05 C230 sputters and almost stalls when cold

Thomas K · 2006-08-02 19:28:10

As the title says...my 230ss does this sometimes when it is first fired up. Especially since it sits outside and it gets pretty hot down here. Anyway, it's random, and of course the stealer couldn't find anything wrong with it at all.:wall: Anyone else have this? When it happens, it sounds like it's going to stall...misses, sputters, then finally catches on. I've only run 93 in it, and it only has 7300 mi on it. Been doing it since 5K or so. Ideas/Input please! Thanks,

08-02-2006, 07:30 PM

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rumsbeard

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I intermittently have the same problem in my 2005 C230SS. On my car, it only happens when you start the car for the first time each day. My problem seems to be related to the temperature. During the past two winters, my car has sounded like it's going to stall upon startup. The engine sputters and misses, sputters, then catches on like yours. On one or two occasions in the wintertime, after leaving the car parked outside overnight, the engine has died after a short struggle to startup. The temperature was about 40 degrees F on the mornings when it happened.

According to my service records from the dealer (Smythe European in San Jose, CA), I reported this problem at 7,500 miles. Unfortunately, they were unable to duplicate the problem at that time.

A few months ago, I told me service advisor at Smythe about this same problem. He kept my car overnight, and noticed the startup issue when he personally moved the car to the service garage the next morning. After that, however, the Smythe technicians could never duplicate the problem again. The dealer kept my car in the shop for nearly 2 weeks to try to duplicate the issue. I became extremely frustrated with the situation and called the toll-free Mercedes customer service number for help. After some persuading, Mercedes agreed to send a technician to assist the technicians at Smythe European with my car. Even with the aid of the Mercedes technician, they could not do anything because they could not duplicate the problem.

My C230 has been nothing but a multitude of annoying little problems, this one being the most major. As of today, the startup problem still exists and I am living with it. I am at 26,000 miles and my plan is to get rid of the car before the 4 yr/50,000 mile warranty expires.

Some of the other problems I've had with this vehicle are:

1) driver's seat adjustment lever fell off by itself onto the street at 1,000 miles when I opened the door.

2) gas gauge malfunctioned twice. The dial would rest at empty and the light would be unlit, even though I had close to full tanks of gas at the time.

3) express up/down windows malfunctioned. All 4 windows were down and all of them would close halfway, then go back down. I was able to close all the windows fully after repeatedly bringing the windows up and down for about 10minutes.

4) castor bolts in suspension failed. I'm not sure if this is normal wear and tear, but it cost me several hundred dollars to replace at about 19,000 miles.

5) various squeaks in the front seats which became really annoying at about 23,000 miles. The dealer applied some lubricant and this has gone away.

6) AC emits a really bad odor when it is initially turned on. The smell goes away after a minute or so.

7) the driver and front passenger seatbelt adjusters on the B pillar make creaking noises while driving, since about 1,000 miles.

8) trunk lid did not fully spring open when trunk button was pressed on the remote key. Fixed.

9) rain-sensing wipers on occasion will sweep rapidly even though there is only light rain.

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