bought 99 C280 and have some questions
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Chicagoland
bought 99 C280 and have some questions
Hello everyone, this car is one owner and has 57500 miles and have couple of initial service record completed by the dealer. Seems pretty well maintained.
- I just received one key for this car, does it come with more than 1 key? On this board I heard $80 - 140 for a key that can only be bought at the dealership!!!!
- How can I tell if this car uses a synthetic oil of regular? Are there any disadvantages from going to synthetic to regular oil or viceversa?
- Also I do not have a radio code, how do I get one?
- About the MAF and head gasket, what symptoms should I watch for that will tell me it needs replacement?
- It shows -1100 in dash display telling me its overdue for oil change, anything else I need to do along with the oil service? If I have patience can I do most if not all of the required maintenance?
- I just received one key for this car, does it come with more than 1 key? On this board I heard $80 - 140 for a key that can only be bought at the dealership!!!!
- How can I tell if this car uses a synthetic oil of regular? Are there any disadvantages from going to synthetic to regular oil or viceversa?
- Also I do not have a radio code, how do I get one?
- About the MAF and head gasket, what symptoms should I watch for that will tell me it needs replacement?
- It shows -1100 in dash display telling me its overdue for oil change, anything else I need to do along with the oil service? If I have patience can I do most if not all of the required maintenance?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,761
Likes: 4
From: North Carolina
98 Black C43 , 12’ ML 350 Blutec
Welcome , lets try and address these issues -
- key - you should have gooten 2 - the price seems right to acquire it from the $tealership.
- oil- should be discussed in the manual - I would change it out to synthetic.
-radio code - should be in one of the pockets in the manual
- MAF systoms - C.E.L. ( check engine light ) sputtering , loss of power.
- head gasket - oil in the anti-freeze
- maintenance - if mechanically inclinded you should be able to perform most maintenance issues.
Good luck.......post some pics.
- key - you should have gooten 2 - the price seems right to acquire it from the $tealership.
- oil- should be discussed in the manual - I would change it out to synthetic.
-radio code - should be in one of the pockets in the manual
- MAF systoms - C.E.L. ( check engine light ) sputtering , loss of power.
- head gasket - oil in the anti-freeze
- maintenance - if mechanically inclinded you should be able to perform most maintenance issues.
Good luck.......post some pics.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Chicagoland
It seems like synthetic is preferred by most on the folks on the board. For oil change do I need to keep anything in mind. How would I reset my service indicator? I will look at the owners manual this evening. Any special tool? is there a service manual available for this car?
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,252
Likes: 2
From: San Antonio, Texas
2016 BMW Z4 sDrive35i M Sport
Synthetic oil is used, I beleive, on all vehicles 1998^ with MB. Yours should be running synthetic unless the previous owner was an idiot. Mobil 1 is the preferred oil of MB. The key is definitely going to run you over $140 if you want a new Smart Key. Such is life with a MB.
Trending Topics
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta
C280
Fss
All 98-00 w202 are governed by FSS (Flexible Service System). FSS evaluates engine temperature, oil level & viscosity, vehicle and engine speed, distance driven. The time elapsed since the last service is indicated in the instrument cluster. It starts on 10,000 after a service and counts down.
There are A & B services. Although they also vary in scope according to the milage on the vehicle... do a search and use Mobil 1...
Good luck!!
There are A & B services. Although they also vary in scope according to the milage on the vehicle... do a search and use Mobil 1...
Good luck!!
Last edited by Cyan; Jul 20, 2006 at 02:43 PM.
MB World Stories
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
New Electric Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe Unveiled: 10 Things You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
6 Mercedes Models That Did NOT Age Well (But Are Somehow Still Cool)
Verdad Gallardo
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Verdad Gallardo
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction
Verdad Gallardo
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve
Verdad Gallardo
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 5,761
Likes: 4
From: North Carolina
98 Black C43 , 12’ ML 350 Blutec
Originally Posted by 99MBC280
How would I reset my service indicator? I will look at the owners manual this evening.
1.) Turn key in steering lock to position 2
2.) Within 4 seconds press"o" button twice
3.) The present staus is displayed.Within 10 seconds turn electronic key
in steering lock to position "O"
4.) Press and hold button "o" while turning electronic key in steering lock
to position 2 again.The present status for days or distance is displayed
once more.Continue to hold button "o"
After about 10 seconds a signal sounds and the display shows 10k miles
5.) Release button "o"
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 519
Likes: 0
the V6s don't have issues w/ the headgaskets. and generally mercedes don't mix the oil and coolant... they just leak oil..... so you have nothing to worry about that... and you should get urself a 2nd key cause you'll come to start ur car one day and find that ur key is dead!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,252
Likes: 2
From: San Antonio, Texas
2016 BMW Z4 sDrive35i M Sport
BTW, for the record, I think FSS is bull****. Keep track of your own maintenance from now on. I do oil changes every 7500 miles. You may wish to do shorter intervals, but 10K miles is rediculous.
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta
C280
FSS might be BS, but it's accurate BS. 
My car was a HAIR low on the dipstick and I added a squirt of Mobil1 to just to make it right. The moment I pressed the service (0) - the extra miles were added to the service display.
My car was a HAIR low on the dipstick and I added a squirt of Mobil1 to just to make it right. The moment I pressed the service (0) - the extra miles were added to the service display.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Chicagoland
Went to a dealership to get the code and get the oil change done. The serv rep told me it will be 80+tax for oilchange, later he came back and told me that the oil service was done at their location by the dealership from where I bought the car. So that was a nice saving but the service indicator light was not reset as they didn't do a Schedule A service. Additionally, while I was waiting I asked him about the radio code and he gave it to me for free. I haven't tried the radio code and to be frank I rather not mess up things while they are working. Also about the oil, I saw a pennzoil qt half filled in the trunk and it didn't seem like synthetic so I confirmed with the dealership if the oil service they did was synthetic with fleece filter. All is well now and thank you to all of you for your response.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,252
Likes: 2
From: San Antonio, Texas
2016 BMW Z4 sDrive35i M Sport
They told me $188 for a new radio code and the MB dealer. Goodluck!
