2001 Mercedes Benz S600: excessive oil consumption

Filed Jan 15, 2010 · Engine · 69,000 miles · WA

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). 2001 mercedes benz s600 oil cooler, leaking suddenly, 1 quart of oil every 2 days (25 to 50 miles.) very strong smell of burned oil upon exiting car. Normal driving. No reason for leakage, no accidents, serviced regularly and on time. Concerned about oil hitting the exhaust, resulting in a fire. A friend had his mercedes catch on fire, on the freeway, because of the same problem, total loss of car, but driver was able to escape. Mercedes estimates repairs to be between $8,000 & $10,000.....to fix an oil leak !!!!! Took it to an independent mercedes repair shop, was told this is a very common problem with the s600's, an engineering defect that should be more than sufficient to generate a recall. (said, unfortunately, repair shops love it, $10,000 jobs are few & far between.) upon checking on various web sites and 'googling" the problem, I see that this is a very common complaint. Others have mentioned filing a complaint with you, yet I do not see any references to them on your site. What is the process for complaints to be able to generate recalls? Please respond to my complaint , I want to be sure that it has been received and read. [xxx]

Filed Nov 12, 2009 · Engine · 44,000 miles · HI

My oil cooler has been leaking since 41,000 miles and I have read other mercedes benz s600 owners have the same problems. To fix this problem I would have to pay a shop 4k dollars. If this is a common problem for this car I think mercedes benz should have a recall on this issue and fix the problem. I leak up to a quart of oil every 2 weeks.

Filed Sep 18, 2009 · Engine · 50,000 miles · AR

2001 mercedes benz s600 oil cooler leaking 1 quart of oil every 500 miles. The car is driven normally to work and vacation trips. Nothing special leading up to the occurrence. The car has not been in any accident. I am afraid that with the amount of oil that leaks and how it runs down the bell housing and hits the exhaust, that a fire is possible. With the windage tray that is mounted under the transmission, it causes it to pool the oil and leaks on the exhaust when it is driven. The oil cooler is mounted under the intake manifold and requires the heads to be removed in order to repair this issue. This issue occurs approx every 40k-60k miles. A simple replacement does not resolve this issue. There is an engineering defect here that mbusa is not willing to resolve with the customer or a change in design for resolution. I have called mbusa (1‑800‑367‑6372, 4,5) and no one seems to care because it is out of warranty. I took it to mb in nw arkansas and they diagnosed the same issue and estimated a repair cost of $7800 and 2 weeks. I am awaiting some attention form the federal safety agency or mbusa before repairs. I would be willing for the federal safety agency to inspect car before and during the repairs to push for a recall. There are numerous other complaints of this on the net. Please check http://www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2001/mercedes+benz/s-600.

Filed Jul 17, 2008 · Engine · 35,000 miles · AR

2001 mercedes benz, 40,000 miles, profuse oil leak from oil cooler.

Filed May 31, 2008 · Engine · 54,000 miles · CA

The car started smelling of burning oil. It got worse and worse to where one could see the burning oil at stop lights. The oil was leaking from the oil cooler at the back of the engine and dripping on to the catalytic converter and burning there. It was leaking approximately 1 quart of oil every 250 miles.

Filed May 7, 2007 · Engine · 57,000 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 mercedes benz s-600. While driving 40 MPH, the check engine light illuminated. On the way to the dealer the contact stated that the vehicle began to violently shake. The dealer stated that the faulty seal was allowing oil to enter the wiring of the vehicle, causing a short circuit. The dealer also found an oil leak on top of the engine caused by the oil cooler. This failure caused oil to leak into the intake manifold. The current and failure mileages were 57,000.