Ok heres the latest on this saga:
Took the car to Mercedes Rainham (medway autos) and spoke to a tech there. We took the car out for a ride and he felt the shaking at idle. He feels its defo the spark plugs\HT leads. He had a long explanation but basically at speed the car is shifting enough voltage to get through the sparks but at low ible speed the voltage drops and cant get through properly - this causes a slight tremore like a misfire.

He feels this is caused by possible split in leads or sparkplugs, spark escapes out teh side of the plug\lead and hence more voltage is needed to compensate - at idle speeds the voltage aint enough so it slightly misfires - hardly noticable cause these cars have twin spark plugs so the other one compensates.

Either way - he agreed ITS NOT NORMAL RUNNING! He's even worked on a C32 this week and knows that the engines are silky smooth - not shaking or with tremours at all!

Now teh main point: I had my spark plugs changed by Mercedes Gillingham last december 06! Yes they were done by them only 4 months ago. So the Tech at MB Rainham said to take the car back to them and get them to check the sparks\leads as they may have damaged them when they swapped them. CAN U BELEIVE THIS CRAP?

So I go back to MB Gillingham - they are not happy and say that MB Rainham if they were so confident should have checked them themselves as all parts are 12 months guarantee - anyway after 20 mins of 'negotiations' they are willing to look at the spark plug this Tuesday coming. Ill let you know how that goes. But at least a trained MB tech has agreed that its NOT normal running!

Man this whole lark is annoying - and whats even more annoying is how the dealerships make you feel your a pain and an arsehole complaining about these things. It sucks - im just not gona let this go whilst ive got my warrenty

Ill keep you'll informed

 

It's great that it happened at the dealership, so they witness it themselves. I had the same situation, as I was checking it in, my service adviser felt the shacking and called out a tech who also saw the shaking.

However, in my case, they had checked the spark plugs, motor mounts, wires, even the idling sensor, and they say they're all fine. The computer says nothing, BUT they felt there's a problem with air inflow ... so they removed the Air Filters and there was a lot of sand and dirt in them , they felt it can't be any help - so they replaced them. Of course I had to mention that I had just had my car there twice - once for Service B and secondly for the idling, therefore, shouldn't they have checked then??

Anyway, in addition, they also cleaned my gas tank - just in case I had had a bad tank of gas. I picked up the car this morning and it drove normally (as it always does), and I'm yet to feel the shaking, but I drove less than 10 miles, so I'm not won over. I'll know by tonight whether it's been solved.

Note to all New York owners, tomorrow, Mercedes-Benz of White Plains has a FREE 52 Point Inspection, so you can call and reserve an appointment and get your car checked for free (especially guys out of warranty). I'll be taking mine in (why not?) and also getting their advice on the idling, in the event that I feel it shaking tonight.


Tee_Tz.

 

well i guess well have to wait till tuesday and see what MB Gillingham say

 

Are you in D (Drive) with foot on parking brake by any chance? If so, it took my dealer a while to diagnose tired transmission fluid. Changed the fluid, problem went away.

It seems it's a four years / 60,000 miles job, so if your car hasn't had a transmission fluid change it might be due. I had mine done at around 3 years / 50,000 miles, but it was evident at two years / 40,000 miles.

Hope this helps...

 

My car is FIXED!!! Cleaned the gas tank and replaced the air filters, I drove a 3 hour drive yesterday and not once did I encounter the problem. It's solved.

Good luck with yours, but remember, before doing dramatic things, start with the simple stuff -- 1, it's cheaper and 2, this problem can result from so many things.


Tee_Tz.

 

Glad to hear ... and good advice btw. We have seen how a dealer can light handedly suggest S/C change instead of changing the bearing, which is the real issue. Great forum

I had a rough idle with a different car (Chrysler) - I asked dealer to check ignition wires first, no issue they said. They did fuel injector clean (which I paid for). No fix, so I was given their plan for next steps - rather scary looking at what they would do and how price mounted. So I said forget it, got the car, drove by Canadian Tire (auto parts shop) bought ignition wires for $50 and changed them the next day. You guessed right - issue solved 100%. The KISS principle is gold.

 

That's brilliant, cause the dealership might just keep 'guessing' and you'll just keep paying out of pocket, fixing this, then that, then this, it's just too much. And if you are savy in terms of doing things yourself, you'll save a lot of money on labor. I'm trying to learn my car inside out so in future I do the little things myself. I mean, replacing the air filter and cleaning the tank were free (cause I paid last time and they didn't solve the problem), but it's something I could do myself on a warm Sunday afternoon like today... that remind me...


Tee_Tz.

 

good to hear that your car problem is solved

 

Thanks!


Tee_Tz.

 

does the shudder when its about to move ..then its ur leads

 

I read somewhere on the net (i couldn't find the page again ) but the article stated that our engine is a 90º V6 and that by the nature of it has balancing issues which is why the external balancer is used on the crank.

Mine, when in drive, at a idle is smooth. When I put it into neutral I feel the slight shakes. I just figured it had to do with the characteristics of the engine.

 

Okay I found it. Here is the link

http://www.whnet.com/4x4/wards2001.html

and here is the screen shot of the paragraph.

 

Man - my car was to go in this week but unfortunately my dad died on the sunday so everything has been put on hold. Im now booked in for next monday so hope they finally fix it.

 

Very sorry to hear about your Dad. Hope everything is okay.

It's been almost 2 weeks with my car and I haven't felt the shaking at all. I'm very glad cause I was getting worried. Anyway, good luck to others. Remember, try the simple stuff first.


Tee_Tz.

 

morning all - car is booked in with MB Gillingham today so lets hope we finally get this nailed!

Ill let you all kow what happens tonight.

 

Ok well got my car back from MB Gillingham and guess what - they find NOTHING WRONG and said its normal running.

Man so thats now 2 dealers sayings its normal and 2 saying it isnt.

Im at a loss really. I decided to buy a new Air filter and will fit tonight but im not holding out much hope.

I cant honestly beleive that the car shaking at idle is 'normal' - especially when I can sit in my mates C32 estate and its silky smoth. Crazy.

I dont really know what else to say - im flabberghasted.

 

got home - took off the air filter housings and - arhhh typical - the damn dealership has given me the WRONG air filters!!! so annoying man.

what I did see though was some real old dirty filters and trays full of crap like leaves and feathers etc - so fingers crossed when I DO finally get the right filters maybe it will sort my problem out!! well heres hoping hey.

 

Well.. I hope your problems to get sorted out just with the air filters.. I have replaced the air filters on my car, but it didnt help very much. I also have repaced the MAF sensor.

well, I guess it's time for igniton parts for me.

ehh..

GOOD LUCK!

 

well ive fitted the air filters - and amazingly its hardly shaking!! its so very slight i can hardly notice it. Im using the car tomoz all day so ill know for sure if its really made a difference but its looking good

amazing how the dealer couldnt think of this though

 

My 2002 C32 (with no mechanical mods) does not shake at idle. It is very smooth with just a slight exhaust note.

Sounds like there is definitely something wrong. I would guess something with the engine mounts or tranny.

 

ok well ive run the car all day and sadly its still shaking - not as bad now and very slightly but its still there

so I am at a loss - dealers cant help me as they all feel the car is running fine! madness

 

well thats good that you did replace the air filters... i think you might wanna check your plugs still and see if they're black or anything like that.... that might help... i just started to have a slight shack like the wind is blowing hard against your car at a light.... but i just read a post of someone saying something about the leads...? what are leads? b/c my shacks when i'm at ideal and when i take my foot off of the break to creep up a little at a light or stop sign... not sure if its the breaks, tranny or spark plugs... i'm starting to get pretty pissed off at my car... this will be my 4th problem so far.

 

What youve just said there is the EXACT problem I have - yet 3 local dealerships all say its NORMAL running. It rubbish - my car never used to do this. Im at a loss now - new filters, sparks checked, dont have enough know how to check leads so I guess Ill just have to wait and see if it gets worse and then take it back in

 

Put your car in gear and take enough pressure off of the brake so that the car moves forward slowly. Keep your foot on the brake and see if the car starts rocking while it's moving forward. If you did this right, the car won't move more than a foot or two.

I bet it jerks around huh?

 

It's too bad the air filters didn't work, I think they reinstalled software, cleaned out some parts of the engine and installed the air filters and it was perfect. I don't know what else to advise, I'm sorry, I know it's an annoying problem but at least the air filters seemed to help, because as yours were -- mine were really dirty! (sand).


Tee_Tz.