Car Model Guide/ Mercedes-Benz/ E-Class/ S212/ E 350 CGI
Mercedes-Benz·E-Class·S212 wagon

E 350 CGI M272

The pre-facelift E350's 3.5 V6, spray-guided direct injection. The balance-shaft gear fault that dogged the earlier V6s was fixed before W212 production began, so these engines are outside the affected serial range. The remaining items are intake carbon and the plastic intake-manifold flaps.

Overview

The E 350 CGI is the M272 petrol version of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon (S212), sold 2009–2011 with 292 PS and auto_7g. Demands diligence at level 3. The W212's M272 is outside the balance-shaft serial range, so the watch items are direct-injection carbon and the intake-manifold flaps. 15 failure modes are recorded against its engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components. Prices on this page are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology for how the bands are derived.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon (S212)

Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon (S212) · photo Mercedes-Benz E 350 CGi Estate (4979954100) by nakhon100 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Power292 PS
Torque365 Nm
Years2009–2011
Fuelpetrol
DriveRWD / 4MATIC
EnginesM272
Biggest risks

Ranked by probability × repair cost. 15 recorded in total.

52Demands diligence
  1. Carbon buildup on intake valves€400–€700not checkable
  2. Front control arm bushing wear€300–€700checkable
  3. Electronic steering lock (ESL/ELV) failure€150–€1,200partly checkable

Risk level −22 · Likely spend vs price −26 · all issues →

System by system9 systems reviewed · 3 with no recurring fault reported
Engine✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.
Fuel system✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.
Intake & airwatchCarbon buildup on intake valves, €400–€700.
CoolingwatchCoolant expansion tank cracking, €120–€250.
Emissions✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.
Transmissionwatch7G-Tronic conductor plate and 13-pin connector leak (722.9), €400–€900.+1 more in this system
ElectricswatchElectronic steering lock (ESL/ELV) failure, €150–€1,200.+3 more in this system
Suspension & brakeswatchFront control arm bushing wear, €300–€700.+4 more in this system
Body & interiorwatchCorrosion at the rear subframe and arch seams, €300–€2,000.+1 more in this system

Known issues, ranked by expected cost

Faults recorded against this engine, its components and its chassis, ranked by likelihood × repair cost. Costs are indicative ranges with a stated labour basis.

Carbon buildup on intake valvesdirect injection€400–€700
Rough cold idle, slow throttle response, misfires, gradual loss of low-end response. Direct injection puts no fuel over the intake valves, so crankcase vapour deposits bake on undisturbed.
Check: Not visible without a borescope. Treat it as a service item that's due unless there's a receipt. It's not a fault, it's an unbudgeted maintenance cost.
Turbo & intakeuniversalNot detectable at viewingevidence: documented80–120k km
Front control arm bushing wearE9x chassis€300–€700
Knocking over bad surfaces, vague or wandering steering, uneven front tyre wear, steering shimmy under braking. The front lower arm bushings are a known wear item on this chassis and go well before the ball joints.
Check: Drive over a rough road at low speed with the windows down and listen. Check the inside edges of the front tyres for feathering.
SuspensionuniversalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented80–150k km
Electronic steering lock (ESL/ELV) failureE-Class platform€150–€1,200
The engine cranks but won't start and the steering stays locked, sometimes after several attempts, with steering-lock fault codes. The small motor that drives the locking bolt wears out and the module eventually blocks further attempts. The cause is consistent motor wear rather than anything variable.
Check: Do several cold starts. Listen for the steering-lock clunk as the key goes in, and scan for B2254 and related codes; intermittent no-starts are the early warning.
ElectricalcommonPartly detectableevidence: documented80–200k km
7G-Tronic conductor plate and 13-pin connector leak (722.9)7G-TRONIC€400–€900
Harsh, delayed or jerky shifts, holding a gear then banging the next in, and limp mode, often with speed-sensor or gear-ratio fault codes. The speed sensors in the conductor plate (mechatronic) fail, and/or the external 13-pin connector leaks fluid that wicks up the wiring into the control unit. Early units are the most affected.
Check: Test-drive through every gear cold and warm. Scan the transmission, and pull the external 13-pin plug to check for fluid on the pins.
TransmissioncommonPartly detectableevidence: documented120–220k km
Rear self-levelling air-suspension leak (estate)S212 body€400–€900
The rear sits low or sags overnight, a suspension-malfunction message, and a compressor that runs long or fails. The rear air springs perish and leak, the air lines chafe, or the compressor wears. The S212 estate has rear self-levelling air suspension as standard, so every one of them ages into this.
Check: Park it level overnight and check the rear ride height and for warning messages the next morning; inspect the airbags and lines for cracks and a long-running compressor.
SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented100–200k km
Run-flat tyres and kerbed or cracked wheelsE9x chassis€150–€900
Harsh ride, vibration at speed, slow punctures. Stiff-sidewall run-flats transmit impacts straight into the rim, and these alloys crack rather than bend.
Check: Inspect the inner rim edge of every wheel for cracks and hairline splits, not just the face for kerbing. Budget for a set of conventional tyres; most owners switch and the ride improves markedly.
SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented
Corrosion at the rear subframe and arch seamsE9x chassis€300–€2,000
Bubbling at the rear arch lip, scaling on subframe mounting points and rear suspension components. Age plus road salt. This generation isn't a notorious rotter, but nothing from 2005–2013 is immune in a salted market.
Check: Put it on a lift and look at the rear subframe mounting points and the arch lips from behind. Largely a non-issue on cars from southern Europe, a real one on northern and Baltic cars.
Body & corrosionoccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented
Front thrust-arm and control-arm bush wearE-Class platform€300–€600
A clunk or knock over bumps and when turning at low speed, vibration through the wheel, and vague or wandering steering. The aluminium front arms use fluid-filled hydraulic bushes that rupture and leak; the bushes aren't separately serviceable, so the whole arm is replaced. The cause is consistent.
Check: Look for brown hydraulic fluid weeping from the bushes, rock the arms for play, and listen for a clunk over rough roads and on full lock.
SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented95–160k km

Ranked by probability × repair cost, not by how loudly a failure is discussed. Inherited from the engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components, each written once. All 15 issues in full →

Pre-purchase inspection

The same issue records, reordered into the sequence you can actually check them in: cold start, static, drive, paperwork.

15 checks · saved in this browser ·

1Cold startYou get one. If the engine is warm when you arrive, come back another day.

2Static checksEngine off, ideally on a lift.

3On the driveInclude low-speed manoeuvring, not just an open road.

4PaperworkOn these cars the folder is most of the value.

Mileage and servicing

What the odometer does and doesn't tell you here, plus the service items whose neglect causes the expensive failures above.

Confirm the engine number is a W212-era unit if you're anxious about the balance-shaft issue. Production timing puts these outside it.

Service itemIntervalCost
Walnut-blast intake
Direct injection carbons the valves
as needed€350–600
Intake-manifold flaps
The runner flaps can wear and log faults
on a scan€400–800
7G-Tronic fluid
Not a lifetime fill
roughly 80,000 km€300–500

What to pay

What this engine sells for, against the median of every engine in the chassis. All figures are illustrative placeholders. See the basis chips.

Enter an asking price to get a verdict against this variant's band: cheap, fair, good buy or overpriced.

United States vs Europe

1 EUR = 1.08 USD ·
🇪🇺 Europe · EUR€7,650band €5,800–€15,250
🇺🇸 United StatesNot soldE 350 CGI M272 was never a US-market car
What that meansNo US band exists to compare. Any car you find there's a private import, parts and specialist knowledge are thinner, and the price says more about import cost than about the market.

US figures are the EU band converted at a stated rate. No US market differential is modelled: we hold no sourced US asking prices, and inventing one would be worse than saying so. What the comparison does show for real is availability. Most of this range was never sold in the US.

  • ModelMercedes-Benz E-Class E 350 CGI
  • ChassisS212
  • EngineM272
  • Years2009–2011
  • MarketCentral EU
  • Windowrolling 12 months to 2026-07
€5k€10k€15kS212 median, all 10 engines €9,700Pre-faceliftPre-facelift: low €5,800, good buy €7,650, average €9,450, high €15,250€9,450€5,800€15,250€7,650
Good buy at or under the marker · Median asking price · bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile · dashed line is the s212 median, all 10 engines

Good buy isn't the same as cheapest. The good-buy figure assumes the known failure items are either done with receipts or verifiably not yet due. Full breakdown by facelift phase →

Buyer notes

Our judgement, kept separate from the records it's built on.

Our read, not a record
The E 350 CGI uses the spray-guided 3.5 M272 V6, and the good news for a W212 buyer is that the balance-shaft gear fault that made the earlier M272s notorious was resolved before this generation went into production. These engines are past the affected serial range. What remains is ordinary: direct-injection carbon, and the plastic intake-manifold runner flaps that can wear. It's a smooth, strong petrol six for buyers who want performance over economy, with fuel bills to match. A tidy, documented one is a fine thing.

Everything above this line comes from the issue and specification records. This paragraph is our judgement on top of them. See how we reach it.

Full specification

Manufacturer figures for this engine and body, as recorded in the variant and engine data.

Engine codeM272 3.5 V6
ConfigurationV6, naturally aspirated · 3498 cc
Fuel / injectionpetrol · direct
Model years2009–2011
Facelift phasePre-facelift only, to 2012
Power / torque292 PS · 365 Nm
Transmissions7-speed automatic (7G-Tronic)
Gearbox families7G-TRONIC
DrivetrainRWD · 4MATIC
Economy (real-world)8.5–11 l/100 km mixed
MarketsEU