Mercedes-Benz GLK has been produced since 2008 in Germany, during this time more than 700,000 such cars were created. About 30,000 cars of this model were sent to Russia.

The body is perfectly protected from corrosion, despite the fact that the body shape of this car is square and attracts stones from the road. The entire front of these cars are sandblasting. The windshield after a couple of years of active use is very worn and worn. New original windshield costs 400 euros, but you can take for 250 similar European production.

The paintwork is really durable, high-quality metal and galvanic protection, so that if there is corrosion on the body, then this is a sign of improper and poor-quality garage repairs. But with decorative elements on the body, things are not so good: white spots appear on aluminum rails after 3 years, window trims and door handles are peeled off after about 5 years of operation, chrome does not look so presentable on the grille, and on exhaust pipes The system also shows small traces of rust.

Salon

The interior of the GLK is very similar to the interior of the C-class in the back of the W204. The cabin also has its drawbacks. It happens that there is a signal that the airbags are faulty, this is the fault of the contacts in the front seats. If you adjust the chair sharply forward, and then sharply back, you may break the contact in the wiring. This happened quite often that under warranty dealers changed connectors. The car has a restraint system, which in itself combines belt tensioners and airbags. Sometimes there were cases that this system worked on its own, because the system control unit was failing. On this occasion, there was even a revocable company for cars produced before 2009.

In Mercedes GLA, released before restyling in 2012, it is desirable that there is a cloth trim on the seats, because eco-leather, which came in basic trim levels, begins to peel off after a rather short period of time, and after 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.

In the cabin squeaks are not detected, but the inner handles are held together in almost all cars. Sometimes in the winter there are failures in the mechanisms of the tailgate and electric mirrors, if they are not changed under warranty, it will be very expensive. Sensors rear parking sensors are also often buggy. Sometimes it happens that on cars produced before 2010 there were problems with the system of washing the windows - the tanks were leaking, and also the electrician for heating the fluid failed. A new tank costs 60 dollars.

Motors

Petrol engines, in general, are reliable, can easily serve 400,000 km., And diesel engines are even more durable. But you still need to monitor them and properly maintain. The most popular diesel engine is a 2.1-liter OM 651 engine, it is installed on about half of all GLK. This motor 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 light alloy. Power - 143 liters. with., in the motor uses one turbocharger.

But there was a period when piezoelectric nozzles from Delphi were used in the motor, and they ruined the reputation of the motor. Because of them, the car could lose power while driving and could stall, went into emergency mode. This problem was massive, so in 2011, on 220 CDI and 250 CDI cars, the engine was modified and instead of piezoelectric injectors, electromagnetic injectors were installed, each of which costs 400 euros.

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For cars that were released before 2011, the manufacturer arranged a service campaign in which they improved the fuel system, changed the firmware of the electronic engine control unit. You can also do this procedure as a preventive measure so that the nozzles do not sour in their places.

After all these upgrades, the injectors stopped straining the owners of these cars. Only every 120,000 km is enough. whether to look after everything is in order with the water pump, whether it is flowing. And on a run of 150,000, you need to start listening to whether the timing chain has not stretched. The new original chain costs 300 euros, an analogue can be taken for 200. But changing the chain is not so easy, because it is located in the back of the motor. But in most cases, the first step is not weakening the chain, but its tensioner or damper. Tightening with the repair is not worth it and when detecting extraneous knocks it is better to immediately change the chain and related parts.

And when the car’s mileage has exceeded 200,000 km, then it is advisable to clean the diesel particulate filter, because if it is clogged, the collector will start to overheat and collapse, and its fragments can injure the turbine blades. The same situation may apply to the more rare 3-liter diesel engine OM 642. There are cases that the engine goes into emergency mode, in which the revs do not exceed 3000 rpm, this means that too much oil has fallen into the turbine. And the rest, if you follow the motor, and do not allow the particulate filter clogged, it will last a long time.

On both diesel engines it is necessary to ensure that the EGR valve, which costs 160 euros, is not clogged. And after 180,000 km. may begin to act up the actuator dampers change the length of the intake manifold. On cars produced before 2010 there were unreliable gaskets in the oil cooler, then these gaskets were replaced with more heat-resistant ones.

As for gasoline engines, they can also have a heat exchanger leak, and worn out intake manifold flaps start to play again after 120,000 km. run The new collector assembly costs more than 1000 euros. This applies to gasoline engines M Series 272 with a volume of 3 and 3.5 liters. There are still cases that 80,000 km. plastic plugs of the cylinder head may leak, and the sprockets of the couplings of the phase shifters may require replacement. They are expensive - 500 euros.

When buying a car, it is necessary to listen carefully if there is no rumble at the back of the motor, you also need to find out from the owner whether the motor has been repaired under warranty. The fact is that the GLK, which were produced in the early years, had a problem with the balance shaft drive. Already on 100 000 km. the teeth could wear out very much, that even the valve timing shifted. Because of this, diesel noise appears in the engine, and power is reduced. To change the sprocket and shaft will have to remove and disassemble the motor, but it is not easy. Younger cars have already begun to install modernized engines, but even they are not insured against such a problem after 200,000 km. But before this run with the motor chain everything will be in order.

Gasoline engines of the M272 series are quite reliable, they use aluminum cylinder block, in the collapse of the cylinders - the balance shaft, the system of changing the timing on the camshafts. These motors became more reliable after 2008, because a lot of things were 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 walls of the cylinders more durable, Alusil is used in these engines. In Europe, this coating does not cause any problems, because there is high-quality fuel. But this coating will suffer greatly if there are grains of sand or soot.

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After restyling, the more complex 3.5-liter M276 series engines and 2-liter turbocharged M274 engines began to be installed in the GLA. These engines operate on gasoline, with direct injection, which is characterized by such problems as the failure of the fuel pump, piezo injectors, deposits still appear on the intake valves. On the M274 engine, the turbocharger was often changed under warranty, the timing was repaired: the chains and camshaft couplings were changed. And if you hear knocks and crackles during the launch of the motor, then hydraulic tensioners, which cost about 100 euros, are to blame.

In Russia, it is difficult to find the most reliable configuration GLK 200 CDI and 220 CDI, in which a diesel engine is installed, there is a rear-wheel drive, 6-speed manual gearbox. But there are cases that such cars are driven from Europe.

4Matic all-wheel drive transmissions in the GLA are the same as in other models of the Mercedes brand. Cardan shafts serve for a long time, the torque is distributed in the ratio of 45:55, the rear axle has more torque. On the oldest cars there was not enough reliable transfer case, already after 80,000 km. could break the chain in it. But then this situation was corrected and the razdatka began to serve without problems up to 200,000 km. Then the glands begin to flow at the shank of the front universal joint. When the bearings on the shafts are very worn out and the hum and vibrations appear during turns, it means that it is time to do the repair, if not, then the transfer case will end.

There is another transmission, which appeared in 2004 - 7G-Tronic, on the mechanical part, it is quite good. The advantages of this box are that there is a high-speed 7th gear, as well as special control of the friction clutch of the torque converter here, which allowed the friction clips to slip at low speed even in 1st gear. The box turned out smart, but reliability leaves much to be desired. If you frequently drive through city jams, the clutches will wear faster and wear products will quickly contaminate the oil in the box. Therefore, after about 80,000 km. on older cars, the torque converter failed.

The box was improved several times and on vehicles produced in 2010 - 2011 the torque converter began to serve 2 times longer. Twitching boxes appear no earlier than 150,000 km. In general, in order for the gearbox to serve longer, you just have to remember to change the oil in it every 50,000 km, then everything will be fine.

If on a car released before restyling, suddenly the box itself switches from drive mode to parking, this does not mean that the problem is in the box, there may be a reason for the EZS ignition lock, which stops seeing the key. Very often this ignition lock was changed under warranty, and it costs dear - 530 euros.

But after 2012, an upgraded 7G-Tronic Plus box (Nag2-FE +) appeared. It can be distinguished by the presence of the Eco button on the console, and the start-stop system 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 another range of gear ratios, a stronger torque converter is used, the box has less working pressure because it uses more liquid oil.

Suspension

In general, the suspension in the GLK is strong enough, but still there are some nuances, especially on dorestaylingovyh cars. Cars released before 2010 were recalled because they could have a depressurization of the power steering, as there is a weak hose in the system. As for the rack mechanism itself, it begins to flow after 160,000 km. In post-styled cars, such a problem has already been solved, because they do not have a power steering, but there is an electric power amplifier, but when there are knocks in the rail, of course, it will not be soon, repair will be more expensive.

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Initially, a lot of trouble brought the front shock absorbers, which cost quite a lot of money - about 350 euros. The fact is that these are not simple shock absorbers, they have a passive system of resistance change of Agility Control, many shock absorbers have changed them already after 50,000 km under warranty. But you can not break his head and put the usual similar shock absorbers for 100 euros. You can also put improved brand shock absorbers that serve about 100,000 km., The rear ones can even serve 200,000 km each, but they are more expensive - about 200 euros.

The supports of the struts are not particularly durable, they also need to be changed along with the shock absorbers, because the bearings in them creak. Hub bearings can be changed separately without a hub, and the stabilizer bushings must be changed along with the stabilizer, because it is assembled with them, the node price is 160 euros. But the rear suspension - the usual multi-link, it is quite reliable and for a long time does not cause problems.

Despite the fact that the GLK looks a bit like Gelendvagen, it does not mean that the suspension is not killed at all, the rear wheel bearings do not particularly like strong blows and will require replacement after some time if you drive at deep holes at speed. New wheel bearings cost 80 euros per original. If you go on the road, the dirt can get into the bearing of the front intermediate shaft, which costs 30 euros. Up to 150,000 km. the front supports of the rear subframe, the ball bearings of the front levers and silent blocks survive. The rear suspension arms will last up to about 200,000 km.

In general, in terms of reliability, the Mercedes GLK is slightly inferior to its competitor in the class - BMW X3 E83. But compared to other modern Mercedes, GLA is still very much nothing. But the modern BMW X3 F25 in reliability is no better than the Mercedes GLK. The price of a 2012 car with a diesel engine is approximately 1,300,000 rubles.

Sensations from driving a Mercedes GLK

A Mercedes rides well regardless of the road, rides smoothly and clearly, along a given trajectory, is not distracted by pits, ruts and other irregularities, and no vibrations are transmitted to the steering wheel. On mountain winding roads, the car still turns normally, there is a permanent four-wheel drive, if you wish, you can enter a small drift without even turning off the stabilization system.

In terms of comfort, Mercedes also showed its best. The motor is quite powerful - 272 liters. with., installed in the GLK Z50. The gearbox is also hazardous, so the acceleration of such a car is very confident. The car is more suitable for those who need to go every day for long distances. Behind the wheel of a Mercedes do not feel tired.

And then a video about Mercedes GLK with mileage: