AolHoward

on the way home last week, i was down to about 0.4 gallon of gas in the tank, while waiting on a traffic light going up hill, the car stalled and the whole car vibrates if i try to start it, after having somebody bring me a gallon of gas, car starts fine and runs fine as well except for the check engine light, it came on ever since.

what could have went wrong ??

mmgrad

could it be that when at an incline, your fuel wasn't being delivered properly, and therefore it stalled...

also, it could be that your fuel sensor is not reading the fuel level correctly.... so, don't rely too much on the fuel guage... Ben (Mach430) once said, the fuel guage is only accurate at two stages (full & empty)... and that is sooo true... most recommend not going past about 1/4 tank... worth the extra visits to the gas station, rather than having people laugh at you for getting stranded along side the road driving a benzo

btw, i think certain warnings stay on until the computer is reset by star diagnostics... you might wanna check with the dealer....

Josh K

Yeah, that **** happened to me today. I think my fuel sender is bad because it said I still had 2.5 gallons in the tank. And yes, I was one of those benz owners standing on the side of the damn freeway...

smalldog

At lease you guys looked cool with those hot rides on the side of the road. Gona start keeping an extra gas can in the trunk. Just have to leave the dead bodies at home.

rajah996

been there. My car started to shake right infront of a gas
station, so I just rolled right in. Ever since my bad fuel sender
problem, I keep her topped off at full. When I get near half
its back to the gas station.

AolHoward

Car at Penske now, they are going to charge me $95 (lowest i can find) just to TAKE A LOOK at the check engine light, take Danny's advice, fill it up once it go below 1/4 tank.....

not only is this embarrassing, it is also extremely dangerous, the car stopped on Pathfinder during rush traffic hour, there must be about 10+ times I thought my car was going to get rear ended, I finally pop open the trunk and stand behind the car so the traffic can see me……

TresX

Same **** happened to me....even the check engine light....and I had to replace the MAF to get the damn thing to shut off....good luck

thuged_out

it happened to me more than once. the check engine light ususally turns off in about a day or two

AolHoward

the service dept called me back with regards to the check engine light..... he told me i need to have all spark plugs & spark plug wires replaced and gave me a quote of $700 in parts + 3 hours of labor at $95/hr, WTF .... i told them NO and i want my car back now .....

i thought the spark plugs will last 100,000 + miles , my is a 2000 clk430 with about 32000 miles on it ???

can any8d recommened me to a dealership & a service advisor i can trust, this guy doesn't seem to know what he is talking about .... I am in Diamond Bar/Rowland Hts area ......

thuged_out

thast BS, I bet the light will go off after couple of days. there is nothing wrong with your car. Spark plug wires needs to be replaced? that just stupid. Greg from Keyes European in Van Nuys is a nice guy, but thats like 40 miles from where u live

mmgrad

Gus at W.I. Simonson Mercedes in Santa Monica is a awesome guy, but that is pretty far for you too...

varainstructor

You're right to get your car back. There is nothing wrong with anything remotely involved with you inginition system including your plugs and wires. This was a very common occurance for anyone with the first three production years for the CLK. The fuel sending units were junk and you could never tell how much fuel was in the car. The original design used copper contacts. These were latter changed to stainless but with limited success. If you ran it dry, (whether your gauge warned you or not), the onboard computer puts the car into "limp" mode. This feels like it's running on four cylinders but is supposed to protect the motor from potential damage while allowing you the option of getting to a safe stopping point. Getting fresh fuel in the car will kick the car out of "limp" mode but the computer has stored code in memory and the check engine message will continue until it is reset. Sometimes this automatically happens after a few hours, sometimes a few days. Other times, you have to have it manually cleared by anyone who has a diagnostic link with the right plug in for the mercedes plug in.

Bottom line is...if the car is running for you now, then the only thing for you to do is have the code cleared. You won't be harming any of the cars components. But take the advice of this thread...don't run your fuel levels down too low. I fuel up based on miles traveled. Anytime after 275 miles, I'm topping off.

imemikey

yup, had the same thing happen to me too, and i had about quarter tank of gas, this was at like 3 am and got charged 30 bucks for gallon

joeray

It's happened to me to, long time ago when I didn't know these cars have
gas sensor problems.

The sensor said I have 5 gallons left and the car just stopped in the middle of
the freeway.

So I called the MB roadside assistance, and they never showed up , leaving me waiting for them. Called them a copule of times and they said you are
out of gas and we can't help you, despite me telling them the car show I have
gas.

I finally called the AAA to rescue.

When I complained to MbenzUSA, they just offered to remiburse me for my cell phone air time.!!!

Josh K

That sucks! Sorry to hear that. MBENZ roadside came through for me, even though I did have to wait about 40 mins.