W211 E320 CDI 06 Air filters.

[Mercious]

I bought this 2006 W211 E320 CDI estate in January 2017. I used three quarters of my budget on the car and used the other quarter to have all oils and fluids drained and replaced and all filters replaced. I replaced the charcoal filter and the cabin filters but, for the life of me I don't know why, never did the actual air filters. The car is the V6.

I've just had the engine management light come on and the car is somewhere between limp mode and normal. I don't think the car is in limp mode but it is very sluggish. I took it to my local garage and avoiding the costly STAR analysis had the problem 'read' by their hand-held reader.

A few things relating to air intake came up and we have decided to start with replacing the air filters. A young woman apprentice who is properly supervised and comes across as very serious and committed is going to do the job. I think it's wonderful and I'm very chilled out about her doing the job. So I'm just letting her get on with it and trying not to make her feel pressured.

I was just wondering what else could be done re the air intake system while the filter boxes are off the car? Ideally, I'd like the whole air intake system cleaned up but I don't want her to feel overwhelmed.

What simple jobs could be done?

Thank you for any suggestions.

 

[Baldbloke]

I bought this 2006 W211 E320 CDI estate in January 2017. I used three quarters of my budget on the car and used the other quarter to have all oils and fluids drained and replaced and all filters replaced. I replaced the charcoal filter and the cabin filters but, for the life of me I don't know why, never did the actual air filters. The car is the V6.

I've just had the engine management light come on and the car is somewhere between limp mode and normal. I don't think the car is in limp mode but it is very sluggish. I took it to my local garage and avoiding the costly STAR analysis had the problem 'read' by their hand-held reader.

A few things relating to air intake came up and we have decided to start with replacing the air filters. A young woman apprentice who is properly supervised and comes across as very serious and committed is going to do the job. I think it's wonderful and I'm very chilled out about her doing the job. So I'm just letting her get on with it and trying not to make her feel pressured.

I was just wondering what else could be done re the air intake system while the filter boxes are off the car? Ideally, I'd like the whole air intake system cleaned up but I don't want her to feel overwhelmed.

What simple jobs could be done?

Thank you for any suggestions.

My 07 211 E class V6 CDI wagon also once went into limp mode and a hand held scanner suggested oxygen sensors were at fault.
My problem was the stepper motor which was a bit dearer unfortunately. It took Star to correctly diagnose the real fault

Hope it turns out well[emoji1303]


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[OneForTheRoad]

Change the turbo oil seal whilst its in bits.

 

[mersum1es]

You don't need disasseble a lot when changing air filters... Usually filters are VERY dirty if maintenace done according official schedule... I would change them every year... anything smaller than squirrel will be found there

By the book you will need a star session, there is reset procedure in star which is applied after filter change... yes eventually car parameters are driven back to normal but you may suffer higher mpg or other minor issues some time.

There are thousand of culprits for CEL, so really cant guess what caused it at first place. Like said anything in line of air intake may trigger fault in boost pressures/turbo and SDS is really best tool to pinpoint it.

 

[Mercious]

Thanks for your replies and advice.

At 8 a.m. on Friday 3rd May the car went in to the garage for the filters to be replaced. They were done quickly but I only received a phone call at 4 p.m. saying that the car was still sluggish and so further research needed to be done.

Today the main mechanic has been working on the car and it still isn't right. Because it's the Bank Holiday weekend they're going to continue working on it on Tuesday!

I'm terrible for keenly doing my own research once I've got a bit of info. On Wednesday 1st May at 4.30 p.m. I took the car to the garage and they read the engine management light fault codes on an OBD hand-held reader.

Now, in retrospect, I realise I should have gone to Mercedes Benz and had it read on STAR and put the cost down to experience.

So anyway, Wednesday night the 'fault' or possible 'faults' is/are discovered via the OBD reader which isn't as precise as STAR. On Thursday I let them order the two filters and the car went in on Friday morning. The filters were replaced and the saga continues.

What I'd hoped would happen is as follows. The filters would be replaced, the throttle body would be cleaned, the MAF sensor would be cleaned and the turbo oil seal would be replaced. This is what I would have done once I knew that some air intake problem had triggered the engine management light but I couldn't know that until I'd given the garage the job to do.

I'm not one to give the car to a garage, especially the one I use for my MOT and servicing, and then start taking it back or start giving them advice. Although I did leave the Haynes manual and the car's handbook on the front seat I didn't feel I could start telling them how to go about their job. Admittedly I did make a few remarks re throttle body and MAF sensor but shut up quickly so as not to offend the mechanic.

I've read your post mersum1es and now I'm thinking that without the STAR reset the engine management light will remain on even if just replacing the filters has 'fixed' the problem. But, allowing that the car is 'fixed' would the performance still be sluggish until the STAR reset and would that be the case even after the throttle body and MAF sensor had been cleaned and the turbo oil seal had been replaced?

In short, is it that you can do everything and still there would be no change back to normal performance until that STAR reset?

 

[Larkone]

Is the turbo actuator working properly? Though really you are clutching at straws until you can get the codes properly read.

 

[mersum1es]

Air filter parameter reset is not major issue, new filter but old parameters should not cause CEL. Also MAF has reset parameters in some engine models.

Cleaning MAF may not be enough, sensor itself may have gone bad.

CEL will usually go away after 4-5 succesfull start/drive sequence IF there is NO pending faults, but there are few cases when CEL itself had to be reset (old fault codes). I can't remember that CEL without pending fault would have caused sluggish drive, so probably you have still something wrong in your engine.

 

[Abb]

Before you go spending your hard earned £££ on random guesswork on what may or may not be the cause of your fault, a wise move would be to have it plugged into star for a correct/precise diagnosis of the fault.
Perhaps if you list your location, members on here may be able to point you in the right direction of a trusted indie who should be able to help.

 

[Mercious]

Before you go spending your hard earned £££ on random guesswork on what may or may not be the cause of your fault, a wise move would be to have it plugged into star for a correct/precise diagnosis of the fault.
Perhaps if you list your location, members on here may be able to point you in the right direction of a trusted indie who should be able to help.

Thanks for that.

I live between Rushden and Bedford on the A6. I work in Bedford and have used Mercedes Benz in Ampthill Rd. Bedford in the past and an independent on a small industrial estate off Barkers Lane. Bedford and the Bosch Eurocar Centre on the Caxton Rd Industrial Estate.

All three complicated. Mercedes Benz miles out of town and you're stuck there all day with their macho nonsense on the telly, the independent is a miserable man working in a dimly-lit workshop that feels like all the soul has been drained out of it and the Bosch Eurocar Centre who left me waiting for two days so I couldn't get back the fifteen miles home and back out again without a lift.

What I need is someone really fired up and efficient nearby.

And not Albert Lock at Rushden. I've never seen such chaos!

 

[Mercious]

Things have moved on a bit. My local mechanic changed the air filters and cleaned out the vacuum hoses and he checked all the fuses under the bonnet.

Still no change so the car went to Mercedes yesterday and was put on STAR and this is the feedback after I've paid the £99.00 inc VAT for the diagnosis.

"Fuse blowing in front sam 15 amp.
Fault with intake manifold shut off motor, possible flaps in intake manifold seized. Requires stripping."

And Mercedes say this:

"Actuator motor for intake port shut off replaced and manual data transfer. £866.88 inc VAT"

If that doesn't fix the problem they would strip down and repair/replace the flaps in the intake manifold for a further £2,729.42 inc VAT.

So I said "no thank you".

I'm still driving the car. It will get to 90 mph on the dual carriageway when I'm in the correct lane to exit and being pushed along by other cars. It will cruise happily at 60 mph but takes a while to get to that speed. It will tootle about at 30 to 40 mph.

The fuel consumption is slightly better. The revs aren't erratic. The car isn't overheating.

Could I just carry on driving the car without the supercharger kicking in? What are the problems? Is it emissions? And I guess emissions would make the car fail the MOT.

Basically, is it safe to drive the car and not cause further damage until I can find a way round paying out all that money?

I'm still reeling from the shock so I'm slowly planning my next move.

I thought I'd try the actuator motor replacement by buying the part/s and getting it fitted locally. I guess around £500.00 total?

And if it's the flaps. Maybe a secondhand unit or another lower mileage engine even. I mean, a repair that could cost close on three grand for a 2006 car worth about two grand!

 

[alecmascot]

This is a very common problem and there is lots of info out there.
Google "e320 intake flaps" and work through the results before you commit to any great expense

 

[Mercious]

This is a very common problem and there is lots of info out there.
Google "e320 intake flaps" and work through the results before you commit to any great expense

I've just found a YouTube video where you take the cover off the actuator and solder the small connector which is a stainless steel wire.

The symptoms I've had in the past with 'juddering' after start up and driving off and the fact the actuator arm is moving freely points towards that. But what do I know.

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My car has the same engine V6.

 

[DSM10000]

I've just had the engine management light come on and the car is somewhere between limp mode and normal. I don't think the car is in limp mode but it is very sluggish. I took it to my local garage and avoiding the costly STAR analysis had the problem 'read' by their hand-held reader.
[/QUOTEr

How costly has it been to you both financially and time to have a generic OBD reader used when a Mercedes specific system such as Star used by and knowledgeable garage would have led you to a proper diagnosis far sooner?

 

[Mercious]

It's not worked out too bad really. I paid £209.00 inc VAT for the local garage to use their OBD2 reader, supply and fit the new air filters and clean out all the vacuum hoses, check the fuses, check the actuator arm, check the turbo oil seal, clean out the filter boxes and Y section and basically eliminate what they could: 1.5 hours labour. Then £99.00 inc VAT for Mercedes to use STAR and give me two full reports on each job including individually costed parts. Each report is three pages of A4. Plus the interior and exterior valet and then cleaned up the wheels to a standard that is better than they've ever been.

There is a reason for all this. I'm a miserable git and I don't mix with people much so, I don't have any family or friends to ferry me about from Mercedes and back. Our 'local Mercedes is twenty miles away and I can't sit in their waiting area without ear defenders on while I read a novel. I can but it draws attention. But then I can't stand the football culture at our 'local' Mercedes or all the chav stuff re "would you like a coffee". Coffee wouldn't work for me as I'm hypomanic already. Plus I don't like the big glass building due to my autistic nature.

But they're the ones with the kit so I have to go there or to the Eurocar centre which is drab and stifling.

 

[BlackC55]

It's not worked out too bad really. I paid £209.00 inc VAT for the local garage to use their OBD2 reader, supply and fit the new air filters and clean out all the vacuum hoses, check the fuses, check the actuator arm, check the turbo oil seal, clean out the filter boxes and Y section and basically eliminate what they could: 1.5 hours labour. Then £99.00 inc VAT for Mercedes to use STAR and give me two full reports on each job including individually costed parts. Each report is three pages of A4. Plus the interior and exterior valet and then cleaned up the wheels to a standard that is better than they've ever been.

There is a reason for all this. I'm a miserable git and I don't mix with people much so, I don't have any family or friends to ferry me about from Mercedes and back. Our 'local Mercedes is twenty miles away and I can't sit in their waiting area without ear defenders on while I read a novel. I can but it draws attention. But then I can't stand the football culture at our 'local' Mercedes or all the chav stuff re "would you like a coffee". Coffee wouldn't work for me as I'm hypomanic already. Plus I don't like the big glass building due to my autistic nature.

But they're the ones with the kit so I have to go there or to the Eurocar centre which is drab and stifling.

This is a genuine question not intended to be 'funny' in any way, but I am interested in what makes you feel that asking someone if they would like a tea or coffee is chavvy?

From a now slightly worried person who often offers customers hot drinks and hopes I haven't offended anyone in the process!

P.s hope you get your car sorted without too much expense and also worth asking if any of your local specialists have courtesy cars, to save you sitting around or having to taxi/try and find a lift
Natacha

 

[whitenemesis]

This is a genuine question not intended to be 'funny' in any way, but I am interested in what makes you feel that asking someone if they would like a tea or coffee is chavvy?

Take your pick Natacha...

I'm a miserable git and I don't mix with people much

Coffee wouldn't work for me as I'm hypomanic already. Plus I don't like the big glass building due to my autistic nature.

 

[BlackC55]

Take your pick Natacha...

Well if the OP ever comes here we have Decaff

 

[Mercious]

This is a genuine question not intended to be 'funny' in any way, but I am interested in what makes you feel that asking someone if they would like a tea or coffee is chavvy?

From a now slightly worried person who often offers customers hot drinks and hopes I haven't offended anyone in the process!

P.s hope you get your car sorted without too much expense and also worth asking if any of your local specialists have courtesy cars, to save you sitting around or having to taxi/try and find a lift
Natacha

No, it's just me. The local dealership are ever so nice and always ask if I need help in any way. It's just the overpowering fear of the money that sets off a sort of rebellious streak in me. I once suggested they should do away with these football nights I sometime get invited to and plump for opera. I'm just compensating for my poverty.

 

[DSM10000]

This is a genuine question not intended to be 'funny' in any way, but I am interested in what makes you feel that asking someone if they would like a tea or coffee is chavvy?

From a now slightly worried person who often offers customers hot drinks and hopes I haven't offended anyone in the process!

P.s hope you get your car sorted without too much expense and also worth asking if any of your local specialists have courtesy cars, to save you sitting around or having to taxi/try and find a lift
Natacha

I really would not worry about it.

The OP has been open about personal issues they have and I think you should see the comment in that context. Offering someone refreshments in a situation whereby they may be waiting for some time is both a polite and civil thing to do.

 

[BlackC55]

No, it's just me. The local dealership are ever so nice and always ask if I need help in any way. It's just the overpowering fear of the money that sets off a sort of rebellious streak in me. I once suggested they should do away with these football nights I sometime get invited to and plump for opera. I'm just compensating for my poverty.

No one wants to spend anymore than they have to so I dont blame you! Hope you get sorted