MB R320 ?'s

dweisel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Location
Wheeling, West Virginia
TDI
dweisel isn't diesel anymore!
I'm looking at a couple of different 2008/09 MB R320 diesels.Mileage on the cars is between 20k and 30k Any quirks or problems I need to be aware of?
 

dweisel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Location
Wheeling, West Virginia
TDI
dweisel isn't diesel anymore!

Derrel H Green

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 2, 2002
Location
Murrieta, California
TDI
An '05 MBZ E-320 CDI (W-211) replaced the '10 TDI JSW
What to Get

:)

We test-drove an R320 diesel some time ago but passed on it because of a few reasons:

Did not want or need all-wheel-drive. Don't all of the R320s and R350 diesels have that? :confused:

Look under the hood. Kind of hard to get to many parts isn't it.

They are rather big and heavy and not at all like your Jettas and therefore,
not nearly as economical.

I think the 2009s if there were any (?) (Autotrader) does not list any '09 R320 diesels!)
and the 2010s are R350s and need Ad Blue fluid.
All R series diesels have DPFs.

Given up on getting a 2005-2006 CDI? They are almost as good Fuel Economy wise as your Jettas, except your Jettas were sticks if I recall correctly.

I'm averaging in the 37 mpg range now for several tanks. View my Fuelly.
Just filled up last night after two weeks. Used 19.645 gallons for 738 miles.
No bad for an almost two ton automobile. It would even do better on
a long trip provided I could hold the speed down to 70 mph or less. :p

Did you consider or even think about a V6 Jeep (Chysler-Benz) diesel? :confused:
It is possible to find one of those with two wheel drive only.
They do not seem to be priced as high as the Benz R series.

So many choices and so little time.

Good luck!

Regards,

:D

Derrel
 

dweisel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Location
Wheeling, West Virginia
TDI
dweisel isn't diesel anymore!
:)

We test-drove an R320 diesel some time ago but passed on it because of a few reasons:

Did not want or need all-wheel-drive. Don't all of the R320s and R350 diesels have that? :confused: As far as I know they all do indeed have all wheel drive. We ended up purchasing a 2009 R320 just this past Sunday. Traded the 2011 JSW 2.5 gasser and drove the Benz home the same day.

Look under the hood. Kind of hard to get to many parts isn't it.Yes is quite crowded as are most modern engine compartments.

They are rather big and heavy and not at all like your Jettas and therefore,
not nearly as economical.
Yes, the R320 is a huge vehicle compared to our past Jettas and I realize the V6 will not get near the mpg as the tdi's. I've always been partial to diesel wagons and therefore love the looks of the R320.
I think the 2009s if there were any (?) (Autotrader) does not list any '09 R320 diesels!) There were a couple of R320's last week.
and the 2010s are R350s and need Ad Blue fluid.
All R series diesels have DPFs. The 09 R320 also has AdBlue.

Given up on getting a 2005-2006 CDI? They are almost as good Fuel Economy wise as your Jettas, except your Jettas were sticks if I recall correctly. I really had not looked at the 2005-06 CDI's. I was bidding on a 96 MB with 111k on eBay. One owner car in excellent condition. It went for $8,700. Sweet looking car.

I'm averaging in the 37 mpg range now for several tanks. View my Fuelly.
Just filled up last night after two weeks. Used 19.645 gallons for 738 miles. I have not run the R320 enough to determine what fuel mileage it will get. Its just going to be a car for special ocassions and hopefully will last me the next 20+ years.
No bad for an almost two ton automobile. It would even do better on
a long trip provided I could hold the speed down to 70 mph or less. :p

Did you consider or even think about a V6 Jeep (Chysler-Benz) diesel? :confused:
It is possible to find one of those with two wheel drive only.
They do not seem to be priced as high as the Benz R series.
Yes, my wife and I test drove the Jeep Cherokee with the MB diesel when they first came out as we had owned an 87' Jeep with the 2.L diesel for 17 years. Great vehicle that got 27 city and 32 highway mpg. At the time when we looked at the Jeep with the MB diesel we were more concerned with mpg. No so much anymore.

So many choices and so little time.

Good luck!

Regards,

:D

Derrel
Lots to learn on the Benz. I'm totally lost right now. Of course I was somewhat lost on the 09 CR's,but eventually knew them better than I actually wanted too. One of the biggest drawbacks to the MB is there isn't the vast exchange of info like there is here on the tdiclub. You really can't appreciate what you can find here until you look elsewhere.

Now if I could just figure out how to get the engine cover off. lol.

My dad always wanted a MB diesel,but never bought one. He died two years ago one day before his 83rd birthday. This one's for him.
 
Last edited:

GD

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Location
Toronto
TDI
2011 Jetta TDI Highline DSG
Lots to learn on the Benz. I'm totally lost right now. Of course I was somewhat lost on the 09 CR's,but eventually knew them better than I actually wanted too. One of the biggest drawbacks to the MB is there isn't the vast exchange of info like there is here on the tdiclub. You really can't appreciate what you can find here until you look elsewhere.

Now if I could just figure out how to get the engine cover off. lol.

My dad always wanted a MB diesel,but never bought one. He died two years ago one day before his 83rd birthday. This one's for him.
Welcome to the club! I share your Dad's sentiments having gone through some health issues I decided to splurge on the Benz.

The engine cover just pops off no screws etc to mess with.
 

dweisel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Location
Wheeling, West Virginia
TDI
dweisel isn't diesel anymore!
Welcome to the club! I share your Dad's sentiments having gone through some health issues I decided to splurge on the Benz.

The engine cover just pops off no screws etc to mess with.
Thanks for the welcome! Sorry to hear about your heath issues. So far,knock on wood I am healthy with few problems. The Benz is totally out of character from our past vehicles. lol.

Yes, I figured it just pops loose. I was able to get all the ball sockets free,but the cover seems to be hanging up towards the rear of the cover. I can't lift it up high enough in the rear to free it up because of the cowling. Tried again last night.........same result. I even tried turning it slightly and that won't free it up either. I sure don't want to break the cover as its probably pretty pricey.
 

Derrel H Green

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 2, 2002
Location
Murrieta, California
TDI
An '05 MBZ E-320 CDI (W-211) replaced the '10 TDI JSW
Back With a Diesel

Lots to learn on the Benz. I'm totally lost right now. Of course I was somewhat lost
on the 09 CR's, but eventually knew them better than I actually wanted too.
One of the biggest drawbacks to the MB is there isn't the vast exchange of info like there is here on the tdiclub.
You really can't appreciate what you can find here until you look elsewhere.

Now if I could just figure out how to get the engine cover off. lol.

My dad always wanted a MB diesel, but never bought one. He died two years ago one day before his 83rd birthday. This one's for him.
:)

Now you're cooking. Knowing you, you WILL get to know the R CRs better than the dealers.

An 2009. It's an R-320. It is a Bluetec, so what if any are the differences between
an R-320 and an R-350? Maybe there are not any?

I drove a Sprinter motor home for about 20 miles last month. It was a 2009 also.
Figured it had 4.11 gears but not the seven speed tranny.
It had the old five speed tranny and rather larger truck type tires.
Guess Chrysler-Daimler figured with all the weight and pushing so much wind it needed low gears.

You are correct in that there is much more information here on this forum about VWs than on
most of MBZ forums combined, but information is where you find it, and it is indeed out there.

Good luck. ;)
Good to see you are back with a diesel. :cool:

:D

Derrel
 

dweisel

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Location
Wheeling, West Virginia
TDI
dweisel isn't diesel anymore!
:)

Now you're cooking. Knowing you, you WILL get to know the R CRs better than the dealers. I surely hope I never get to know the Benz fuel system as well as I know the VW CR fuel system. I don't need that knowledge.

An 2009. It's an R-320. It is a Bluetec, so what if any are the differences between
an R-320 and an R-350? Maybe there are not any?
I'm not sure what the differences are between the R320 and R350.
I drove a Sprinter motor home for about 20 miles last month. It was a 2009 also.
Figured it had 4.11 gears but not the seven speed tranny.
It had the old five speed tranny and rather larger truck type tires.
Guess Chrysler-Daimler figured with all the weight and pushing so much wind it needed low gears.

You are correct in that there is much more information here on this forum about VWs than on
most of MBZ forums combined, but information is where you find it, and it is indeed out there. Yes, that is the great thing about the tdiclub. If you have a problem someone has probably already had the problem. Great source of info here.

Good luck. ;)
Good to see you are back with a diesel. :cool:

:D

Derrel
Thanks Darrel.......................after the VW CR's I need all the luck I can get.

Take care,
dweisel
 

2slowtdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Location
Dallas Tx
TDI
2003 ALH Bora gone. 2006 Benz CDI 235hp 420ftlbstq
The R class is not reliable. I looked at them for my brother and it would have been a high price just to get a diesel in a SUV / wagon.
The ML class is better but is smaller.
 

vwtom

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2006
Location
SW Florida
TDI
2014 Passat SE
R320 Bluetec

Back in 2009 when cash for clunckers killed Mercedes Benz sales, Mercedes discounted their remaining inventory of cars and SUV's by about $10m per vehicle. I tried to buy an R320 diesel but could not find one. I thought it was an ingeniously designed vehicle and with all wheel drive offered a great option for our normally snowy Illinois roads. I settled for an M class, which is a great vehicle, but the R has always fascinated me with its great flexibility.
 

marled

Member
Joined
May 15, 2009
Location
Seattle
TDI
sportwagen tdi, mb ml350 bluetec
Back in 2009 when cash for clunckers killed Mercedes Benz sales, Mercedes discounted their remaining inventory of cars and SUV's by about $10m per vehicle. I tried to buy an R320 diesel but could not find one. I thought it was an ingeniously designed vehicle and with all wheel drive offered a great option for our normally snowy Illinois roads. I settled for an M class, which is a great vehicle, but the R has always fascinated me with its great flexibility.
One observation; the rear doors are longer than a gti's. Your passengers will have a heck of a time getting in and out of the vehicle if you happen to be parked beside other cars, say at a mall.
 

trbizwiz

New member
Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Location
Mt Vernon, MO
TDI
R320 CDI
FYI to remove that engine cover on the R, take the 4 bolts out of the bracket along the top back of the engine bay near the wipers. Then in the very middle of the engine cover at the back there is a small torx nut that can be removed with a number 8 or number 13 metric socket. Remove these five bolts and the cover comes right out. Then you can get to the air filters, oil filter and fuel filter. Change all 3 at the same time while you are in there.
I find parts on the R320 engine quite accessible when you get in their. The turbo at he back of the engine would be my biggest worry.
 

BgRedBrck

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Location
DENVER COLORADO
TDI
1999.5 JETTA
How about now

Anybody have any updates on the reliability or service issues. My jetta just left my house for the last time last night and its time for something different.
 

ssamalin

Veteran Member
Joined
May 13, 2007
Location
Southern CA
TDI
2015 Mercedes E250 Blutec. Previously: 2006 Jetta TDI
Go for the E250BT. The 2015s are coming off lease. Carguru has one in Las Vegas for 35k. Check out the E250 thread here. Lots of good info.
 
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