YouTuber receives a free Mercedes GL450 and turns it into a Christmas miracle when he realizes mechanics had been misdiagnosing its problems

This YouTuber received a free Mercedes GL450 and it became something of a Christmas miracle when he realized what the car’s issue was.

Given that mechanics had been misdiagnosing it all along, this was particularly impressive.

Two repairmen had said the Mercedes would need a new engine, meaning this free car would potentially cost a whole lot in the long run.

YouTuber Waldo’s World took a closer look to figure out what could be done.

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What was up with this Mercedes GL450?

Once the car is started up, the ‘Check Engine’ light is lit up and the engine already feels like it’s ‘running rough’.

The engine codes reveal that there are two counts of a cylinder five misfire.

Waldo said: “The task at hand is determine the cause of this misfire.

“Gasoline engines need four things in order to operate – air, compression, fuel and spark.

“If any one of those things are missing in a single cylinder, you’ll have a misfire.”

Ray, the car’s previous owner, brought it to a mechanic who saw some ‘bad’ cylinder scarring.

As explained by Waldo: “Cylinder scarring can cause a loss of compression, which can cause a misfire.

“If that’s the case, this engine is pretty much toast, because it would need to be replaced.”

Spark tests confirmed the cylinder had spark, turning Waldo’s attention towards the issue of fuel delivery.

A closer look at the car’s Electronic Control Unit (ECU) revealed that it’d been damaged.

Even replacing the injector didn’t resolve the problem, thus requiring a new ECU to be brought in.

After installation, the car was no longer misfiring.

As frustrating as this process can be, there are worse problems to have – namely removing a 10 foot python from the engine.

What did this YouTuber learn from the experience?

Waldo had three big takeaways at the conclusion of the video.

He said: “Two professional mechanics looked at this car and misdiagnosed it, thinking it needs a new engine.

“They didn’t spend enough time diagnosing it, and I think this is something more honest mechanics are prone to doing.

“When they see a car that needs huge repairs, they’re reluctant to give their customers a diagnostic bill for nothing.

“Second [takeaway] is that I don’t think cylinder scarring is as big an issue as people think.

“The third is ECU replacement is possible without going to the dealers and giving them gazillions of your dollars.”

We all like a money saver.

Little perks like a free supercar thrown in with your ticket to the Las Vegas Grand Prix comes to mind.

Admittedly the ticket isn’t too cheap to begin with.

To see the full breakdown for yourself, head over to Waldo’s World‘s YouTube channel.