I have had a recurring issue, one that has cost me several thousand dollars in repair cost that has yet to resolve the problem. From about 1800rpm to 3000rpm at a maintained speed, the car sputters and surges. The car codes are 2216 and 2217- "resonance intake valve" although both resonance valves have been replaced and the electrical switches to the valves have been replaced. In addition here are some other repairs:

control module replaced
fuel checked for mold and fuel filter replaced
heat exchanger for fuel replaced
upper and lower resonance valves replaced
control valve replaced
fuel lines checked for air (no air)
crossover tube cleaned with acid bath

The codes still indicate a bad resonance valve. The car was checked by another mechanic who said the lines were leaking air but the mechanic who is working on the car said he checked and did not see any air bubbles in the line.

I like driving the car and like the gas mileage, but I have already spent $3,000 in repairs and it now teases me because I know it is close to being fixed.
I also am a firm believer in "two heads are better than one" so I am seeking advice.
The car has 100,000 miles on it and the electrical current to the fuel pump checked out. The mechanic is going to check the screen close to the fuel pump to see if there is gel build up, but it seems to be an aspiration issue. Can anyone please shed some light or offer some additional things to check. Input would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have a rules of my own --- if I feel the problem I have tricky for the mechanics I take it to the Dealer regardless of the cost ---

 

Unfortunately, the dealer in Birmingham has inept mechanics. In fact, there isn't a Mercedes dealer within 200 miles that has any decent mechanics who can work on diesels. The problem with almost all Mercedes dealerships is that they have 4 trained mechanics, the rest are just wrench turners with some mechanical aptitude...enough to get by.
I checked with several area dealerships, none have a diesel specialist and all want to do their own diagnostics. I know what the codes are and what they mean, but I am going broke trying to find someone who knows what the problem is and can fix it rather then try. As stated before, I have spent over $3,000 with mechanics who guess. I am not including the $600 Mercedes charged and the $2,500 worth of electrical damage the mechanic at Crown Mercedes caused to my vehicle (they reluctantly paid for that repair).

 

I'm not a mechanic, but I'll chime in with a few points/ideas:
-How is performance after 3000 RPM?
-Have you replaced the MAF? I realize this isn't throwing any codes, but I do believe these can go bad and cause similar symptoms.
-Bad fuel/water in fuel? How long has this been going on for? If its for one tank, then this is a possibility.
-Your car has two fuel filters: pre, and a main filter. Were both replaced? Properly?
-Check your injection pump. These are known to leak. Well, if it is leaking, you would smell diesel fuel when you open the hood.
-Your fuel tank also has a filter screen. This may be clogging. If you fill up with biodiesel this will definitely speed up the clogging process.

I hope some of these ideas help.

 

Wow. Mind blowing suggestion.

 

ill somewhat agree and disagree with you, crown is ok, they have a bunch of new guys there. i will remain anoymous on this,and it is not me, but ask for the SLR/maybach tech to check your car, as to why its throwing codes, (i have read your previous threads, from a while back), is odd, i would at least check the vacuum hoses to the valves, may also be a bad connection (wiring)

the older guys are the ones to see with your problem, not the younger techs.
surges etc are somewhat normal, for a diesel, but im baffled on the whole fault codes popping up.

im sure someone from crown will read this,i do not work there.

 

Let me try to help.... Great diesel forum is www.Mercedesshop.com. I quoted from a prior thread as someone has had this issue previously. Quite common issue...


I have just finished a 5 month ordeal regarding this on my E300D. I too thought the problem was related to the 3 intake baffles on the manifold. I dutifully took it off and cleaned all the soot which accumulated from the emissions Exhaust Gas Recirculation. OK this didnt solve my problem. At 60 mph and 2700 rpm the car would hesitate and start to puff smoke. Then hitting the gas pedal caused it to stop this behaviour.

Well the cleaning didnt remedy this problem. I sort of lived with it for 4 months when my Check Engine Light came on and the car began to hesitate at 40mph. After many trial and tribulations and a near miss at a dealership here is what I found fixed all my problems.

It is most likly you have either an electrical connection problem, or a vacuum leak. you need to check your vacuum from the pump and then at each of the following places

1. Vacuum Control Valve to the main intake baffle Front Left hand side of engine, (next to Air Filter)
2. Vacuum Control Value at the EGR. (just behind the main intake baffle)
3. Vacuum Manifold sensor line (Located on upper right hand side of engine on the manifold)

Make sure these lines and valves arent leaking.

Next check the electrical connections to the Vacuum Control Valves, these are located under the rubber tube going from the air filter to the manifold. Its best to take the tube off while doing this.

In my case I had 3 problems build up over time. My vacuum intake filter had become clogged reducing the vacuum, both electrical connectors to the VCV were corroded and needed to be replaced, and finally the vacuum manifold sensor linbe had a leak. I also replaced the VCV ($120 apiece) but in the end I dont think I needed to.

Dealer said it was the engine computer, and fortunately he was dead wrong ($1500 part if you can even get one).

Link to this thread: E300 Surging

I believe the vacuum filter is the small yellowish cone filter in a plastic enclosure just in front of the vehicle computers in the engine bay. I would start with that...

 

EGR or EGR vacuum transducer.
EDIT: unplug the electrical connector for the EGR and transducer, then drive it, yes the check engine light will be on for this. If the surging goes away, its the egr ($500+, ouch)

 

there is 2 sides to every story, joe b, you arent giving us the whole story, you are just a pissed off customer and you need to find someone to blame. you do not have the training nor capability to repair a benz, nor can you comprehend what exatcly is wrong with your car. You just needed a place to vent, and its a big mistake to do so online. Im not going into any details any further on this subject. Like i said before i have read your previous posts, you arent giving us the full story, which when others read it ,they assume they shouldnt take their car to Crown.

Crown does have some great techs.

I think if you just made a general comment about your problem and not named a dealership of which you had problems with, things would be better.
like I said before you just got pissed off since you didnt understand what was wrong with your car, and things happen,but to blame someone at crown. I wouldnt be surprised if crown told you not to come back. someone just really needs to butter your ***

 

I appreciate the input from y'all about my situation. I have replaced the following items to correct the ever present surging issue:
control valve
All resonance valves
cleaned passover tube in acid bath
replaced control module
replaced alternator
replaced fuel heat exchanger
replaced fuel filter
replaced electric sensors connected to resonance valve

The CEL codes related to the resonance valve. Ironically, it was a pinched sensor line located under the passover tube and had nothing to do with any of the parts replaced by the local dealer, Crown Mercedes. As far as Crown, they do have a few good mechanics, as stated before, they are the trained ones (6 are Mercedes trained), the rest, approximately 20 or over 3/4 are wrench turners with no formal training, yet consumers are charged "trained mechanic rates". My experience some would say is unique, yet there is a term other Mercedes owners in Birmingham have regarding issues, it's called "getting Crowned", I got Crowned...and was told to take my business elswhere because I was charged $3,200 to repair a problem that was never fixed and had my credit card company reverse the charges.

The surging problem still exists. From 1,800 rpm to 2,400 rpm at cruising speeds the car surges. I am prety sure it is an aspiration issue or vacuum leak based on the behavior. It feels like the motor is not getting fuel and jerking. The car goes back to the mechanic tomorrow and hopefully he will find the problem. I am going to have him check for air leaks, rear fuel filter, and some of the other suggestions submitted. Thank you so much for your input. Mechanics who don't take input from others should not be mechanics. Two heads are always better than one and a lot of times the obvious is overlooked.
I'll let you know what the issue was once the mechanic repairs the problem.

 

I had a very similar problem. We replaced all the same things flaps, computers, fuel lines, injector pump seals. In the end it ended up being a bad wiring harness to the fuel shutoff valve.

Have you replaced injection pump seals?

Hope this helps.

 

Michavali THANK YOU FOR YOUR POST!

I have been wrestling with this issue for about the same time as you and the fix was the same.
So all this time here was the problem, cracked seal around fuel filter, seal around fuel heat exchanger cracked, sensor to resonance valve pinched under passover tube, and electrical contacts on conectors cleaned.

Now after all that was done, the fuel filter and heat exchanger had nothing to do with the problem.
The resonance valves checked out OK and there was nothing wrong with the control module or alternator or seat control module, all the most expensive repairs were done at the local Mercedes dealer, the one with all the expensive diagnostic equipment that is supposed to determine what the problem is without replacing alot of parts. I was billed over $3,000 in total repairs from Crown Mercedes, repairs that did not fix the problem, some of which had absolutely nothing to do with the problem. I was fortunate to get my money back from Crown thanks to my credit card company, and even though I cannot take my car to Crown Mercedes for the fit I threw and the fact I got my money back, the total repair bill ended up costing less than $200 from Central Automotive in Homewood.
For any Mercedes owners in Birmingham, let this be a lesson to you. For any Crown Mercedes mechanic that happens across this site, post, get out while you can. There is a reason so many Mercedes shops are opening up in Birmingham and a reason they all are very busy...thanks to Crown Mercedes.
Don't get Crowned!