Red1

I'm trying to diagnose an issue with an '04 E320. The car belongs to a coworker and the dealer's response to her doesn't give me warm fuzzies they're on the right track.

Issue: She had some stalling, took it to the dealer. After they could not get it replicate, she went to pick it up. Upon driving out, the car was sluggish to respond to throttle inputs. She'd press and press on the throttle feed, then suddenly the car would zoom to life and she almost wrecked three times before limping back to the dealer. At one point during this episode, as she was trying to get the car to respond to throttle inputs the whole panel of idiot lights lit up, but the car didn't stall.

The dealer now is telling her she has bad gasoline, and they're quoting her prices for flushing the system, draining the fuel tank, and changing the spark plugs. Oddly enough, they said they didn't plan on replacing the fuel filter.(?)She always buys premium fuel at the same Shell station, FWIW.

They're basing this diagnoses on having run her car from an alternate fuel source. She asked me if I thought that meant they drove it to test it, and my opinion is no, they hooked it up and just ran it in place off of an external fuel can. She said at no point has there been idle problems. So we're questioning if the alternate fuel source test was very effective.

I'm not convinced they're on the right track. Is this a drive-by-wire car? Just curious. It would seem to me it's more than just "bad gas". I would hate to see her throw money at it while the dealership keeps guessing. Anyone here have any insight?

TIA

cte430

Doesn't sound completely similiar, but do a search here on "stalling". Also, tell your friend to tell the owner of the dealership that this is now a safety issue (especially if it does it again after they've "fixed it"). Put it in writing. After my car stalled for the 3rd time my dealer offered me a new car without me asking.

ATS

Can't you siphon the gas yourself and then put some other gas in it and let it run to see if they are correct..?

CE750

It is drive by wire throttle .. it's not entirely impossible that there is a problem with the electronics or ECU, though if they said it's bad gas, they would have to have some reason to believe it. Star Diag may have told them there is a problem with the gas or combustion... I would have the gas sampled.. Also, maybe where she bought the gas, their supply was contaminated with lower octane gas. If the Gas is good, and the car is still reporting a problem with the gas, then I would assume it's an ECU/sensor issue that's retarding the ignition or something...

But from everything I've read (And I'm no mech), Star-Diag is good at detecting the problem, since the car has so many computers that report parameters.

GDawgC220

could be the fuel pump as well...symptoms you mention seem in line with a bad fuel pump.

BWL

I don't know if I would characterize my car as having the same exact problems - but I am experiencing sluggish throttle response on an intermittant basis (there is a delay or hesitation between when I step on the accelerator and the car actually takes off).

I have been trying to get this problem diagnosed for the better part of two years now and have had a number of parts replaced in an effort to fix the issue. I have also been told by the service department that it may be the fuel that I put into the car - so I have tried several tank fulls of Chevron, Shell, and Union 76 in premium and intermediate grades, but none of that seemed to modulate the problem.

I would not accept an explanation that this is normal for the car. I just had an E350 as a loaner vehicle for a few days and I did not experience any of throttle response issues I have with my E320.

In my opinion this should be handled as a warranty issue.

P.S. I am still uncertain as to whether my problem has been solved or not since getting my car back from the service department on Tuesday.

Red1

Thanks for the prompt feedback!

In order to get the ball rolling, she told them to go ahead with flushing the fuel line and draining the gas tank. We'll see if she's cured when she picks it up tomorrow.

I'll be a little surprised if this is it. I had really bad fuel once, and the car still ran. Nothing like what she's describing.

BWL

Please let us know how this ends.

Red1

Will do.

I'm a regular on forums for cars I own. I know the routine.

Red1

Apparently it really was fuel related. She ordered them to just drain and replace the fuel. She's had it now since late Friday, with no problems.

The dealership was pushing her to replace the sparkplugs, which she declined. At one point they were telling her it'd be $3000+ to replace plugs, fuel injectors, fuel line, etc. She's feeling the dealership was trying to take advantage of her.

CE750

if it was just the wrong grade of fuel... that's nuts.. if the fuel was filled with contaminants.. you'll need a new fuel filter for sure ($150 max!) and run a large bottle of Chevron's Techron (found at Target auto parts store) thru her tank (maybe a second bottle on a second tank) and that will clean out the entire engine and plugs just fine!