First, I did a search and got a lot of useful info, but figured I'd solicit the collective wisdom of the board.

Car is a 2001 CLK430 with 82K on the clock.

This started about 2 weeks ago after my second consecutive tank of Union 76 gas when I have always used Chevron for 99% of my fill-ups. Hmmmm?

I have since filled up with Chevron again, but vibration persists.

Car now shakes / vibrates at stop lights in drive...not like it's going to stall, but like it's a 95 Hyundai!

Had the motor mounts replaced at last service less than 1 year ago, so I don't think it's that.

I'm still under warranty so I'm taking car to dealer but want to be armed with real-world info.

What do you guys think MAF? O2 sensors? Anything I'm missing as a possible suspect?

Thanks guys.

JMA

 

How many years & miles warranty do you have?

 

motor mounts may have gone bad again. i replaced mine once, the problem came back up, the guy said "hmm, i think i used the wrong TYPE of motor mounts on your car the first time." he replaced em again and the problem stayed away. some people also report it being the transmission mount, so get that checked too.

 

Thanks for the feeback....more is appreciated as I probably won't take the car in for another week or two (fingers crossed!).

When I bought the car new I paid extra for the 6 year / 100K MBZ warranty. It has paid for itself many times over. As you know these cars tend to have a lot of little issues. Never a problem with the drivetrain, though.

I still think the W208 CLK430 is one of the better looking cars on the road. Even with the issues I have had with it, I would buy it again in a heartbeat. That big V8 in that little car is a blast.....

Cheers,

JMA

 

Make sure the harmonic balancer has been replaced and find out when the last time the MAF was replaced.

 

I had those exact same symptoms, my harmonic balancer pulley was replaced at no charge, under recall by Sovereign MB. Since then, its been perfect, no more vibration or stall out unbalanced type feel.

 

Thanks for the additional recommendations. I'll mention them all to the service advisor when I bring it in so he'll know I am not totally clueless.

This board rocks...between MBWorld and Rennlist for my P-car I know as much as the service advisors I deal with most of the time!

I'll let everyone know what it is when I get the problem corrected so the archives will be complete.

JMA

 

i've had my run with rough idles... here's what came about with my experiences...

btw, my car runs smooth now...

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class-w208/128388-abs-nope-bas-nope-esp-nope-alternator.html

 

OK, I finally took my car into the dealer for the rough idle problem I originally posted in this thread. As it turns out, I think I may have had a new issue that causes this problem. The invoice says: "cylinders 7, 3 and 5 were missing. Found A and B secondary wires to be faulty in all three affected cylinders. Removed and replaced A/B secondary wires on 3, 5 and 7 cylinders".

That is it...no MAF, no harmonic balancer, no mounts? Car now purs like a kitten...cool.

I have another story, though. The reason I finally brought the car in is because all of a sudden the check engine light went on and the car went into limp mode making it basically undrivable. I think it was stuck in second gear because at 40mph, the tach was at about 4500rpms. Anyway, I did a search and found another poster to have had the exact same symptoms some time ago. Namely, the car took a second or two longer than usual to turn over and when it did the check engine light was on and the car was in limp mode. Apparently, the shifter bearing assembly needed to be replaced as that was the dealer solution to the problem. I had noticed that the shifter seemed a little loose the last few weeks, so it must have died a slow death and the car went into limp mode to protect it from itself!

Anyway, since I was there I also had them replace the windshield washer fluid pump which had died a few month back, too.

So there you have it, 3 problems all corrected in 24 hours by FJ in Newport with a C240 loaner to boot. That place does unbelievable volume and they sure treat their customers right. I have nothing but good things to say about my experience at FJ Motorcars (having the max extended warranty helps!).

Hopefully this helps someone....I consider this issue closed. Thanks to those who tried to help in the diagnosis.

Cheers.