Matt What years are exactly affected? Will S400 Hybrid year 2009/2010 have these issues too? Hi Matt, all of the years from late 09 to 14 had exactly the same issues! To put it candidly, Mercedes knew exactly what they were doing when they attempted to cover up the chronic issues associated with the S400 Hybrid; notwithstanding many poor unsuspecting buyers have been left with an expensive driveway ornament, with little value except for scrap. As I stated, even the repairs covered under warranty were made using cobbled-together parts that comprised of failed units being reworked with leftover parts they could retrieve. The entire exercise was a scam intended to cover up the engineering failure of their flagship model, nothing more, and certainly with little regard for the unsuspecting customer. Oh, and even if for some unknown reason someone wished to purchase an S400 and attempt to repair it, Mercedes no longer offers any of the Hybrid Power Control or High Voltage components for sale; says it all really!!! Best Regards Julian.
First car reviewer to actually talk about where the 'S' in S-Class came from, you're very correct on the "Sonder" part as that's where it came from. I think the sonder however referred more to without class from the point of view that it was in a class of its own and not "without class" per-say. It's meaning was trying to convey that it could not be confined to existing classes and as such it was without a class, in a league of its own 😃
The S400 is a living nightmare, period!!! The so-called "hybrid" fails, with the Power Control Module, and the High Voltage Generator; the car will simply not start and leave you stranded, or worse! And the cost of replacement is $12,000! And no you can't simply purchase a used unit, because they all suffer from the same burn-out failure, and no one can work on these cars; even the main dealer only had one technician. I had two units replaced under warranty; each with the same issues. It is a serious design fault that Mercedes tried to ignore, and brush under the carpet, even though there were warnings sent to the dealership. Replacement units are ordered from German on an "exchange" policy, so normally no one gets to see what failed including the technician, as the unit is sealed. As luck would have it, my dealer forgot to return the failed unit and left it in the boot; so after asking if they wanted it back, which they declined, I decided to dismantle it, to see what the cause was. The Power Control Module has three separate phases which receive voltage from three generators attached to the fly-wheel. One of the phases had been subjected to so much power it had caught fire and melted the coil wire in half! Oh, and let's not forget the Power Control Module, is a sealed air-tight unit, and the S400 had a 60amp generator, so imagine how many amps had to be sent through the wire to catch fire and melt it! My car even after the two replacement units, would start once, and then it may or may not start again, and don't forget it has a stop/start system that "can't" be turned off, so every time you go below 7mph the shuts down, and could leave you stranded with no power. So dangerous was this; imagine trying to turn across oncoming traffic and finding your engine isn't restarting, that my insurance company determined the car dangerous to the point they totaled a 4 yrs old S-class and paid me out! I love the S-class, so I purchased a reliable S63 with no safety issues. So if you are tempted by an S400, please don't the cars can be lethal!
Hey man thank you for comment, so was the 12k issue covered under warranty or did u have pay out of your pocket? What isn't covered under warrany? (i guess that may differ from company to company?) I am tempted to buy a s400 but unsure as yet, i test drove a s63 today and liked it but a little bit over my budget, Just thinking what to do, what are your thoughts? At how many km's did you purchase yours? I seen one at 50,000kms which is not to bad and may hold me out for a while before any problems start occuring.
@@jamiefreedom8320 Jamie please don't buy one! I bought mine with 17,000 miles (27,000 km) on it. The warranty work was covered by Mercedes, as part of a pseudo recall; the first unit failed at 36,400 miles (58,500km), and the dealer replaced it. However, because this replacement unit, which I might add isn't new, they are simply faulty units re-built by Mercedes, failed after 3,000 miles they had little choice but to replace it again. Having said that, the car sat at the dealership for 2 weeks while I argued my case with Mercedes USA, before they gave the reluctant go-ahead. Please note: If any S400 you potentially look at, has already had the Power Control Module replaced by Mercedes, the next time it fails, and it will, you will be looking at a repair bill in excess of the car's value. Even after the replacement, I never know if the car would start and continue starting, after the engine shut-off, (remember you can't switch off the stop-start system), or if you would notice that the dash graphics which show you charge arrows returning to the battery, had suddenly stopped producing charge! Enough was enough when the car failed to properly restart when I was performing a left turn across oncoming traffic and was nearly T-boned; hence the reason the insurance totaled a 4-year-old car. Obviously, this is just my opinion, but Mercedes should have recalled all the S400's and paid off the owners, because the Hybrid system is a seriously flawed piece of junk, which they knew about, but was able to continue to rip off customers, as no one except dealers could work on these cars. If I were you and looking to buy a W221, I would go for the S550; a lot quicker than the S400, with no hybrid issues that are going to bankrupt you, and a proven engine that is reliable. As for the S63, it's a good car, but it can leave you with mixed feelings, in the sense that it's fun and enjoyable to drive for such a big luxury car, but you need deep pockets to keep it running how Mercedes intended. Oh, and it has to have full Mercedes service records, or don't touch one. Also, they eat front brake pads and rotors/discs. So if you intend to enjoy the performance of the S63, expect to be regularly spending $3,000 on new pads and rotors! The S550 is more affordable to buy, maintain, and insure, with 400bhp on taps to boot. I hope my long-winded reply, has helped in some way, but please stay clear of the S400, unless someone is giving you one, and then I would still think twice!
Matt
What years are exactly affected? Will S400 Hybrid year 2009/2010 have these issues too?
Hi Matt, all of the years from late 09 to 14 had exactly the same issues! To put it candidly, Mercedes knew exactly what they were doing when they attempted to cover up the chronic issues associated with the S400 Hybrid; notwithstanding many poor unsuspecting buyers have been left with an expensive driveway ornament, with little value except for scrap. As I stated, even the repairs covered under warranty were made using cobbled-together parts that comprised of failed units being reworked with leftover parts they could retrieve. The entire exercise was a scam intended to cover up the engineering failure of their flagship model, nothing more, and certainly with little regard for the unsuspecting customer. Oh, and even if for some unknown reason someone wished to purchase an S400 and attempt to repair it, Mercedes no longer offers any of the Hybrid Power Control or High Voltage components for sale; says it all really!!! Best Regards Julian.
First car reviewer to actually talk about where the 'S' in S-Class came from, you're very correct on the "Sonder" part as that's where it came from. I think the sonder however referred more to without class from the point of view that it was in a class of its own and not "without class" per-say. It's meaning was trying to convey that it could not be confined to existing classes and as such it was without a class, in a league of its own 😃
Thanks Kyle, that actually makes sense!
@@takeitforadrive iooiii
Okoloolkl
Okooloolkiooimoolll😊ikn
The S400 is a living nightmare, period!!! The so-called "hybrid" fails, with the Power Control Module, and the High Voltage Generator; the car will simply not start and leave you stranded, or worse! And the cost of replacement is $12,000! And no you can't simply purchase a used unit, because they all suffer from the same burn-out failure, and no one can work on these cars; even the main dealer only had one technician. I had two units replaced under warranty; each with the same issues. It is a serious design fault that Mercedes tried to ignore, and brush under the carpet, even though there were warnings sent to the dealership. Replacement units are ordered from German on an "exchange" policy, so normally no one gets to see what failed including the technician, as the unit is sealed. As luck would have it, my dealer forgot to return the failed unit and left it in the boot; so after asking if they wanted it back, which they declined, I decided to dismantle it, to see what the cause was. The Power Control Module has three separate phases which receive voltage from three generators attached to the fly-wheel. One of the phases had been subjected to so much power it had caught fire and melted the coil wire in half! Oh, and let's not forget the Power Control Module, is a sealed air-tight unit, and the S400 had a 60amp generator, so imagine how many amps had to be sent through the wire to catch fire and melt it! My car even after the two replacement units, would start once, and then it may or may not start again, and don't forget it has a stop/start system that "can't" be turned off, so every time you go below 7mph the shuts down, and could leave you stranded with no power. So dangerous was this; imagine trying to turn across oncoming traffic and finding your engine isn't restarting, that my insurance company determined the car dangerous to the point they totaled a 4 yrs old S-class and paid me out! I love the S-class, so I purchased a reliable S63 with no safety issues. So if you are tempted by an S400, please don't the cars can be lethal!
Hey man thank you for comment, so was the 12k issue covered under warranty or did u have pay out of your pocket? What isn't covered under warrany? (i guess that may differ from company to company?) I am tempted to buy a s400 but unsure as yet, i test drove a s63 today and liked it but a little bit over my budget, Just thinking what to do, what are your thoughts? At how many km's did you purchase yours? I seen one at 50,000kms which is not to bad and may hold me out for a while before any problems start occuring.
@@jamiefreedom8320 Jamie please don't buy one! I bought mine with 17,000 miles (27,000 km) on it. The warranty work was covered by Mercedes, as part of a pseudo recall; the first unit failed at 36,400 miles (58,500km), and the dealer replaced it. However, because this replacement unit, which I might add isn't new, they are simply faulty units re-built by Mercedes, failed after 3,000 miles they had little choice but to replace it again. Having said that, the car sat at the dealership for 2 weeks while I argued my case with Mercedes USA, before they gave the reluctant go-ahead. Please note: If any S400 you potentially look at, has already had the Power Control Module replaced by Mercedes, the next time it fails, and it will, you will be looking at a repair bill in excess of the car's value. Even after the replacement, I never know if the car would start and continue starting, after the engine shut-off, (remember you can't switch off the stop-start system), or if you would notice that the dash graphics which show you charge arrows returning to the battery, had suddenly stopped producing charge!
Enough was enough when the car failed to properly restart when I was performing a left turn across oncoming traffic and was nearly T-boned; hence the reason the insurance totaled a 4-year-old car. Obviously, this is just my opinion, but Mercedes should have recalled all the S400's and paid off the owners, because the Hybrid system is a seriously flawed piece of junk, which they knew about, but was able to continue to rip off customers, as no one except dealers could work on these cars. If I were you and looking to buy a W221, I would go for the S550; a lot quicker than the S400, with no hybrid issues that are going to bankrupt you, and a proven engine that is reliable. As for the S63, it's a good car, but it can leave you with mixed feelings, in the sense that it's fun and enjoyable to drive for such a big luxury car, but you need deep pockets to keep it running how Mercedes intended. Oh, and it has to have full Mercedes service records, or don't touch one. Also, they eat front brake pads and rotors/discs. So if you intend to enjoy the performance of the S63, expect to be regularly spending $3,000 on new pads and rotors!
The S550 is more affordable to buy, maintain, and insure, with 400bhp on taps to boot. I hope my long-winded reply, has helped in some way, but please stay clear of the S400, unless someone is giving you one, and then I would still think twice!
Which year was yours?
@@VQSV889 It was a 2013 if that helps?
i really apprecite your input...I'm really tempted to by one @14k with 57000 km.
Great upload. I never knew SA had a hybrid S-Class. Imagine the miles of wiring in this luxury car.
Heard about battery issues in earlier S400H cars. What about w222 post 2014 models? S400 hybrid 2015 and onwards?
Already know this is going to be a good review
Looking forward to getting this
Awesome review. 💪
🙌
good review - thanks for uploading. I know the "ball box" lol.
Thanks David, appreciate it!
😝😝😝😝'without any class'
Pray to all the existing gods and demons that the hybrid battery doesn't fail or the only "baller" will be you bawling your eyes out...