Substance

I have a 2000 model C280 with 52xxx miles. I have not used the car for 16 months. Been sitting in the garage. I will be using the car again but decided not to do anything before the car gets a proper service. I also noticed the battery is dead. I jump started it a month ago and there was no problem. However last week, I noticed the battery was completely dead, there was no power to recognise the key.( didnt jump it tho).

The closest dealer is 9 miles away only. My plan is to take it to the dealer and get it serviced, probably Service B and 50k miles service. Fortunately the car still has almost 1 year of warranty on it. broke parts other than maintaince parts wont scare me.

My question is that what would you suggest me to do to get this car running well and safe again? what kind of cost should I expect? and should I jump start it and drive it to the dealer(9 miles away) or get it towed and let them handle the battery issue?

About 2k miles before I parked the car in the garage 16 months ago, service A was done and brake pads and rotors were replaced with new ones.

one more question is that what happens to the tires being not used for long period? they were not in great condition however can I have some weeks of use on them? or I should replace them right away?

thanks in advance

Whatstheprtnmbr

Wow! that is a spring chicken, hardly any miles on it whatsoever.
If the warranty covers the battery and or alternator go back to the dealer.
If not get a battery at one of the auto parts stores and install yourself.
I would put a meter on the alternator and check to see if that is pushing voltage to the battery once the car is running.
Its best to just go ahead and get some new treads, especially this time of year. NTB or one of the major chains usually will give you a fair deal on tires, make sure to get new stems also.

Substance

well, I went to see if I could start the car today. I tried the unlock the doors with the remote key, nothing happened. The car had no power. Then I jumped the battery with my wifes car. then I could use my remote key to unlock the doors. All of the electronics were functional however the car didnt start. I kept the mercs battery wired to wifes car for 15 mins and tried again, nope , didnt start. I unpluged the jump cables to see if the cars own battery could do anything. and again, no power at all.

Well, I think its not hard to say the battery is gone, need a new one. Whats confusing me is the car didnt start. Is it something usual? even if you jump it with another car? There was also not much gas in it.(about 2 galons) the low fuel presure could be the reason? I will try to get a new battery tomorrow and try it again.

Proven Guilty

i honestly don't buy into the logic that a car sitting is any more prone to mechanical failure than a car driven every day. some will argue that the oil will drip down into the pan over time, leaving the top half of the block dry for that initial first start, but even in that case I've torn down engine blocks that have sat for years without running and still had pools of oil in the valvetrain etc.

if it was garaged, it's even less likely to have problems related to a car sitting stationary (dry rotted tires, rubber etc from being exposed to the elements).

If you're going to have B service done, it will cover all bases for you. (checking the battery, inspecting belts, all fluid levels, brake lining etc). I think you're spot on with getting b-service done, and aside from adjusting tire preassure you'll be ready for the road again

the only thing i would probably recommend is a coolant flush, and keep an eye on the temps. the age of your car, regardless of mileage is screaming thermostat replacement around the corner.

Substance

1 more thing i just noticed, mercedes battery is 1000 crankamps (850 cold crankamps) and my wifes cars battery is 550crankamps(450 cold crankamps). maybe it wasnt strong enough. 15 mins of charging wasnt enough maybe. I will keep it jumped for over an hour tomorrow and try again. if that doesnt help, i will go get a new battery from autozone. any recommendations for the battery? brand , type?

thnx

Proven Guilty

take the battery to autozone and have them test it. i've been forever happy with optima gel-cell batteries (red top and yellow top)

RunInColorado

I bought my 98 C230 with 23k on her about 3 years ago. It now only has 42k. So its lightly used. The previous owner had been in a wreck when she was young and never drove the car much. If its been sitting for so long, draining the fuel tank, changing the oil, and buying a new battery were about the most basic things to do. I did have some problems with the car (a new MAF was needed) but I attributed that to the age of the car not just sitting for a while. If the tires were not inflated properly you might have some tire issues as well. I would doubt it would be much more than that.

Substance

I replaced the dead battery with a new DURALAST battery(1000 crank amp,850 cold crank amps). The engine started on the first try. The engine sounded normal.

BAS/ESP and ABS indicators were on. I reset them as the manual instructed. they were off for a moment then I hit the brakes and they went on again.

I couldnt shift to Drive. the lever was stuck at P. I called the roadside assistance and they suggested I release the lever manualy by stucking a pen into the little hole behind D. It did shift to drive and I was able to drive to car around the block for a few mins. Everything sounded normal. When I press on the brakes, I heard noises coming from brakes. sounded like pads like rubbing on rusted rotors(especially from fronts).

i have my appointment for the service B at the dealer on next tuesday. i will try to drive it to the dealer. if not , get it towed. seems like service B will be it.

the dealer suggested 550$ for the service B. Free inspection and a free harmonic balancer. is it a reasonable price for service B>?

thanks

RunInColorado

my service B was a bit lower, but I dont use the dealer. It was 200$ or so? If you need to brakes and pads, Id strongly suggest upgrading from stock to a higher performance pad. I had slotted rotors and ceramic pads put on a 300TE with parts and labor comming to 252$ for parts and 130$ for labor. (just the fronts) which was actually 40$ cheaper than what my mechanic could get for stock rotors and pads. Its a very worthwhile upgrade, at least I think so.