TWong1200

I just picked up a 95 with 135k miles. Black, SUPER clean, no dings, and no accidents. 18inch AMG wheels with Pirelli P7000s. Issues I've found so far are that the passenger seat will not lower; only worked going upwards. May be the switch. Broken visor and totally frosted headlights. Man do the headlights on this car suck @ss! Don't light up anything.

What have you experienced or what do you hear that's common?

Thanks in advance.

steve s

something sounds off with the headlights...they're e-code lenses...

also check the gas tank fuel indicators...mine corroded (prob cause i don't drive the car)

TWong1200

eCodes? Really? I have eCodes in my Jetta and they are just awesome. But on the c36, they suck. The lense doesn't have condensation or anythign like that....just the outside part of the lense looks frosted up.

As far as the fuel indicator, yes, the previous owner had problems with it and the indicator did act up once on me after I filled it up, it read empty and the fuel light came on. It's ok now....very odd. Can just the lenses be replaced on the headlights?

TIA.

PD in PHX

Oh Boy, are you in for a ride ...

I've owned my '95 c36 for about a year now, and though it's a great car, there's no end to the trouble ...

Start with timing chain gaskets that like to leak, move onto rear differential seals that do the same, control arm bushings that crack, air conditioning sensors that bonk out, locking mechanisms that quit without warning and **heaven forbid** your wiring harness should go bad.

I've never had so many problems with a car before (much less one that cost this much)!!! And repairs??? Try a minimum of $500 per at the dealership.

Despite the grief, though, there's nothing like the feeling of cruising in an AMG ...

Welcome to the club.

paul

narci

Repost from the W202 forum:

Hmm...I ask myself why Keep my C36 all the time. Things that have gone wrong so far:

1) MAS <---- $750 CND
2) Head Gasket <---- warranty
3) Ball joints X3 times <----warranty
4) Catalytic Converter (weld seams coming apart) <----warranty (this part costs like $3500 CND along)
5) Steering Dampner <---- $50 CAD
6) Warped Cylinder Head <----this one hurt. $4500 CND to fix
There's a few more i can't remember right now

Things that are going wrong right now:

1) Ball Joints (again)
2) Tie rod ends
3) Blower motor
4) Faulty/loose wiring that make the lights on the driver side of the car go on and off when I hit bumps
5) sticky shift stick
6) Engine and tranny mounts

Things i'm waiting for to go wrong: (based on others with a w202)

1) Engine wiring harness (common problem cause MB used some biodegrable insulation on them wires)
2) Flex disc


So far I have had huge problems with my car but why do I stil keep it?

Only reason is that I paid so much for it that it's not worth it to sell it back now.


BTW I have 111,000 KM on my car.

kodiak

Hmmm ... The C36 is a great car, but it does have some issues:

1) M104 Head gasket problem
2) Cam Housing (Timing Chain) gasket issues
3) Wiring harness
4) Coils
5) Control arm bushings
6) flex disk
7) Rear Differential Seals


just a short one to start...

~dnm

mmarg86

just wondering what is the flex disk in these cars?
The only other time I've heard this term used is on some of the Lotus cars... kinda like rubber donuts

kodiak

The flex disk joins the output shaft of the transmission to the drive axle.

~dnm

oosix

Had my 96 for over 2 years but I drive it sparingly. Here are the problems I've had:

1. wiring harness gone bad. (warranty)

2. cracked injector causing difficult warm start. (warranty)

3. gas gauge. sometimes drops to empty and then returns to correct reading. only happens sometimes so never got fixed.


this is all for now.

Eurosport

"Check engine light" came on last night
while doing "60mph" on the freeway, no leaks, no overheating, but did lose lot of power to the engine. Hopefully it's something minor, if not Stealership will hear what it means to have a car in the shop!!!

mmarg86

good luck!
keep us updated

oosix

I was reading explainations about the OBDII systems in 96 and newer cars. The check engine light is what is known as a Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) in the industry. It's major function is to see if anything isn't working right so as to cause emissions to go up. From what I read, what most likely happened is that there is something that happened to cause emissions to go up, causing the engine to enter "Limp mode" to try and keep emissions down. Cyclinder misfires is one example and it ranges down to loss of fuel pressure from a loose fuel filler cap. Hope it's something minor. Best of luck to u.

www.obdII.com has more on this EPA mandated system.

Eurosport

thanks for the ideas guys


here's the update:

Even though it felt like it was in limp mode, it wasn't in limp mode yet. 3 bad coils probably made it feel that way though.
They are about $110'ish a piece, they didn't have them in stock,
but they got ordered and will be in late Friday, so I only get to have it done first thing Monday morning, about 1hr worth of work should take care of it.
Total price should be 500-600 including the checking up done today, all labor and the 3 parts.
Drove it back home and it'll save some miles til Monday
Question is how long will my other 3 coils last? hehe

narci

I find it weird that it's your coils.

From what I hear those coils shouldn't need replacing and are to last the life of the car.

Maybe it's the wires or the COIL ENDS? plugs?

What was the exact diagnostic reading?

Eurosport

mis-fire codes present
test coil restance-too high
needs 3 coils replaced

that's more of the wording they use on paperwork

narci

hmmm...that's weird...maybe you should try replacing the less the $10 a piece coil ends before you dish out for coils.

Your going to have to replace the ends if you replace the coils anyways. whynot just replace the ends yourself first?

Rincewind

Check engine light and loss of power is almost likely a faulty air mass meter

If you have it done at the dealer, be prepared to pay anwhere from 500-700 bucks.

The part itself is 200 at benzbin.com but you will need the dealer to clear the code after its installed.

I'd have the light diagnosed with a star diagnostic tool at a mb shop or at the dealer before I do anything tho.

KenzBenz

This car is EXPENSIVE. Yes each time it goes to the shop its BAD news for your wallet. There something really wrong with my engine. When i put the car in Park. MY engines starts reving on its own. ANyone experience this yet. I have 140k miles...maybe thats why. My passenger seat wont go up or down. Only some days it works perfect. Theres a temporary fix for the the check engine light. i mean only maybe a day or turn. All you do is disconnect the battery. You will have to reset your radio if its stock. But the annoying check engine light will turn off for a day or two. Nice car but can be a nightmare when you start fixing it.

J Irwan

The problem with your rev seem to be the MAF meter.

I have that problem before, when I put the car in N or P the rev stuck @1500 rpm..


Replacing the new MAF takes care of the problem.
Plus with the new MAF the car accelerate harder now..


I would clean-up the MAF every 30,000 miles if necessary.
That way we would get the optimum performance out of it.

Regardz,


J Irwan

KenzBenz

Thank you Irwin but can you tell me what the MAF is? Let me know soon asap so i can fix my car...i miss driving it. Thanks man.

KenzBenz

oh also would the ...MAF have anything to do with the O2 Sensor? Thanks

J Irwan

Ken,

MAF is the Mass Air Flow sensor.


Regardz,

J Irwan

Eurosport

this thread should be a sticky

Regime|Life

Ohhh man... I'm scared to own a C36 now.

Eurosport

don't be
it might seem like a lot but take in account
most of them are from 0 mileage to well over 100k on them
and remember it's a benz life begins after 100k unlike bimmers