rocketpig

Hey, just bought a C32 but I've been lurking on this forum for awhile. It's a fantastic car but it needs a little bit of work because it's been sitting for two years.

1. Off-idle surge & Check Engine light: From a stop, the car bucks like someone who can't drive a stick. If I let off the throttle and hit the gas again, it smooths out and accelerates great. If I slow down to under 10mph and hit the gas, it does the same thing, though not as violently. Again, if I let off the throttle and hit it again, it smoothes right out. There is a small amount of bucking at speed but it's barely noticeable. Any ideas on what could be causing this? I plan on taking it to a german specialist or a dealership but I'd like to have a little information going in. I figure it's a sensor malfunction somewhere because of the inconsistency.

2. Alignment: this car needs an alignment in a big, bad way after sitting. I've heard that only MB dealerships have the correct tool to do this. Just want to confirm whether that's true or not.

3. iPod connectivity: I need to get an mp3 player connected to this thing and would prefer to do it on the cheap because of the other problems and the fact that I need snow tires. It does not have a nav system, which I guess changes things a bit. Any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated (though I'm not going to do the work myself, I HATE tearing apart dashes).

4. Snow tires: any recommendations?

Thanks in advance. I'm soooooooo excited to get this car (moving from an 08 Pontiac G6 and purchased this car from my father, who hadn't been driving it for a few years so it only has 88k on the clock).

moosejaw

1. First do a tranny flush. Also look for Glycol Contamination in your tranny fluid (Use the search feature). Search on how to do it and what to buy.
2. Any place can do an alignment. I piad $40 for mine to be done.
3. Do a search for IPOD to find a third party source to hook it up but i think you would be better off with an aftermarket system. Look up double din units from Pioneer. I like the BT series or the AVIC Series.
4.Snow tires i know nothing about since im from the south. Ask a Canadian.

rocketpig

Thanks. I'm not looking for an entire stereo system... yet. I found a thread somewhere (and promptly lost it) that showed pictures of someone installing an aux jack in the glovebox and connecting it to a plug in the passenger doorsill. Would that work for a 2002 C32 with no nav system in it? I assume that plug is there, it's just not used because there is no nav system in the car.

jturkel

ah. someone cheap like me.

rocketpig, you know those ipod kits you can get at best buy for like 20 bucks that goes into the tape deck that you can hook up to the ipod? yup. that's what i have.

i put the tape in the tape deck. had to gently force it closed. i have the thin wire up in the top left hand corner (from the driver's perspective) of the tape deck so when it closes, that is where the wire protrudes from. then i snugged it along the carbon fiber lining all the way down to the cup holder. actually looks pretty clean and the wired ones obviously have way better sound quality than those wireless ones

congrats on your new car and welcome to the forum!

rocketpig

Heh, not totally cheap, just being cautious because of the expense this car could tally up on me if the surging problem is something more complicated than a sensor. Just the snow tires are going to run me $800. :P

I'll look into possibly upgrading the stereo down the road, just not now. The current stereo works just fine for me if I can get an mp3 jack hooked up to it.

moosejaw

NO that only came on the NAV equipped vehicles
I dont think the Audio 20 has a AUX input. In any case check the right side of the glovebox.

Also use the SEARCH function. Items #1-3 has been discussed numerous times.

rocketpig

I've been doing some searches and I've found some useful information but not any hard solutions. The car goes into a German auto specialist on Monday to get the alignment done and I'll poke around his head and see if he has any ideas about the surging. I talked to him and he seems like a good guy. Hopefully he won't bend me over when it comes to "fixes".

rocketpig

Oh, and of course, I have Woody the Woodpecker going inside the glove box whenever I start the car... surely the stepper motor. That fix looks like SO MUCH FUN! :P

Gramma_Benz

I have a brand new Harmon Kardon Drive + Play that I'll let go super cheap!

http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-DP-1US-Controller/dp/B000BT97UO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1288380710&sr= 8-1-catcorr

spatton

how would you hook that up? wireless only? or through fm modulator in back?