Check engine light came on - car is unstable
after dinner, was driving home, car was warmed up before i do any spirited driving as i've done since day 1 of ownership. it was around 11:30pm and was on this stretch of road 3 lanes wide and pretty empty when a lexus GS zoomed by... soooo i caught up to it at a intersection and we both turned right and then we did like a rolling 40 and we took off... i was in S mode with esp off. no wheel spin. i got the jump and he was creepin, but all of a sudden, his car got super loud and just zoomed passed me... i was really impressed... i think the car had nos... either way, it was one QUICK car... then went back to normal driving and i turned around to head back towards home.
i was caught at a light by myself with no one around and i was still in S mode with esp off. i switched it to M mode and i decided to light up the tires just a bit. i didn't do a burn out... i just stepped on it while in 1st and right before red line, i went to 2nd but the red light lit up for a sec, and then i was still spinning a bit in 2nd and then went up to 3rd and just went on my way like nothing happened.
i drove for about 5 minutes just normally with some stop and go at a light and stop signs when i got into the neighborhood. i came upon the front of my house and just idled forward to park and came to a stop. right when i stopped, the car started to shake and the engine was bogging. i was like... wtf? and i just sat there in park while the car was shaking and bogging, and then the check engine light started to blink... i got nervous and shut the car off. i waiting a minute and started it back up, and it was still shaking, and the light was blinking. after a few seconds the light went solid... i turned the car off and called roadside service and they said all they could do is tow it to a dealership and wait until monday. i told them i'll just let it sit here and then see if it gets better tomorrow, if not, i'll call back and have them tow it first thing monday.
any ideas?
Last edited by bluejae; Mar 8, 2009 at 01:29 PM.
when you get a checkeng light that just goes on and stays on with out blinking you ok its nothing major. if the light blinks then its something major, anyway good luck and let us know whats going on and what happens .
FREE TOWING for MBZ customers like you... call 1800-FOR-MERC in USA only... btw where are you located? See your owners manual to see where you can call for MBZ customers and towing

Any check engine light MAL (malfunction) with any vehicle 'shaking'/'boggin' and what not will need a diagnostic first to find out what is wrong.
Luckily you're covered under Mercedes Benz warranty. You did the right thing with the check engine light procedure, turning off the vehicle and calling for tow.
Stay patient and hopefully your local dealership gave you a rental. Sounds like they might have it for a while if it is serious. If not, your car might be there for a couple-few days. Not much help but yeah good luck and be patient.
thanks for the tips... i really hope it's covered under warranty... and they don't come at me saying it was all my fault... M mode scares me now
thanks for the tips... i really hope it's covered under warranty... and they don't come at me saying it was all my fault... M mode scares me now
and the dealer take a look at the car, and they told me nothing is wrong, just too much ethanol on warm start engine.
But, I cant bet my car for your problem...good luck
Trending Topics
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
Best of luck
Ryan
Last edited by RedG; Mar 8, 2009 at 01:22 PM.
Sounds like a coil pack. I'm not sure if the C63 has CPs but I'd blow them all the time in my 1.8T Audi TT. I had to buy some upgraded ones.
seriously? does seeing the red light mean instant death? other than that, i don't see anything much different than what anyone else has done in their car.
great... now i should be paranoid too... maybe i'll just summarize my OP
That said, there are any number of problems that could cause this, including crank and cam sensors, COPs, plugs, etc.
Don't worry, you have done absolutely nothing wrong and Mercedes will fix your car whatever it turns out to be.
Last edited by NORTH 44 C63; Mar 8, 2009 at 07:02 PM.
dont worry, i know nothing to the extent of your damage, but you will be covered under warranty -
the last thing MBUSA is going to do is reject a warranty claim on a car that has an option to have the speed limiter removed b/c you drove it like you;re supposed to ...
Last edited by tyanger; Mar 9, 2009 at 01:20 PM. Reason: typo
dont worry, i know nothing to the extent of your damage, but you will be covered under warranty -
the last thing MBUSA is going to do is reject a warranty claim on a car that has an option to have the speed limiter removed b/c you drove it like it was designed to do ...
dropped the car off at the dealership and got a loaner... they won't have any information about the car until tomorrow... also having them do service A while it's there...
*fingers still crossed*
Same here. +3 on that comment. Passed a car but some idiot switched lanes in front of me right as the gear change happened.
Same crazy CEL and misfire within minutes. I guess this was limp mode. I was unsure if I would get to my office a mile away. I got there shut down the car and then restarted a few minutes later without a prob. Data log confirmed it was a cam sensor that shut down 4 cyl. All repaired under warranty and no issues since.
Shift light does not mean instant death. There is a rev limiter. I hit a geear change in M mode and it did not switch one time. Dash went red, rev limiter kicked in. That is its job. I released the throttle and pressed the + lever. No worries. I wouldn;t do it on purpose to try it out but that is why the car is equipted with it.

i figured there was a rev limiter, but it's just something about a big flash of red that just scares you... and after what happened to my car, can you blame me... but that's good to know, i guess i can venture on into M again later on








