Balance shaft failure. At 57,700 miles the check engine light on with codes 1200/1207 also known as P0016 and P0017. The balance shaft sprocket is excessively worn due to manufacturer defect known by Mercedes Benz usa to be due to poorly hardened metal in the manufacture of this part. May cause complete engine failure and loss of power. Manufacturer refused to offer any assistance in correcting the defect.

- Leland, NC, USA

Check engine light came on. Vehicle was taken to dealership and they informed me that the balance shaft gear, exhaust camshaft position timing problem was happening. Cost to repair is $7000. Was told the issue was normal wear and tear. Started to investigate online and found out this is a widespread problem.

- Charleston, SC, USA

Check engine light illuminated followed by another light indicating check oil level at next refueling. Had vehicle immediately examined by Mercedes Benz dealer. Engine oil level okay. No codes came up for oil sensor. Car has 66,239 miles. Was told by mbz dealer that balance shaft needs replacement due to sprocket failure (coming apart); gear is worn. Needs $6,200 of repair. Called Mercedes Benz of North America who said that to date, no recalls or campaigns have been initiated for this complaint. Car has been maintained according to mbz scheduled maintenance using mbz synthetic oil and mbz parts, if and when necessary. The internet is replete with complaints of this same type from all over U.S. and Canada.

- West Hills, CA, USA

Check engine came on I took it to the dealer, the dealer stated that it was a faulty balance shaft gear and I received a $5000 (five thousand dollars) estimate for repair. I took it to an independent mechanic, he tried to replace the camshaft exhaust but the engine light was still on, he then determined the same problem faulty balance shaft gear... my car is only 74000 miles now, so much for a Mercedes Benz car under 100,000 miles..hope this to be a recall.

- Olney, MD, USA

My check engine light is on so I took it to the mb dealer and they stated that it was a balance sensor located inside the engine and it cost $7000 to fix cause the entire engine has to be taken out, my car only has 70,000 miles and I have noticed that many people are complaining about this issue with their mb cars as well. There are hundreds of people complaining about this problem with their Benz and therfore there should have been some recall on it by now.

- Springfield , MA, USA

Faulty balance shift and idle gear. Replaced many components to rectify the issue only to find a star bulletin was available for the fix. Original found while vehicle was under warranted and technician failed to fix. Now that car is out of warranty, will incur a 6K fix on what seems to be defective or substandard parts (balance shaft sprocket and the timing chain guide wheel(idler)

- Dededo, GU, USA

Engine/transmission was acting jerky and suddenly the car lost power to engine and the car broke on it's own doing causing the vehicle to swerve into the other lane. Luckily there were no cars behind or to the side of me as this would have surely caused an accident. Currently there is a class action law suit in place specifically to the engine in my car and the part at fault.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

I just was advised by my Mercedes only independent garage that the on-going cel on my 2006 E350 (48000 miles) is for the camshaft wear mentioned in this lawsuit. The mechanic advises repair cost is $6200. He has the bulletin and has seen this issue in multiple cars. I will be complaining to the NHTSA and hoping NHTSA can recover my damages for this obvious and known defect.check engine lights star diagnosis indicated : code 1200 and 1208 ( P0016 and P0017) for mb E350 2006 48000 mil Mercedes has known about this problem since 2007 and has failed to notify any owners of the problem. Probably because the repair is so expensive ranging from $4,000-$8,000 and with most, the problem doesn't show up until after the warranty has expired. So it's a win-win situation for Mercedes. I don't feel all warm and fuzzy inside because Mercedes offered to put a little "goodwill cash" towards a repair that cost me thousands that they should have covered in full. And their 2 "rules" for qualifying for "goodwill assistance" for the repair has nothing to do with the repair. It's not preventable. If your vehicles falls between the serial numbers, your balance shaft will fail. On facebook specifically for the balance shaft you can get information and a number of vehicles affected. www.facebook.com/groups/edit.... please help me to resolve this issue!!! [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Castro Valley, CA, USA

2006 Mercedes E350. Check engine light on at 83,000 miles. Diagnostic code and inspection finds camshaft premature wear requiring full engine removal and replacement of parts. Service bulletin issued by Mercedes and also search of internet finds numerous complaints of this problem. Class action lawsuit filed on this issue. My independent, Mercedes only garage, is charging me at least $4200 to repair and vehicle will be unavailable for use for approximately ten days.

- Sylmar, CA, USA

The "check engine" light on the instrument panel came on. We took it to the dealership for maintenance and asked them to diagnose the problem. We were told that it was associated with a faulty balance shaft and that it needed to be replaced sooner than later or else it could cause entire engine to stop working when it failed. The quoted price for repairs was around $5500 with a $1000 discount. Once home, we researched "faulty balance shaft on 2006 Mercedes Benz E350" and found the first website to have information of a class action legal suit in progress against mercedez Benz over defective balance shaft gears in Mercedes Benz M272 engines & idle gears in Mercedes Benz M273 engines. It was disconcerting to realize that a vast number of people have experienced the same problems without getting relief from mbusa. It is unacceptable to see that so many people are experiencing the same issue of defective engines from a manufacturer who commands a price premium for its "superior engineering" and yet does nothing to correct a serious and widespread fault. From the various reports, including those in the lawsuit website and online forums, mbusa has failed to assist customers with these issues, in most cases citing that vehicles are past warranty coverage and therefore the owners must cover the cost of repair. This is unacceptable since it appears to be a factory defect, rather than "wear and tear" that the customer is responsible for. Mercedes Benz must pay for this problem, not the customer.

- Miami Shores, FL, USA

THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS FOR THE ENGINE, LIGHTING, FUEL INJECTION AND REST OF CRITICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE VEHICLE HAS DISINTEGRATED DUE TO A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. THE MANUFACTURER HAS USED AN INFERIOR AND UNSUITABLE INSULATION FOR THE WIRES, WHICH, IS BRITTLE, CRACKING AND FALLING OFF EXPOSING BARE WIRES, CREATING AN EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS SITUATION. THE WIRE INSULATION DETERIORATION IS CAUSING THE WIRES TO SHORT AND PREVENTS THE VEHICLE FROM FUNCTIONING CORRECTLY. THIS IS CREATING A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD. (POSSIBLE, FIRE IN ENGINE, ETC). DUE TO THE SERIOUSNESS, I RECOMMEND THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION ORDER THE MANUFACTURE TO PROPERLY INVESTIGATE AND ISSUE A SAFETY RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF THIS WIDESPREAD DEFECT BUT REFUSES TO ORDER A RECALL. I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE NEW AND OPERATED IT UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN REGULARLY SERVICED AND MAINTAINED BY MERCEDES BENZ AUTHORIZED DEALERS SINCE IT WAS NEW. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN WELL KEPT AND MAINTAINED. YOUR ASSISTANCE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! THANK YOU! [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Madeira Beach , FL, USA

2006 Mercedes Benz M272/M273 engine. *balance shaft issue* our 2006 E350 Mercedes Benz was just diagnosed that it needed the balance shaft replaced, a $5000-$8000 dollar repair. After doing some research I have found that many Mercedes costumers have experienced the same problem. Infact a class action lawsuit has been filed specifically due to this issue and it seems that this engine part is faulty.

- San Jose, CA, USA

Fuel tank seals are leaking causing a safety hazard. When I park in my garage there is a gasoline smell. The catalytic converter operates at a high temp. Making the car unsafe in a closed in place. Dealer Mercedes-Benz of North palm beach said this is not covered under warranty. The repair cost is $680. Safer a battle they offered $217 credit. I refused to pay for a repair on a car that is under warranty and has a serious safety defect.

- Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2006 Mercedes Benz E350. While driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle began jerking violently. The jerking would intensify whenever the accelerator pedal was depressed. The tachometer gauge displayed between 50-70 in the red zone whenever she depressed the accelerator pedal. Shortly afterwards, the vehicle stalled. After approximately 10-15 minutes, the vehicle was able to be restarted and drove normally. The vehicle has been taken to the repair shop on numerous occasions and the contact was informed that the timing belt needed to be replaced. In addition, two head gaskets were blown and also needed to be repaired. The incident occurred twice within 30 days. The first repair only corrected the failure for a few weeks. The contact believes that a recall should be issued so that the vehicle can be properly repaired. The failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 42,000.

- Pomona, CA, USA