W205 C200 smell of petrol

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Roger Bill

Active Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2014
Messages
74
Car
W205 C200 Petrol
Hi, Increasingly there's a smell of petrol under the bonnet of my 2015 C200. When it was serviced by MB Cambridge last month I asked for this to be investigated. I was told it was related to the crankcase breather (which seems unlikely to me) and that they needed to have the car back in for further investigation.

I've also discovered on the internet that there have been 3 versions of the flexible hose leading to the high pressure petrol pump introduced to resolve a leak which may be temperature related where the elastomer looses elasticity and thus sealing capability when cold - part nos A274070-0081------0181-----3500 first to latest.

I've rang MB Cambridge numerous times and had a couple of online chats with them and at least 5 times I've been promised that someone would contact me so I could book the car back in for further investigation. No-one has contacted me.

Has anyone else had this problem and, if so, was it caused by the crankcase breather or the fuel pipe?

Does anyone have the name and contact details for the service manager or general manager at MB Cambridge?

Many thanks Roger
 
Hi, Increasingly there's a smell of petrol under the bonnet of my 2015 C200. When it was serviced by MB Cambridge last month I asked for this to be investigated. I was told it was related to the crankcase breather (which seems unlikely to me) and that they needed to have the car back in for further investigation.

I've also discovered on the internet that there have been 3 versions of the flexible hose leading to the high pressure petrol pump introduced to resolve a leak which may be temperature related where the elastomer looses elasticity and thus sealing capability when cold - part nos A274070-0081------0181-----3500 first to latest.

I've rang MB Cambridge numerous times and had a couple of online chats with them and at least 5 times I've been promised that someone would contact me so I could book the car back in for further investigation. No-one has contacted me.

Has anyone else had this problem and, if so, was it caused by the crankcase breather or the fuel pipe?

Does anyone have the name and contact details for the service manager or general manager at MB Cambridge?

Many thanks Roger
Sorry to hear about your problems, Roger. I can't say that I've heard of anything of this nature all the time I've been on this and other MB forums. However, I would agree that the crankcase breather is unlikely as a source of petrol fumes unless the car does a lot of short runs and the resulting rich mixture from cold starts causes fuel fumes to accumulate in the crankcase.

It doesn't sound as though MB Cambridge have come across this one either; in any case, the sort of service you've had is appalling. Personally, as the car is out of warranty and investigational work is going to rack up at £140 per hour, I would contact an MB Independent, like Alex Crow of Stowmarket who may well have more knowledge of the problem anyway, given that the M274 petrol engine was around on the 204s for a few years before it appeared in 2l form on the 205.

If you still want to speak to MB Cambridge, I would phone them and ask either to be put through to these people, or simply to ask for their names and email addresses.

Best of luck getting it fixed, but let us know how you get on.

Ernie

ps. Are there any other dealers reasonably close to you, e.g MB Peterborough? I think Listers Group MB in Boston might be a bit too far, although my present car came from them, and I found them to be excellent even for advice.
 
I would agree that the crankcase breather is unlikely as a source of petrol fumes unless the car does a lot of short runs and the resulting rich mixture from cold starts causes fuel fumes to accumulate in the crankcase.

Personally, as the car is out of warranty ...I would contact an MB Independent, like Alex Crow of Stowmarket who may well have more knowledge of the problem
Thanks very much Ernie for your quick reply and helpful information.

Your idea about short runs is an interesting one and not something I'd considered. I do do some short runs but they're never less than 3 miles/15 minutes and enough to get the engine near normal running temperature and so I wouldn't have thought it'd still be running rich especially now the weather is warmer. But as the problem is more apparent at sometimes than at others I'll check to see if it only occurs after short runs.

I bought the car new from MB Peterborough and because I hadn't found their servicing to be very good, I thought I'd try MB Cambridge this time. Unfortunately MB Boston is out of my area and I no longer have reason to travel over that way or to Stowmarket. But your idea about trying an independent specialist appeals to me. I've found five near me:
  1. C&V at Swavesey, Cambs
  2. Swift Vehicle Solutions, Milton, Cambridge
  3. Star Auto Services, Huntingdon
  4. Millennium Mercedes, Bedford
  5. Stewart & Wisbey of Ely
I wonder if you or anyone else on the forum has experience of any of these guys?

Once again many thanks Ernie for taking the time to reply to my post..
 
The W205 C350e has a problem with a high pressure fuel line which results in a petrol smell in the cabin. It uses a 2.0 litre petrol engine, but I am not sure if it's a derivative of yours or a completely different unit.
 
The W205 C350e has a problem with a high pressure fuel line which results in a petrol smell in the cabin. It uses a 2.0 litre petrol engine, but I am not sure if it's a derivative of yours or a completely different unit.
Same M274.920 direct injection engine.
 
Agreed ---its difficult keeping track. Mercedes have gone very" light " on their brochure model technical descriptions nowadays. Perhaps an indication just how complex these modern power units are!:confused:
 
Both myself and a friend have had the same problem with a smell of petrol from our W205s. Our local indie told both of us that he has had quite a number of customers with the same issue and that it's usually down to a fuel hose. Cost to replace...about £15 for the hose plus 1.5 hours' labour.
 
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Thanks everyone for all the quick and very helpful input. I've just visited the nearest independent Mercedes specialist and they're going to check it out for me on Monday. The guy l spoke said he'd had a similar problem caused by the high pressure fuel line which, to me, sounds a much more likely cause than the crankcase breather. I'll let you know how l get on.

The document linked to by Graeme is fascinating in that it showed how much more complicated engines have become since the cars of the 60s and 70s which I could fix myself! I was surprised to read about some of the high pressures involved in the low and high pressure parts of the fuel and injector systems.
 
Marcus of C&V at Swavesey, Cambs replaced both fuel hoses identified in the above posts and since then I've not smelt any petrol under the bonnet.

After posting a negative review for the MB main dealer in Cambridge on Google their Assistant After Sales Manager phoned me. He apologised profusely that they hadn't contacted me as was promised at least five times in response to my phone calls, online chats, etc. This was good but the reason he gave was that they'd had staff absent due to holidays and sickness. I can't accept that's a valid excuse when a quick phone call, email or text could have explained their situation and perhaps suggested MB Peterborough (owned by the same company) might be able to help. This is in direct contrast to the brilliant service I received from Marcus and others at C&V, Swavesey who seem to know more about Mercedes cars and their problems and solutions. Moreover C&V provide excellent customer service at a much more affordable price.

Also I wonder why these faulty fuel lines aren't the subject of a safety recall when posts on this forum and elsewhere indicates it's a common problem and one that's caused MB to redesign the parts? Mine is only a C200 but mixing petrol fumes and the high voltages under the bonnet of a C350 hybrid is something that'd worry me even more.

Finally does anyone know why it isn't possible to obtain safety recall details for my car registration number on https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ when it works a treat for others I've tried?
 
Marcus of C&V at Swavesey, Cambs replaced both fuel hoses identified in the above posts and since then I've not smelt any petrol under the bonnet.

After posting a negative review for the MB main dealer in Cambridge on Google their Assistant After Sales Manager phoned me. He apologised profusely that they hadn't contacted me as was promised at least five times in response to my phone calls, online chats, etc. This was good but the reason he gave was that they'd had staff absent due to holidays and sickness. I can't accept that's a valid excuse when a quick phone call, email or text could have explained their situation and perhaps suggested MB Peterborough (owned by the same company) might be able to help. This is in direct contrast to the brilliant service I received from Marcus and others at C&V, Swavesey who seem to know more about Mercedes cars and their problems and solutions. Moreover C&V provide excellent customer service at a much more affordable price.

Also I wonder why these faulty fuel lines aren't the subject of a safety recall when posts on this forum and elsewhere indicates it's a common problem and one that's caused MB to redesign the parts? Mine is only a C200 but mixing petrol fumes and the high voltages under the bonnet of a C350 hybrid is something that'd worry me even more.

Finally does anyone know why it isn't possible to obtain safety recall details for my car registration number on https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ when it works a treat for others I've tried?
Hi Roger,
Glad you got fixed up in the end, hopefully at a reasonable cost. Unfortunately, your experience at MB Cambridge has become too commonplace at some MB garages around the country.

My own car is with MB in Grangemouth atm due to an electrical glitch which caused it to not start yesterday. At least I have a decent loan car for now, an E Class Premium with the digital dash, which is nice.

Ernie
 
Doesn't work for my current Mercedes or the previous one. Does it work for any MB cars.
I just checked for my car and received the message:

"We don't hold information about manufacturer's safety recalls for MERCEDES-BENZ C ---------.
To find out if your vehicle has any outstanding safety recalls, contact a MERCEDES-BENZ dealership."

It would appear that M-B doesn't provide this information to DVLA (or whichever part of HMG runs the website).
 
I had exactly the same fuel smell in my 2015 C200. MB in Newbury (Berkshire) changed the hose and clip and it’s been smell-free since.

So in my case it was definitely the fuel pipe leaking!
 
Just as an aside ... what's the W205 C200 petrol like to drive? Considering one to replace our S203 at some point.
 
It would appear that M-B doesn't provide this information to DVLA (or whichever part of HMG runs the website).

That's rather disappointing on MB's part if it assumes all MB cars will be serviced in the MB network. Does it mean any that aren't will not be notified of recalls, even safety critical recalls. You can be certain they would never get away with that in the US.
 
Just as an aside ... what's the W205 C200 petrol like to drive? Considering one to replace our S203 at some point.
For me, it's fast enough, comfortable enough and roomy enough. I like mine and don't have plans to change it any time soon.
 

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