20.12.2016
Mercedes GLK is the smallest crossover of the Mercedes-Benz company, which, moreover, has an atypical appearance for this brand. Most skeptics considered it too square on the outside and rustic on the inside, however, this did not in any way affect the car’s popularity and sales volumes. Despite its small age, cars of this brand are increasingly found on the secondary market, this fact makes one very much doubt the reliability and practicality of the Mercedes GLK. But what exactly makes owners part with their cars so quickly, and what surprises a used GLK can bring, we’ll now try to figure it out.
A little history:
The Mercedes GLK concept was first presented to the public in early 2008 at the Detroit auto show. The debut of the production model took place at the Beijing Motor Show in April of the same year; outwardly, the car was practically no different from the concept. In terms of body type, the Mercedes GLK is a crossover, based on the Mercedes-Benz S204 C-Class station wagon. When developing the appearance of the new product, the “” model, which has been produced since 2006, was taken as a basis. The technical features are borrowed from the C-Class, for example the 4 Matic all-wheel drive system without a locking differential, the alternative of which is the rear-wheel drive model. This model is offered in two modifications, one of which is designed for off-road enthusiasts: in this case, the car has increased ground clearance, 17-inch wheels and a special package of options. In 2012, a restyled version of the car was presented at the New York Auto Show. The new product received a retouched exterior and interior, as well as modernized engines.
Weaknesses of a used Mercedes GLK
Mercedes GLK is equipped with the following power units – petrol 2.0 (184, 211 hp), 3.0 (231 hp), 3.5 (272, 306 hp); diesel 2.1 (143, 170 and 204 hp), 3.0 (224, 265 hp). As operating experience has shown, the most unsuccessful engine in terms of reliability was the base 2.0 power unit. So, in particular, on cars even with low mileage, many owners began to be bothered by a knocking sound from under the hood when starting a cold engine. The cause of this knock is a defective camshaft, or rather, its not entirely correct location. Therefore, before purchasing, be sure to check whether this problem was fixed under warranty. Also, the cause of extraneous noise when starting the engine can be a stretched timing chain.
One of the most common shortcomings of 3.0 gasoline engines is burnout of the intake manifold flaps. The complexity of this problem is that the flaps are an integral part of the intake manifold, and you cannot buy them separately, therefore, the entire manifold has to be replaced. Signals about the presence of this problem will be: floating speed, weak dynamic performance of the engine. If the dampers begin to burn out, you must urgently contact a service center, otherwise, over time, they will come off and get into the engine, which will lead to expensive repairs. Also, after 100,000 km, the timing chain stretches and the intermediate gears of the balancing shaft wear out.
The 3.5 engine is perhaps one of the most reliable among gasoline engines, but due to the high transport tax, this power unit is not very popular among car enthusiasts. One of the disadvantages of this unit is the fragility of the chain tensioner and gas distribution sprockets; their service life, on average, is 80-100 km. A signal about the need for urgent replacement will be a diesel rumble and a metallic ringing when starting a cold engine.
Mercedes GLK diesel engines are quite reliable and rarely present unpleasant surprises to their owners, especially on cars of the first years of production, but only if high-quality fuels and lubricants are used. If the previous owner fueled the car with low-quality diesel fuel, then soon you need to be ready to change the fuel injectors and injection pump. Due to the accumulation of carbon deposits, the servomotor of the exhaust manifold flaps may fail. Also, some owners note failures in the electronic engine control. On cars with mileage over 100,000 km, problems with the pump may occur (leakage, play, or even whistling during operation). On a 3.0 engine with a mileage of more than 150,000 km, you may encounter destruction of the exhaust manifold and subsequent destruction of the turbine.
Transmission
The Mercedes GLK was supplied to the CIS market with a six- and seven-speed automatic transmission (Jetronic). Most of these aftermarket vehicles are offered with all-wheel drive, but rear-wheel drive vehicles are also available. The reliability of the transmission directly depends on the power of the installed engine and driving style, and the higher the engine power, the shorter the service life of the gearbox. It is very important to inspect the box, transfer case and gearbox for oil leaks before purchasing. If, during slow acceleration or deceleration, you feel that the automatic transmission is pushing at least a little, then it is better to refuse to purchase this copy. Most often, the reason for this behavior of the box is a failed electronic board of the automatic transmission control unit. Also, this may occur due to wear of the valve body and torque converter.
With careful operation, the box will last, on average, 200-250 thousand km. In order to extend the service life of the transmission, service technicians recommend changing the oil in the box every 60-80 thousand km. The all-wheel drive system cannot be called very gentle, but, nevertheless, one must not forget that this is a crossover, not a full-fledged SUV, and it is not designed for serious loads. One common problem with a 4Matic 4WD transmission is the driveshaft hanger bearing, which is located in the engine crankcase. During operation, dirt gets onto the bearing from under the wheels, which provokes the formation of corrosion. As a result, the bearing jams and rotates. To avoid serious consequences, many mechanics recommend changing the bearing along with the oil.
Reliability of used Mercedes GLK suspension
This model is equipped with a fully independent suspension: MacPherson strut at the front and mono-link at the rear. Mercedes-Benz has always been famous for its well-tuned suspension and the GLK is no exception; the car has excellent performance characteristics. Unfortunately, it’s hard to call the suspension of this car “indestructible”, since the chassis, like for a crossover, is very delicate and does not like driving on broken roads. And, if the previous owner liked to stir up dirt, a major overhaul of the chassis won’t take long.
Traditionally, for modern cars, stabilizer struts most often need to be replaced, about once every 30-40 thousand km. The silent blocks of levers do not last much longer, on average 50-60 thousand km. The service life of shock absorbers, levers, ball joints, wheel bearings and support bearings does not exceed 100,000 km. The service life of the brake system directly depends on driving style; on average, the front brake pads have to be changed every 35-45 thousand km, the rear ones - 40-50 thousand km. Before restyling, the car was equipped with a hydraulic power steering, after - an electric one, as operating experience has shown, most often bothers the owners of a rack with a hydromechanical power steering (rack bushing wear, power steering fluid leakage).
Salon
As befits Mercedes-Benz cars, most of the interior finishing materials of the Mercedes GLK are of fairly good quality. But, despite this, on many copies the leather upholstery of the seats quickly rubbed and cracked, fortunately, the manufacturer changed everything under warranty. The interior heater motor is located before the filter, which, as a result, leads to rapid contamination and premature failure. An unpleasant whistle during operation of the ventilation system will serve as a signal that the motor needs to be replaced quickly. Quite often, owners complain about the failure of the rear and side parking sensors. Also, there are comments on the reliability of the electric tailgate drive.
Result:
One of the main advantages of the Mercedes GLK is that this car is often owned by girls, and they are known to be more careful on the road and more meticulous about the care and maintenance of the car. As a rule, the owners of this brand of car are wealthy people, which means that the car has only been well serviced, therefore, on the secondary market you often come across cars in perfect condition, you just need to look hard. To avoid serious problems and costly repairs, try to avoid cars with the most powerful engines.
If you are the owner of this car model, please describe the problems that you encountered while using the car. Perhaps your review will help the readers of our site when choosing a car.
Best regards, editor AutoAvenue
The Mercedes-Benz GLK has been produced since 2008 in Germany, during which time more than 700,000 of these cars have been created. About 30,000 cars of this model were sent to Russia.
The body is well protected from corrosion, despite the fact that the body shape of this car is square and attracts stones from the road. The entire front end of these cars has been sandblasted. After just a couple of years of active use, the windshield becomes very shabby and worn out. A new original windshield costs 400 euros, but you can get an analogue made in Europe for 250.
The paintwork is really durable, high-quality metal and galvanic protection, so if corrosion appears on the body, it is a sign of improper and low-quality garage repairs. But things are not so good with decorative elements on the body: white spots appear on aluminum roof rails after only 3 years, window trims and door handles peel off after about 5 years of operation, chrome does not look so presentable on the radiator grille, and on the exhaust pipes The system also shows small traces of rust.
Salon
The GLK's interior is very similar to that of the W204 C-Class. The interior also has its shortcomings. It happens that a signal appears that the airbags are faulty; the contacts on the front seats are to blame. If you adjust the chair sharply forward and then sharply back, the contact in the wiring may be broken. This happened quite often that dealers changed the connectors under warranty. The car has a passenger restraint system that combines seat belt pretensioners and airbags. Sometimes there were cases when this system worked on its own because the system control unit was malfunctioning. There was even a recall regarding this issue for cars manufactured before 2009.
In Mercedes GLK, produced before restyling in 2012, it is desirable that the seats be trimmed with fabric, because the eco-leather that came in the basic configurations begins to peel off after a fairly short period of time, and in severe frosts after 3 years of operation it can crack. In addition, the passenger presence sensor may fail; to change it, you will have to install a new seat cushion, it costs 300 euros.
No squeaks were found in the interior, but the interior handles will hold together on almost all cars. Sometimes in winter there are malfunctions in the mechanisms of the trunk door and electric mirror drives; if they are not replaced under warranty, it will be very expensive. Rear parking sensors also often fail. Sometimes it happens that on cars manufactured before 2010 there were problems with the glass washer system - the tanks leaked, and the heating electrics also failed. A new tank costs $60.
Motors
Gasoline engines are generally reliable and can easily last 400,000 km, while diesel engines are even more durable. But you still need to monitor them and maintain them properly. The most popular is the 2.1-liter diesel engine OM 651; it is installed on approximately half of all GLKs. This engine is reliable; it is also installed on Mercedes Sprinter vans. The design of the engine is simple, the cylinder block is made of cast iron, and the cylinder head is made of light alloy. Power – 143 l. pp., the engine uses one turbocharger.
But there was a period when piezoelectric injectors from Delphi were used in the engine, and they spoiled the engine’s reputation. Because of them, the car could lose power while driving and could stall, going into emergency mode. This problem was widespread, so in 2011, on the 220 CDI and 250 CDI cars, the engine design was modified and instead of piezoelectric injectors, electromagnetic injectors were installed, each of which costs 400 euros.
For cars that were produced before 2011, the manufacturer organized a service campaign in which they improved the fuel system and changed the firmware of the electronic engine control unit. You can also do this procedure as a preventative measure to prevent the injectors from souring in their places.
After all these upgrades, the injectors no longer bother the owners of these cars. Only every 120,000 km is sufficient. Check to see if everything is ok with the water pump and if it is leaking. And at a mileage of 150,000, you need to start listening to see if the timing chain has stretched. A new original chain costs 300 euros, an analogue can be purchased for 200. But changing the chain is not so easy, because it is located at the rear of the engine. But in most cases, the first thing that weakens is not the chain, but its tensioner or damper. There is no point in delaying repairs, and if you detect any extraneous knocking noises, it is better to immediately change the chain and related parts.
And when the car's mileage has exceeded 200,000 km, it is advisable to clean the particulate filter, because if it is clogged, the collector will begin to overheat and collapse, and its debris may damage the turbine blades. The same situation may apply to the rarer 3-liter diesel engine OM 642. There are times when the engine goes into emergency mode, in which the speed does not exceed 3000 rpm, which means too much oil has entered the turbine. As for the rest, if you take care of the engine and do not allow the particulate filter to become clogged, it will last a long time.
On both diesel engines, care must be taken to ensure that the EGR valve, which costs 160 euros, does not become clogged. And after 180,000 km. The damper actuator for changing the length of the intake manifold may begin to malfunction. Cars produced before 2010 had unreliable gaskets in the oil cooler, then these gaskets were replaced with more heat-resistant ones.
As for gasoline engines, they can also develop a heat exchanger leak, and worn intake manifold flaps begin to play after 120,000 km. mileage A new complete manifold costs more than 1000 euros. This applies to gasoline engines of the M 272 series with a volume of 3 and 3.5 liters. There are also cases that at 80,000 km. The plastic plugs of the cylinder head may become leaky, and the sprockets of the phase shifter clutches may require replacement. They are not cheap - 500 euros.
When buying a car, you need to listen carefully to see if there is anything rattling in the rear of the engine, and you also need to find out from the owner whether the engine was repaired under warranty. The fact is that the GLK, which was produced in the early years, had a problem with the balance shaft drive. Already at 100,000 km. the teeth could wear out so much that even the valve timing shifted. Because of this, diesel noise appears in the engine and power decreases. To change the sprocket and shaft you will have to remove and disassemble the motor, and this is not easy. Modernized engines have already begun to be installed on younger cars, but they are not immune to this problem after 200,000 km. But until this run, everything will be fine with the motor chain.
Gasoline engines of the M272 series are quite reliable, they use an aluminum cylinder block, a balancer shaft in the cylinder camber, and a variable valve timing system on camshafts. These motors have become more reliable after 2008 because a lot of things have been changed in the design. You also need to understand that M272 engines love only high-quality oil, fuel and timely replacement of filters. To make the cylinder walls more durable, these engines use alusil. In Europe, this coating does not cause any problems, because the fuel there is of high quality. But this coating will be greatly damaged if grains of sand or soot get there.
After restyling, the GLK began to install more complex 3.5-liter engines of the M276 series and 2-liter turbocharged engines of the M274 series. These engines run on gasoline, with direct injection, which is characterized by such problems as failure of the injection pump, piezo injectors, and deposits also appear on the intake valves. On the M274 engine, the turbocharger was often replaced under warranty, the timing belt was repaired: the camshaft chains and couplings were changed. And if knocking and crackling noises are heard when starting the engine, then the hydraulic tensioners, which cost about 100 euros, are to blame.
In Russia it is difficult to find the most reliable GLK 200 CDI and 220 CDI configurations, which have a diesel engine, rear-wheel drive, and a 6-speed manual transmission. But there are cases that such cars are imported from Europe.
The 4Matic all-wheel drive transmissions in the GLK are the same as in other Mercedes models. The driveshafts last a long time, the torque is distributed in a ratio of 45:55, and more torque falls on the rear axle. The oldest cars had an insufficiently reliable transfer case, after 80,000 km. The chain in it could break. But then this situation was corrected and the transfer case began to serve up to 200,000 km without problems. Then the seals at the shank of the front cardan begin to leak. When the bearings on the shafts wear out greatly and hum and vibration appear during turns, this means that it is time to make repairs; if this is not done, then the transfer case will come to an end.
There is another transmission that appeared back in 2004 - 7G-Tronic, mechanically it is quite good. The advantages of this box are that there is a high-speed 7th gear, and there is also a special control for locking the torque converter clutches, this allowed the clutches to slip at low speeds even in 1st gear. The box turned out to be fast, but the reliability leaves much to be desired. If you often drive through city traffic jams, the clutches will wear out faster and wear products will quickly contaminate the oil in the box. Therefore, after approximately 80,000 km. On older cars, the torque converter failed.
The box was improved several times and on cars produced in 2010 - 2011, the torque converter began to last 2 times longer. Box twitching appears no earlier than after 150,000 km. In general, in order for the gearbox to last longer, you just need to remember to change the oil in it every 50,000 km, then everything will be fine.
If on a car produced before restyling the transmission suddenly switches from “drive” to “parking” mode, this does not mean that the problem is in the transmission; the reason may be in the EZS ignition switch, which stops seeing the key. Very often this ignition switch was replaced under warranty, but it is not cheap - 530 euros.
But after 2012, an upgraded 7G-Tronic Plus (Nag2-FE+) box appeared. It can be distinguished by the presence of an Eco button on the console; a start-stop system has also appeared. According to the regulations, the oil in it must be changed every 125,000 km. An additional oil pump is installed in this box, there is also a different range of gear ratios, a stronger torque converter is used, the operating pressure in the box has become less because thinner oil is used.
Suspension
In general, the suspension in the GLK is quite strong, but there are still some nuances, especially on pre-restyling cars. Cars manufactured before 2010 were recalled because they could experience power steering depressurization due to a weak hose in the system. As for the rack and pinion mechanism itself, it begins to leak after 160,000 km. In post-restyling cars, this problem has already been solved, because they do not have a hydraulic booster, but have an electric booster, but when knocking appears in the rack, of course, this will not happen soon, the repair will cost more.
Initially, the front shock absorbers caused a lot of trouble, which cost quite a lot of money - about 350 euros. The thing is that these are not simple shock absorbers, they have a passive system for changing resistance Agility Control; under warranty, many of these shock absorbers were changed after 50,000 km. But you don’t have to rack your brains and install regular similar shock absorbers for 100 euros. You can also install improved branded shock absorbers, which last about 100,000 km, the rear ones can even last 200,000 km, but they cost more - about 200 euros.
Mercedes GLK class is a series of compact crossovers from the Mercedes Benz concern. Produced from 2008 to 2015. In the 12th year, the model underwent a serious restyling, and in the 15th year it was replaced by the new Mercedes GLC model.
Basic maintenance of the GLK is carried out every 15 thousand km (petrol internal combustion engine) / 10 thousand km. (diesel internal combustion engine) or once a year, whichever comes first.
Basic GLK maintenance includes changing the engine oil and oil filter, as well as replacing the air and cabin filters + a comprehensive check of the vehicle's condition. But on the plus side, every time you service the GLK, you must request the ASSYST PLUS system service code from the car. After decoding in the specialized Mercedes Benz software, you can understand the necessary list of additional work - the on-board system of the Mercedes GLK, based on the control algorithms embedded in it, itself knows which vehicle system needs to be given attention during the next GLK service - be it replacing brake fluid or antifreeze, automatic transmission oils and much more.
Mercedes GLK is a modern and technically complex car; attention to GLK maintenance should begin right from the first maintenance. Then this wonderful crossover will delight you with trouble-free operation for many years and will significantly save your budget on breakdowns.
If you have a need for GLK service, just call us and we will make an appointment for you at the nearest time convenient for you.
