Had my first issue today in the newly purchased E63

[Wenglish]

Hi guys I unfortunately had my first issue today in the new to me 2015 E63 that I purchased just over a month ago, after a little drive this morning to the library to print off a label I experienced my first scare

I came back to the car started her up and instantly it sounded really rough and louder than normal it was also idling really bad I drove off slowly to try and get it home and the whole way it was down on power and then the dreaded light of doom appeared

I managed to nurse it home and called Mercedes to make use of the included Mobilo breakdown service who I must say were absolutely brilliant and they couldn’t do enough to help me

They originally stated that they use the RAC for breakdowns etc and a patrol would be with me soon, but 30 mins later I received a call from Mercedes to say that because of what car it is they don’t feel that the RAC are best equipped to help me and instead would now be sending out one of their own Mercedes specialist Technicians to assess the car

They arrived a hour later fully equipped with the same diagnostic equipment that the dealership use and instantly plugged it in to find that 6 codes were stored. He stated that the stored codes are showing now as not being a current issue but went ahead and removed all codes and the light. The main code stored was listed as coil pack 1 but with it now not showing as a current fault and after removing the codes he asked me to take it for a 3 mile drive to see how it performed

The car was actually now running even better than before I can’t believe it even the really harsh juddering that i seemed to have when using sport plus mode for instance when just driving normally in the street that Mercedes told me was just the characteristics of the e63 has now completely disappeared and drives so smoothly in sport plus its a unbelievable difference he said it was probably all connected to the stored codes

He stated that the coil packs are not a common issue on the E63 and hopefully it would now be fine he also asked what fuel am I using as this can also affect the poor running I explained that the only fuel I use is Tesco 99 momentum he said to try and use shell v power if possible in the future but I don’t have any shell garage near me unfortunately would the 99 momentum really be a big issue ?

Has anyone with the e63 experienced issues with failing coil packs ? or had a issue like mine before ?

I’ve been out this evening and done around 40 miles and it hasn’t missed a beat it’s been amazing so a really bad start to the day has turned out to be a good one as I was expecting the car to be towed to the dealership so a big to the Mobilo service I could not have asked for anything more

 

[AMGeed]

Glad you have had a positive outcome
I also had a Merc tech turn up when I had to call Mobilo over a non start issue last year. (Mine was driver failure to use the immobilizer code properly)

I've not had any coil pack issues with mine and it drives smoothly in all gearbox modes.
Never had an issue with using Momentum 99 either. My fuel of choice.

 

[Jobsworth]

Common for trouble on cylinders 1 and 5. Their proximity to the turbos, and the consequent heat, can give problems. I’d look at the spark plugs myself - pull them all out and compare how they look. Any doubt, fit a new set. I’d also move the coil packs around, swap 1 with 4 and 5 with 8. If the fault occurs again you’ll know if it’s moved that the coil pack is the culprit.

 

[Wenglish]

Glad you have had a positive outcome
I also had a Merc tech turn up when I had to call Mobilo over a non start issue last year. (Mine was driver failure to use the immobilizer code properly)

I've not had any coil pack issues with mine and it drives smoothly in all gearbox modes.
Never had an issue with using Momentum 99 either. My fuel of choice.

Thank you yes I’m glad you also choose Momentum 99 for yours so I’ll definitely carry on using it

 

[Wenglish]

Common for trouble on cylinders 1 and 5. Their proximity to the turbos, and the consequent heat, can give problems. I’d look at the spark plugs myself - pull them all out and compare how they look. Any doubt, fit a new set. I’d also move the coil packs around, swap 1 with 4 and 5 with 8. If the fault occurs again you’ll know if it’s moved that the coil pack is the culprit.

Oh really that’s good to know and definitely makes sense and thats also a great idea on changing the coil packs around to see if the fault moves Thank you

 

[Muckypaps]

I had a coil pack issue with mine, it was misfiring and the engine management light came on, I was only 1/2 mile from home so got it back home.
The RAC Mercedes man came out, said it would need an update which should sort it out.
He cleared the fault code which was open circuit on number 5 coil pack, did the update and told me to take it for a spin, everything was ok, I ordered a coil pack same day.
Drove ok after but I was very wary it could happen again so no dodgy overtakes.
Three day later the misfire came back by no EML light this time. I replaced number 5 coil pack, that was 4 months ago, ok ever since.
So it seems the only thing the update did is stop the warning light coming on.

 

[Wenglish]

I had a coil pack issue with mine, it was misfiring and the engine management light came on, I was only 1/2 mile from home so got it back home.
The RAC Mercedes man came out, said it would need an update which should sort it out.
He cleared the fault code which was open circuit on number 5 coil pack, did the update and told me to take it for a spin, everything was ok, I ordered a coil pack same day.
Drove ok after but I was very wary it could happen again so no dodgy overtakes.
Three day later the misfire came back by no EML light this time. I replaced number 5 coil pack, that was 4 months ago, ok ever since.
So it seems the only thing the update did is stop the warning light coming on.

Thank you for your reply I will see how it goes over the next few days then to see how it pans out, probably a silly question but can I ask what’s the idle supposed to be like on these cars ? Is it supposed to be what I can only describe as slightly bouncy or should it be consistently sat with very little movement ?

 

[jonboyE63]

Thank you for your reply I will see how it goes over the next few days then to see how it pans out, probably a silly question but can I ask what’s the idle supposed to be like on these cars ? Is it supposed to be what I can only describe as slightly bouncy or should it be consistently sat with very little movement ?

Another thumbs up for Tesco 99 - been using this for the past few years..
I also had a missfire some months ago - a fault code clear & a set of plugs sorted the issue & it hasn't come back..
As far as i can say, a steady idle should be correct - mine has only ever idled rock solid..
i hope your issue is resolved but if the idle isn't steady maybe it is a coil pack issue.

 

[Wenglish]

Another thumbs up for Tesco 99 - been using this for the past few years..
I also had a missfire some months ago - a fault code clear & a set of plugs sorted the issue & it hasn't come back..
As far as i can say, a steady idle should be correct - mine has only ever idled rock solid..
i hope your issue is resolved but if the idle isn't steady maybe it is a coil pack issue.

Thank you for the confirmation on both Tesco 99 and the solid idle, I vaguely remember discussing how well it idled when I purchased it and dont remember it being bouncy etc so with your confirmation I’ll probably just change the spark plugs and the number 1 coil pack that was picked up so thank you

 

[BlackC55]

The coil packs are common on that engine. Very common. Change all of them is my advice as the later coils are a modified part.

 

[Wenglish]

The coil packs are common on that engine. Very common. Change all of them is my advice as the later coils are a modified part.

Thank you for your advice I’m very grateful can I ask I’ve had a few emails from the usual eBay dealerships with prices and they have all come back to say they are on back order with no expected delivery date.

Would another brand be ok ? AUTODOC are selling the below brands for instance would any of them be ok to use ?

MEYLE
BERU
HITACHI
CHAMPION
ERA
BORA

Thanks again

 

[Petrol Pete]

OP , just out of curiosity how many miles on this car ?

 

[Wenglish]

OP , just out of curiosity how many miles on this car ?

69,200

 

[Petrol Pete]

69,200

Have you any way of knowing if it has had coil packs replaced during that time ?

 

[Wenglish]

Have you any way of knowing if it has had coil packs replaced during that time ?

Unfortunately I only have the digital service reports and can’t find anything listed to say they have ever been changed, It dose show though the last time the spark plugs were changed and that was on the B service on the 8/5/2019 at 54k miles

 

[Rich764089]

Have you any way of knowing if it has had coil packs replaced during that time ?

How often should they be replaced on this Car?

 

[Petrol Pete]

How often should they be replaced on this Car?

I have no idea . I am just curious . not sure coil packs have ever been a 'service item' . Others on here might know.

 

[Rich764089]

I have no idea . I am just curious . not sure coil packs have ever been a 'service item' . Others on here might know.

No, that was my thinking too; curious as well!

 

[BlackC55]

We waited 6 months for a set of coils on an E63.

 

[S2000Paul]

Before I sold mine on my 65 Reg - I had 3 coil packs replaced at 3 separate times - a 4th was diagnosed at the the second failure (if you see what I mean) but wasn't replaced as they said it was just related to the other failure - each time I thought the car was going to shake itself to bits!!