DCX Engineer

My check engine light is on and the code is P0455 - Evaporative Emission Control System Leak Detected (gross leak).

I searched here and mercedesshop.com and found a few things to look for, but has anyone had the same problem? What was the fix. My fuel cap looks fine and it is tight. I have never filled up with gas with the engine running.

I have 55,500 miles and out of factory warranty.

amdeutsch

No flame, but as your handle suggests; can't you pick the brains of some shop techs and/or engineers to get a hint?

Guest0001

I wonder how much it will cost to fix

Buellwinkle

You should know better than to own an MB out of warranty, that's like playing Russian roulette with your bank account. Specially when you get such great deals on new ones.

My guess is it's the EGR or PCV, a hose to one of these is lose, cracked, a connector is lose or wet, these sensor/valves are bad. It does take some diagnosing but at least check the obvious. What they do to diagnose these is a tailpipe emmissions test to isolate the component. What they check for exactly and the equipment to do this is out my reach so I would bring it in at that point unless I wanted to start replacing parts just for fun.

Check out this forum, it caters more to older MB's but you may get more help there, this forum is more about wheels and lowering cars and window tinting.

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/index.php3

DCX Engineer

This morning the car was in some type of limp mode. It felt like it didn't have a supercharger. It is fine now. I went to AutoZone and had it rescanned and then the P0455 error erased. It runs fine now and the light hasn't come back on.

As for an extended warranty, MB wanted over $3200 for 100,000 mile upgrade. I drive 27k per year so that would be over $1600 per year. I hope I made the right choice.

Note - I am an electrical engineer at a Chrysler Group engine plant near Detroit.

amdeutsch

And no short cuts available for us forum members to abuse? (j/k)

That sucks. As a DCX employee they should've offered you a discount at the very least.

DCX Engineer

It has been almost ten days since the code was cleared at AutoZone. No problems - car is running fine.

Buellwinkle

If it makes you feel any better, I got a P0410 in the past few days. It's for a Secondary Air Injection System Malfunction. It's probably the smog pump or one the valves that control it, either way I'm not going to fool with it, take my loaner and wait for the next code. Can MB build a car that people will want after the warranty is up? I won't be able to bring it in for a a week or two because I'm busy so I'm glad I have my trustworthy Chevy to haul me to work. The failing sensors read as follows (have no clue what it means though) -

TID - $0A
CID - $01 = 32745 FAILED
CID - $02 = 31218 FAILED

vadim

What instruments do you use to read these codes?

Buellwinkle

www.obd-2.com

rrf

Your code CEL P0455 - Evaporative Emission Control System Leak Detected (gross leak). Is probably related to the venting for the the charcoal canister for the gas tank vent line (you were on the right track I think). Loose cap, over topped off gas etc. Reset and wait-n-see is a good course of action.

Guest0001

Just wondering. Any idea how much these malfuncion/sensor mis-haps would cost if you werent under warranty? I would hate to pay for this crap if its not under warranty.

Buellwinkle

Exactly, unless you can fix it yourself it's best to get rid of the car before the warranty is up. I was lucky, I reset the check engine light and it hasn't come back on since yesterday morning. Consider this, say just a small $60 valve was stuck, between the costs to run the diagnostic tests to determine what failed and MB's high labor rates you are probably looking at a $300 repair at best. If it's the the secondary air injection pump then double that. If you like keeping cars longer consider a Ford or Chevy. Even if they do break they are much cheaper to fix.

Guest0001

I doubt I would take it to a dealer. Do you think there are Independent MB mechanics that could sort this issue for a much lower cost? I know most places wont even touch an mb because they are so much technology that are afraid of screwing up.

Buellwinkle

The trouble with independents is that you need the right test equipment including a dyno to check smog system failures. So the small shops just end up replacing parts until it's fixed, you don't know because they said 3 parts needed replacing and you think you got a deal. The large independents charge close to MB prices anyway except you won't get a loaner, car wash and cookies. Many independents have been known to pad the bill. That's been my experience, your mileage may vary. That's why I'm not going to stress over it and replace the car when the warranty is up.

Hal H

the code you're getting is similar to what I went through with my '01 W208 when it was about 8 months old.

The dealer replaced the control valve / solenoid on the evap cannister, but the CEL kept coming back on. When this happened for the 3rd time (over the span of a week), I raised hell with them about doing a halfway job...

In the end, I had a bad ECM that was losing power to the peripherals (such as the evap controls) and when the ECM would 'wake up' it would detect a fault. Intrestingly enough, I never had drivablility or limp mode issues, just the evap system fault code.

Buellwinkle

From what I've head, the dealer charges $2k to replace the ECM, good thing it was under warranty.

Guest0001

So the 208s have this problem as well? So when were Mercedes making quality cars? late 80s early 90s? Buell youve had a few.... how are the earlier ones compared to the newer mbs in regards to serious issues....

Buellwinkle

The new ones are way better. I had 2 1984 W201's. The first one taken back by MB under the lemon law, it was in about 35 times, about half that for the same problem, the throttle linkage would melt and fall off. The second one needed a new transmission, horn and radio within the first week. That one lasted in the family for about 200K miles though. My parents told me that my car was the cheap model so in their act of brilliance, bought an 1987 260E, notch above my lowly 190. It lasted 2 years before catching on fire whilst driving on the freeway in San Diego. They never bought another MB again. I thought that MB improved so I took my chance on the 2002. They are better than before but then again so is every car brand better than before. I won't likely get another MB for at least another 17 years, by then they should have the kinks worked out!

Guest0001

Sorry Buell, I guess you have somereally bad luck. That catching on fire on the freeway is really scary! I hope no one got hurt badly... It seems to be that MBs always have had issues regardles of year.

Btw. Woudld a good aftermarket warranty cover all of these malfunction displays? I never got the extended directly from MB when I got my car.

Buellwinkle

You can go with an independent extended warranty or some insurance companies will offer it along with their car insurance like Geico.

Here's 2 but I can't personally vouch for them but they've been around a while.

http://www.warrantydirect.com

http://www.1sourceautowarranty.com

Guest0001

Thanks ALOT for the info! So basically I have until 50,000 miles to upgrade your I Can do it whenever I want?

DCX Engineer

A friend with an E430 4-Matic forgot his gas cap after a fill-up and the dealer wanted $190 to clear the code. They also told him that it should clear itself in three days if it had no more occurances. His error went away in three days and has had no problems since. My car didn't clear itself. It got worse, some type of limp mode with great loss of power.

No more problems since for me.