Decrease in engine power?
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10
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From: Connecticut
'97 C230
Decrease in engine power?
I currently own a '97 C230 and, on two seperate occasions, it seems my vehicle begins to lose power for no reason during highway driving. I attempt to acclerate, but it feels as if the engine is getting little or no power. When I exit the highway, my car shakes profusely until turned off and restarted. As I stated, this has only happened on two occasions. The vehicle has approx. 95,000 miles on it. Could this be a fix as easy as changing the spark plugs, or does it sound like something more complex? any input is greatly appreciated. 
Member
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 183
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From: Cincinnati OH
C280
I have the same exact problem with my car. Your catalytic converters are showing signs of clogging. This usually happens right around 100k. Think about it....your car loses power at higher RPM's. Hence more gas is being forced out of your engine. With only a small passage, your exhaust gets backed up before your cats, causing the engine to misfire, or the shake you are refering to. Unfortunately, new catalytic converters from Mercedes are $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. You get the idea. So how you want to fix it is up to you.
Member
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 183
Likes: 0
From: Cincinnati OH
C280
Actually, that's much better than what I was told at Mercedes, which was something like $1,500. Since Butler County here in Ohio did away with E-check, I think I am just going to do away with my cats or just gut them. You probably can't do that with yours since your car is OBD2 while mine is OBD1.
Last edited by 040mercedes; Jan 27, 2006 at 04:16 PM.
