Buying review Mercedes Benz B-class (W246) 2011-2018 Common Issues Engines Inspection

Hello everybody, welcome at another car buyers review. Today we take a look at the Mercedes-Benz B-class. This is the second generation B-class that was built from 2012 until 2018. The B-class is a MPV but it has the driving capabilities of a normal car.The car has a luxurious feel about it and on the backseat you have plenty of space.

This second generation B-class is known with the internal code W246. At the end of 2014 there was a facelift, the facelift came with new headlights and front-end. The diesels where no longer being identified by CDI but by the letter D behind the model.

The B-class is the only Mercedes without any AMG variant. If you want a sportive MPV, then there is a Zafira OPC, but this is not really a good comparison with the built quality of the Merc.

Second hand there is plenty to choose from. I found about 700 B-classes from this generation. Manual diesels start at about 12.000 euro in Europe. Most recent cars from 2017 and 2018 can still cost around 40.000 euros.

Alternatives

BMW 2-serie Active Tourer

Mercedes GLA

Volkswagen Golf Sportvan

Attention points

Drivetrain

• The B160 en B180 diesels with the 1.5 diesel are not fast enough for this type of car
• The 7G-DCT automatic gearbox has to shift smoothly. You shouldn’t feel any shocks in the draintrain during shifting. A problem that might occur is during shifting is that the car all of a sudden accelerates during shifting from the first to the second gear. The software of the DCT can be updated to combat this problem.
• The stop-/start-system refuses to work properly if there is not enough fuel in the tank. After refueling and driving a few kilometers, the problem will disappear again.
• The dual mass flywheel on the diesel engines is a weaker part

Exterior and interior

• Rattles and noises when driving, not all B-classes are affected by this but people did report it as annoying. So test drive the car you are willing to buy.
• Ticking of the seatbelt in the B-pillar at the top can be reduced by new upholstery

Chassis

• The lowest supporting arms of the wheels is a weaker part.

Electronics

• There are reports of the electronic parking brake being stuck, check the functionality during a test-drive .
• If the B-class is completely out of power, the cause of the problem is usually the main relay in the power-circuit. You will not find this relay in the usual place but under the floor near the gear shifter. 
• The temperature meter sometimes shows fluctuating values, this issue is reported often. Good news is that this only affects the temperature meter and not the temperature of the engine itself.
• The early navigation units where not that solid, check if they still work and if the maps are up 2 date.
• The distance warning system is rather fanatic and sometimes gives an incorrect alarm.

Thanks for watching the buying review of the Mercedes-Benz B-class, i hope it was useful and if so subscribe to my channel for future videos.