Mercedes-Benz is a trademark of Mercedes-Benz of North America, Mercedes-Benz USA LLC and other Mercedes-Benz corporations. The words Mercedes-Benz is solely used to identify a make of automobile. It does not imply or indicate any affiliation or relationship between Stephens Service Center and the manufacturer or their dealers.
About Us
Everything has changed.... and nothing has changed
For the past few years, many people leased their cars or traded them in at the first sign of trouble. Since the financing could be rolled into the equity in their homes, it meant your house could pay for your new car. Obviously things have changed for all of us. So now we are back to the way things were before the Sub Prime meltdown. As far as your car is concerned, it doesn't have to be that bad. Now customers indicate they want to keep the car for more then the warranty period. The concern we hear from owners is, "how do I make the car last without spending a fortune on maintenance". Over the last few years Mercedes-Benz has modified their service schedules many times. The problem is they haven't really communicated the changes very well to the customers. They have relied on the Service Advisor to educate owners on the changes. This has resulted in a confusing jumbled assortment of half truths and miscommunication. Mercedes hasn't helped by changing the terminology every few years. They have named the exact same service several different things. They have used numbers and letters to designate which service is which. The problem is, one year it can mean one thing and the next year it means something else. It doesn't have to be this way. In fact, it's really fairly simple.
It doesn't really matter what year or model you own, the same basic things need to be done to each model. A few models have additional systems that need additional service, but those exceptions are dealt with on a case by case basis. The system we use, is the same one Mercedes has advocated, they just have failed to spell it out in a concise manner. They've publish it in service bulletins, workshop instructions, administrative messages, and so forth. When you boil it all down, this is what and when it gets done.
§ CHANGE THE ENGINE OIL EVERY 6000 MILES (A-SERVICE)
§ MINOR MAINTENANCE SERVICE EVERY OTHER 30,000 MILES The big items in this service are changing the engine oil, change the
transmission oil, change the power steering oil, and change the air filter. There are other things, but these are the main things.
§ MAJOR MAINTENANCE SERVICE EVERY 60,000 MILES At 60000 miles, everything on the 30000 mile service is done, plus the spark plugs,
fuel filter, hydraulic system flush, and rear axle oil are changed.
§ CABIN FILTER EVERY 45,000 MILES
§ BRAKE FLUID FLUSH EVERY 2 YEARS
§ ANTIFREEZE FLUSH EVERY 3 YEARS
That's it. It's not so mysterious and if you follow it, you will have a very nice car for a very long time. It will hold its value and you'll not feel the need to trade it in every 4 years. The Sales Department won't like it very much, but their probably not really one of your concerns.
When we service cars that are still within their warranty, we check the Service Bulletins that are published for your model. We'll tell you what things you can ask the Dealer to repair for free before you go out of warranty. This is no small thing. Some of these Service Bulletins are expensive to deal with when it becomes your responsibility. Most customers like the idea of having a independent third party watching out for their best interest when the car is such a expensive and complicated asset. As they say, "what you don't know can hurt you".
5600 Elvas Ave
Sacramento CA 95819
916.452.5067
stephensservice@surewest.net
Just how much is 40 years of Experience Worth?
We had a new customer recently, that had been to several shops trying to solve a rough running problem. They had spent over $7000 on the problem, but it still wasn't fixed. All of the normal things that cause rough running had been tried.
This car is a perfect example of how technology has changed & whole lot of technicians haven't kept up with the changes. Vehicles built over the last 10 years are much more complicated then they ever were in the past. It's imperative for the technician really understand how modern computer systems work. The simplest things don't work like they did in the past. In particular this case, there were no Fault Codes for the engine and the Check Engine light.
We have the same diagnostic equipment the Dealer has and we get the same monthly updates. It is impossible to fix modern cars without it. The tester allows us to see the live data the engine is creating as it runs. This live data showed us that there was no throttle signal to the engine computer. No signal caused it to idle to slow. We did a search for Fault Codes in other systems and saw one in the transmission control module. It said the Neutral Safety Switch was faulty, but not specifically what the problem was. (The Neutral Safety Switch's main job is to prevent you from starting the car in gear and running over your lawn mower. It also does other things.) With further testing, we found the switch was not telling the engine's computer that the transmission was in Park. We looked closer and found it was corroded with water. Above the switch is located the drain for the A/C condensation. It had been dripping into the switch. All of the electrical components are linked together through a sophisticated high speed data transfer system (CAN) which keeps all of these parts in constant communication with each other. The switch was so corroded inside that the network was interrupted. Since the engine computer didn't get a signal from the switch, it went to a default setting that was slower then normal. The engineers did not want the engine to ever have "unintended acceleration". Since it idled much slower then normal, it was rough. We put in a new neutral safety switch and rerouted the A/C drain tube. Once the engine's computer got all of the signals it needed the engine ran normal.
A sizable sum of money was wasted by mechanics that really didn't understand how the system worked. They think that plugging the computer tester into the car will tell them what to do. The tester gives out data. The human brain has to determine what the data means. You still have to understand how the system works.
So how much is 44 years of Mercedes-Benz experience worth? In this case, $6800.
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It's been said, that no one is easier to deceive then one's self. For what we wish were true, we readily believe to be true. We wish to convey to our customers a openness to listen to their concerns. You'll never have to hunt us down to take care of a problem. We personally answer every phone call. We despise Voice Mail. You'll never have to leave us a message & hope we return the call. We assume our customers get just as annoyed with this all to common of a practice as we do. We think that if someone wants your business, the very least they should do is answer the phone. We want our customers to know that by choosing Stephens Service Center to service their Mercedes-Benz, they have made the wisest choice among many alternatives. It is our sincere hope that our customers realize that they can come to us for the little things that come up in the life of a car. Hopefully they know that we're not going to charge them every time we have to replace a light bulb or check for the reason "Check Engine Light" came on. We want them to come to us when a tire needs some air. Cars just don't always need big repairs. As with many things in life, it's the little things that count. We want them to trust us when we tell them something needs to be fixed as well as when it's time to stop fixing the car & get a new one. Customers are not a interruption to our day. They are the reason we are here.
Think of us as a seatbelt for your wallet!
