shanusanus

Hi all,

Ok - my C32 2002 model when just sitting at idle has a shaking problem. The revs are stable, its not mis firing etc - just a shaking that everyone can feel but now 2 dealerships cant do nothing about.

It feels rather like a BMW M3 of the same age - which I know is how THAT car is - but I cant beleive for one minute that a silky smoth Merc would shake like this which is what the last dealership in Dartford is saying. Theyve had their top tech on teh job and he has told me this is how it runs. End of. The only problem with that is that it wasnt like that when I first got it and I have had 3 other AMG's (C36, CLK55 w208 and CLK55 w209) and a friend also has a 2002 C32 estate and doesnt have this issue.

Two dealerships have now done full tests, running these with the car the on the road and all the tests come back that all is fine. The first dealership said they know something os wrong but not sure what it is (Mb Medway) and now Mb Dartford are saying its normal running.

HELP!! Im almost 100% sure this is not right. Can any one out there shed light either way ?!?!

Thanks in advance

sales@eurocharged.com

Is the car stock? Does it shake when the car is in gear, or in neutral?

shanusanus

Hi mate

Stock car - no mods - when sittle in idle - not in gear.

Eurocharged Rick

are you able to work on your own car at all? i don't want to go through the trouble of making a list of things to check if you are not able to actually check them...

i love how if the computer doesn't say that anything is wrong that dealerships will tell you the car is fine, even in obvious situations like this where the car is not running the way that it should...

shanusanus

hi mate - yeah go for it - ill give it ago any help is help at thsi stage mate !

wawy

Have the engine mounts been checked?

shanusanus

Well the car has now been to MB Maidstone, MB Gillingham Mb Dartford and MB World in Brooklands and all their techs have said its NORMAL C32 AMG idle running! I just cant beleive it myself.

Guys - youll with C32's please just turn your car on and let it run Idle. Does your car shake - maybe slightly at times - and every once in a while give a big sorta kick?!!? a large shake - just a split second and then runs with slight shaking again.

All I can say is my mates M3 does this but my other friends C32 doesnt at all. And neither have any other AMG models Ive had or been in.

Guys - do your C32's do this? Is this really NORMAL?!?!?

Eurocharged Rick

mine has a very very slight shake at idle...nothing pronounced like what you are describing...

have you thought about taking a video of the engine at idle? this may help us see what you are describing...

SilverBulletAMG

I could relate but, then you said your rpms are stable. At times when first started mine will have the tach bouncing all over the place and it will sound like it's not firing on all cylinders. After a few seconds it will smooth out, rpms stabilize and it purrs like a kitten with veeeery minimal vibration. Sounds different than your issue though. Sounds like their feeding you a line...

amgmark

Hi All.. I had a similar problem at idle while in Park. I took the car in and the SA could tell.. when the door was open you could see it kinda move up and down.. I had motor mounts replaced and it seems to be gone. I had a few other minor things done too, but I think it was the motor mounts that made the difference.. Mine was a very slight shaking but definitely noticable when it started happening as it was smooth as glass before.

I also has that recall/service campaign done at the same time as the motor mounts, but I don't think that had anything to do with the shake..

Darknessph

I have the same symptom, but it's on a 2002 S430 with M113 V8 engine. The source of problems are limited to the following:

1. Spark Plugs & Coils - we have indivisual coil pack. if one goes wrong, it could cause unbalanced combustion in each cylinder.

2. O2 sensors - Pre-cat O2 sensors are sometimes suspected of curprit.

3. Engine Mounts- I had replaced engine mounts but to no avail.


I changed out both O2 sensors, Engine mounts, Driver's side Catalytic converter since it was rattling & puking out white powers. However, I haven't done the spark plugs and coils yet. I have 67k mi on the clock.

I have a feeling that these quite-common issue is related to the ignition system.

P.S As for e46 M3's vibration, it's due to more aggressive cams & individual throttle. It's different from our vibration problems - as our vibration is more of irregular vibration.

Hope this can help you,
Alex

tee_tz

Very well put, the M3 shaking is not irregular. Ours is, mine has the same problem, was fixed, but now is back I think. I have a C320 (manual, 30K miles).

For me they re-installed software and in the beginning it seemed to drive smooth, but just once it slipped up again and started to shake at the traffic light. Therefore, I will take it in, just some things to note guys (AND I KEEP TELLING ADMINS TO MERGE THESE THREADS BECAUSE THERE'S LIKE 4 THREADS ABOUT THE SAME THING).

1 - Motor mounts - open your engine and rev hard, if your engine leans to the left/right, then you'll see which side needs to be replaced. Also, if the shaking happens when you corner towards the right/left, then that'll also be an indication that it's the motor mounts. Otherwise, that's not the problem.

2 - Spark plugs - I think that if it is spark plugs then the misfiring will happen often, not every once in a while (my car happens rarely), therefore, I don't think it's the plugs that need to be replaced. Plus, wouldn't we notice something when starting the car??


People say you can increase the REV at idling, but I don't think it's a good idea, because it just silences the problem but doesn't actually fix it. Most people who've had their motor mounts replaced seem to have fixed the problem, but it's not a definite solution, it seems like several issues can land you into this same problem.

For me, the software upgrade seemed useless.


Tee_Tz.

edtv82

its your motor mounts... 98% positive
if it was anything like an O2 sensor or spark plugs misfiring you'd have a malfunction on the ECU i dont know of any car that can have a bad O2 sensor and not have the check engine light on. and even in my EVO8 i have some fouling spark plugs and my check engine like was coming up... you'd have power loses from the plugs and the car probably would feel super sluggish if the O2 was bad... b/c the car riches/leans out the fuel when that happens (dont remember which it is; neither are good)
but dont need to replace the whole mount just the rubber bushing piece inside the metal part.. im sure you can find it somewhere... just dont take all the motor mounts off at the same time.

irvinec32

what kind of gas are you using? my 2002 c32 recently had a similar issue. i had switched over to cheaper gas to save some money. for about 1 mo. using only costco and arco gas. keep in mind, i used costco before, just not on a regular basis. but after 1 mo. of consistent costco and a few arco's, the car would 'shiver' a bit at idle. i bought some good chevron fuel injector cleaner (from costco, haha), mixed it in with only 1/4 tank gas and BINGO.

i wanted to see if it was just my imagination, so i put in costco gas again, and after just 2 tank fulls, i got the 'shiver' again.

fuel injector clean again (it came, 4 to a box). smooth again. don't use cheap injector cleaners either.

my car now idles smoothly and no more costco or arco gas. mainly shell and chevron, sometimes mobil.

give it a shot, it can't hurt.

shanusanus

guys thanks for all your replies they really help.

I think the general idea is getting the engine mounts checked. Ive had new sparks fitted about 6 months ago by the stealership and new o2 sensors a month ago so I guess that just leaves the engine mounts.

As for the fuel - I will try that - although ive only just filled up on Tesco but wil definately give it ago.

Thanks all and ill let you know how I get on.

bnz616

I have the same shaking problem also. Seemed to have started shaking after the recall from awhile back, but I'm not sure (didn't shake before). I've had the car checked, they haven't found any problems. It doesn't shake all the time either, only sometimes when i'm idling, stopped at a stoplight. Sounds like a similar thing you're experiencing.

Let me know if you find something out. Thanks!

tee_tz

It's not fuel. Perhaps mixing fuel can lead to a similar result, but I've never used cheap fuel on my car and it still idles.


Tee_Tz.

shanusanus

Hi all - well the dealers round here now want to charge me £124 + VAT per hour to 'look' at the problem - although they have already told me that there is not a problem. The only way round it is to bring it up when I get my car serviced (in the next 1500 miles) as its a B service and they can take a look at the issue then - how mad is that - as I havnt got endless pockets and cant afford to pay an open ended diagnostic charge im gonna wait. This is all rubbish and is typical of MB dealers these days. The thing is I can almost guarantee there is a problem of some sort but with 3 dealerships all saying everything is fine its driving me mad.

shanusanus

so far then quiet afew of you have come forward saying you have the same thing - yet its not happening to everyone so surely that must show its not NORMAL running?!?!?

Just to confirm as well , when my car door is open yes you see the door shaking up and down! its not a massive shaking but rather like someone hitting there bum against the car side and it shakes a little - that sorta thing. The revs are stable - no running probs - just at idle it shakes - not all teh tiem but enough to know about it

Man - I wish I could just take it straight to AMG in Germany and get them to look at it - I bet theyd know straight away whats up.

CBlack

hi, a while ago i have the shaking problem when the car is idle like stopping at the traffic light. the shaking was quite bad it is more like jerking. i went to my mechanic to have it check and they told me it is problem with the hoses (i am not familiar with engine so don't know what hoses they are referring to)which are worn out. after they change the hoses, the problem is gone. hope this helps.

tee_tz

I guess these "hoses" are the plug wires? Hmm, probably. My car goes in tomorrow, I'll see what's up... It's weird we're all having the same problem but different things are being used to fix it.


Tee_Tz.

shanusanus

hi mate - can you let me know how it goes with yours - im still going down the engine mounts route but any other info would greatly help.

cheers

tee_tz

Car went into service today, they replaced the air filters and cleaned the gas tank. Arrived at the dealer past closing so I didn't get the car back but I'll get it tomorrow morning and by the evening I'll know whether the problem has been sorted. Cheers mate!

Tee_Tz.

shanusanus

we have a non-franchised MB service place down in Rainham so im gonna take teh car into them this afternoon - ill ask him to sit in teh car with me and tell me what he thinks - if he feels there is a prob ill book it in with him.

Ill let you know how it goes

shanusanus

Today as I pulled up at the lights it shaked like it was gonna cut out - but it didnt and the revs counter didnt go mad or anything- it just 'felt' like it was gonna cut out but all was ok. Man this is crazy that they can tell me its normal running.