NHTSA Complaint #11220256 — 2006 MERCEDES-BENZ E350

MERCEDES-BENZ V6 M272 ENGINES HAVE TIMING CHAIN PROBLEMS CAUSED BY BALANCE SHAFT FAILURES WHICH MERCEDES HAS KNOWN ABOUT FOR YEAR. FAULTY GEARS WEAR OUT PREMATURELY, EXCESSIVELY, AND WITHOUT WARNING, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO MALFUNCTION, THE 'CHECK ENGINE LIGHT' TO REMAIN ILLUMINATED, AND THE VEHICLE TO MISFIRE OR STOP DRIVING. WEAK MATERIALS WERE USED FOR THE BALANCE SHAFT SPROCKETS AND THE TIMING CHAIN GUIDE, MERCEDES NEVER CONTACTED ITS OWNERS ABOUT THE DEFECT WHICH CAN CAUSE THE ENGINE TO HALT AND THE CAR TO STOP MID-TRAFFIC. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON THE VEHICLE AT EVERY START, THROWING A P0016 AND P0017 TROUBLE CODE, WHICH RETURNS EVEN AFTER CLEARING AND RESTART. AFTER GOING TO SEVERAL MECHANICS, ALL HAVE NOTED THAT THE BALANCE SHAFT (WITHIN THE ENGINE) REQUIRES REPAIR AN ISSUE MERCEDES HAS KNOW ABOUT FOR SEVERAL YEARS, AND HAD EVEN ISSUED ITS MECHANICS WITH SERVICE BULLETINS (APRIL 23, 2009, SEE ATTACHED), BUT HAS NEVER NOTIFIED ITS CAR OWNERS OF THE HAZARDOUS DRIVING DURING ANY OF ITS SERVICE AT THE DEALERSHIP OR HAS NOT NOTIFIED WITH ANY OTHER COMMUNICATION. ENGINES WITH SERIAL NUMBERS LOWER THAN M272 ENGINE SERIAL NO. 2729..30 468993 HAVE THE DEFECTIVE PARTS AT MANUFACTURE, WHICH IS AFFECTING MY MERCEDES VEHICLE.