tommy

Checked to make sure the gas cap was on tightly, which it was.

Manual says to visit a dealer ASAP, but have to drive from PA to NJ tomorrow morning.

Is it safe to assume that it's probably a bad sensor, since so many have had that problem? I guess that what I'm asking about is if anyone has had the CEL come on without a malfunction, and it's been anything more serious than a bad sensor. Of course, I'll call my dealership tomorrow to see if they can look at it, but don't want to kill my car, either. TIA.

mleskovar

If the malfunction is serious it goes to limp home mode I believe. This is why I'm thinking of getting an OBDII tester. Most (all?) cars after '96 have the connection. I'm sure we're just seeing the beginning of this problem. My '99 Dodge went into limp home mode and when I took it to the dealer his immediate statement was "it's probably a bad sensor". And he was right. With the tester you can diagnose to the sensor...or reset the information display in the car and see if it occurs again. The "check engine" light can also be associated with a smog system fault.

tommy

Gee, thanks for all of the insight, everyone.

Talked to my dealership today - I have an appointment for MARCH 6TH! I had to tell them several times that it wasn't the gas cap. Then, when I said that it was running normally, she gave me that date. I was pretty surprised about that. Also going to do Service B and get my cracked cargo area tray replaced.

I was pretty surprised that she would let me wait that long for service. Does that sound weird to anyone?

MarkL

Sounds like they have a service appt. backlog. I guess she figured since your car seems to be running OK there was no rush. Is the light on all the time or intermittent? It figures you have this situation just when you're planning a longer than normal trip .

Buellwinkle

I would have told them it's not safe to drive since I don't know what component has failed so it's OK for them to fix it March 6th as long as they give you a loaner until then and accept the car today and hold it until March 6th. Afterall, you don't know what's wrong and it could not only leave you stranded but also cause an accident. Are they willing to assume responsibility? Will they put that in writting? This way you can count the days towards a lemon law case if you want. In CA, 30 days in the shop, you have a case, but don't tell them that, they don't care, it's MB's problem.

Also you can complain to the Federal Trade Commision, they monitor compliance to the Federal Clean Air Act, tell them your car may be a gross poluter and the dealer won't take action to fix it under the warranty in a timely manner. Better yet, write to them and CC the dealer and Mercedes Benz headquarters.

trench

Hey Tom,

My car threw a CEL after once starting it and it ran rough. I shut it off, restarted, and after that it ran fine, but the light remained on. When I called my service advisor, he said if it felt like it was running normally give it about a week to see if the light went off (in the manual it takes three cycles to clear, I thought this meant three starts, but he said it doesn't always do all of the diagnostics every start). It never cleared and when I took it in a couple of weeks later - the code was for a "cylinder #1 misfire," which is essentially what I thought it would be.

I think you'll be OK until the 6th as long as the car feels like it's running normally.

- BT

curioused

Just got the same error last week, took it to the dealer and they had to change thermostat and a few sensors...no biggie. I had it back in a couple of hours.

avlis

Gross polluter!?! Tommy, if you get through to the FTC about THIS issue, be prepard to hear a loud "click" as they promptly hang up on you. Running 2 weeks with a CEL is not "gross pollution".

Buellwinkle

In CA they take that stuff way more seriously than NH I guess. I've seen them fine heavily for what you would consider a minor offense. It only needs one complaint to spark an investigation. They put the malfunction indicator lamp on there for a reason and it wasn't the manufacturers choice and neither is fixing the problem in a timely manner.