Peydidy

Hey everyone, This is a follow up post of some more issues that have popped up after getting my 2005 C230 sedan repaired from the accident it was involved in. Heres the link to more info about the original issues: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ge-advice.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...r-my-hood.html


I apologize for my post being such a long read, just didn't want to leave out any details.

So to bring everyone up to speed heres basically what happened after I took the car to the shop:

October 9th Car was involved in the accident that damaged the radiator and caused coolant to leak.

October 11th-November 13th Car was at a body shop that MB recommended me to for a whole month to get the repairs done. insurance took for ever to approve everything and the shop took a long time to even start working on my car.

Everything that was repaired during this time was cosmetic except for the
Radiator being replaced (aftermarket) and a new front shield. I was told those were the only things I needed to fix to get the car back to running perfectly. Got the car back on November 13th and drove it off shop's lot no problems at all.

November 14-December 4 was gone on a trip most of this time and also had my CLK500 that I mainly drove, only drove the C230 a total of 225 miles during this time period of about 3 weeks. No issues at all during this time, car ran fine like it always has.

December 5th I Drove the car 1 mile to go to the grocery store, no problems on the drive there, drove like it always has. When I was then leaving I backed out of my parking spot and felt the steering wheel was kind of tight and felt weird. I immediately knew something was wrong and after driving less then 20 feet (still in the same parking lot) I pulled into an open spot to check out whats going on. I saw that I was leaking transmission oil everywhere. Popped the hood and there was trans oil all over.

Had the car towed to the MB dealership and had them diagnose it.

December 6th Got A call from my SA saying that they found the issue, it was only a hose that had became loose for some reson and would be a simple $600 fix (to fix the loose hose, add trans fluid, and clean up under the hood were oil was) I thought okay not to bad I was expecting worst so I told the SA to go ahead and fix it.

December 7th Got another call from my SA saying they fixed the issue filled it up with trans fluid and took it for a test drive to make sure it was running find and it blew up on them again. He said that they then fixed it again filled it with fluid went for a test drive and the same issue happened.
He said that they then found out the reason for this issue was not from a bad hose but really it was because the shop my car had the accident repair done at used an aftermarket radiator which was causing my transfluid to over head and burst everywhere. He said it would cost $1,000 for the OEM radiator Plus labor to put it on. I told him I wanted my insurance to get involved because they only were willing to pay for an aftermarket one and MB is telling me it wont work unless it is OEM.

My SA said to go ahead and tow it back to the shop I had the repairs originally done at, have them send up all the paper work to my insurance, put in an OEM radiator then bring it back to MB to have them preform the same thing they did last time and clean up the oily parts under the hood.

My SA said NOT to start the car for any reason because it would cause damage. I asked him to right a note on the car to not start it and tell the tow guy not to start the car when he comes to tow the car back to the original repair shop. SA said "I will make sure no one turns on the car or drives it."

I met the tow truck at the original body shop, when the tow truck driver got there I asked him "you didn't start the car right"
He said that MB told him it was fine to start it and drive it just not to drive it too far and that there was no note about not starting/driving the car anywhere.

December 8-January 22 Car was back at the body shop for well over a month! They took extremely long because they "were busy with the holidays"? Doesn't make sense to me how they could take a hole month without even touching the car..but thats not the point.

After the long awaited time I get a call from the body shop on January 17th saying I need a new OEM radiator and a new OEM condenser and after those get changed it should be back to perfect.
I gave them the go to order the parts and get them on

January 22 Get a call from the shop saying car is ready to go and that they test drove it and everything was running perfectly with no issues at all. They recommended I take it to MB to get a final look at everything.

I go and have the car towed directly from the body shop back to the same MB dealership for the final inspection.

Keep in mind I have not driven the car or even sat inside the car sinceDecember 5th when the car broke down in the parking lot

January 23 I get a call from my SA saying that my check engine light is now on and I need a new O2 sensor and that 4 other codes are showing up and not clearing. He also said the trans is slipping and I may need a new Transmission but they need to do more diagnostics before they know forsure, I asked him to email me the diagnostic. (will post at the end of the post)



So to review...

I have NOT had possession of the car since December 5th when the break down in the parking lot happened, there was no check engine light when this happened. There was no check engine light when the shop came from the dealership back to the body shop, and no check engine light when the car left the body shop to go back to the dealer. Also I have never experienced any transmission issues at all or ever felt it slip at all.

Also another thing that didn't make sense to me was that when I asked my SA if it is accident related he said "most likely because you drove the car with no transfluid in it so that is what probably is causing your transmission issues". I did not drive the car more then a total of 25-35 feet when it started leaking trans fluid, there was still plenty fluid leaking out after I stopped also so its not like i drove it dry.

But the big red flag was if he is saying the check engine light and transmission slipping was caused by the break down in the parking lot why is it that there is nothing about any codes or transmission issues on my diagnostic paper from December 7th when it was at the same dealership after the break down but now the issues are popping up?

I am completely lost on what to do, I feel like the Dealership is trying to screw me over and I really can't afford to keep pouring money into this car. I was going to sell it but all these issues happened which is keeping me from selling the car.

I plan on going to the dealership tomorrow morning and driving the car my self for the first time since december 5th to see if the transmission is really slipping or not.

Any advice would be appreciated and to anyone who took the time to read all that thank you very much for taking the time, sorry for it being such a long read, just wanted to include every detail.

Also sorry if I made grammatical or spelling mistakes anywhere, I am cramming last min studying for finals in the mixed of all this.


Pictures under the hood from December 5th parking lot break down




Pictures of the January 23 Diagnostic from the MB dealership

Carsy

I think you need to talk to MB USA .Give them all the facts & ask fora resolution.

Most important thing in you life right now are the finals. Concentrate all your efforts on them.

JC

Glyn M Ruck

Make sure no oil has got anywhere near the O2 sensor connectors. It would cause bad readings. If not you probably do need a sensor or two.

Regarding the transmission I would say that sub standard parts/workmanship approved by your insurers has lead to this potential transmission damage & that they should be liable to make right.

SunnyRayToronto

Pre-cat or post-cat 02 sensor?

I'm guessing pre-cat 02 sensor. The post-cat 02 sensor has its sender unit (electrical connector plug) on driver side of engine near bottom. The pre-cat 02 sensor has its sender unit (electrical connector plug) closer to passenger side,... where your oil bath happened,.... Oil likely took time to flow into pre-cat sender unit,.... triggering your CEL. Use CRC QD Electrical Cleaner to spray electrical connector of pre-cat sender unit. Remember, key out of ignition and car off,... then unplug those connectors and spray.

speed7

Call Nick at Peninsula Mercedes. He's in Redwood City. Give him the run down and say Stephen with the silver C55 sent you. If he doesn't remember me (pretty sure he will), tell him I work around the corner on Bay.

650-367-7380

2745 Spring Street Unit A
Redwood City, California 94063

speed7

And from now on take your cars to him. And only him.

ncmudbug

Peydidy,

Sorry I don't have any advice beyond the good advice you've already gotten. Sorrier that you're having so much trouble and getting the run-around from everybody it seems. Hopefully this will get resolved soon and in your favor. It's unconscionable that MB makes such good cars and so often gives such incompetent service!

Good luck!

kirax2

you got all the paperwork and proof?

if you do maybe send them to your insurance company so they can total the car for you instead so you can get all the money back ya?

things are kinda tough when dealership and 3rd party body shop are involve... now its like blaming game...

Peydidy

Thank you for your advice, I will give them a call tomorrow

Thank you for the info Glyn, I will contact my insurance company tomorrow regarding the transmission issue.

One thing I wanted to ask you, is it possible for the oil to damage the 02 sensor but the check engine light to not go come on until a later time? I ask this because the check engine light was not on when I the original break down in the parking lot happened, nor was it on when the car left the body shop to go to MB. I have never even seen the cars check engine light be on until today when I went to MB to see the car. It just doesn't make sense to me how the car could be perfectly fine before it goes to MB and have a world of problems as soon as it gets there, especially considering it was towed there and not even driven other then the body shop doing a test drive to make sure everything was fine before leaving.

Thank you for the information sunny, I am not 100% sure if its post-cat or pre-cat but I assume it is pre-cat. The CEL didn't come on during the time after the oil going everywhere, even after a month of sitting in the body shop the cell still didn't come on. It didn't come on until after it arrived at the MB dealership for the final inspection.

Thank you for the reference, If things don't work out with the indy I took it to today I will be giving nick a call


Thank you for your kind words, It truly is a shame that they figure they car rip us off and push us around just because they assume we have money because were benz owners. Truly ashamed, I most likely will be sticking with indys from now on, no more dealer work other then warranty covered things for my CLK.

Yes I do have all the paper work, I need to call my insurance tomorrow and see what they say, hopefully they will be some help
Thanks for the advice jordan

Peydidy

UPDATE: January 24

I couldn't get much sleep last night wondering how bad the transmition and everything else on my car was and I just had to see it for my self. I decided to leave a little earlier in the morning and stop at the MB dealership my car was at before going to work.

I didn't call prior to going I just showed up, from the second I arrived I knew something was fishy.

To make things easier Ill do this in time sequenced order

9AM

I arived at the dealership and went to my SA office, the second he saw me he seemed a little shocked. I asked him if he found out any more information about the issues, he said no we haven't touched it since our original diagnostic.

I asked him if theres any way I could see the car and do a short drive in it with a technician to see how the transmission issue felt. He seemed to get a little nervous at this point but said ya sure I will call over one of the techs and have them come over with the car so you can drive it. I said sounds good and I waited there a few mins while he left to go talk to the tech.

He comes back 5 mins later and says looks like the car is almost out of gas, I am having my tech drive it over to get gas them come take you for the drive. He then told me to go wait in the wait room for a few mins while the tech gets gas.

I went to the waiting room and sat down and well waited.

9:30 AM

After waiting 25 minuets in the waiting room I go back to find my SA and ask him whats taking so long. I was in a rush because I had to be at work at 10 and I had told my SA that when I originally arrived at the dealer.

He told me that the car was completely out of gas to the point it wouldn't even turn on so they needed to find a gas container. He said it should only be 5-10 more mins. He told me to go back to the waiting room and that he will come get me when the car is ready.

I go back to the waiting room and continue waiting.

10 AM

Another 25 minuets had passed of me waiting in the waiting room, I was now late for work, I called my boss to explain what happened and he was extremely understanding. I went and found my SA and told him how I am late for work and have been waiting an hour at this point, it should be taking this long. He left to go find the tech that was soposed to be dealing with finding gas. He comes back 4 minuits later and says we cant find any gas containers and need to wait for our road side assistence guy to come back from a call so we can use one of those gas containers.

Now understand that this is a VERY big dealership, I don't see how this huge dealership can not find one gas container anywhere. I asked how much longer it would be, and he said no longer then 15 mins.

I figured, I have waited this long I might as well wait a bit more

10:30 AM

30 mins of waiting in the waiting room passed and I was now REALLY late for work (The dealership is 45 mins from my work and I was soposed to be there at 10).

I go find the SA and tell him I am really late for work and need to leave soon, and ask how much longer its going to take. He said that apparently the road side assistance car is now on another call and wont be back for atleast another hour and a half.

At this point I new he was just trying to stall me to the point I leave, to many things just weren't making sense. Something was obviously going on, it should be this hard for a dealership this big to get a little bit of gas.


I wasn't going to wait anther hour and half just to be told to wait longer. I had enough so at this point I said let me see the car myself. He took me to my car and I tried starting it and it really was out of gas.

I said I don't have an hour and a half of time to waist, I will go buy a gas container my self and bring gas my self.

I leave and go to the gas station that was literally a 45 second drive from the dealer buy a gas container and bring back 2 gallons of gas.
Pored it in and started the car up.


The car started up and surely the check engine light was on

The tech came over and we went for the drive at first the cars transmission was changing gears extremely harshly but it didn't get stuck in second gear or go into limp mode like they said it was doing.

The car felt VERY under powered, it didn't make a difference how much I pushed down on the gas it still was very very under powered.

Also I couldn't feel the normal boost from the kommpressor when I would push the gas hard.

After driving the car for a few minuets in the street I took it on the freeway and drove to down a few miles and back. The more I drove it the better the gear shifts started to feel and the better the power started to feel.

Towards the end I could feel the Kompressor even kicking in a bit

Even after all this the car still felt under powered but still better then when we first started driving it. Gear shifts weren't perfect, but A LOT better then how it first was.


When we got back to the dealer I asked my SA what the next step is to getting the car back too running like normal.
He said I would need to pay another $175 for ANOTHER diagnostic and most likely need a new Transmission. Then spend more money after to fix the other codes that were showing up

I didn't trust that dealer or the SA at all, everything just seemed way to fishy to me.

I told my SA that I am going to tow the car back to the body shop and get the insurance involved

I called AAA and had them tow the car back to the body shop because the body shop guy said he knew of a very trusting and honest indy. The body shop also said that they would help me try to get my insurance company to help pay for all these repairs.

So now the car is back at the body shop and then being taken to the Indy tomorrow morning threw the body shop

I was at the dealer until 12:30 when the tow truck left with my car, I was extremely late for work, but luckily my boss was super understanding about everything.

I will update this thread when I find out more information regarding all this.

Thank you everyone that replayed to the post, I really appreciate all the information and advice everyone is giving.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes the pre cat sensor & possibly the pre cat is going to need replacement if oil is not the problem.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes ~ We know from the leaking cam magnet problem on the M271 that it usually takes time for oil to seep or migrate into the O2 sensor connectors. In that case from inside the harness insulation. In this case likely from outside.

We need to know what the hell the dealer did & we don't other than connecting a Star.

EDIT: P ~ I really think you are doing the right thing getting the insurance company involved again. They approved a half baked repair on the car & they must shoulder the consequences & make you whole.

ncmudbug

I know you're not out of the woods yet, but it sounds like things may be moving in the right direction. Keep us posted!

loudandheard

I did my own transmission flush on my C32 and tried to pull trans line that connected to the radiator. I didn't realize I didn't reinstall the line correctly and it spewed all over my engine bay while I was driving. This happened a few times until I figured out what the problem actually was and I'm sure I drove with the trans fluid being fairly low for at least a few miles. I didn't drive hard, but I could definitely feel there was something going on with the trans. After I refilled the fluid everything was fine. No issues at all.

From what you've described, I just can't see the tranny having issues because the car wasn't even driven with low trans fluid. Something definitely sounds fishy and I'm sure they were not doing what they were suppose to. Another thing that sounded fishy is that the car was out of gas, so someone's been driving it.

hcoronado

is the dealership over in Fremont where you had all this trouble?

speed7

I can say from personal experience the dealership in Belmont is scandalous. They would "hint" to me while my car was under warranty. Things for me to say so they could do work on my car. I was never out of money but my car always has some crazy issue that was covered under the CPO.

But as soon as the warranty was up and I stopped taking it to them. The issues mysteriously disappeared. CRAZY!!

Also MB of walnut creek is terrible too.

From what I found, they were all about how many cars they could pump out a day. And then because of this rush mentality.. they would fix things wrong.. cause other damage to my car (gash in the paint from a screw driver, messing up the center console, etc)

That's why I stand behind Nick at Peninsula Mercedes. He does 2 cars a day.. you have to schedule in advance (weeks usually 2-3). He's the owner AND the mechanic. And he's the ONLY one there. His overhead is low and he fixes your car right. And like magic it comes out better than when you dropped it off.. shocking I know.

And honestly I'm super bummed that I no longer live in the area. I did a HUGE amount of research for a good indy mechanic and everything pointed to him. In San Diego I had my buddy.. who is top notch so my standards were super high.

KHARBAT1

" I need your help MBworld, Stealerships trying to screw me "

They are not trying , they done it . Unbelievable , sorry you had to go through all of this .

SunnyRayToronto

As much as I hate defending Mercedes-Benz Stealerships,....

Actually, your Mercedes-Benz Dealerships is NOT screwing with you. Although,... they likely didn't do as thorough a job cleaning all the transmission oil,... after it exploded in your engine bay like 5 times! And that's likely why you're now getting the 02 sensor CEL,... it's likely caused by oil getting into your O2 sensor sender unit (black tampon-like plug) connected to 02 sensor wire. Clean it yourself with the CRC QD Electrical Cleaner like I suggested.

The one that really screwed you,... was your insurance company! For allowing the installation a non-OEM radiator. You should always insist on Genuine Mercedes-Benz parts,... after all, that's what was damaged in the accident,.... so that's what should be the replacement,... Genuine Mercedes-Benz parts (or OEM parts with slightly lower costs!). But it seems they allowed the installation of an aftermarket radiator,... likely not even OEM,... but probably generic universal radiator. Does that radiator even have a transmission cooler unit? If not, that's probably why your transmission keeps overheating and exploding!

Peydidy

Yes I agre with what you are saying about the oil leaking into the 02 sensor, but I just don't understand how the car could be driving fine right before it gets towed to the dealership with no check engine light, no trans issues, or any of the other problems. If the only issue was the 02 sensor I would completely understand, pay for the repair and be one with it... but a new trans just seems outrageous. I would clean it like you said but the car is now at the indy to see what there diagnostic says.

Thanks for your advice and time, as soon as I get the car back I will clean it how you said and report back

Thanks man, it really does suck, hopefully it will work out some how

I have had bad experiences with MB Walnut creek my self it seems like all of them are a bit corrupt. But wow nick sounds like an extremely great guy, I will be contact him tomorrow, sounds like a great place, Plus I really do need a good indy mechanic for future services and things too. Appreciate the reference

Yes the one on auto mall parkway

Exactly my point, everything just doesn't line up. Thank you for sharing your experience, it helps show me that it really doesn't make sense for my trans to be damaged from the few feet of driving I had before I pulled back over.

Will do

Insurance company sadly has not been in contact with me yet, tried calling them friday and my adjuster didn't pick up, I left a message but never heard back. I will be calling back tomorrow and going from there.
Thank you for your help Glyn I extremely appreciate it.

shaystudies

Peydidy, so i read your forums about the issues youre having with the car and i am sorry that you are going through all the trouble. i live in San Jose and i gotta say the dealerships here F***** rip you OFF. However, i am still a slave to them but personally i would recommend going to Smythe European in San Jose if you have any more dealer related issues. Also if you are looking for an Indy then go visit Southbay Autohaus which is also in San Jose and look for Jesse, tell him Shay with the C230 sent you he'll take care of your car as if it were his own. Lastly, one thing i'd recommend is for you to change your insurance company, yeah it may be a little more expensive then other cheap ones but reliable and known companies wont screw you over i am saying this from my experience. Other than that i really hope your benz starts running perfect again and PM me if you need help with anything i am fairly close to fremont.

Peydidy

Thank you man, I found a great indy that I took my car too but i will save the name of the one you told me of if I ever need a different indy. I am about to update this thread in a few mins about a few new things that have happened in the past few days with the car. Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it!

Peydidy

UPDATE

So after my trip to the dealership on january 24th I felt too sketchy to leave it there any longer so I had it towed back to the body shop it originally had work done at and then it was directl taken to the indy that I was refereed to by them.

Here is the update:

January 25th

So the car was at the indy for a day having diagnostic done and I got a call at the end of the day from them.
They told me that they looked into the transmission issue and found that it was 2qts low on transmission fluid.
WAIT A SECOND! When the car was taken to MB it had the correct amount of trans fluid and when it left MB when it was running poorly its 2qts short HM.

OH WAIT ANTHER SECOND even if the 2 qts of trans fluid magically disappeared big MB professional, techs didn't think to check the trans fluid before saying I need a new transmission. It must have just slipped there minds

So the indy added the needed 2qts and tested for any leaks and found non. Now the car is running perfectly, if anything the gear shifts are smother then before the hole accident.

As for the check engine light they said I need a new mass airflow sensor, had them change that and the check engine light is gone now and the car is running 100% perfectly.

I picked up the car the next morning and drove it around the past few days and have not had a single issue with how it drives.

Now theres ONE MORE ISSUE

The alternator turns out is bad, not sure if its accident related or not, either way it needs a new one.

There goes another $350, its back at the indy getting that changed and I am soposed to get the car back in the morning.

SO it review. MB basically took out 2 qts of trans fluid out of my car to try to get a little extra money out of me. Well I have one thing o say to MB Fletcher Jones in Fremont; f*ck you!

I am going there tomorrow to try to speak to my SA and his manager about this. I want them to re-ebmers me for the original $800 they charged me to do all this BS to my car and re-embers me for the money I had to pay to the indy for these issues but I am 99% positive they are just going to denny everything and give me the usually dealer BS.

Akhafeez

Yes!! good news man! Yeah go own the MB dealership

speed7

This is actually why I think Mercedes doesn't do as well as they could here in the states. Every dealership jacks up the cost of parts. Then either can't fix the car correctly, or pulls stunts like this.

And its not just the consumer that is hurt in this game. Its Mercedes as a whole.

When I was having work done on my car.... yeah don't want to get into it.. but the dealership charged Mercedes corporate thousands of dollars. So yeah I wasted my time but it wasn't out of my pocket.

In the end it hurts their profits and it hurts the customer satisfaction. To the point where I question if I'll ever be a Mercedes owner again. I mean if the dealerships can't work on their own cars to cover a warranty claim, then do I really want to purchase their products?

I wish there was some way to voice these concerns to MB corporate and have them fix their crap-tastic dealerships.

ncmudbug

Go Get 'em Peydidy!

It's great that you seem to have found a good indy! That should save you a lot of money and hassle in the future!