I meant to say that I replaced the pump!!

 

I wouldn't think the car would tell you the pump controller was out of range if it had no pump controller?

 

You replaced what?

 

He replaced the fuel pump.

 

nlpamg, I've had this problem since the day that I bought my car. It was brand new maybe 42 miles on it and on cold start in the summer here it would idle very rough and the whole car would shake. I talked to some smuck at the service department and I brought it in. They took it for a few days because they had to replicate the problem. They changed the spark plugs, saying that it was a bad one. The thing that got me is that it was 4 days and I received no call, I called him on the 4th day and he's like oh yeah your cars been ready since yesterday. I asked why he didnt call and he had no answer. I dont go to that guy now, I now have a better service advisor.

However, my car after a while still idled very rough and started to throw up CELs. I took it in 3 times in 1 week for a CEL. First time they changed an O2 sensor, 2nd time they said they put in a bad O2 sensor changed it again, 3rd time they changed a hose.

After about a month, CEL went on again, I took it again. They then told me that I had too much carbon buildup in my cylinder head and changed my cylinder head along with a wiring harness, I'm not exactly sure which one it was.

This was all about 2 years ago. Last summer my warranty ended on June 3rd and what do you know? CEL June 4th, I took it in and they changed another vent house on my car. They SA didnt charge me on this so it was good.

Anyways, after all that, my car still sometimes idles rought at cold starts. Some days more than other days.

 

Pete, that sounds terrible. now that is pretty scary.

thanks for letting me know.

 

I am VERY frustrated right now.

I just got a call from the dealer saying that the forman, Mercedes tech support, etc. all can't diagnose it. he says that they need $300 at least to just DIAGNOSE it. he said that they'll be taking apart things in the fuel system to test it.

I'm having the shop foreman call me to discuss what's going on.

 

It's times like this that the dealership should fix it no charge. If they cant find out whats wrong on and they're telling you this multiple times they should not charge you hours of labor. But just like sands through the hour glass, these are the days of hour lives.

 

^ sheesh, that is annoying as heck! I hate it how MB charges u a diagnostic charge. I mean its understandable but the min is $150. That's steep! If it was like $50, I wouldnt be as cheesed off.

Good luck man.

PS: Just drive the M5 from now on lol

 

I don't think anyone would mind the $150 if the @$$holes actually diagnosed the problem. In SA if you are going back to the dealer that sold you the car they will generally swallow the entire diag charge & only hit you for the repair - I'm sure there is some padding built in but we are after all only the consumers.

 

Phil - when dealing with a thinly disguised bunch of hoods called dealers, I think the time has come for a slightly less composed approach. Good Anglo Saxon language is usually understood by hoods.

In fact you would probably find that no one had explained it to them quite as clearly before.

 

At what point might you consider enlisting the help of an attorney? Not to sue them per se, but to make them take you and this issue more seriously. Their job is to diagnose and repair your problems. Failure of their ability to do their jobs should not constitute a financial drain on your part.

Edit: I know it's too late, but in the future for you and anyone reading this - I'd be highly skeptical of a dealership that actively tries to keep its customers in the dark. Having MBworld.org blocked from their Wi-Fi clearly shows that they are afraid of educated consumers.

 

 

honestly, I think people threatening lawsuits or legal action is overdone and ill advised. people love to throw it all over the forums. when it's used on the forums, it sounds like nothing more than a school yard taunt. there would be nothing to gain from legal action and it could lead to more stress and possibly my car being sabotaged.

if they can't fix it and they can't find the problem, what would the cause of action be? the car is out of warranty, they haven't charged me, nor have they done any additional chargeable work that I have not authorized.

they can say that they have done everything to diagnose the problem and they have even given me free diagnosis and time. they have told me that they need more time and thus money to move forward to find the real cause.

I could argue that they messed up the first time by charging me for the charcoal canister, etc., but they can then say that in addition to whatever is going on now, that that previous part was indeed a problem.

no matter what, it's a tough argument to make and win.

perhaps they are incompetent, I should just take it to another shop for a different opinion. involving an attorney (there already is one involved, ME) would just cause additional stress and be a burden. what attorney, even my friends, would want to deal with this? there is no money for the attorney. even I wouldn't want to do this. just for example, my billable rate is significantly more than what they are charging me to diagnose this. if I send a threating letter from my office, what does that get me? nothing, but "please take your car and leave."

if they did overcharge me or did do something that was illegal, I could most likely enlist the help of the District Attorney's Office: Consumer Protection Division, where I previously worked at. but, at this juncture, there really is no cause of action.

you're right about blocking MBWorld. although they could make an argument that it's b/c of their employees visiting MBWorld on company time, etc. who knows...

all I know is that I have not yet heard from the foreman and I will most likely (99%) not authorize additional diagnosis.

 

Well I certainly didn't mean it as a taunt, nor did I mean for anyone to file a lawsuit against them. I'm not experiencing this first hand, but to me it seems as if they're incompetent. I had the fuel filler neck leak that I told you about and it did take my dealer a second visit to fix it but when I had to bring it back and they could tell I was upset about it they kept my car for over a week after the "fix" and ran all sorts of tests to make sure the CEL did not return. Sure enough, it has not returned since. Granted, I was under warranty.

 

no, no, sorry if I came across as saying it was a taunt. I was referring to the people that normally say "I'm going to get my attorney involved" on the forums. those people make me laugh.

yes, they are incompetent, but you can't sue people for stupid.

 

Sounds like you had the infamous cam sensor leak which went undiagnosed (they changed O2 sensors twice, then only changed the harness when they changed the head) and causes the car to run rich. Running rich lead to carbon build up and the head to fail.

There are 2 hoses that fail, the most common is the upper vent hose (the infamous $12 hose) yet the lower vent hose also fails (and is a PITA to get at).

Hopefully that's everything fixed that could go wrong. I had much the same experience, one problem compounds another... just in my case the running rich burnt up my aftermarket cat, sucked it into the engine and destroyed a piston. MB changed O2 sensors twice on my car, I changed them the 3rd time and saw oil running out of the connector... I'm not sure how MB mechanics can change a sensor where the connector is dripping oil and not suspect a problem.

 

Ain't that the truth. But stupid who get hurt solely because of their own stupidity can sue companies.

If they've done all this smoke testing and testing of purge valves, I wonder what they would need $300 to test further? Only so many things can cause such a code afterall.

Keep us updated.

 

so I talked to the shop foreman for about 45 minutes. I'm pretty impressed, he explained it all very clearly and very well to me and he didn't rush.

he is 99% sure that the rough idle comes from the throttle actuator. he said that when the car is running and you remove the snorkle from the throttle body, the plate shakes and makes noises. he's going to swap out a throttle actuator from another car and put it on mine to see if it solves the problem. if it does, they will put in a new throttle actuator with no additional labor cost.

he believes that the fuel filler neck is the culprit of the CEL. he wants to diagnose it and he will do the diagnosis for the same time.

if it is the fuel filler neck, I will not have that done. I'll wait, I can clear the CEL's myself and it's not worth $400 to me. however, the throttle actuator is a concern b/c I am concerned more about my safety and the car's dependability.

 

Phil - I'm pleased you gave some legal perspective - John informed me of your legal background. Americans do nothing but make attorneys wealthy - Hope that includes you

They might just be right about that throttle actuator - could well cause your symptoms - let's hold thumbs - You have had enough trouble. That minor evapourative leak is just that - minor! & I think it's been a red herring.

 

So the fuel filler neck replacement is a $400 issue? I was just told that a smoke test determined my filler neck was leaking, but not where the leak was from or if the new filler neck was going to eventually suffer the same fate.

 

OK! they gave me the problems.

the rough idle was the throttle actuator. they put on a known good one and it was better. Jose and I are going to DIY it later tonight.

the CEL is from the fuel filler neck. however, the costs to fix that are close to $1000, **** that.

 

I wonder if this is a problem that all the cars are prone to or if our cars were just built the same day. I hope my new filler neck doesn't leak in the future.

 

seriously. I'm wondering if it's just a pipe, can't I just seal it with something?

can you please do me a favor. if you still have the write up, can you please let me know what they put down (like part nos. etc.)

thanks!

 

here's the part number for the filler neck:
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...layCatalogid=0

Glyn or John, could I please ask you guys a favor, if you guys have any diagrams that show how to get to or even R&R the filler neck, can you please share them with me?

I'm glad Jose (mig888) has an extra throttle body and he's swapped TB's in and out in the past. we're going to do it tonight. hell, hopefully I can do an illustrated DIY too

he's not sure about the filler neck, but it's worth a shot to put it all together!