BMWM3_C230

Alright i've been reading and searching why my check engine light keeps on getting on for a P0170 and p0173 (fuel trim and system lean)

I took it to a mechanic and he said it's the MAF sensor.

So i went ahead order one from the $tealers and changed it.

Didnt fix the issues

I found a small hose under the air filter box that was loose. I reconnected it.



Drove it 80 miles and was happy thinking that the issue is completly gone and sure enough the Check engine came back on. With only a p0170 fuel trim.

Not to mention that the car runs great. no issues what so ever on idling ...


PLEASE ANY HELP would be great. what should I check for more....

LILBENZ230

How many miles do you have? Have you checked with Mercedes about adding your car to the recall list for the oil leaking into the cam magnets? Oil gets into the wiring and can cause warnings.. 02 sensors.. was the loose hose cracked?

My first suspect would be oil contamination of an O2 sensor due to oil leaks in cam magnet harness.

BMWM3_C230

it have around 80 000K.

it did loose around a quarter oil last month and we added it to it.

Under the airbox ...it looks like there was some oil leaks.

I called benz. and they say there is a "camshaft recall". I will be taking my car in this week.

I will post the updates once i get my car back

LILBENZ230

Please do. Hopefully this is to rectify the leaking oil into the wire harness. If it is, they will replace anything contaminated with oil and install adapter wires to prevent the problem from recurring.

BMWM3_C230

Alright for everyone out there with a p0170 or p0173 ABD codes on a C 230. Before spending the money on an MAF (mass air flow sensor) (330$) and change it like i did .
Take your car to the dealership. There is a recall. it's called the camshaft celanoid recall.
The only funny part they wont cover the camshaft celanoid (you will have to pay around 300$ parts and labor to get it replaced).
But what they will change for you is the oxygen sensors, the wire harness, the engine control unit etc. which you will save between 5000$ to 6000$.

If you know that your o2 sensor and wire harness and engine control unit are not damaged. then change the MAF ($330) and change the camshaft celanoid (usually around 150$)

I went to Park Place Dallas , they were great to work with. Took the car in (and yeh they did not look at me like damn it's only a C class. I got a great treatment, not like other benz dealer i've been too). Definitely if you live in the DFW Park Place dealer is the dealer for your benz.

LILBENZ230

It should all be covered.. never heard of them charging you to replace a camshaft solenoid under recall. Tons of people have paid nothing. That said, glad you got it worked out. I suspected the oil in the harness might have been causing your problem.

Midnight05C230

excellent! I went to the stealers the other day for an oil filter and was advised of the cam solenoid campaign.. my car just threw a CEL for o2 sensor the other day too.. so Im hoping Im getting free o2 sensors out of this lol.

BMWM3_C230

Lilbenz, I agree with you. Even the service adviser said this is weird. but that is what they only covered .


Midnight05, I would definitly take it in. you will get both your O2 sensors replaced. Take advantage of what you payed for as an engineered luxury car

Midnight05C230

She is going in at Noon today, I will post results.. they said they will either be putting in something to prevent the oil from leaking (if its not already) which will take 1.5 hours, or replace a bunch of stuff if any damage is done which would be 3-5 days and I would get a loaner.. Im hoping for the latter

Midnight05C230

Update: Theyre keeping her a few days to replace the harness and anything else that was damaged. Im now rolling a c250 with 2800 miles on her, I feel special even though Im not feeling the interior 1 bit other than the instrument cluster.

BMWM3_C230

i'm still rolling with the 2011 C300 (loaner) ... they are waiting for the computer to get ready before i can get it.... loaner for a week is awsome (i was lucky to hit the weekend ). But i agree with you i definitely not liking the interior much more then the bluetooth option i wonder if i can add it to my benz

Midnight05C230

Hahah Im 6'2" and first thing I did getting into this thing was hit my head twice. Heated seats are awesome.. not sure with this 'blue efficiency' means but appears to be getting horrible mpg. Im sure you can add the bluetooth, run a search on the forum for what you would need.

habrielaCriss

I will be taking my car in this week.

LILBENZ230

Stupid BlueEfficiency badging makes no sense. They're deleting it next year across the board.

BMWM3_C230

i dont know how accurate but that C300 (V6) spend between 35-40 mpg accroding to the consumption monitor. which isnt bad i felt my c230 (4cyl) spend more gas... but again that is probably cause all the sensors were messed up....

Midnight05C230

Slight update, new harness is installed along with 2 new o2 sensors, and some other sensors I dont recall the names of.. still finishing her up and should have it back by Friday morning. They said only thing wrong with the car is the caster bushings (yes Mercedes of Chandler referred to them as bushings) and they quoted me at only 3.8 hours of labor and $677 to replace them.. good God that is ridiculous.

BMWM3_C230

What is a caster bushing lol?

Did they charge you anything for one of the sensors?

The only thing that upset me when I got my car back, the top plastic cover that have the Benz name on it. It was a bit not aligned like it was before I dropped it.
When I took it back. they said this is normal ware & tear and if I need a new one installed it's 200$ even though when I took my car in the cover was completely intact and look perfect as if I just bought the car.

This time it was a different service advisor and she looked at me like oh it’s a 2005 C class get a life kind of facial expression. Which makes me now put mine up for sale. And stay in my BMW world

BMWM3_C230

never mind i found what caster bushings are.... I feel they have to charge something to perform that recall.

Midnight05C230

I went to pick mine up this morning.. they drove the car around and left the drivers window down (how unprofessional is that?) so I hop in, drive off, and attempt to roll the driver window up when the button popped out and wouldnt roll up.. I was pissed, so I turn around and jump out had a little talk with my SA, who tried to tell me 'those break sometimes' I had to go into 20% dick mode and advise my ***** was working fine when I dropped the car off (not to mention windows were both up) and they brought her around with the 1 window down that happens to be the one that button is now broke. SA tried to send me out in hot as hell AZ with a window that wont roll up (not to mention my 5yr old hates the windows down) and schedule a repair at a later date. Thankfully he was cool when I refused and put me back in the loaner. I did pick her up after work tonight and everything seems to be working and in order so far, new harness has some bulky connectors (ziptied!) up near the front of the valve cover however.

LittleBlackyC23

I was reading here that MB has a recall on C230's for camshaft solenoid leaking oil into harness, sensors and control module. Is that recall still open? Can I get this repair job by MB for no charge?
My 2003 MB C230 compressor with 75k miles has the check engine light on and P0170 fault code. Took it to Knauz Continental Autos in Lake Bluff, IL and they told me the Camshaft Solenoids were leaking oil
into the wire harness and they needed to replace solenoids, wire harness, engine control Module, O2 sensors as they have oil contamination. They want me to pay for it all. I told them there is an open recall campaign
for the camshaft solenoid. The cost to replace these items is $3500. They don't deny the recall, they just claim MB id not responsible to replace these components. I went home with the engine light still on as I'm not paying
$3500 to fix this car. What's your take on this; MB responsible to fix car or me? If a recall is it still valid and open, what will they fix, what is recall number? What are my options? Please advise. Trade it in on a Chevy?

RedGray

There are different types of recalls. My guess is that MB would install the wiring harness extenders on the camshaft adjusters. Irrc, they cost ~~$35 each. You could install them in 5mins. However, all of the other damage would NOT be covered under a recall. Those are warranty items.
Fwiw, since those items were damaged by something that had a recall, your MB Dealer might do the work at a discount. But, it would still likely be higher than the cost if done by an independent.

Fwiw, if those items you mentioned show signs of oil contamination, then even if they did "work for a while", they WOULD fail in time.
Would that time be 1 day or 3 years? Who knows. But, do you want to be driving the car when that component fails?

So, yes, if those items you mentioned show signs of oil contamination, then they MUST be replaced.

If the rest of the car is in good shape, you could try to put it on craigs list, or something.
The engine control module would be the biggest problem for a DYIer. Still, for ~$600, an used one bought, and as long as the original "still works", then the original can be cloned into an used controller. Note: Dealers and most mechanics WILL NOT DO THIS! Since, it likely goes against MB "policies". So, an independent could then loose access to the MB diagrams/parts/etc network.
So, my guess is that for ~$2K-$3K, a DYIer could fix the issues.

As for a reliable car, buy a Camry, Fusion, or Accord. For used, by certified for those models. *Imho*, all nice cars, but boring. :-) Unless of course, you know far far far more than everyone else in the world. There are many reasons why those cars are the top sellers.

LittleBlackyC23

RedGray: Thanks much for your input. Right now the car is running great, but as you said it WILL fail eventually. I better not go on any long trips with it and have my UBER app ready for use. I did contact MB main office customer service and they will get back with me this week. Maybe they will do something for me. If not I plan to trade the C230 in on something new. Thanks again and Happy Easter.

LittleBlackyC23

RedGray: The dealer did install the camshaft adjustment solenoid adapter wire harness extenders, as a cheap fix (at no cost to me). They told me that would prevent any additional oil leakage into the wire harness. I guess the oil will continue to leak, just not into the wire harness and onto the engine components like the sensors and control module. They claim this is all that the campaign requires them to repair. The additional components damaged by the solenoid oil leak apparently are not covered in the recall campaign. Those would, as you say, would have to be covered under warranty. This 15 yr. old car is not covered under warranty, so I guess I am out of luck having MB repair it at their cost. The cost of repair equals or exceeds the cars value, making this car a total lose. I feel that I would be throwing good money after bad making these repairs. I guess I am convincing myself of how I should proceed.

LittleBlackyC23

I heard back from MB customer service representative Irena in New Jersey. She offered me $250 coupon for service or parts at any MB dealer location. That told me I was not going to get this fixed by MB. So I went out and traded the MB in on a new Toyota 4-runner TRD off road premium SUV. I am very happy with it. They did not give me what the MB was worth, but I was happy to be rid of it. MB emailed me with a survey of satisfaction. I told them I was very unhappy with MB and would spend the rest of my life bad mouthing MB to any and all that would listen. I went on telling them that their customer service rep. made me into an MB hater! Two weeks later I got a call from the MB dealer service dept that I had taken it to originally; and they told me they would fix my car completely free of charge. I had to tell them, I no longer owned it, I got rid of it. So, for those of you that have a problem with MB, and you will, just remember to not stop complaining and maybe you will get satisfaction.

crappyc230

I had this same exact TSB about a year ago. My car was throwing a code for the upstream 02 sensor and I took it to the dealer to be checked out. They prob only just ziptied my harness up like they did they other guy. Pigtail they called it lol. They would not replace my 02 sensor as they said it did not affect it. Yeah, that oil running down it was just fine lol. Changed it myself for $100. Code gone