Raff

Hi guys,

My wife has a 03 W203 Komp and it just hit the 100,000 mark. So far it has been good with a couple of wear and tear repairs. I have done the 100K service along with the temp sensor, water pump, belts and all the other things that was recommended. The driver seat seems to blow a fuse all the time, the mechanic said it is the motor on the seat that is bad, so it will always blow fuse as soon as we adjust it. Fortunately it is adjust just right for driving.
Any of you guys with the same model and miles experience any problems reaching 100k. What should I look for in the future in regards of maintenance. Looking for responses so I may get an idea what I am in for or if I should get ready to sell the car.

Thanks guys.

Raff

samaritrey

well my 01 c320 has 153k on it and i have not even replaced the water pump and belts yet. I would say do what plan to do and keep the car till it dies. It is not worth anything to sell it anyway lol. My car is getting new shocks and springs though but besides that maintenance only and no issues. As for the seat motor i just replaced mine it was very simple and cost like $60 for the part. might be worth buying one just to see if it fixes the problem. I don't know if you have gotten your transmission fluid changed yet if not make sure to get a full flush done asap.

Raff

samaritrey,

I am pretty sure the care is due for new shocks as well. I will look into the seat motor. $60 is not bad at all to get that thing working again. I have to also double check if we got the tranny fluid done, I don't remember if they did that on the last service. Thanks for the heads up.

tommy

As someone said on mymbonline, really, the only consistent things are the little annoying electrical issues that these cars have every so often.

Oh, and the endlinks go pretty regularly. How long has it been since all of the bushings have been checked? They blow as well. Do you have a voltmeter? The batteries tend to go between 100 and 150k (get Roadside Assistance to come and install a new one for you).

My car has been quite troublesome, but over the last couple of years, has only needed bushings replaced (well that and the rust on the rear quarterpanel that was just fixed - you won't have that problem in SoCal).

Seems like once you pass a speedbump of a group of repairs around 80-100, these cars tend to smooth out and only need normal wear items and the occasional electrical gremlin fixed.

Raff

Tommy,

Thanks for sharing your input. I have not checked the endlinks nor the bushings. I will add those to the list to check up for along with the voltmeter, I sure don't want to die out anytime soon while commuting to work or going back home. I am sure, I need shocks. Car feels like it floats over little bumps on the fwy and then drops.

sknight

Which motor and part number? I have the same issue with the semi-manual seat on the driver's side. Big job?

amanonfire

x2

My car was a nightmare of issues at first, now I've gone 3 years without anything major. Still on the original starter, alternator, battery, water pump, belt, ...

My car could definitely use new endlinks and bushings, this will be the 4th set of endlinks and 3rd set of bushings in 190K kms. Lowered and 35 profile tires will do that though.

Johnsct

My 03 just hit 136,000. No problems. Had to replace the thermostat. I did replace a lot of the front suspension, but that was not the cars fault. I was run of the road into a curb by a woman pulling out of a Taco Bell. Needed to replace the Lower control arm and while I was there I decided to do the upper arms, tie rod ends and brakes. Runs great.

By the way, The thermostat replacement at 120,000 miles was my first repair other than maintenance on the car.

sknight

Mine is an early 203. Got the car with a warranty at about 35k miles. Blew the rack within a month, fixed under warranty. The dealer damaged lots of other stuff, fixed by them, no charge to us. Soon after, a the side mirror heating module was stuck on, draining the battery. Fixed under warranty. Oil pan started leaking outside of the warranty. Repaired locally, though not happy that they didn't use a real seal. Recently had the EIS changed. Installed the isolation plug from the cam sensor immediately, so no oil got into the loom. It had just started weeping and didn't get outside the plug at that point. Valeo voltage regulator- just got home from southern France, and the alternator went out at home. I removed it and cleaned lots of that insulating putty they use off the brushes and the slip rings. I guess that will do it. That fixed the problem.

To be done: seat motor, and suspension eventually.

Glyn M Ruck

A friend has a C identical to mine in KL Malaysia that is about to turn a million kilometers - No major repairs. Lots of brake pads & tyres. Serviced to the book by Cycle & Carriage KL. ROW service plan - not USA.

Service your transmission EVERY 39K miles & it will do huge mileage.

Alan B

Glyn,

What type of transmission service do you suggest every 39K miles? To date, I have only had the fluid changed @ 100K....so far, so good @ 145K. Thanks for sharing your knowledge all these years.

Glyn M Ruck

Fluid & filter change every 39K miles. With your 722.6 transmission if you went 100K you are asking for trouble. Should have done a complete 14 quart flush due to lack of a TC drain plug. Suggest you stick to ROW service regime from now on & have a flush done at the next service if it was not done at 100K miles. The fluid condition must have been awful at a 100K - it sometimes does not look great at 39K.

Good luck!

sknight

Among my criticisms of Mercedes, this was one of them. It was really irresponsible of them to make this supposed lubed for life transmission...and they weren't alone, either. That's also another reason I'm scared about picking up a used Audi S car or V8- I've seen several that have had transmission rebuilds for sale, indicating that they too suffered the same fate of extended or no change intervals.

springdriver1

I have 171000 on mine. Just wear items. But it still runs good.

eesjunin

192K on mine...replaced the oil cartrige due to warping...need new rotor, which i bought 2 years ago and they seem to warp again...probably going to get me some cross drilled Brembo's...Yup the seat motor does that, i just didnt bother replacing it just yet since i am the only one who drives the car...might want to open up the rear seat and lube the e-brake bracket...it does goes rusty fast...other than that it has been a smooth ride

Alan B

Glyn, thanks for your great advice. My former Indy (good but getting to be XPEN$IVE) changed it out @ 100K, said it still seemed fine. Lucky so far...I will discuss w/my new Indy. Regards!

LILBENZ230

My fluid also didn't look that bad at 100k. Wish I had taken photos.

Midnight Koop

for the '03 c230k m271 engine (same as mine), i've had quite a few expensive fixes for about 2-3 years straight (control arms, steering rack, power steering pump, etc)... but nothing recent (in the past 1+ years). i have about 95k miles on it so far and am the original owner... so you're just a few thousand miles ahead of me.

i think its funny how this thread is asking about the m271, but people with other engines are chiming in...and many who bought it second hand and are probably in the dark with the majority of the maintenance history. In my opinion, the different w203 engines probably have different "life spans"... i'm just hoping mine lasts as long as some of the others (c240's & c320's)

LILBENZ230

The 03 M271 seems risky to me because of the head design and the way they are prone to valve problems due to it. That said, I've owned my 05 C230K since it had 25k miles on it and I know every bit of its maintenance history and it has been very cheap to maintain thus far - currently at 106,000.