pointman

04 C32, low miles. Lately I have been noticing that the throttle response isn't as strong as usual. When I push the throttle, normally the car moves strong and confidently. But lately at times it is SLIGHTLY sluggish. Definitely not limp home mode or anywhere near that bad. Very slight. Then thru the course of the drive it will return to normal.

I know it seems vague, but I think that if anyone understood it would be a fellow C32 driver. And no, I am not getting any error messages.

Jons95c36amg

Sometimes my c36 does the same thing. Especially when its heat soaked.

pointman

I had a C36 and a C43. Neither of them exhibited this weird trait.

jacek9478

mostlikely all you need to do is reset your ecu.
While you drive ECU learns and adopts to your driving style.
To reset ECU just turn ignition on ( do not start engine ) and depress throttle ( just floor it ) hold for 5-10 seconds and start engine. Your car should get the edge back.

pointman

Interesting. Do I hold the throttle down while restarting?

Thanks.

Magician

No, let off the gas after the 5-10 seconds, then restart

pointman

Thanks. Just did it. Hoping it worked.

1FSTAMG

Let us know if it works or not.

pointman

Well, it didn't do anything good.

The other day I lost power. On the highway... cruising around 65 and floored it. NOTHING. Car didn't rev, and it didn't pick up speed at all. It was like I wasn't hitting the throttle. Something is completely fubar.

Slater126

That's probably the transmission. These cars have a sort of "adaptive" driving program where if you drive slow for a time (like in heavy traffic) the transmission gets slower and doesn't shift as quickly. That's probably what you're experiencing. Happens to me all the time living in a congested urban area. No way to avoid it other than shifting manually.

pointman

Definitely not the case. I manually dropped to third at over 60 mph, and the car still didn't move.

jacek9478

In this case look into your I/C pump.

Drive your car hard for few minutes, if you loose power and after another few minutes power is back- classic symptopms of failing I/C pump.

easy to fix DIY, almost impossible to convince dealer to repair it.

Good luck,
Jack

pointman

Interesting. Thanks. The tech told me he is thinking "water pump".

Bif powell

If it's a complete loss of power, it's probably the intercooler pump. If it's 'slight' then it's probably just the fact that the transmission is deciding to go into a higher gear and bogging. If you manually shift it, it should rock and roll. If you manually shift it and it's totally sluggish, and this behavior is complete or intermittent, I would suspect the IC pump. It just happened to me, so your last couple posts seem to describe what I've been feeling as well.

Hazy1

When the IC pump goes out, at least on the E55, the car will still build revs and increase speed, but its like you're in one of those commercials dragging a 10' anchor or a piano. Parts of his problem sound like the IC pump, but I would think that this was something different.

itsmeek

it's also hot and humid as hell around most of the us right now.

pointman

Thanks guys. I think you got the diagnosis right. Will report back when I know more.

pointman

Just wanted to say thanks. You guys were dead on.. ic pump. Replaced, and now the car is back to its old self! Thanks again.