spindrome

i was getting off the freeway after work yesterday. after a complete stop, i made a right turn. it felt like the car stalled and had no power whatsoever. i floored it, and nothing, nada, zilch. it felt like the engine died, but i know it didn't since the steering didn't lock up, and i was creeping really slow. it felt like the car was starting in 4th gear. it didn't feel like a fuel problem or anything like that.

all of a sudden the car accelerates as it should (in 1st i assume). scared the crap out of me.

has this happened to anyone else with an auto? can someone explain what happened?

oh and another thing happened yesterday. my left tail light went out (right one went out about a month ago). What's up with that? All of my previous 6 other cars never had tail lights go out. i start the car later (when i leave from work) and the computer doesn't recognize the bad tail light anymore.

things that make you go hmmmmm....

mleskovar

Engine dying/rough idle/lurching all are symptoms of bad fuel pump...even mentioned in MB tech bulletins. Right stop light burned out at 11 months.

jpgroom

W have only 2k miles on our C230 Auto and the engine/tranny are perfect so far. Sounds like Circle-K gas to me, they don't filter.

dmichael

Regarding tail-light-out warning;
Apparently, correct me if I am wrong - you only get one warning message on a bad bulb, then the computer resets itself on your next startup even though the bulb is still bad? That does not sound logical. It should keep warning until the problem gets corrected. Maybe thats the way is should work, and it is not functioning properly in your car. Anyone else experience this?

WyattEarp

At about 550 miles my coupe would hesitate and almost completely stop under hard acceleration while getting on the freeway or while making tight turns. <BR>At first I thought it was the ESP so I switched it off but this wasn't it. Later the same day another MB Owner pulled up next to me and told me my tailights were flashing on and off light christmas tree lights.<BR>This made me think the ABS was going nuts so I finally called up the dealer and scheduled an emergency appt.<BR>To make a long story short they found a faulty Brake Light Switch triggering on and off by itself. Apparently when the switch is activated it signals the computer to cut off or reduce fuel.<BR><BR><B>&lt;RANT&gt;</B><BR>I have a small problem with this design in that it fails to follow a hierachichal state machine design with memory (i.e. <I>step on brake -> activate brake light switch -> cut off fuel</I>. The #3 command <I>cut off fuel</I> has two dependencies 1) <i>step on brake</I>, 2) <i>activate brake light</i>. Only when both commands are performed synchronously should the third command execute). It makes me wonder how many more logic programming errors exist in the C Class source code.<BR><B>&lt;/RANT&gt;</B>

spindrome

yeah, i thought of that too. i got gas yesterday morning and double checked my receipt. it was Chervron super @ $1.49/gallon....

i didn't experience any rough idling or anything like that. weird...

spindrome

fuel.<BR><BR><B>&lt;RANT&gt;</B><BR>I have a small problem with this design in that it fails to follow a hierachichal state machine design with memory (i.e. <I>step on brake -> activate brake light switch -> cut off fuel</I>. The #3 command <I>cut off fuel</I> has two dependencies 1) <i>step on brake</I>, 2) <i>activate brake light</i>. Only when both commands are performed synchronously should the third command execute). It makes me wonder how many more logic programming errors exist in the C Class source code.<BR><B>&lt;/RANT&gt;</B> [/B][/QUOTE]

That's probably why we can't pull breakstands on our cars. Not that 168hp is quite enough power to do so, but it sure would be nice...

rant:

Even with the auto in 1st, i dont get that "jump off the gun". power doesn't kick in until about 3000rpms. hopefully an upsolute chip will help out.

KWiK

No, I have not had this or any problem with my coupe. I'm just under 5K miles.

pel C

same thing in my 02 240 - especially noticable when shifting from reverse to drive - seems to take forever to engage (maybe a second or two?). I know, you're supposed to come to a complete stop, but hey....
In regard to acceleration, the car seems to shift better when when mashing the pedal, over being gentle (my style - this ain't the coupe -no letters, please)(now, my wife could tell you the red line number...). Anyone else notice this?

TimmyC230boy

I had it happen 1 time, but i later found out it was bad gas.

spindrome

LOL...that's not just a car problem over here....

renncpe

I think you hit on it, if you hit the brake and gas at the same time it kills the power. Insteed of loading the torque converter you get less fuel. I tried it with the ESP off and it seemed to work ok though. I like you sig I have several rock chips and srached tint, I'm got to use a front edge condom after I get them fixed. I have not resolved the scraching of the tint though.
Randy

1stBenz

Yes, this has happened to me and I recently got it fixed. The dealer replaced the ME Control Unit which seems to have solved the problem.

Smoke

paul-the-limey

Hi Spindrome. I had to do a double take as I thought I may have posted my problem once already - I had an identical thing to you today. I was at a junction and the car's power was dead. The symptom was no acceleration at all even though the engine was ticking over. It took 2-3 seconds of mild panic before it finally kiked back into life. Definately not a fuel problem in my view. The tickover was nice and smooth (700rpm). Just no accelerator.

I also had the problem with the rear brake light on the RHS of the car looking at it from the rear. The computer said the light was bad and replaced the brakes with "an alternative brake light". I replaced the brake light after about 1 week but in the meantime it was being intermittantly reported as faulty. I checked the bulb and it is fine. I put it in the other side and it has never complained about it.

I have one other bizzare symptom. When I indicate to turn sometimes the indicators slow down or miss a wink. This is more commonly occuring when I am braking at the same time but is only very occasional.

I'm of the opinion that the computer is screwed up and that in fact there is not a fault with any other components. My car is due for a service this Tuesday and I will report it to MB and see what they say. Trouble is that it's all so intermittent that the dealer is bound to fob me off.


My car is a C240 Auto April 2001. Do you think we are unwittingly beta testers for the software?

Cheers, Paul

xc240x

spindrome... this has happened to me on my 2001 c 240... driving normal, come to a stop, try to accelerate and the car does nothing like it was off, then kicks in out of no where. Happened to me often in my ml320, that's why i got rid of it, this car has only done it twice i think... two times too many if you ask me, but if it happens to me again, I'm gonna tell my dealer to change the fuel pump and all the other crap!

Silver-Estate

All this time I thought it was esp as well. After making a turn and getting on it would kill power intermittently 1/2 a second or so then power comes on dramatically like an afterburner or something - it's almost cartoonish in the way it happens. I can't recall if it's ever happened from a standstill while going straight. My wife who mainly drives the car - she's not thrifty with the pedal she get's on it - hasn't said anything. Although some of you reported there may be a connection with the brake light? The left brake light went out yesterday.

Folks with these brake light outages do the bulbs sometimes lose their secure connection in the socket? Or do they just die for the most part? Reason I ask, in my previous E-39 5 series the auxillary bulbs would occasionally come loose in the socket. A simple twist of the bulb would restore operation.

paul-the-limey

Hi,

After taking the car into MB for the fault (lack of acceleration for 1/2 - 1 1/2 seconds) they decided to replace the accelerator "potentiometer" (I think that's what it was called).

This did NOT fix the problem and I still get a dead accelerator pedal every now and then. It mainly occurs when the following is done:

1) Driving along quite normally 20-50Mph
2) Start a long slow brake to slow down to a junction/roundabout
3) Almost come to a stop (1-3 mph)
4) Take foot off brake and depress accelerator
5) Nothing happens for 0.5 to 1.5 seconds, car continues to coast at 1-3mph right into the flow of the traffic!!!!!
6) Panic!!!!!
7) Car decides to accelerate again
8) Back to normal

At the moment it seems to happen about once every 1000 miles or so. I do a lot of miles (1500+ per month) and therefore it happens every couple of weeks or so.

The people at MB seem not to care too much. In fact I would go so far as to say they are treating me like they thnk I am a complete Wa**ker as they cannot replicate the fault when they drive it and they give the impression that I am mad.

They seem to think that a fault that occurs once every 1000 miles will happen magically on cue when they take it out for a test drive!

What to do?!?!?

Cheers,


Paul-the-lime
aka Paul
UK Apri/01 C240 Auto Elegance
47000 Miles

cliffybabe

I had same thing on a diesel coupe see thread



https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=35213

KOMPCOUPE03

My '03 Komp Coupe did the same thing yesterday and a couple times before. Yesterday I slowed down to almost a stop and then accelerated and nothing-the damn thing wouldnt go!

I've had it hesitate before too like it is searching for the right gear.

Strange that it is happening to different models-they must have something in common that is failing.

I hope MBTECH reads these posts and can shed some light on the situation.

jhillman

I have noticed some of these types of problems on my 2003 C320 sedan, minus the brake light issue.

First, the transmission often seems to shift funny from 2-3 and from 3-4 gears under moderate-to-heavy acceleration. Just when it disengages the throttle to shift to the next gear, it will hesitate for a moment and then kick-in semi-abruptly when accelerating into the next gear. This is best described as a stutter. This stuttering sounds like engaging the next gear, then backing off very briefly, thenly re-engaging. Almost as if I killed the throttle right when hitting the next gear, then reapplied.

The other problem I believe is also related to the transmission, or maybe the throttle management system that works in conjunction with the transmission and shifting program. The other day, I was crusing at about 20 mph and accelerated sharply to get onto a freeway on ramp. I reached the top RPM range (far from red line) for the gear I was in (probably 3rd), and car went to shift on to the next gear. When it went to shift out of 3rd, it was like someone shut off the ignition (the throttle was cut off completely for about 1.5 seconds and the car slowed abruptly) though I still had my foot on the gas pedal. When the throttle and transmission re-engaged, it was in the next gear and accelerated rapidly. I've experienced this a few times since I've owned the car.

There has also been other discussion of this...

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=31153

I've had my car in for service related to this issue. The result, "Could not duplicate problem. Everything appears normal."

pokerFACE

well as far as lights go,

I've replaced ALL my exterior bulbs beginning at about 1.5 years of ownership. most common problem is with brake lamps and side marker lamps.

YEah, my turn signal skips a beat sometimes too.. It's a bit disconcerting.. I'm like WTF? it happens maybe once every week or two..

jhillman

I have also noticed my turn signals blinking irregularly with inconsistent time spacing inbetween the blinks. It's pretty subtle, but anyone with decent rhythm stability could pick up on it.