Poor performance - E320 CDi.

[greyboy]

My 2001 E320CDi estate has not ran correctly in the 10 months i've owned it.

I have had the EGR replaced, car ran fine for about 2 days then sluggish again. One of the acoustic flaps in the intake manifold was found to have seized ( new manifold £600 odd) so they have been wired open. The car has been fully serviced 6k miles ago; starts easily with no smoke and returns 35+ mpg. It has now done 106k miles

It runs very smoothly, changing gear up and down correctly but now will not rev past 2500 even if held in manual mode. This was originally an intermittent fault which would clear if you stopped then restarted the engine. Now it happens all the time.

If the throttle is floored you get the "EL Power warning" message on the dash which resets when you switch off. Is this of any significance or due to the acoustic flaps not now operating correctly.

Any advice will be much appreciated. I have totally lost confidence in the car and MB in general and don't think i will be having another one.

The rust and general unreliability have been too much. In 10 months i have had a faulty coolant thermostat, passenger seat air bag sensor failed, air con condenser fail (still not done), dash pixels (fixed by me), front arb drop links (at least cheap), EGR valve and expensive service. On top of this there has been depreciation of around 50%. Yes, in only 10 MONTHS.

If anyone wants a bargain Avantgarde in silver with 7 seats, heated black leather, f+r sensors, Y-reg, please PM me. It is also due to go in for free rust repairs on 1st dec in cheltenham but i can't wait that long!!!!

 

[panason1c]

Do search on this forum for 'maf'......could be the solution to your problem.

 

[glojo]

My 2001 E320CDi estate has not ran correctly in the 10 months i've owned it.

Hi greyboy,
With the greatest of respect i must ask why on earth you did not take the car straight back to the seller?

I cannot recommennd the E320CDI estate highly enough. It is a terric workhorse and the engine is usually a joy to own.

to a degree I can understand what your saying but buying a car that has got a problem is not usually a good idea unless you enter the deal with your eyes wide open.

Any advice will be much appreciated. I have totally lost confidence in the car and MB in general and don't think i will be having another one.

To put things in perspective I know someone that took their four year old Bentley to a main deaqler to have the corroded floor pan repaired. The dealer was very sympathetic regarding the corrosion but the car came with a three year warranty and it was now four years old!!Pay up and shut up (not in so many words)

I am appalled at the terrible rust issues we are seeing on hundreds\thousands of Mercedes-Benz, but hats off to them for the way they are handling these goodwill gestures.

If you get the engine repaired and all the coirrosion issues sorted, are you scoring an own goal by selling this car? The problems you have had should not have happened but should you have bought this specific vehicle? Some emegency services use the E-class 320CDI and run them for 300,000 miles with only main dealer service intervals (some counties might do in house servicing, but I have no personal knowledge of any)


good luck with any decision you make, but if you get everything sorted, then you are paassing on a very nice car.

Kind regards
John

 

[1NDYT]

I second Panason1cs reply, MAF....

Unplug it and see if it makes a difference to the drive. If it doesn't then its probably that.
I've never had the issue on my merc but my VW had the same problem and it sounds a lot like yours.

I have to agree with you though, Mercs ain't what they used to be!

 

[Dieselman]

Meter the MAF output on Pin 5, expect 2v at idle and rising to 4.5v at full chat.

I doubt this is a MAF issue though as that wouldn't normally cause limp home and restriction of revs in low gears or EL power fault.

 

[greyboy]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I can't even see where the plug for the maf is, or the maf itself for that matter. I had a c180 last and that was easy to see/disconnect. How do you know when a car is in "limp home mode"? Where are the pins to check the voltage across?

 

[greyboy]

I have now had the air con repaired (new condenser and fan), seat sensor replaced and the MAF sensor replaced. The car was perfect for a few days then back to "limp home " mode again. However, stopping then starting again would clear the fault.

I took the car back to the MB specialist who carried out the work, once again in "limp home" mode. Without switching off, he put it on the diagnostic machine and all sensors were ok, although the pressure in the fuel system was reduced ("limp home" mode ?). He does not know what is causing the problem as the diagnostics show nothing is wrong apart from the low fuel rack pressure fault which resets as soon as you switch off. A week later, it is still ok.

Has anyone had a similar fault and any idea how to permanently repair it? My Sister now wants to buy the car at the going rate, (more than twice what i was offered in part-ex), but at the moment i'm not happy to sell it to her.

 

[poisas]

buy 530d and forget.... This is madness. NO This..... is....... MercCCCeEEAAdDDEESS!!!!!!

 

[glojo]

I have now had the air con repaired (new condenser and fan), seat sensor replaced and the MAF sensor replaced. The car was perfect for a few days then back to "limp home " mode again. However, stopping then starting again would clear the fault.

I took the car back to the MB specialist who carried out the work, once again in "limp home" mode. Without switching off, he put it on the diagnostic machine and all sensors were ok, although the pressure in the fuel system was reduced ("limp home" mode ?). He does not know what is causing the problem as the diagnostics show nothing is wrong apart from the low fuel rack pressure fault which resets as soon as you switch off. A week later, it is still ok.

Has anyone had a similar fault and any idea how to permanently repair it? My Sister now wants to buy the car at the going rate, (more than twice what i was offered in part-ex), but at the moment i'm not happy to sell it to her.

I hate to say this but there are Mercedes specialist and Mercedes specialist. Your car has a problem and it needs a genuine Mercedes specialist to resolve it. The cheapest garage might prove to end up as the most expensive.

Good luck getting this issue resolved but be careful of what your spending.

Regards
John

 

[poisas]

I hate to say this but there are Mercedes specialist and Mercedes specialist. Your car has a problem and it needs a genuine Mercedes specialist to resolve it. The cheapest garage might prove to end up as the most expensive.

Good luck getting this issue resolved but be careful of what your spending.

Regards
John

hohoho shows like we need first to buy or find a specialist, then we can choose the car brand before we buy it ;D

 

[glojo]

hohoho shows like we need first to buy or find a specialist, then we can choose the car brand before we buy it ;D

No, it means not every specialist is a real 'specialist' I would hate to buy an expensive new part and then find it wasn't required??

John

 

[poisas]

No, it means not every specialist is a real 'specialist' I would hate to buy an expensive new part and then find it wasn't required??

John

yess its very clear bot how to find the "real" specialist ? I can tell you how... YOU need to become the ONE. otherwise you will be the victom of their buissiness this is how they run the market and thats why there is no body can have original diagnostics software or hardware , but ONLY the representive SERVICE but.. how it would be if you buy a brand new car, that has included diagnostic software and the rs232 cable to you cars ECU ( imagine an open source car diagnostic software that could work online within running the car to tell you what is going on so simple so easy, and everybody over the internet will develop it like in the sourceforge ) to have it so simple for the client to found what is wrong ? because it won't increase their profit..

 

[greyboy]

Yes, i took it to the most "special specialist" that there is. The car is still working well a couple of weeks later and i'm starting to gain a bit more confidence in it.

I WILL NEVER DARKEN MY GARAGE DOORS WITH ANOTHER CAR FROM THE PILE OF ****E THAT IS MERCEDES BENZ THOUGH!!!!!

 

[BlackC55]

It's a machine that goes wrong. Like all machines.

There are good MB's out there I assure you. It's just that you don't hear about it that often.

I have plenty of customers with very reliable MB's that do mega miles.

 

[lynall]

Greyboy so what was the eventual fault?



Lynall

 

[glojo]

Yes, i took it to the most "special specialist" that there is. The car is still working well a couple of weeks later and i'm starting to gain a bit more confidence in it.

I WILL NEVER DARKEN MY GARAGE DOORS WITH ANOTHER CAR FROM THE PILE OF ****E THAT IS MERCEDES BENZ THOUGH!!!!!

I fear Mercedes-Benz are very selective about who owns, or drives them and perhaps your finding out that you are not best matched.

regards
John