Aero93CLK430

Hey all,

I am currently tdy (in the military) and im 9 hrs away from home. I have been having trouble starting my car. I bought it at 60,000 miles, so i am not sure what all has been done for the major 60,000 miles maintenance. Im sure nothing..... anyway, sometimes when i start it, it is hesitant to fire right away. this is just occasional. Well, yesterday i started it up and drove it fine to the store, and when i came back and tried to start it, it kept truning over but would not fire. i kept trying for about 10 minutes, and nothing, so i left and called AAA. they were on their way out, and I went to me them, and i figured i would try one more time, and sure enough it started. so i cancelled with them.

I am pretty much an idiot when it comes to auto mechanics, but from what i gathered on ehre it looks like this might either be plugs, or fuel filter/pump. Is there anyway i can find out for sure what it is? Are these DIY's hard or should i bring it somewhere? How much can I expect to pay? Im just really afraid this will happen to me on the way back home, and Ill be stuck somewhere....please help any input would be greatly appreciated.

PFEIFFER

rsnpride

Your experiencing the same problem I had with my 2000 CLK430 a few weeks ago.

This is occasional however. Everytime I would first start the car, it was fine.

If I would go somewhere and them come back to the car, the car wouldn't start.

At first I thought my alarm went off so mercedes has this whacky system that when your alarm goes off, you can't start your car until you unlock/lock your car a few times (or something like that).

Anyways this kept happening to me quite often.

There is a trick however to make it start. When you twist your key at the same time press the unlock/lock button on the dashboard. Remember you have to do it simultaneously.

The problem with your car is that you need to replace the camshaft sensor. I replaced it a few weeks ago and now my car always starts.

Aero93CLK430

thanks for the quick response. is this a job any joe blow could do with a simple DIY on this forum, or is it pretty in depth? any idea wehre i can get the sensor and how much i can expect to spend? like i said im not at my home, and won't be for 5 weeks.. i just thought it was a fuel/spark problem since it kept turning over and not firing. i could have held the key to the on position for 5 minutes without losing any juice it seemed like, so thats was what led me to believe it was either spark or fuel....thanks for the reply

bbearden

What branch of the service are you in? I'm Air Force. It definitely sounds like a crankshaft (or camshaft) sensor problem. They operate on the Hall Effect and use a small rare Earth metal as a magnet to determine where the crank is in relation to the cam to tell the engine when to fire. When they go out, they tend to cause the engine to shut down when the car is hot or running for a length of time and then after they cool, the car will restart.
Check this thread below for some help. Sensor costs about $100 and another $100 to have installed so its not too costly if you cannot fix it yourself......

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...osition+sensor


Best of luck, you have plenty of time to fix it before your TDY is over. Hope you're not at SOS, sucks not to have a car there!!

tomtomtomtom

I believe that there is a recall on the part. I would call and ask the dealership (even if out of warranty). Give them a VIN #

Aero93CLK430

thanks fellas. it happened again to me today. i will go check out the dealership here in town and see how much they will charge to put a new one on. i just hope that is the fix. that thread sounded like the same problem i am having, so that is reassuring. im hoping there is a recall, that would be nice.

I am AIR FORCE too. currently tdy for tech school...im retraining into the paralegal career field from the weapons careerfield....little bit of a change...lol

Thanks again guys, ill let you know what happens....hopefully one of these days they can let me outta school early to take care of it

Whodat

Sounds familiar! It's your Crankshaft Position Sensor OR the Mass Air Flow thingy. They both exhibit the same symptoms. When the engine gets hot or warm, the CPS can fail. It needs to 'cool down' (about 15 minutes) to get the car to fire. I had my Crankshaft Position Sensor (CPS) changed and I haven't had that problem since. Anyway, I believe the CPS is a little cheaper than the MAF so change that out. That'll probably fix it. If possible (got the money), have your mechanic CHANGE BOTH. Better safe than sorry. Nothing more embarrassing than having to call a tow truck to tow your sled. I got lucky. Mine did it when my shop was open so I called my guy and he told me to let it sit for 15 minutes. Sure enough, that billy started right back up.

Some other notes:
- I was quoted $560 to change the MAF but I heard (here!) that you can change this part out in 5-10 minutes. Not sure how much the part is though.
- I was charged $320 for the CPS (parts and labor).
- my mechanic told me this is prevelant on the 8 cylinder Benz's. BTW, mine is a 2000 430.

Hope this helps!

rsnpride

So far 2 weeks since I replaced my camshaft sensor. Car works perfectly.

Aero93CLK430

i had my MAFs changed out less than a month ago, and it fixed my CEL, so this has to be the CPS. Thanks guys, i really appreciate all the help....hopefully no more problems, at least until i get back home.....

Safet

CPS problem here too. 6-year old, 8-cylinder car (2000 CLK430.)

Dealer replaced CPS, problem fixed.

Aero93CLK430

how much did it end up costing u if u don't mind me asking? my car is at the dealership right now, so id like to know aobut what this is going to cost me.

Safet

Something around $160 + tax ....around $105 for the part, + labor. I think it's around 30-40 minutes work.

Aero93CLK430

damn, well i paid 105 for the part, and 126 for the labor..grand total of 255... i know i should have just done it myself, but i really didn't have the time being tdy and all. anyway, u all hit it right on the money it was the CPS. tehy also changed out the harmonic balancer...i guess there was a recall...so if any of u haven't done that, i would get it done. hopefully that will be the last of my problems with this car...at least for a while.....even though i have noticed my A/C is not blowing very cold anymore........

Safet

Aero,

I paid about $290 altogether, because I had them look at a few other things, and they cut me a break on the diagnostic time a bit.

They also changed the harmonic balancer for me (apparently a "service campaign", not a "recall" - what's the difference?)

Same thing for the ac with me too...maybe needs refrigerant?