southernjim

Has anyone else with the Kompressor engine had problems with cylinder misfires? My 2003 C230K SS had a continual problem with cylinder #4 misfiring. After 5 separate attempts to correct the situation to no avail, MB agreed to assist in buying back the car in exchange for a 2005 C230K SS. Picked the '05 up in October, happy to be rid of the 2003 "lemon". Well...here I am again. With 5000 miles on the '05, i have the same exact problem. Car suddenly starts running terrible and continues until engine is shut off and restarted. Dealership "updated" software, problem came back less than a week later. I am now being told cylinder #4 is leaking 25%, so the car is now in pieces waiting to have the cylinder head replaced.
I've looked to see if this is a common problem with the Kompressor engine but have not come across anything. I just find it hard to believe I would have the same exact problem on two seperate cars. Anyone else have any experience with this type of issue?
Needless to say, I am a little distressed at the moment...

CitronC230K_03

sorry to hear. my 2003 coupe runs fine. all my warranty issues have been inside the cabin, not under the hood.

nukblazi

I haven't heard of anything this consistant. Have you considered your break in procedures or your gasoline choices?

respdoc

maybe fill up with diesel only once a week from now on...

ctC230K

LMAO! no way! he only puts in the finest 87 octane they have available.

Capt Nemo o2

They're replacing the head? I would have thought it was just a blown gasket... Did you consume alot of oil? Did you ever check your coolant to see if it has changed colors becuase oil got into the system?

tyro

Sheit. I thought this was you.

ffejalink

Yikes! I haven't experienced any problems with my C. It has 41,000 on on the clock. Hey, maybe third time will be a charm?

southernjim

Neither car gave any indications of problems (i.e. leaking fluids, exhaust fumes, etc) before the cylinder misfires. I've always put premium gas (NOT diesel, but thanks for the tip ) in both cars. The cars have not been driven hard, just normal city driving with occasional road trips. I am your average 39 year old law abiding male who just wants a nice car to drive, not a street racer by any means.
The troubles began on the '03 with just over 3000 miles and continued sporatically until i traded cars (18,000 miles). MB tried updating the software, replacing the electronic control module, and finally replacing the cylinder head (after consulting with MB corporate). Two weeks after the cylinder head replacement is when MB agreed to assist in buying back the car in exchange for the '05.
I have 5000 miles on the '05. MB has jumped straight from the software update attempt to replacing the cylinder head on this one. Since the engine misfire corrects itself temporarily once the engine is cut off and restarted, i am not very confident i'm dealing with solely a mechanical issue. Parts are on order from Germany, and I've been told I should expect to get the car back next week (two weeks in the shop).
I was hoping some others had experience the same problem so I could get a feel for what fixes the issue for good. I guess i'm just "lucky" in having this unusual experience happen twice.

elchinocache

are you consistenly taking it to the same dealer? if you are, consider taking it to another dealer if the problem arises again.

Jim Banville

Posts on the other forum indicate there is a service bulletin to replace the valves in the M271 with a new design due to carbon build up that causes #4 cylinder misfire. This SUCKS if it applies to ALL M271's
I'm worried because I went about a month without washing my car, and by that length of time I had a LOT of carbon build-up on my exhaust tip

Burnt Toast

[offtopic]


good lord. unless its raining like all hell i wash my car once a week. i even wash it when i know its going to rain in the next few day.. must be clean!

[/offtopic]

hmmm... odd that you would have 2 cars have the same problem. are you the only driver of the car?

Jim Banville

Since it's black, I don't want to over-wash it. I like to touch the paint as little as possible. Plus, a LOT of pollen has been falling in the southeast and washing your car would be a waste of time within 24 hours

Burnt Toast

yea i know that, my jetta was black. when i first moved where i am now, every one had dirt lots, i could not keep my car clean to save my life. but im still have OCD when it comes to washing my car lol. new carwash mits every month, wash once a week, wax once a month. red is a lot easyer to keep clean then black.

LanceP97

Last summer my 02 coupe did the same thing. The car would vibrate really hard while driving and the check engine lights came on. I brought it to the dealer and they said they had fixed it but the next day it did the same thing, so I brought it back to them. They kept the car for 2 days saying they replaced lots of parts and the problem has not come up since. But the main problem with the whole situation was that I could not get a loaner while the car was in the shop because I was not 21. To make matters worse I was 100 miles from home taking a class over the summer with no family in Houston, so I had to rely on the dealership to drive me around.

AdamVax

o that sucks but no i havent heard of that

mbny

man, that sucks. sorry to hear of your car troubles. i guess it's the luck of the draw to have the same problem with both benz's you've owned. i just hope my benz will be as good to me as my bmw was. so far i have no complaints. but i only have 840 miles on the clock currently. *knock on wood*

benz_og

Yeah I know what you mean. Im having my car in for service because I keep hearing rattling and strang sounds comming from the trunk. I guess thats just a normal problem with the C230's.Other than that no other problems. It just seems like when I am goin slow I hear some takin off fast in the exaust. Plus yeah I got the same problem with the exaust tips issue with carbon build-up. Hey I just guess since Im under 21 they can give me an SLK 350 for a loaner since Im cool with the top guys. This will be my 3rd loaner since 2 months of ownership.

southernjim

Well...after waiting for over 3 1/2 weeks for engine parts to arrive for my car, I was able to get the dealership to replace the car for free. On 4/9 I took delivery of a new '05 C230 Sport Sedan. The dealership was able to locate a vehicle exactly the same as the '05 I recieved in October of last year except the new one has the $600 Harmon Kardon sound system (which i was not charged for).
While I am dis-enchanted with MB's product quality, I must say I am very happy with the way my dealership (Mercedes of Huntsville) has handled the situation. Other than signing a ton of papers, the process of changing vehicles was painless.
The 2003 C230 went just over 3000 miles before developing the engine problem, the 2005 C230 made it to almost 5000 miles before the engine problems began, at this rate, I figure i'm good to at least 7000 miles on this one.

benz401

Thats crazy. Thats good to know MB cares about their customers and will give you a new car if you have these type of problems. Your lucky new whips evry 6 months.Good luck man.

CclassRun

first of all, this is not even a sentence. Second of all "whips"! Hey banville!

benz401

This guy is crazy