Mercedes GL450 120k Maintenance

 The GL450 is now past 120k miles (123k) and due for a few maintenance items.  I recently replaced the front brake pads for the first time.  My E350 also went 120k before needing front pads.  Here are the new versus old pads showing wear.

I let them go long enough it also took out the wear sensor (which is cheap to replace).

I replaced the spark plugs too.  This required a special 14mm thin-wall 12-point wobble socket.  

When working on a Mercedes, you will need a set of reverse torx sockets and wrenches too. 

I also replaced the accessory belt. 

The belt appeared to be in great condition.  No cracks or visible wear at all.  My E350 belt was like that too.  But at 120k miles it seems like a good idea to just replace it anyway as they are not expensive, even through Mercedes.

As I was replacing the belt, I broke 2 plastic coolant tubes.

Overflow Tube

These were about $130 each and in stock at the local dealer since they often get broken.  The overflow tube in the bottom photo broke very easily.  

I change the oil using the oil reminder in the display.

2013 GL450 versus 2020 GLS450

 

Our 2013 GL450 when we bought it in 2018

We bought this Mercedes GL450 back in 2018 with 64k miles on it.  We now have 123k miles on it.  With the high cost of fuel, and time for some maintenance, we decided to look at options.  First we considered getting an electric car.  We settled on the Tesla S and drove several.  We almost bought a really nice red 2018 but decided the added cost of insurance, tabs, etc., and parking space just was not worth it.  So we decided to consider replacing the GL450 with something newer and more economical.  We also wanted lighter color interior as ours is black and it gets hot in the sun.   We drove a 2019 Mercedes GLC350e plug-in hybrid.  I liked it but Kelly preferred the GL450 we had to it.  The 2020 and up GLS450 has mild hybrid and a smaller 3.0L I6 engine that is rated at the same 362HP as our GL450 which has a 4.6L twin-turbo V8.  It claims 5mpg better in town and 4MPG better on the highway.  I found a 2020 GLS 450 with 33k miles on it at the local Mercedes dealer so we drove it.  Very disappointing actually compared to our 123k mile 9 year old GL450.  Ours drives smoother, has significantly more acceleration and delivers it much smoother, and has a better feel to it.  So, we will be keeping our 2103 GL450 for a while more.  I suppose we will eventually need to replace it but not in the near future.  Below are some photos of the 2020 GLS450 we drove.  

There were some really nice features in the newer model.  I like the instrument cluster (LCD screen really) and the much larger navigation screen and better navigation, and Android Auto.  I liked the mild hybrid but it did not seem to add much other than useful start/stop where the accessories remain working including the AC compressor.   Honestly, that was about it.  I am disappointed with this GLS450 being the replacement for our GL450.  It does not feel like a step up in some of the most important ways.    

Mercedes GL450 100k miles

 

I bought a 2013 Mercedes GL450 back in 2018.  It had 64k miles at the time.  It is a fantastic trip vehicle and we have used it for many long road trips.  It hit 100k miles the other day.

As I said this is a fantastic road trip vehicle.  We have taken it on numerous long road trips from 500 miles to 1800 miles each way.  I have made several trips over 1700 miles in 2 days and with me behind the wheel the whole time.  This has the lowest driver fatigue of any vehicle I have ever owned.  For a large SUV it actually handles pretty well.  The fuel economy is not bad either for an SUV this size.  It has done 21MPG on road trips and I generally get about 17MPG in town.  The twin-turbo 4.7L V8 has a nice wide powerband and good power.  I have towed a car on a trailer up steep hills out West with little effort.  

The utility of this vehicle is also very good.  It can tow 7500lbs and has great interior space.  The air suspension keeps it level at all times too.

The vehicle did have one annoying sound that was very intermittent when we bought it.  Accelerating from a stop while turning left cold the clunking sound would intermittently happen.  It was under warranty so we took it to the dealer.  They replaced a bunch of parts at 80k miles and it seemed to go away for a while.  At about 95k miles it came back and was much worse.  Finally we had the left front axle replaced and it was fixed.  One of the CV joints was bad causing this noise.  

The factory equipment tires do not last long at all.  There were not many tire choices for this vehicle either.  It has higher load and higher recommended pressure than most tires this size.  The first set I replaced I used the factory Continental tires at 76k miles.  They were down to the wear bars by 96k.  Now there are better tire options so I upgraded to Michelin tires.

Owning a Mercedes GL450

We finally sold the aging Volvo XC70 and upgraded to a 2013 Mercedes GL450 in the fall of 2018.  We wanted a vehicle that could comfortably travel 5 adults and luggage, be able to tow the Cayman on a trailer for track days, drive great in the Illinois winter, and haul stuff.  While I am not a fan of SUVs generally, they do have their purpose and the U does stand for utility (although I often refer to SUVs as silly urban vehicles).  We bought it certified pre-owned (CPO) from Isringhausen in Springfield with 64k miles.  We had considered several vehicles including Audi Q7, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Raptor, Volvo XC90, and more before deciding a GL fit us best. We had been looking for a GL for about a year.  We came close to buying a 2007 in 2017 but found it had issues.  Most of these prior to 2013 also had the air bag recall and no fix in sight. While I was hoping to spend less on an SUV we went ahead and stepped up to the 2013 and I think it was a good choice.  While we were looking at this one, Isringhausen also had a 2012 GL550 and we drove that one as well.

Left: 2012 GL550, Right: 2013 GL450

The 2012 GL550 (X164) is the last of the older design and we really liked the improvements that came with the 2013 (X166).  The 2012 had around the same miles and was also white.  We did not want black (which over half seem to be) and silver was not our favorite color either.  It was nice to have 2 while ones that were both in the year and price range we were looking for.  While the GL550 always gets more power than the GL450, the GL550 has other nice features like real leather and heated rear seats.  Between these 2 vehicles, the GL450 has a wider powerband and more torque due to turbocharging and direct injection.  It has only 20HP less than the 2012 GL550.  Acceleration to 60 is actually the same for these 2 vehicles but fuel economy is 2mpg worse for the GL550.  I also preferred the 19 inch rims of the GL450 to the 21 inch rims and wider tires of the GL550.

Ours has the panorama sunroof (3 glass sections) which makes for a very open feel.  We also have lane tracking, Parktronic, trailer towing, lighting package with Bi-Xenon adaptive headlights, Keyless-Go, and more.  While it did not have heated back seats, we just put a regular heated blanket back there and plugged it into the existing 115V outlet under the back seat.  Works great actually.  

Ours has the 4.7L twin turbo intercooled direct injected V8 engine (M278) which was only in the GL450 for 2013 and 2014.  Later models used a 3.0L V6 twin turbo and ealier models had a naturally aspirated 4.7L.  This powertrain is the same as the GL550 in 2013 and 2014 which was rated at 429HP but in the GL450 it is derated to 362HP.  I can get a flash file and rate this GL450 up to 500HP and 580ft-lbs if I really wanted more power.  No hardware changes needed.  However, I am very satisfied with the power it has.  The nice thing is that this powetrtrain should be very robust and durable with this lower rating.

Just shortly after buying it we took a 1000 mile trip in it.  Gas mileage was as expected, 19.9 on the highway but we were moving along briskly with 70MPH speed limits the whole way. The total trip also included in-town driving as we made many stops and spent time at the destination.

It drove great for an SUV.  Like our E350, there was very little driver fatigue.  Very comfortable.