I picked up a 2004 C230K with 32000 miles on it about 6 months ago. I have a buddy who works at a local MB dealer so he ran the VIN and wouldn't ya know it the previous owner had all scheduled maintenance done at every interval since the car was new. To make it better I am only the second owner, this little gem sat in someone's garage barley driven for the past 10 years. I thought I found a great deal, there couldn't possibly be any major issues on a car with 32k miles on it that has documented maintenance records from my local MB dealer....Boy was I wrong!!


This is my first Mercedes, I am a fan of their drivability and love the style, but I want to know is it normal for a Mercedes with this low of mileage to have soooo many issues or did I just get a lemon? Let me list what I've replaced on her in the past 6 months:


battery (ok it's been sitting for a while, I expected this one....even though this is her second battery in the past 15K miles it had still been a few years)


Voltage regulator


spark plugs (eh I still think with 30K miles it shouldn't need new plugs, especially with how expensive these stupid things are, but it was running lean and this seemed to have helped the problem)


fuel filter


Interior door handle (cheap thing just snapped off)


key battery


ok that's what I've gotten to so far, after 6 months and 8K miles! Now here's the list of other issues I still need to deal with:


blower motor ( I know they are inherently loud by design but mine has a high pitch squeal like a bearing is going bad)


speaking of squeals, my brakes squeal something fierce, the pads have enough life left on them, they are just very noisy


sunroof gets stuck on the track sometimes and won't close until I pry it loose


the check engine light still comes on intermittently, I think I've tracked it back to a vacuum leak, just not sure exactly where. Luckily it's been off for a while now....probably just screwed myself by posting that, I'm sure it'll come on next time I drive


oh and just today the battery in my key remote died again while it was in the ignition, I was able to get it out despite MB's brilliant design of having this finicky electronic ignition that shuts down without power. However it apparently triggered some sort of "safety" mode that powered down the entire vehicle. I had to disconnect my battery to reset everything to get my spare key to work....I've been working on cars for about 18 years now and I've never seen something that stupid, I can't for the life of me figure out why the F*** they would design it to do that


Anyway the point of this thread is that I'm really trying to gauge is it normal to have this many issues with a Mercedes that now has only 40K miles on it? Should I expect this or is it time to sell this POC and get another Ford?? (for the record I owned a F150 with over 225K miles on it that had less issues than this stupid car)


I really like the car....when it runs properly but I'm getting really tired of having another issue pop up every other week.

 

You are not exactly in the right forum, thus my opinion is rather weak, but I am sure your car is not cursed (at all).
What you wrote about are all maintenance and maintenance needed for an aging MB, only the check engine light might indicate some more serious issue. If the previous owner did not do the service as nicely as you stated, you would be hit now five time more issues and you wallet would a couple thousands buck lighter.
Maybe you should visit the C class forum as well.

 

Batteries will fail in any 8 year old car especially one that wasn't used regularly

The best Mercedes's are the high mileage ones that get used daily

 

Just because it's not driven doesn't mean you won't still need to tend to it. Age is a factor as important as mileage in maintaining. I had a 850 bmw that I didn't drive for a year. When I started driving it again I had to replace gas lines and do a throttle service

 

Honestly, if you had researched before buying, you'd know that's pretty normal for that car.

But these problems tend to come in bunches, and once you get past the hurdles, the car will be good for a while.

I agree with trombone, though - you'd be smart to buy an OBDII reader and keep it with you for the next time it comes on, and find out what the issue is.

Good luck, and just focus on the positive.

 

There are no major issues here. Just use the thing.

The fan squirrel cage bearing requires lubrication. There is a good thread by Cintoman on how to DIY this.

 

This would probably go with the battery. Totally normal, especially with a barely used mercedes.

The spark plugs could have screwed up because of either age, or the fact that your battery was bad.

If you don't use it, you lose it. Fuel filters are one of those things. Especially with a car that's barely been driven.

Normal. Happens all the time with these cars.

No big deal.

As Glyn said, cheap and easy DIY.

Normal. Mine do this sometimes as well, and I was never really able to figure it out to be honest.

This is because the sunroof probably hasn't been lubricated in a long time. Buy the lubricant from MB, or get it online or from a hardware store. I'm not sure which ones to buy exactly, but someone else should know. The sunroof MUST be lubricated at least twice a year.

Get it scanned. With these cars, it could be anything. Though usually not something particularly expensive.

Keep up with maintenance, show it some love, and it'll never give you a problem again. Though most of these problems are minor, and usually don't happen in most MB's that have been driven more than your car. Heck, I got mine at 103k km's (~65k miles), and I got some battery-related problems as well. After those were fixed, car's going strong almost two years later.

 

I guess my classy Mercedes is like a classy woman...high maintenance. Thanks for the tips guys, I'm glad the blower motor and sunroof are an easy fix.


It did start something new this week though. When I go to start it the car seems to go into a security mode and completely shuts down, cuts power to everything including door locks, lights, etc. I either have to wait a while for it to reset itself or disconnect and reconnect the battery to get the system to reset. I thought it happened when my key battery went dead because that's how it did it the first time but I've since replaced the key battery and the car still does this, not every time I start it but it happens every couple of days. Does anyone have an idea of what this could be or where I should start testing?


I'm thinking maybe something with the ignition switch but it was replaced by the previous owner about 15k ago....I know it's not the car battery going dead because the battery is new and I've had it tested, it seems to be something interrupting the circuit, maybe a bad relay?


I know from by experience with vettes that if you use a key with the wrong chip in it the car will go into a security mode and not start even with the correct key for about 15min. This seems like the same problem but the key is correct and it has happened with both of my keys, I can't see both of them going bad at the same time.

 

I'd assume a front SAM defect. I'd take it to a specialist though, that sounds scary.

 

SAM unit huh, just did some research on it and wow I haven't had to deal with this sort of electronic system in my cars before, this thing is just waaaay to complex for its own good. Since it seems to only be failing at 1 point, providing power, rather than a group of systems I don't think it's a SAM unit but I'll check it this weekend regardless

BTW this one hurts it's making my car undriveable so I reposted this question under what I think is the proper forum topic let me know if you guys have any more ideas, I'm kind of at a loss on this on.

 

ok I just got done lubricating the squirrel cage assembly, seems to have fixed my squeal.


Update on the starting problem, I found another key in my garage that I know is from a different MB and tried to use it in my ignition, of course the car didn't start but it also did not go into a "security" mode and cut power so I don't think it has anything to do with not reading my key correctly. What I did notice when I paid close attention is that when I stick the correct key in the ignition it will make a noise that must mean it recognizes the key and pairs it with the vehicle (kind of sounds like the ignition is electronically grabbing the key) It makes the same sound when I pull the key out of the ignition.


I assume there is some sort of module in there that tells the car when the key has been paired to it and this might be the source of the problem. I suspect that the times my car doesn't start are when I pull the key out of the ignition and the module isn't resetting so the next time I put the key in it gives a fault and shuts everything down. Now that I know what to listen for I am going to pay close attention when I turn the car off and on to see if my theory is correct.


Now if anyone knows what this module is called or how to bench test it please let me know, I would rather rule this out before it happens again so I don't get stuck somewhere away from home.