I've been enjoying my 2004 C230 for over 6 years. I had the car taken in on-schedule for an A service a month ago and it left the ship with a clean bill of health. That all changes this week.

When I fired her up after thanksgiving, I noticed that the car's engine was running a little rough and the car was shaking a bit at idle RPM, especially when in reverse gear. Once out of the garage, it drove normally and the problems went away after the car warmed up, so I thought it was just a bit of build-up in the engine and planned to take it in if the problem persisted for more than a couple days.

A few days passed and the problem suddenly became much worse. The car's check engine light came on and the car started to shake much more violently with the RPM gauge not holding steady at idle RPM. The problem would no longer go away after the car was warmed up - whenever i was at idle, especially if the car was in reverse or drive gear, the shaking would be terrible and the engine started to seize on the road when I was accelerating from a stop or maneuvering in a parking garage. The car would even jolt (not crawl) forward by a foot or so when at idle in drive gear. The problem seems to be much worse in cooler weather.

I took it into the dealer here in the Seattle area - where I've had the car regularly serviced ever since I bought it. They pulled up the following codes:
2006-001 A16 knock sensor [P0325]
2054-001 Continuous camshaft adjustment. Incorrect position of the intake camshaft [P0010]
201B-001 Misfiring of cylinder 1 [P0301]
201B-002 Misfiring of cylinder 3 [P0303]
201B-004 Misfiring of cylinder 4 [P0304]
201B-008 Misfiring of cylinder 2 [P0302]
201B-016 Misfiring of cylinder 1 Fuel deficiency
201B-032 Misfiring of cylinder 3 Fuel deficiency
201B-064 Misfiring of cylinder 4 Fuel deficiency
201B-128 Misfiring of cylinder 2 Fuel deficiency

I spoke to the technician and the service adviser who tried several steps to clear the problem with no luck. They have basically told me the engine needs a major overhaul (complete replacement of the cylinder heads, timing chain, and tensioner) which would cost almost as much as the car is worth on a trade-in!

I am not confident that they have really understood what the problem is and may just be throwing in the full rebuild as the only sure-fire way they know will fix the problem. They still havent been able to explain what on earth could cause the engine to have such spectacular failures since I have taken excellent care of it (no "spirited" driving - 15K mi/yr and mostly highway miles, all service done on schedule at dealer).

I'm looking for some guidance on what the root cause of the issue is and if there are steps that are likely to fix my problem short of the massive overhaul they are proposing as I was hoping to enjoy this car for at least another couple years!

In addition, if anyone knows of a good mechanic in the Seattle area who can give a second opinion, I'd appreciate a reference!

thanks

 

so I assume if its an 04 and you say 15k a year its got almost 100k miles on it?

Its due for spark plugs and depending on how bad the erosion is prob coil packs, which would cause misfire and bad running. Not to mention it could be a cam shaft pos sensor that I hear goes bad on these cars all the time. I some how doubt its the timing chain, it usually needs re tensioning if anything but never replacement.

Also what gas are you putting in, knock usually goes on when you use crappy gas, if you have been putting cheap gas in you may have killed the sensor because its detecting knock.

Post more info about your cars millage and service habits.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. The car is at 90K miles.

Fuel-wise - I always put in the highest octane available at the station I'm at. I generally visit the major gas stations - Chevron, Arco, Shell, etc - pretty much whatever is convenient and reasonably priced for the neighborhood I'm in at the time.

Would there have been tests the dealer could run to see if it really was just spark plugs? They were claiming that further investigation would basically entail opening up the whole engine which would have caused the labor costs to soar with no idea of whether or not the problem could be solved. I didnt think old spark plugs would cause the engine performance to deteriorate so suddenly.

Thanks again - look forward to more sage advice!

 

it might just be a bad cam position sensor. Just like the crank position sensor, they eventually go bad. You can buy a new one for $70. Might be worth a shot before you spend thousands on a engine rebuild. I would install a new cam sensor and use star to clear all the codes and see if it happens again.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merce...#ht_4062wt_824

 

I don't know much about mechanics of engines but from reading on here for years it is amazing what a bad sensor can do. you are not the first person on here to say that the dealer wanted 2k+ to rebuilt the engine when a bad spark plug, plug wire, sensor just need to be replaced. i would try the new sensor and go from there

 

I'm sorry, but I can't be as optimistic as these other guys. I think one of two things is wrong with your C230, and neither is pretty (or cheap).

1. You have the head issue that some 2003 and 2004 M271 equipped cars have. This leads to a valve problem and requires a new head. Prices I've seen were $3,000 or more. Post up your cars build date if you know it.

2. You have had oil leak into the cam sensors and into wiring. This is a common problem on all M271 engines in the W203. Mercedes put out adapter wires (pigtails, as they're called on here) that are supposed to prevent this. Lots of people didn't know about it, though. I threw these adapter wires on my C230 at 40k miles.

I would brace myself for what is likely going to be an expensive repair.

Also, take note: "Spirited" driving in moderation is not bad for a car. As a matter of fact, cars that are gently driven at all times suffer from more build-up inside the engine - bad when you already have a car susceptible to head issues.

 

Ouch - this doesnt sound good, but I can believe it. I was having a hard time believing something as simple as spark plugs would cause the engine to suddenly run so badly.

As for the build date, my paper work lists the production date as 6/17/03 and a delivery date of 8/4/03. Where can I find more information on this head issue?

Thanks!!

 

come on be nice to the newb lets give him some hope

i was going to bring up the head issue and the cam sensor fix but didn't want to ruin his day next time i need to delver bad news i will call you

as for the op i would say a second opinion is never a bad idea i know there is another member in Seattle because i read something about his new tires and a dealer he likes if i find his sn i will post it for you. also if you search on here you will find the cam sensor threads and head threads gl i think you are going to need it.

 

I don't believe in false hope.

 

P0010 = "A" Camshaft Position Actuator Circuit (Bank 1). The first thing you have to do is get that inlet cam set up sorted. I hope the timing chain has not jumped on the inlet cam.

Any potential head problem can be diagnosed with a boroscope without stripping the top of the engine.

You have to get this thing properly diagnosed by someone competent. Don't let them start tearing the engine down without proper diagnosis.