OWNER 3300-500E_JP

[3300-500E_JP]

Hello

I own a Mercedes-Benz 500E in Japan. This vehicle is a Japan-spec, officially imported model. The color is Blue Black. It is equipped with an AMG-built M119.985 engine (same as the W210 E50) and features the later-model suspension and air conditioning system. Please note that these sentences have been automatically translated.

 

[gsxr]

Looks fantastic - welcome to the forum!

 

[ArauzMotoring]

Beautiful car in tip top shape!

How do you like your W210 AMG engine in your car ? It’s still running on a distributor I imagine.

 

[3300-500E_JP]

Beautiful car in tip top shape!

How do you like your W210 AMG engine in your car ? It’s still running on a distributor I imagine.

Thank you.

This engine is faster and more responsive than the standard M119 engine. It also has fewer pulleys, making it easier to maintain. I purchased it for ¥70,000 (~$450 USD).

 

[195910]

Welcome to the forum,

Did you reinstall the the distributor ignition system on the E50 Engine block? what about the compression ratio ?

 

[gsxr]

Welcome to the forum,

Did you reinstall the the distributor ignition system on the E50 Engine block? what about the compression ratio ?

Based on the photos, it appears the distributor ignition was swapped to the E50 engine, as a couple of other forum members have also done. Nice upgrade for the E500E, but difficult to find the E50 engine here in USA.

 

[3300-500E_JP]

As others have mentioned, I replaced the engine distributor, but in Japan's hot and humid climate, these don't last long. Many older vehicles have caught fire due to these failures. (Just recently, a Ferrari Testarossa burned and was lost.) I also replaced the entire fuel line and fuel system.

Additionally, due to Japan's climate, some vehicles have had their distributors removed and been modified to direct ignition.

 

[3300-500E_JP]

In Japan, vehicles modified in this way are looked down upon by some shops. However, even if the shop staff open the engine compartment, they cannot tell whether it is in stock condition or modified to M119.985 specifications.

 

[ArauzMotoring]

As others have mentioned, I replaced the engine distributor, but in Japan's hot and humid climate, these don't last long. Many older vehicles have caught fire due to these failures. (Just recently, a Ferrari Testarossa burned and was lost.) I also replaced the entire fuel line and fuel system.

Additionally, due to Japan's climate, some vehicles have had their distributors removed and been modified to direct ignition.

Have you seen the distributor cap slot modification?

Thread 'HOW-TO: Solving M119 Stumbling at Ignition Distributor Caps'

Sep 5, 2025

It is a common malady to nearly all M119 engines with dual-distributor systems, sooner or later, that the engine will suffer stumbling and cutting out. This condition is because there is inadequate air circulation inside the closed environment of the distributor caps, which causes condensation to form inside of the caps, effectively electrically "shorting" the flow of electricity to the spark plugs inside of the cap.

There is MUCH more background about this condition here on the forum, in this thread: FYI - Essential M119 Ignition "Tune Up" mods [Distributor cap vent / slot] | M119...

• gerryvz
• Replies: 28
• Forum: "HOW-TO" Tutorial Articles

• 
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I personally would love to have a way to swap to coil on plug ignition on this car and I feel like a computer that can adjust timing, spark and fuel would be great - if it can still work with factory systems such as abs, eta, asr, etc

Btw your car looks like such a nice sleeper, congrats and I hope you enjoy it for a long time!

 

[okra]

Welcome to the forum, your car looks great! I'm still learning about non-US vehicles, are the Japan spec cars any different in the interior?

 

[036]

いらっしゃいませ！
If you post or privately send me your VIN i can provide you with a sequencial number of your car.
By the way, very nice pictures. More of that please.

 

[3300-500E_JP]

Welcome to the forum, your car looks great! I'm still learning about non-US vehicles, are the Japan spec cars any different in the interior?

Thank you. My vehicle is equipped with automatic air conditioning, leather seats, a sunroof, and an audio system. Automatic air conditioning was standard equipment on the Japanese specification. At the time, the price of this car was 3-4 times that of an average Japanese car, so only a limited number of people could afford it. The first owner of this car was the proprietor of a company with offices in a prime Tokyo location. Japan was also experiencing its greatest economic boom in history at that time, an era when many luxury cars appeared on the streets. Consequently, many vehicles were ordered with expensive options.

 

[3300-500E_JP]

Attached here is the catalog for the Japanese-spec 500E. Mercedes-Benz's sales pitch at the time was quite aggressive, strongly asserting that this was the ultimate car.

Sunroof: ¥200,000

10-speaker audio system: ¥150,000

Leather seats: ¥310,000

The remote door lock system became available later, but my car doesn't have it.

For reference.

 

[3300-500E_JP]

 

[gsxr]

So nice to see properly routed ignition wires!

 

[3300-500E_JP]

Hello

I have a question: In which countries' specifications is the E/S switch on the shift lever available as standard equipment? I've never seen it on the Japanese-spec 500, at least. I often see it on AMG versions or parallel-imported vehicles, though.

 

[Otrebla49]

Hello,

you might want to read on this thread written by @gsxr a while ago - it explains the origin/function in detail:

Thread 'That mysterious European E/S shifter switch'
That mysterious European E/S shifter switch | Technology Topics

And another post of his made the topic again relevant at this comment - while below that, an explanation of my own experience with the E/S switch on my cars (in the past) followed:
Post in thread 'Victor's Barn Find Project - Euro 500E'
https://www.500eboard.co/forums/threads/victors-barn-find-project-euro-500e.21942/post-316052

Alberto

 

[gsxr]

Hello

I have a question: In which countries' specifications is the E/S switch on the shift lever available as standard equipment? I've never seen it on the Japanese-spec 500, at least. I often see it on AMG versions or parallel-imported vehicles, though.

It depends on the specific model. For the 124.036 chassis, the E/S switch was standard equipment EXCEPT for cars delivered to North America (USA/Canada) and Japan. North America and Japan had other "standard" differences as well... no engine oil cooler, for example.

 

[gerryvz]

North American and Japan-market models were very similarly equipped -- generally they had a majority of the "top end" accessories and items installed from the factory, such as Automatic Climate Control (ACC), sunroofs, rear sun shades, and so forth. Buyers in both countries didn't have a lot of ability to specify individual options, like buyers in Europe and much of the rest of the world did. You just bought the car that MBUSA, MB Canada or MB Japan imported, and essentially only got to specify the color you wanted.

However, a few things like the factory oil cooler and the E/S switch were not among them.

A few of us have retrofitted our cars with the E/S switch -- it is not difficult to do this. I use mine (it is marked "F/S" rather than "E/S") for actuation of my BergWerks "First Gear Start" module. "F" means "Fast" ..... always starting in first gear. "S" means "Slow" ..... always starting in second gear. A second round switch just behind the window buttons on the center console controls "Sport Mode" .... which holds the first gear a bit longer before upshifting to second gear.

 

[gerryvz]

So nice to see properly routed ignition wires!

View attachment 229331

Happiness is a neat and properly routed ig !!!

 

[3300-500E_JP]

Thank you. Several acquaintances of mine have retrofitted this switch.

I'm attaching the decoded information for my vehicle's manufacturing number.

What is the storage box for code #300? Is it separate from the center console box?