Same problem...W204 MANUAL -Judder when pulling off
Hi there,
First time poster, long time reader. I felt i should add to the post as i have been experiencing almost the same problem. Hopefully someone out there will benefit in some way. Unfortunately, i haven't yet found the cause...
I have a 2012 C200 CDI which i bought last year, also with about 21k on the clock. Since then it has done an extra 25 k or so.
For the past 6 months or so it have been experiencing the same issues. When pulling off, the car starts moving as it should after applying some throttle and easing off the clutch (standard driving technique)
When it reaches about 5-10mph or so, the vehicle stars to judder, almost as if it's going to stall. However, the RPM does not drop (or at least the indicator doesn't show a drop), but remains steady at whatever I applied initially (usually about 1.5k revs). At this point, i am almost, but not completely, off the clutch.
I have tried pulling away when applying more RPM, resulting in less judder, but still judder nonetheless.
I have also tried increasing RPM during the judder, resulting in a reduction in judder, but it doesn't go away. Changing into second stops the judder.
Driving it more aggressively, releasing the clutch quicker with higher RPM, and increasing throttle almost immediately after full clutch release, seems to reduce the problem to a minimum, but doesn't eliminate it. This technique is pretty useless though in stop start traffic though, unless you are specifically intending to ram into the car in front.
During its last service at MB, i asked them to have a look into it, suggesting that maybe there was some clutch slippage occurring. After the service, they told me that they noticed that the ECU software was "old" and that they updated it, tested it and the problem seemed to be solved. Of course, driving out of the dealership, the car seemed to run sweet as a nut. But the problem came back a few days later.
Some points to note, and some suggested causes (i am by no means an expert, most of these could be complete BS!)
1. I have noticed that it gets progressively worse in stop start conditions. (maybe DPF clogging up and causing ecu to get confused?)
2. After driving at higher rpm's for long periods of time (eg on motorway), there is no juddering when resuming standard "off motroway" driving. (maybe motorway driving unclogs a fuel line/injector/exhaust/dpf?)
3. The car performs nicely from 2nd onwards.
4. The problem is intermittent. Sometimes, the performance is silky smooth, and i wonder if i was just imagining it. (maybe means that the problem is not mechanical wear and tear?)
I am reluctant to take it back to MB for a checkup. I want to try and avoid having to pay 120 quid for a potentially false diagnosis.
I am currently investigating other options.
thanks for reading, hope this information is of use to someone.
). However, I'm going to see if releasing the clutch faster after biting point solves it, it could just be a quirk of the car.
