New to MB , New to this forum , Broken E280

Jan 19, 2003 | 12:59 PM

synchrocnc

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From: kingswinford, england

SL500 M119 1998

New to MB , New to this forum , Broken E280

I have just boght my first mercedes an E280 V6 auto ,it has 45000 miles and its a 98 model . I bought it from my local mercedes main agent with 12 months warranty .

I took delivery of the car on friday 17/01/03 and all seemed well until about 2 miles down the road when the engine stalled exiting a junction , I thought it was strange but it restarted first time . The car then stalled again 6 miles later while doing 70mph on cruise control , I pulled over and the car wouldn't restart . when it cut the second time the only indication was the BAS/ESR light came on and no other warnings , the main dealers service manager asked me to wait 5 minutes and try it again , I did and it restarted again and lasted 1/2 a mile more , the engine would crank at good speed but not fire . The car was recovered to the dealer and I'm now driving an courtesy A160 which is supprisingly good .

I would like to know if anyone has had the same fault , I hillclimb race a mini which I built so I am quite technical and would like to know . I cant belive my first merc lasted 8 miles !!!!!!

I live in england and any help would be apreceated .

Many thanks Alan

Last edited by synchrocnc; Jan 19, 2003 at 02:48 PM.

Jan 19, 2003 | 07:46 PM

johnny's E320

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Joined: Dec 2002

Posts: 81

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From: Palo Alto, CA

1998 E320 Sedan

Sorry Alan

I'm sorry that I don't have a response, only that the English have problems like this...not the Germans.

Are you sure you didn't purchase a Jaguar?

Good luck with your E280.

John in San Francisco, CA

Jan 20, 2003 | 01:58 AM

synchrocnc

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From: kingswinford, england

SL500 M119 1998

No , i'm sure it had a three pointed star on the front

, its hard to belive this has happened really . I do about 40-50000 miles a year and have had 4 nissan primera's that must have done 250000 miles between them and none of those ever let me down !

II hope MB can sort this out , otherwise I think it could be a frustrating relationship between myself and MB . Watch this space !

Alan

Jan 20, 2003 | 03:42 AM

Mitias

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From: UAE

99 E320

I would not get too frustrated just yet. I am also new to MB and have had some initial problems with my purchase. Given that the car is not brand new, it is not unlikely that something could go wrong. It might take some time to get the kinks out of it and get it to where you are running smoothly. It is unfortuneate that some people purchase fine automobiles and do not attend to them like those who frequent this board and others like it. After some TLC and a few minor repairs, My MB is running well and the relationship is getting better. The more you drive the car the more you learn about what it can do. I had this experience with my 525 and after a while, I could "feel" and/or "sense" if something was wrong. That is what is so nice about these German autos. My advice is just be patient and you will get through this. I hope that your experience turns favorable.

Good Luck

Peter

Last edited by Mitias; Jan 20, 2003 at 03:44 AM.

Jan 20, 2003 | 02:24 PM

synchrocnc

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From: kingswinford, england

SL500 M119 1998

Thanks for your kind words , I hoped to be impressed and I'm not yet . MB have been working on it for 1 1/2 days now and its cut out at least 3 times on them but they still dont know what the problem is .apparantly each time its cut they had the diagnostics connected and there were no errors , now I'm just a humble service engineer but it does scream out engine ECU to me ! watch this space.

Jan 20, 2003 | 07:04 PM

rp718

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Joined: Dec 2002

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From: Ramona, CA

1996 E320

It does seem that the problem lies in the ECU, or "brain". If there was a fault elsewhere, the ECU would have detected it. Since there were no faults recorded, it seems logical that the ECU itself is faulty. Maybe you'll get some new parts out of this. I could see them replacing the fuel pump and filter, ignition switch, plug wires and vacuum lines before they even look at the ECU.

Jan 29, 2003 | 04:53 PM

synchrocnc

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From: kingswinford, england

SL500 M119 1998

Great news , my E280 is fixed !!!!!!!

It took MB 10 days to do it on warranty but at least I have my first MB to drive

The fault was a faulty crankshaft sensor and the reason they couldn't trace it was that it did not show on the diagnostics , after lengthly conversations to the service manager we concluded that the sensor must have either worked fine or not at all because if it would have started to miss pulses then it would have shown on the diagnostics .

Any way i'm now enjoying my W210 very much , I cant belive what i've been missing !!!!

Thanks for the help guys

Alan