of trash, never buy in Philthadelphia I broke my rule of flipping because of what it was, lesson learned lol

[@monumentauto]

Damn I’ve had those moments too

[@MotlatsiKose]

Yep that's rear SAM

[@pauljordan7465]

Brake booster hose leaking causing a misfire are you certain? How? By electronic disablement because of faulty brakes?

[@monumentauto]

Brooke booster hose is like a vacuum hose and if I recall correctly it connects to the intake. That connection was bad which was letting in unmetered air to the intake causing a lean condition and multiple cilindro misfires

[@MotlatsiKose]

Yep that's rear SAM

[@tjoemanyuen]

Same situation here. The car was fine for the first few years, then got hit with repairs one by one. Power steering pump, radiator, airmatics (front right), Rocket cover gasket, power steering reservoir(should have replaced with pump), PCV valve, All pulleys (probably not need as PCV was the issue for the strange noise). Airmatics (front left), shredded serpentine belt, and most recently the air compressor. I currently only have the tail brake light needed attention 😅. Hopefully it is the oxidation issue some has suggested, which required just the brake light holder kit 🤞All repair repairs happened when I don’t actually used the car much, like less 2000km per year 🤷‍♂️

[@monumentauto]

Yeahh I guess we can’t go forever without needing to replace things - I’ve had to do a lot of those same items too. Hopefully it’ll keep going for a while without anything else major!

[@MercTribe]

So what is the root cause of misfire? Why not check air leak, vacuum leak?

[@monumentauto]

The brake booster hose was the cause - you’re right it was vacuum leak

[@ptlpszt1]

Awesome story. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[@monumentauto]

Thanks!

[@ForesteFamily]

I may have missed it, but how many miles were on your car when your problems started?

[@monumentauto]

Think it was about 140k miles in that video

[@ForesteFamily]

OK thank you@@monumentauto

[@jrpowers667]

Very helpful video and greatly appreciated.

[@pauljordan7465]

In your opinion what are the quality of the parts used by Mercedes

[@monumentauto]

OEM parts on this car seem very solid and high quality, no complaints on durability or fit and finish

[@uslt5028]

are you still planning to lower this monster?😀

[@monumentauto]

I think if I ever did lower it again it would be on coilovers not the air suspension. But no set plans for that yet

[@arthursliwowski9530]

How do you lower a car On airbags? We'd all like to know?

[@jwescott1]

Bought a 2009 with 100,000 miles on it for 16,000.00 last spring for transportation at our vacation property. Seemingly perfect car but ended up paying 10,000.00 in repairs at a local shop. Everything from shocks and tires to coil packs and a paint correction. My daily is a SVR Range Rover but absolutely love the ML63 every time I drive it. Unfortunately I don’t drive it very often so concerned with it sitting for periods of time. Thanks for the great videos and info on this vehicle albeit concerned about the longevity of its life.

[@monumentauto]

Thanks for the comment! Sounds like my experience - I love it but can definitely get expensive quickly. I think longevity wise it’ll be ok, but it comes with a cost. Like I’m not concerned about catastrophic engine failure or rust totaling the car, more like a bunch of smaller things that add up to be quite expensive. Good luck with yours and enjoy!

[@arthursliwowski9530]

You were robbed. Nothing in the cars other than replacing an engine can possibly cost $10,000. I would hire a good attorney and try getting your money back.

[@will286]

ᵖʳᵒᵐᵒˢᵐ 🌹

[@pauljordan7465]

All of these types of cars, regardless of make, are thrashed and therefore forever problem cars. I applaud your bravery in cars. 😊

[@monumentauto]

Probably true…but still fun! :)

[@arthursliwowski9530]

Absolutely wrong180,000 miles on my 2007 ML63 with original engine and trans. You have no idea what your talking about Sir.