Flawed Intake Manifold Lead to Catastrophic Engine Failure
06-17-2015, 05:10 PM
#26
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2006 E350 4matic
This just happened to me!
I have a 2006 E350 4Matic, purchased used in 2008. I work from home; only drive to the supermarket.
Last week the check engine light comes on, I take to the dealer, they tell me my intake manifold is bent, and will cost $4,000 to repair.
They tell me a small plastic piece worth 2 dollars broke off.
This should absolutely be a TSB, but i paid it.
Only because I'm guying a house and cant take on new debt beforehand.
They day after my closing, I'm trading it in for a Tesla. No more service surprises
Last week the check engine light comes on, I take to the dealer, they tell me my intake manifold is bent, and will cost $4,000 to repair.
They tell me a small plastic piece worth 2 dollars broke off.
This should absolutely be a TSB, but i paid it.
Only because I'm guying a house and cant take on new debt beforehand.
They day after my closing, I'm trading it in for a Tesla. No more service surprises
06-19-2015, 06:03 PM
#27
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2008 ML 320 CDI. Use to own 2003 C320 wagon and 2005 C240 4M wagon (what was I thinking...)
I would replace the heads, intake etc. with used parts and put a "For Sale" sign on the car. You hardly see any more 2001-2005 W203s on the road because most are in the scrapyards. I would not put major new parts on a W203 since the resale is low and buyers can quickly do a search and get 2 pages of problems with these cars on their first Google of M272 and W203 Problems.
I drove Mercedes exclusively for 17 years and had a C240 and C320. I'm happy they are gone. The only Mercedes with worse quality problems were the W211s, so that's saying something. What gets me is Mercedes approach to defects, and there are many on almost every model is to fix the problem under warranty and pretend it never happened. Owning an MB now out of warranty is going to be a painful experience.
I've put in at least $6K into my 2009 ML 320 CDI to fix known MB defects for this model since the warranty expired. Car has 70K on it. So much for the "bullet proof" and "million mile" history of MB diesels.
Issue is that Mercedes wants to be in every class and compete on price. Fact is that they suck at building cheaper cars. Over engineering and cheap plastic parts don't mix. Bad design and cheap parts sum up a lot of the problems with post 2000 MBs.
I drove Mercedes exclusively for 17 years and had a C240 and C320. I'm happy they are gone. The only Mercedes with worse quality problems were the W211s, so that's saying something. What gets me is Mercedes approach to defects, and there are many on almost every model is to fix the problem under warranty and pretend it never happened. Owning an MB now out of warranty is going to be a painful experience.
I've put in at least $6K into my 2009 ML 320 CDI to fix known MB defects for this model since the warranty expired. Car has 70K on it. So much for the "bullet proof" and "million mile" history of MB diesels.
Issue is that Mercedes wants to be in every class and compete on price. Fact is that they suck at building cheaper cars. Over engineering and cheap plastic parts don't mix. Bad design and cheap parts sum up a lot of the problems with post 2000 MBs.
06-21-2015, 11:52 PM
#28
Super Moderator
Tesla LOL Talk to a few owners all of the ones I do have had at least 1 or 2 stupid issues that would cost a fortune out of warranty.
They are cool cars but have tons of electronics in them as well as Mercedes parts so you wouldn't be completely away from the brand.
They are cool cars but have tons of electronics in them as well as Mercedes parts so you wouldn't be completely away from the brand.
Last edited by samaritrey; 06-21-2015 at 11:56 PM.
08-24-2020, 03:07 AM
#29
Junior Member
Yes, I know this thread is half a decade old, but does anyone happen to know if the check engine light code was p201c? I am worried that this has happened to my car as well. Also, is this a common problem in the w203? I have the 2005 kompressor.
P201C
Raw code: 201C
ECU: 01
Status: Test has not been completed, Validated and stored in non volatile memory
OBDII: Intake manifold air control actuator, bank 2 - supply voltage low
P201C
Raw code: 201C
ECU: 01
Status: Test has not been completed, Validated and stored in non volatile memory
OBDII: Intake manifold air control actuator, bank 2 - supply voltage low
Last edited by lacelane; 08-24-2020 at 04:31 PM.
08-25-2020, 04:44 AM
#30
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2003 C230K Coupe Orion Blue
You have a M271 engine that was only used for years 2003-2005. It is unrelated to the OP's problem.
According to the internets P201C is the fuel mixture being too rich. That can be anything from the oxygen sensors to the MAF.
Did you ever have the crankcase breather hoses (including the $12 hose) and check valve replaced under recall? The dealer will know if you provide them your VIN. Might as well look while you're poking around in the engine. When these went on me (turned out the check valve had completely disintegrated), there was no CEL for me personally but there was a noticeable loss in performance and increased fuel consumption which would imply a rich mixture.
$12 hose
M271 crankcase breather hose, check valve replace
According to the internets P201C is the fuel mixture being too rich. That can be anything from the oxygen sensors to the MAF.
Did you ever have the crankcase breather hoses (including the $12 hose) and check valve replaced under recall? The dealer will know if you provide them your VIN. Might as well look while you're poking around in the engine. When these went on me (turned out the check valve had completely disintegrated), there was no CEL for me personally but there was a noticeable loss in performance and increased fuel consumption which would imply a rich mixture.
$12 hose
M271 crankcase breather hose, check valve replace
Last edited by slammer111; 08-25-2020 at 04:48 AM.
08-25-2020, 11:59 PM
#31
Junior Member
I had every recall done except the newest one, which is the moonroof panel of some sort. I've been getting letters about it. So weird, one code says rich, one says lean. Isn't this like the opposite of each other? I have a p0171 code and a p201c code. The mpg had been going down slowly, now it's just unbearable to watch at 14.5 mpg in the city. I had my mechanic change the MAF, he owed me one, so he changed it. I normally wouldn't have changed it, but the mpg went down from 27 mpg in the hwy, to 22 mpg when I asked him to replace my MAF. After that change of of MAF, the mpg went up to 27 again, and then it dropped to 14.9 in the city or something like that. Then the chugging at idle came about. What could have gone wrong, and you think it's related to the mechanic changing the MAF?
09-04-2020, 01:32 PM
#32
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2007 C230 Mercedes Benz Sport
Intake manifold
I thought maybe that after i had an oil change that somehow that would cause the chugging i never had before. Turns out 2 cylinders were misfiring and some other repairs 1800.later the mechanic said i probably needed an intake mainfold and that would be an additional 1800+ but it fixed the problem for bout 2 months and now its doing it again! Gonna tow it to the dealership this time. They replaced my alternator last year. I do love my2007 c230. But so far in the past 2 years i have had to buy 12 new tires, alternator, that last repair and now this! And the way its running probably not get much for a trade in value. Such a bummer. Not to mention i live in an area where no mechanics work on Mercedes. And i dont think i want the last guy to do another repair and its 90 miles to tow it to the clisest dealer cause no way could i trust it to make it all the way there!
