I had a repair by mb and they fitted a new starter motor and now have been informed that the timing chain needs replacing ?

the problem fault is the same as when i took the car in originally 6 weeks ago.

Are Timing chains under any warranty and should they need replacing

a timing chain should be good for the life of the engine. it's not like a timing belt that needs to be changed as a maint. item.

unless there is something odd about an MB engine that i'm not aware of- i don't see how a starter motor could be tied to the timing chain...unless the engine is locked up and they thought the starter motor was bad, and the reason the engine wouldn't turn over. i'm confused on how the two would be related

I replace the chain and sprocket every 100k to be safe. If your mileage is close to that and you have to remove the chain for a different repair then I would have them put on new parts. I'm not sure what interval MB recommends for the chain.

Please fill in your details properly - with a C180 you are not in the US - give us the distance your car has covered. Timing chains last forever & require no regular changing. It will become noisy long before it requires replacement. Like Bump says - it's not related to the starter motor. Yes they fall under warrantee if your vehicle is still under warrantee.

I know timing belts go out on A4's after like 70k miles

We are not talking about timing belts. They are a short life item & crap. Timing chains will go on forever as long as they are adequately lubricated & the tensioners are doing their job to stop slap.

70K miles is taking a big chance on an Audi. Better around 50K. They suffer many belt breakages with dire consequences.

The day Benz start using belts will be the last one I buy.

ahhh, I didn't know that some makes use chains and others use belts

chains ftw lol

yeah most new cars now have the chains to save consumers on maintence costs. i thought the chains can go at least 140k?

Audi (and VW) are also moving toward timing chains, rather than timing belts. The 2.0 TSI engine (replaces 2.0 FSI) has a timing chain. This engine was phased in during the 2008 model year.

The Audi (and VW) V6 and VR6 engines are now mostly timing chains. The VW 2.5 (inline 5 on Mk5 models) is timing chain.

The timing belt on certain model Audis was a PITA to replace, and required the removal of the front bumper assembly.

On a street car a timing chain should be good for the life of the rings. 250,000 miles with Mobil 1 should be no problem. Most of the time they stretch a bit, causing valve timing to be unintentionally variable.

Some Volvo models require removal of the engine to change the belt !!!

Yes you are spot on regarding VW/Audi move to chains - thank god.

Absolutely!

Hi Mb outlet said my chain had stretched needed replacing and that it had broken a number of teeth and that it may have bent the valves.
I have been quoted five times the costs of service to get this sorted out , they are currently putting in a new chain and teeth and then will test the valves for compression. This work is costing me a house load of money, is this normal on a C180 compressor 2005 with 200 000 k on clock.

At 200,000 Km a chain replacement is possible but unusual. They usually last the life of the engine. Sprocket damage is usually caused by a worn chain and/or tensioners. Has this car been properly maintained & serviced & driven reasonably?

well you guys have to understand how a timing chain is maintained. It is lubriated off your engine oil...so neglecting to chain your engine oil with the recommened intervals by tht edealer can prematurely kill the chain. But chains do give a sign of wear before they actually break..you would hear it like clitty clack etc etc. And if the timining goes off enough your pistons come down on the valves due to the engines being an interference engine. I've never heard of a chain breaking on a maintained vehicle.... poorly maintained vehicle yes but if the chain got to that point where it messed up the valves there should've been indication of it prematurely. Question for you.... what made you bring the car in?

Hi thanks for coming back to me . Look I went over the last service by 10 000,oo kms but I have never been a crazy driver at all, still need to know would love to know if MB has warranties out on these things.

Benz will not even look at a warranty co payment at that mileage. They would cover the timing chain under the normal terms of warranty on the car.

Missing scheduled servicing even under the warranty would render it null & void - especially by 10,000Km's - In South Africa they will give you 1000Km maximum latitude. This is not a common failure on these engines.

After 4 years and 6 months (just after the waranty expired), my 2006 C230 having 40,000 miles, had on-and-off check engine light. I took it to a regular shop and they said "premature wear of timing chain; take it to the dealer".
This doesn't sound right with just 40K miles for a timing chain.
It looks like a lemon, or recall item; although I checked and could not find any.
I am waiting for the verdict from the MB dealer.

This is the balance shaft/timing chain problem on the M272 engine. There is a class action underway - Benz is well aware of the problem & will pay.

They just called me from the MB service: they said "right side cam magnet; a sensor" needs replacement. They never mentioned the timing chain.
I don't know what to think anymore. I'll have that fixed and I'll see if the chain gives me any more warnings in the future. There is no noise, car runs fine.

Thre are two issues with the M272 - Cam magnet redesign & balance shaft. An indy shop would probably not be aware of either.

You raised the issue of timing chain - If there is no chain rattle then it's not the chain/balance shaft.

Let them replace the magnets - They are cheap & I would suggest replacing all 4 with the latest magnet. You do not need to replace the cam sensors - It's the magnets that give trouble.

Hi Guys,

As sad as it is to say, I have a dead C180k parked in my driveway with bent valves, stretched timing chain, leaking cam sensors/ magnets, split vacuum hoses.

I pulled the head off today and found 8 bent inlet valves!!!, the car has only done 95,000kms and I was so not expecting this. After doing some research on this forum, I have found it to be a common problem and am very dissapointed with MB for the bad design fault with this engine.

I do Approx 8ooo km per Year with my 180C 2005 which I bought new. I took my 180C to have the oil chaged at the dealer. I was advised by the service adviser that i am wasteing money to change my oil every year and that I should do the full 15000km before changing. My concern is that 2years is a long time for oil to be in the engine. I also questoned him about the extended time oil changes would cause premature wear on my car such as timing chains and bearings. His answer was it made very little difference as timing chains on 180C never got past 180000kms and normally required the gears changed also. I bought my car for a lifetime Is it possible if the car is serviced and driven correctly to make 250000km?

I'm an oil industry man & I get mad when service managers think they know better than Benz. I do your sort of mileage. Change oil every 15,000Km OR 1 year. My CLK has now done 24,000Km & has had 3 oil changes on time not mileage. First one at 7000km.

Low mileage town cars like ours seldom get hot enough for long enough. This leads to water content in the sump getting up around 7% or more & the chance of some fuel dilution. Water is a crap lubricant & fuel drops the viscosity of the oil out of grade.

Subsequent to this thread being started we have seen a number of timing chain failures on the M271 engine. It is a single gang simplex chain & it wears and stretches & jumps teeth on the cam sprockets. If you ever hear timing chain rattle at a cold start that shuts up as soon as the oil pressure comes up please don't leave it. Get your dealer to pull a new chain through - cheap compared with bent valves. Worn stretched chains damage the sprockets & lead to early replacement being required.

Good luck!