Just had a cylinder head replacement at 20,800 miles on my 2021 GLA 250. Whats up with this.
Steve Thomas
Steve Thomas
2021 Cylinder head replacement under warranty - 20,800 miles
megsdad
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Good to hear. Did the service printout provide any add'l insight or just a vague "defective cylinder resolved." Would appreciate your posting a scan/photo of same.
Btw: The subject of this thread is "cylinder head" [which contains the valves] and not "cylinder" [within the engine block] so wondering if this is the same issue? Probably the same and just a matter of dealership vague semantics.
Some prior discussion here I believe centered on the cylinder head exhaust valve(s) clearance being too tight. Your "defective cylinder" would presumably be more in the realm of piston rings and/or cylinder wall tolerances? But again just going by semantics.
Presumably by extending the warranty Benz need not issue a recall or technical service bulletin (TSB) and can rather handle on a case by case basis. One would think if this was such a widespread issue there would be a more formal directed inspection process of all within a certain model year or suspected serial run of engine manufacture.
Related: I once had a solo-cylinder issue with a Jeep Liberty, when Daimler was running the show and moved to a V6 vs. historic Jeep straight-six. Once the problem reared its ugly head I got very little mileage. Jeep ultimately bought-back the vehicle and I believe sent it off for mechanical forensic analysis. Daimler was soon gone. Coincidence?
My 2021 GLA 250 is now having its second cylinder head replacement, this one at 60,000 miles. This is still within my extended warranty bought at original purchase from new (I do quite a lot of miles in my cars so bought the extended warranty.) I see mentions of a warranty extension on the replacement part... can anyone tell me if that is that a general policy or just a goodwill offer from specific dealers?
That is an official Mercedes policy. I believe the warranty is extended on that part for 15 years.
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Same here!
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Hey all, I just purchased a 2021 GLA 35 with 13k miles. Is there a way to tell if this car has had that part replaced? thanks!
Welcome, if the service was done, it will be on your service records. Since it would've been warrantied, it should be in MB's system.
Keep in mind that MB has extended the warranty on the cylinder head, not issued a recall. So they won't/wouldn't have replaced the part unless it failed.
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Thanks for the response. I did not see it on the service records. Should I be concerned? Is this part covered in the USA by all dealerships? I read that it may be covered for 15 years or 150,000 miles. I asked my service advisor if we could replace this preemptively. Does it seem to be a small percent of models or is it just a matter of time?
I love the car so far, have had it about two months. I hope to get many reliable years out of this car. Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks!
I wouldn't be concerned unless you notice a check engine light or the other symptoms mentioned above. It is covered in all USA dealerships and I believe in Canada too, and there are unlimited replacements i.e. a member here had the same issue twice and it was warrantied both times.
They won't do it preemptively under warranty because Corporate won't approve it and the dealer will be stuck with the bill. They will only do something if the part fails or you pay out-of-pocket to replace it, which I wouldn't recommend, because it seems the replacement parts are not any different from the originals and have failed in a few cases as well.
The issue seems to affect a relatively small minority of vehicles of 2021 model year in particular. If it was a widespread issue or plagued a larger percentage, they would likely be forced to issue a recall. There is a theory that due to the pandemic, the quality of parts and availability from suppliers was problematic which lead to substandard cylinder heads for the 2021 MY. There are fewer observances of cylinder head issues on other model years.
You're probably best off just carrying on with life, MB's warranty extension announcement says that the issue is not going to affect safety. If something happens, you have coverage for a long time.
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Are there any other known issues in the 2021 - 2024 history that I should know about?
Recalls should be available on MBUSA website. Most known issues for either generation are documented quite well on this forum, but I can't really think of any apart from the cylinder head issues.
Does the extended warranty for the heads apply in the US? For some reason I thought it was just Canada.
Just got back from the MB dearlership...googled and joined this forum...2021 GLA 250 33,000 MILES AND THE DREADED ENGINE LIGHT appeared yesterday..and of course its the cylinder head $6,000US TO FIX. I am so thankful I purchased a extended warranty. Also my first Mercedes! I traded in a Land Rover which was always in the shop. thought maybe this would be a better car! HAHAHAHA. WHY has there not been a recall in the US? Seems so many of us are here with the same problem with this vehicle. I've owned it 5 months...the service department gave me a loaner and explained it will be better then if it came straight out of the factory brand new...I'm nervous.
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GLB 250 4MATIC (2020) - 3.5 years old, 65000km...not warranty covered in Europe. Top cylinder head to be replaced. Mercedes Den Haag AGAM is saying no DKM (recall or extended warranty issued in the model). They ask me to pay the full amount despite knowing it is a detective Manufacturing part from 2020 to 2022 and extended warranty issued for this parts in US and Canada. They claim is "bad luck"....the new piece is reinforced however....how can then be bad luck. If someone in Europe is facing the same problem I would be willing to join for a collective filing to court. The same car build in the same factory has the same errores, but the German brand is granting more rights to US and Canadians than to Europeans....let's revert that together.
I also just got a call from dealership for gla250 cylinder head needs to be replaced. Same thing check engine light came on and then went off and took it in and it’s a messs. This is my second major repair in two years am a bit disappointed in Mercedes a new car should have to have so many major repairs in such a short time. I am now afraid that once warranty ends am gonna have a lemon car. I pray not but am not feeling this
I am with you this is so wrong
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also just got a call from dealership today for gla250 cylinder head needs to be replaced. Same thing check engine light came on and then went off and took it in and it’s a messs. This is my second major repair in two years am a bit disappointed in Mercedes a new car should have to have so many major repairs in such a short time. I am now afraid that once warranty ends a
Figured I’d join in and vent on this issue. I have a 2021 AMG GLB 35 with less than 10k on it. Went in for engine light and rough running engine. After a week or so of diagnosis the dealership tells me it’s a bad cylinder head and will be $7,600 to replace it. Even though it’s under warranty and a known issue they won’t cover it because I have an aftermarket tuner on it. The tuner has nothing to do with the defective part and issue but it’s an easy loophole for them to void my warranty. I’m a long time Mercedes customer and escalated the case with Mercedes Benz USA. After 2 weeks of review and moving the case up the management chain they still refuse to help in any way. I am very disappointed in how this was handled and am now stuck to foot the whole bill for repair. NEVER bring your car into the dealership with any aftermarket parts installed. Hard lesson learned. I will definitely think twice about buying another vehicle from Mercedes Benz.
It’s a plug and play with a handful of sensor plug ins. TDI-Tuning
Take it off and go to another dealership. You might have a shot at it getting approved, but if you’ve already escalated it to corporate, your car might be “blacklisted” in their system. But it’s worth a try to save $8K.
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