Hi everyone,

I drive a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C200 Kompressor (W204), and recently I've been having issues with the check engine light coming on.

I took the car to a mechanic who scanned it with a diagnostic tool, and these two codes came up:

• 0017 – The position of the exhaust camshaft (cylinder bank 1) is implausible relative to the position of the crankshaft
• 3539 – The boost pressure deviates from specified value

The mechanic advised that the Exhaust Camshaft Adjuster needs to be replaced and the engine re-timed to fix the issue.

Has anyone here dealt with a similar problem? I'd really appreciate any advice, feedback, or steps you took if you had the same error codes. Just want to be sure before committing to this repair.

Thanks in advance!

PS: I know this is a W203 Forum but M271 Kompressor engine was also used in W203

Do you notice any difference in the engine’s power?

Yes, I do notice a power loss at times. It's not consistent though sometimes the car feels fine, but there are occasions when it feels underpowered. A few times the car has even gone into limp mode, but that doesn’t happen often.

The most noticeable power issue is usually when I try to overtake and the car downshifts. It just doesn’t feel like there's enough power for it to accelerate smoothly or confidently. That’s when the lack of boost really becomes obvious.

Yeah, it’s possible that the exhaust camshaft actuator (exhaust cam gear) is malfunctioning and not letting you build the boost.

It’s impossible to say for certain whether the diagnosis is correct without seeing the car, but I think it’s likely.

Faulty vacuum pump can cause 0017 code.
There is o-ring in the pump's shaft that fails and vacuum pump floats in oil, and it causes the code.
Later m271 engines in w204 midels has different type vacuum pump and it has plastic cap in the shaft that fails and pump floats in oil.
I just had similar problem and i did timing chain 3 times with cheap chinese parts and orginal mb parts, and it was faulty pump.

possible causes:
camshaft adjuster,
vacuum pump,
worn camshaft bearing,
oil pressure.