QQQ

15 months serving 33,000 kms.

Four medical checkups.
Seven hospital admissions.
One cosmetic surgery.

What it really means:

Normal maintenance

Scheduled A and B service, plus two oil changes in between.
One wheel alignment.

Minor hiccups

Moonroof one-touch open/close malfunction (fixed)
Aspirator fan in overhead console panel buzzing (fixed)
Telescopic wheel squeaking when adjusted (fixed)
Brake squeal (twice, fixed)
Brake pedal squeaking (fixed)
Driver seat squeaking (fixed)
Driver window clicking noise when closed (fixed)
Front passenger headrest vibration at highway speed (fixed)
Smart key cannot unlock doors (fixed)
Smart key fails to store last seat memory (fixed in second attempt)
Turn signal loose (fixed)
Hood misaligned (fixed)

Nagging issues

BAS malfunction (fixed)
Fuel gauge 1/8 tank below actual on cold starts (not fixed)
Car vibration at 80km/h (not fixed)
Central locks intermittently unlocked at driving (not fixed)

Critical life threatening issues

None

Cosmetic surgery

Idiot backed into front bumper scratches no dent

Organ transplants

Electronic ignition switch
2 smart keys
Seat memory module
Aux fuel pump
Fuel sending unit
Right rear tail light
Left rear brake light
Front left low beam
Front left turn signal
Combination switch

Other

One chassis rebalancing


All covered by warranty / insurance. Save for the above, very pleased with the experience.

Mike T.

What exactly does a "chassis balancing" consist of?

timorgan

Isn't brake squealing a very common problem on all cars?

I've even heard that it is "normal"!?

Tim

Fuzzo

it is normal for the first few days or maybe first months of ownership...but it shouldn't be happening all the time. My car has never had squealing brakes.

QQQ

You need 500km to break-in the brake and the squeal will go away. My issue is the squeal came back after the break-in period. They put a paste on the brake pad and that will do.

QQQ

Don't know exactly what chassis rebalancing consists of. The regional service manager recommended this to solve the car vibration issue at 80kmh. However, car still vibrates. I visited C32Life forum yesterday and I may have a solution. It could be wheel flat spot or faulty drive shaft CV joint.

Fuzzo

I have the vibration in my car but it's not at 80..it's around 38 or 39 mph.. this is the only speed it happens in.. anything over or below this is fine... and it goes away after a while. so that's how i know it's a flat spotting problem... if it's consistantly there.. then it may not be a flat spot on your tire...

my 2 cents

MarkL

Fuzzo, that's interesting. I've notcied an occasional vibration around 35mph (I think) in 4th gear. Since it is absent more often than not, I've decided it's not something like engine unbalance or the like. (My '99 Passat exhibited a minor vibration at a certain rpm range which some other people also noticed in theirs). It seems more noticeable when the car is cold, so are you saying it's most likely a temporary tire flat spot?

Fuzzo

it definitely sounds like a flat spot since you say that it dissappears after the car/tires warm up.. and it also happens in the usual speed...which is around 35mph (actually it should be more close to 39mph)

you mentioned that it only happens in 4th gear.. you may not be noticing it in lower gears because you go past the vibration speed quickly... that's my 2 cents....

Jim Banville

What is this? I've noticed that if I'm in my '02 C240 when it is off, and the windows are shut, and it is absolutely silent outside, I can hear a faint humming noise coming from the area of the rear view mirror or overhead console. What could it be?

QQQ

Jim, stick your ear to the overhead console panel after engine is off, and if you hear a faint buzzing sound on the right sensor (the left is fake, it is for teleaid button), then you have same problem. It does not affect performance, just annoying. I have it replaced and it is fine.

Jim Banville

Okay, What do these sensors look like? And what does an aspirator fan do?

thanks!
Jim

QQQ

If your car has sunroof you'll see an opening like a microphone on either side of OCP. The left one is fake and is the housing for the optional teleaid (I guess this is std in US). The right opening houses the aspirator fan. At first I guessed that is the microphone for teleaid and the car cell phone, but tech said that is the sensor for the auto climate control.

Jim Banville

Okay, but what is the aspirator fan for? Is it supposed to be completely silent? Is it not supposed to run when the car is off? I mean I can barely hear it. What is wrong with it?

thanks
Jim

QQQ

I don't exactly know, but it should be silent, at least when car is off. The sound may be due to friction, and I believe it should not run when car is off, but that I'm not sure.

MarkL

The aspirator fan the the upper console climate control sensor has been discussed previously. This is a very small fan which pulls air into the little vent to a sensor to monitor air temp in the upper cabin. It has been determined that this fan runs continuously, even with the engine off, although we're not sure exactly why. If you put a very small piece of paper up against the vent, it will be held in place by the fan pressure. When the engine is off, the fan makes a very faint sound, something like a slight amplifier hiss noise. That slight noise is normal -- if it's making a buzzing sound, something is wrong.

Jim Banville

Thanks MarkL. I get a very faint whirring or humming, which are consistent with a motor spinning. Has anyone determined if it continues for some predetermined amount of time after the car is shut off? Glad to see this is normal 1000 miles and all's well

MarkL

I don't know if there's a finite cutoff period, but I've gotten in my car after it's been off for a couple of days and the fan is still running. Of course, I have also wondered if it starts up again once a door is opened -- in that case, you'd have to camp out in your car to find out!