Deutscher_Wagen

I have always done my own serive and it would feel wierd not to. But since this car is new, does anyone know where to get a good manual? Does anyone know if Bentley Publishers has a manual for the 230K? Couldn't find it on their site, and I used one for my VW to do all the work.

I wonder if the dealer charges to reset the computer codes?

taylor192

Service A costs me $170 CND, Service B about $400 CND.
I think you got ripped off, since my Service B charge includes the cabin filter.

You can request that certain things NOT be done at the service interval, ie: wiper blades, fluid refills, fluid flushes, ... they recommend flushing the fluids at every 2nd Service B, I'll wait until the 4th.

My dealership seems reasonable with maintenance costs. Bulbs, fluids, blades, ect... are replaced and no labour is charged, only the inflated cost ($5 for washer fluid, compared to $2 cost).

mctwin2kman

You can reset the interval yourself. Read the manual it tells you how.

YoYiTo

I've had no luck either for the c240. If you do please let us know

YoYiTo

Thanks!!! I didnt know that.

breastroker

Give me a break,
That oil is at least $4 a quart at wholesale prices. usually added for $6 a quart. Easily over $60.00.

Trico blades are less than $12 for the upgraded style.

No, the 2002 Coupe does not use a charcoal interior filter. The only way you get that if you purchased the C320 Coupe, first available late 2003.

Outland

Actually, the good tires should go on the rear. Several studies have shown that to maintain control of the vehicle, the rears are more important. I didn't buy it myself till I read the articles. But, yes, you should rotate the tires.

Not until the wear indicator lights up on the dash. And then, don't pay MB to do it. Get a big C Clamp, and a floor jack and do them yourself. Less than 100bucks total, even with high end pads. Takes about a half hour per wheel.


No, you got phucked.

TechSuperstar

.. so just as I thought. They are trying to get me to buy a charcoal filter which my car doesn't even have. AND they should have rotated the tires. Hmm... should I call them up and schedule a charcoal filter replacement even though it doesn't have one. Then when they charge me I can get the BBB involved. lol

MBC230k

Has anyone tried to order one of these manuals?
http://www.mercedestechstore.com/w203.htm

Jim Banville

Two things-
1- I think the "better" tires go in front because that is where you need the most traction (WHILE YOU ARE ALREADY MOVING) in wet conditions to keep you car going in the correct direction via repsonse from the steering wheel. On a related note, I think that once the front tires "cut" through the rain on the road, the rear tires don't have as much water depth to roll through. No one wil argue that "good" rear tires on a car with RWD is important when moving from a stopped position as well.

2- Since expensive routine maintenance is such a hot button, why don't we start a "sticky"' thread titled MAINTENANCE where people post brands, part numbers, quantities, and avg. prices of the various supplies needed for routine maintenance and locations where they can be bought cheaply. PLUS instructions (with pix) for doing the various procedures ourselves, including places to purchase specailty tools at good prices, such as an oil vacuum pump.

TechSuperstar

sounds great to me. If I knew of a website that sold all the air filters, brake pads, etc.. I would buy from them. I'll have MB do oil changes only and tell them I have a professional doing the rest (Moi)

TonyG230

Well, we all know dealers are expencive but we have to bite the bullet or good luck when warranty issues arise. Has anyone found a manual for the Coupe for the do-it yourselfers. I for one will do my own work when the warranty runs out. For those who can, brake jobs, wiper blade replacement and tire rotation don't have anything to do with warranty. Fluid changes do if something goes wrong. Guess if you buy your own oil and filter from the dealer you can save a few bucks but it isn't that expencive. MB has three Express Lube Locations in the Toronto area and you can talk and watch the technician while he works on your car. The price is the same but at least you see what is going on. What about a Manual???

Outland

Good tires go in the rear. Sounded wierd at first to me too, but its true. Poor tread in the front means a loss of response in inclement weather. Poor tread in the back means total loss of control in inclement weather. Think about it...what happens if you have a blowout in the front? Little, you just gradually pull over. You have a blowout in the rear, and the car almost invariably goes out of control. Doesn't matter if its RWD or FWD, or AWD, the rears are more important for stability.

miroj

Luxury air-con has charcoal filters. Many people have retrofitted the control panel and dont have the filter. If you have a genuine LCD climatronic control panel from factory then there you will see in the top left corner a filter activation switch.

Jim Banville

Back when the Firestone tire blowout thing was all over the news, some tech's on a TV news show fitted a special wheel to the rear of an Explorer that would essentially recreate a blowout. What did the test show? When the tire instantly lost all air pressure while going 60 mph the driver felt the side/rear go down a little, but NOTHING ELSE! The vehicle wasn't thrown out of control in the least.

taylor192

Good tires go in the rear for a different reason. Many tire places will not sell you 2 winter tires for this exact reason, read some thread in the TireRack forum or go to the TireRack website.

New tires on front or rear upsets the balance of the car. Under heav y braking, cornering, ect... the car will want to 'turn' due to the uneven traction front/rear. More traction in the front will cause the rear end to come around while cornering/braking (like over-steer). More traction in the rear means the car may not turn (under-steer) or stop as quickly. While braking faster is desired, the possibility of the rear coming around, especially with bad-drivers, most places will not put the new tires on the front, only on the rear.

Outland

Essentially, you are arguing the same thing as I.

Anyway, here's an article that explains it better than you or I have.

Where to Install New Pairs of Tires? Intuition Isn't Always Right.

Most vehicles are equipped with the same size tire at every wheel position. Ideally all of these tires should also be of the same type and design, have the same tread depth and be inflated to the pressures specified by the vehicle placard or owner's manual. This combination best retains the handling balance engineered into the vehicle by its manufacturer.

However due to the front tires' responsibility for transmitting acceleration, steering and most of the braking forces on front-wheel-drive vehicles, it's normal for front tires to wear faster than rear tires. If the tires aren't rotated on a regular basis, it's also common for pairs of tires to wear out rather than sets. And if the tires aren't rotated at all, it's likely that the rear tires will still have about 1/2 of their original tread depth when the front tires are completely worn out.

Intuition suggests that since the front tires wore out first and because there is still about half-tread remaining on the rear tires, the new tires should be installed on the front axle. This will provide more traction, and by the time the front tires have worn out for the second time, the rear tires will be worn out too. However in this case, intuition isn't right...and following it can be downright dangerous.

When tires are replaced in pairs in situations like these, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the worn tires moved to the front. The reason is because new tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads because new, deeper treaded tires are more capable of resisting hydroplaning.

Hydroplaning occurs when the tire cannot process enough water through its tread design to maintain effective contact with the road. In moderate to heavy rain, water can pool up in road ruts, depressions and pockets adjacent to pavement expansion joints. At higher speeds, the standing water often found in these pools challenge a tire's ability to resist hydroplaning.

Exactly when hydroplaning occurs is the result of a combination of elements including water depth, vehicle weight and speed, as well as tire size, air pressure, tread design and tread depth. A lightweight vehicle with wide, worn, underinflated tires will hydroplane at lower speeds in a heavy downpour than a heavyweight vehicle equipped with new, narrow, properly inflated tires in drizzling rain.

If the rear tires have more tread depth than the front tires, the front tires will begin to hydroplane and lose traction on wet roads before the rears. This will cause the vehicle to begin to understeer (the vehicle wants to continue driving straight ahead). Understeer is relatively easy to control because releasing the gas pedal will slow the vehicle and help the driver maintain control.

However, if the front tires have more tread depth than the rear tires, the rear tires will begin to hydroplane and lose traction on wet roads before the fronts. This will cause the vehicle to begin to oversteer in which the vehicle wants to spin. Oversteer is far more difficult to control, and in addition to the initial distress felt when the rear of the car starts sliding, quickly releasing the gas pedal in an attempt to slow down may actually make it more difficult for the driver to regain control, possibly causing a complete spinout.

Members of The Tire Rack team had the chance to experience this phenomenon at Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds. Participants were allowed to drive around a large radius, wet curve in vehicles fitted with tires of different tread depths — one vehicle with new tires on the rear and half-worn tires on the front, and the other with the new tires in the front and half-worn tires on the rear.

It didn't take long for this hands-on experience to confirm that the "proving grounds" name for the facility was correct. The ability to sense and control predictable understeer with the new tires on the rear, and the helplessness in trying to control the surprising oversteer with the new tires on the front was emphatically proven.

And even though our drivers had the advantage of knowing we were going to be challenged to maintain car control, spinouts became common during our laps in the car with the new tires on the front. Michelin advises us that almost everyone spins out at least once!

Experiencing this phenomenon in the safe, controlled conditions of Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds rather than in traffic on an Interstate ramp in a rainstorm is definitely preferred!

In case there is any doubt, when tires are replaced in pairs, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the worn tires moved to the front.

Outland

Jim, you must have been watching Ford Corporate TV. Ive had a rear blowout on my Saturn while going around a bend in the road...the car's rear came around as soon as I let off the gas.

Jim Banville

Nope, it was something like 20/20. Anyway, they were going straight, not through curves. Of course the rear end will cut loose with a blowout (or any sudden decrease in rear end traction) in a turn

TechSuperstar

Sounds like everyone is in agreement with me then. The MB tech telling me the better tires should be on the front (on a RWD car) was wrong. Hmm. Next time I go in for service and they tell me I should have a rotation I'll tell them they should rotate them free of charge since they got the money for the service B and didn't rotate them. Wonder if they'll go for that.

Outland

Its regardless of where the drive wheels are, better tires ALWAYS go in the rear, even on an AWD car.

gaiex

I payed 280€ for a service A!!!!!!!!!! (only oil and filters)

2- Try to put a pair of slick tires in the front and drive in heavy rain, what you get???

My car needs 2 tires in the back wheels and what I'm going to do its installing 2 new ones in the front and the 2 (used) that where in the front in the rear, and when these 2 run out I will install 2 new ones.

If there is no traction in the rear, the traction control and ESP handles the situation, but if there is hydroplaning at the front, oh my GOD!!!!

Outland

Go read the article I posted AGAIN. You clearly have missed the point. Better tires ALWAYS go in the rear. ESP and traction control will not help you if the rears hydroplane.

gaiex

But the rear tires pass where the front ones have passed, so, less whater in the road for the rear tires.

"2- Try to put a pair of slick tires in the front and drive in heavy rain, what you get???"

Do you never saw assymetric tires???
The front ones have V thread to expell the water and the rear ones are traction type.

Porsches, jaguars (I have One), etc they usually come from factory with P ZERO DIREZIONALE(front) and P ZERO ASIMMETRICO at the rear, that is the concept

http://www.us.pirelli.com/en_US/tyre...productid=2603

Outland

Hey, its your life, you car. You can use whatever *** backwards logic you want.