check engine light problems
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From: Peoria IL
2003 MB C230 coupe
check engine light problems
hi everyone, i was a regular poster on this forum about 2 years ago when i first bought my car, but i haven't posted since then.
anyway, my car has been relatively problem free for the past 2 years and now i simply can't get the check engine light to go away. i've had it "fixed" 3 times and it just came on again today after getting my car back a mere 5 days ago. i'm starting to get mad
and i don't know what to do. my warranty runs out in a year so they'd better get it fixed by then. any suggestions on what to do if the problem continues?
Also, let's say for some reason i'm still having problems a year from now when my warranty expires, would i have to start paying them to "fix" the problem even though they've tried fixing it over and over again with no success, how would that work?
grrrr, i couldn't believe it when the light came on again today.
anyway, my car has been relatively problem free for the past 2 years and now i simply can't get the check engine light to go away. i've had it "fixed" 3 times and it just came on again today after getting my car back a mere 5 days ago. i'm starting to get mad
and i don't know what to do. my warranty runs out in a year so they'd better get it fixed by then. any suggestions on what to do if the problem continues?Also, let's say for some reason i'm still having problems a year from now when my warranty expires, would i have to start paying them to "fix" the problem even though they've tried fixing it over and over again with no success, how would that work?
grrrr, i couldn't believe it when the light came on again today.
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From: Peoria IL
2003 MB C230 coupe
bad O2 sensor they tell me every time. they just keep replacing it. car runs perfectly fine.
Should I bypass the dealership by writing mercedes a letter? call them?
Should I bypass the dealership by writing mercedes a letter? call them?
Last edited by truelove; Nov 4, 2005 at 04:12 PM.
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From: Peoria IL
2003 MB C230 coupe
Originally Posted by CitronC230K_03
truelove, havent seen you online in a long time. you and i were the only coupe owners with facotry xenons. you ordered your car a couple weeks before me.
the only thing i did to mine was buy some all weather floor mats. 
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From: Peoria IL
2003 MB C230 coupe
Originally Posted by Outland
If it keeps going bad, there's something making it go bad. Call MBUSA.
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From: Peoria IL
2003 MB C230 coupe
Originally Posted by CitronC230K_03
curious, how many miles do you have on yours? i have 45k, only reason i ask is because we got our cars a couple weeks apart.
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From: Peoria IL
2003 MB C230 coupe
dealership just called. they found the problem to be a faulty ECM. They're putting in the newest version ECM as well as the newest software version. Hopefully that will fix the problem. If not, i'm calling mbusa.
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From: Huntington Beach, Ca.
'17 Jaguar XF
Originally Posted by Outland
If it keeps going bad, there's something making it go bad. Call MBUSA.
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From: The blue white rock, third out.
2002 C230 Coupe(M111)
Originally Posted by truelove
dealership just called. they found the problem to be a faulty ECM. They're putting in the newest version ECM as well as the newest software version. Hopefully that will fix the problem. If not, i'm calling mbusa.
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From: Peoria IL
2003 MB C230 coupe
You guys are really gonna laugh at this one. This is actually the 3rd ECM to be in my car. The first one caused my car to rev on it's own only slightly, but enough to be annoying. I've had the second one for the past year and a half or so and now they're putting in a new one.
I really hope this fixes it. And yes, I literally use the same gas every time I fill up. I refuse to use anything but V-Power premium at Shell stations. I would probably use mobil gas but there are no mobil stations around here.
I can't think of anything else that would cause a sensor to fail over and over other than the sensor itself, the wiring harness, or the ECM. They've tried replacing the sensor. And now they're replacing the ECM (and the harness too i assume) so i hope that fixes it. If not, I'm *****ing to Mercedes corporate.
I really hope this fixes it. And yes, I literally use the same gas every time I fill up. I refuse to use anything but V-Power premium at Shell stations. I would probably use mobil gas but there are no mobil stations around here.
I can't think of anything else that would cause a sensor to fail over and over other than the sensor itself, the wiring harness, or the ECM. They've tried replacing the sensor. And now they're replacing the ECM (and the harness too i assume) so i hope that fixes it. If not, I'm *****ing to Mercedes corporate.
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From: Huntington Beach, Ca.
'17 Jaguar XF
Originally Posted by truelove
I can't think of anything else that would cause a sensor to fail over and over other than the sensor itself, the wiring harness, or the ECM.
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From: Peoria IL
2003 MB C230 coupe
Originally Posted by mleskovar
Gasoline and additives can do it.
at least i would hope. or maybe it does.
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From: The blue white rock, third out.
2002 C230 Coupe(M111)
Originally Posted by truelove
You guys are really gonna laugh at this one. This is actually the 3rd ECM to be in my car. The first one caused my car to rev on it's own only slightly, but enough to be annoying.
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From: Peoria IL
2003 MB C230 coupe
Originally Posted by Outland
That first one sounds like a misdiagnosis. Did it go away, or did they fix more stuff? I'd have guessed a bad TPS, or a sticking IAC.
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From: The blue white rock, third out.
2002 C230 Coupe(M111)
Originally Posted by truelove
Yes, it actually did fix it beautifully. My car ran smoother after the ECM replacement than when I bought it.
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From: Peoria IL
2003 MB C230 coupe
Originally Posted by Outland
I wonder if that 'smoother running' was due to the ECU reprogramming campaign, or the original ECU had a fault that caused the roughness. ECU's are usually pretty problem free.
Perhaps I was just used to the "revving" it was doing before the fix.And recall that 2003 was the first year of the new M271 engine. My car was one of the first MBs with this engine. I'm not trying to make excuses for Mercedes as we all know their QC and eletronics have take a hit in recent years, but i'm sure there have been some kinks both in hardware and software that needed to be ironed out with the mass release of the new M271 engine, hence the ECM upgrades. In fact, there was just recently an open recall on the ECM software.
Last edited by truelove; Nov 10, 2005 at 12:28 PM.
