CyberMage

I purchased a 2007 E350 4Matic over easter with 43,000 miles. It's run mostly fine until yesterday. I did notice a couple of times when it was cold that the idle seemed rough, but attributed it to the last owner probably using cheap gasoline and decided to wait a bit before freaking out.

I'm not a morning person, so usually the car isn't started until nearly 10 AM. Yesterday I had to get up early and leave the house by 8 and there was still frost on the windshield.

I started the engine and hit the wipers to wipe the thin frost off the glass. Nothing happened. I then realized the radio hadn't come on and the dash display in the speedometer was blank.

I turned the engine off and restarted it. This time the radio came on, but the dash display said "ESP Not Functioning - Check Manual". Wipers and A/C still not working.

I turned it off and started a third time and everything was fine. No problems the rest of the day.

This morning I started the engine, noticed the radio was off but didn't think much of it, so I just turned it on and drove off. About a half mile from the house I tried to change tracks on the CD with the steering wheel button and nothing happened. I looked to see what song was playing and the dash display wasn't showing the song title. I tried hitting the button on the wheel to cycle displays and nothing happened. It was then that I realized it said "0 MPH" and the tach and speedometer needles were both flat at zero, despite my 20 MPH+ speed at the time. I then realized the A/C was off and checked and the wipers wouldn't work.

I only live a mile from work so when I parked I turned it off and restarted it and the AC came on and everything was fine.

I've already emailed the local dealership to set up an appointment, but was wondering if anyone had ever seen anything similar. I'm afraid this might be a fight because of the intermittent nature of the problem and the fact that it has only done it when it was cold. The dealership is about 2 hours away and the climate on that side of the mountains is several degrees warmer.

kl07rph

Hmmm, maybe your short commute (1 mile, which btw I am VERY jealous ) is not enough to recharge your battery. Also, you mentioned those issues occurred when it was cold in the AM, which leads me to think it might be the battery. Try hooking up to a trickler/battery tender or taking it on an extended drive (1hr on the freeway).

justdonating

I had a similar issue w/ a 03' E500. After replacing both batteries, the issue reappeared a few months later. A return trip to the dealer resulting in upgrading the vehicle's software, which appeared to resolved the issue. The technician also mentioned that I needed to drive the vehicle for 30 consecutive minutes on a regular basis to allow the batteries to charge. My daily commute is 3 minutes each way.

CyberMage

It's not a lack of charging - that may be how far to work, but it did this the day after a 4 hour trip. Doesn't mean the battery is good I guess, but it's not due to only going short trips. I love to drive it too much for it to be that ;-)

I've had zero trouble actually starting the engine. The starter never hesitates or seems sluggish on start and all the lights appear bright. I've also had no voltage warnings or other trouble reports (other than the one ESP warning) from the vehicle.

I've got a 9:30 appt on Monday at the dealership, so hopefully they can figure it out. I'll report back.

CyberMage

Well I went to the dealer today and they looked things over.

Official answer:

"Cannot reproduce customer issue at this time"

But, I happened to mention that when cold it would also idle a tad bit rough and seemed to shift harder. Turns out I need a new torque converter, which is now on order, but that would have nothing to do with my other issues.

That's what I was afraid of since it's intermittent. What sucks is living 2 hours from the dealership.

apl175

Best advice I can offer is that the next time it happens, use your camera phone (assuming you have one) to take photos or video as evidence to show to your service adviser.

tashakes

+1. Great idea

We did that on my wife's G35 when the screen went crazy, only did it sometimes, but when it did, I took like 10 pictures and emailed them to the SA. First time in, they replaced the thing. And no, they were not able to duplicate it in the 2 days they kept the car.

CyberMage

That's a great idea. A friend of mine with a BMW that would do weird stuff when cold started did the same thing and it made a big difference. Now if only I can reproduce it again before the warranty expires... considering the weather is now warmer it may not happen again until next fall, and by then I'll be out of manufacturer warranty and into my after-market one that includes a $75 deductible.

CyberMage

It happened again this morning, so it's obviously not related to the outside temperature as it was already 65+ degrees F. I'm liking the possibility of the key being the cause, because my wife had actually driven it about an hour before this to take my daughter to school and there were no problems for her. Apparently that was one reason why the steering wheel didn't move - her default position is with the wheel all the way up.

I've called and left a message for the dealer - soon as I can get an email address I'll send them these links.

Part 1:

YouTube - Dash Video 1

Part 2:

YouTube - Dash Video 2

Barry45RPM

I'm going with bad ignition switch. I seem to remember there being a problem with some switches in 211s in 04... Don't remember what about though.

fortlaudsummer

Agreed on the supporting photos. Sony Handycam came in handy when the dealership couldn't reproduce a noise that my car was making a while back.

CyberMage

The dealer has it right now, I get it back tomorrow, but an interesting thing happened this morning. I tried 3 times to start it and every time the console wouldn't wake up. I put in my wife's key and it worked perfectly. I switched back to my key and it still wouldn't wake up the first time.

MB211

Million Dollar Question:

Did you leave BOTH keys with the dealer?

CyberMage

Sigh.

No. Just the one I know has been used every time there was a problem. You make a good point though...

konigstiger

In a complaint such as this, it should have been requested that both keys be available when the appointment was made if you mentioned that only one key seems to be malfunctioning - it is a MB requirement for diagnosing DAS3 components (i.e.: key, EIS, etc).

CyberMage

Well now I'm getting very irritated. According to the dealer they were still unable to reproduce the problem, so to paraphrase: "sorry, we hope it gets worse so that it happens every time you start the car so we can find it, oh and by the way, we hope for your sake it happens before your warranty runs out in 4000 miles. Maybe if you could leave it with us for several days next time." Of course I've already spent 450 miles and three days of my time driving back and forth for them to find the problem.

What really irritates me is that I live nearly 2 hours from the dealer and I called BEFORE going to pick it up and was told it was ready. If they'd asked to keep it a few days I would have said fine and not had my wife drive me 2 hours to go get it, plus 2 hours home. No, I didn't specifically ask on the phone what was found - I had other things on my mind. Apparently they replaced the torque converter and just marked the console problem as unreproducible. I was told "The video was great, but without it doing it for us, MB won't let us just go randomly replacing parts.

Any suggestions?

lboudreau

I know it's a huge pain in the ***, but I would let them keep it for a few days. I know that at my dealer they have, in the past, accepted videos of a problem as evidence but not all of them do.

If I was in your shoes I wouldn't want to take the chance of driving it around and having the problem happen again in front of your eyes and not theirs.

mikekuriger

my c55 had similar symptoms when the alternator went bad.

konigstiger

Speak with the Service Manager and have him put you in touch with the MBUSA Service Parts & Operations Manager (SPOM) covering dealership to monitor/approve repair.

CyberMage

Well here's how I've started the escalation process. I sent an email today to my service advisor with the following. Personally I don't think I'm being unreasonable to ask that they come get it:

[my service advisor],

I started my car just now with my key (only the third time since your techs had it, including when I left your garage) and the dash thought it wasn't started. The check engine light came on again when it did this. That could be unrelated, I didn't see any warnings on the dash but then again, the dash didn't work other than to display 0 MPH briefly. My wife had driven the car several times today without a problem using her key.

I'm very frustrated because I could have just left the car with you on Tuesday - that's why I called before driving over to see if it was done - I didn't think to ask specifically if you'd actually fixed what I brought it in for on the phone. If you'd simply asked on the phone if you could keep it a few more days because they still hadn't figured out the problem I would have agreed. As it is I've already put 350 miles (2 round trips) bringing the car to you, and another 350 miles on my truck having my wife pick me up after dropping off the car and bringing me back out to get it for a total of 700 miles on my vehicles and three days of my time while attempting to get this issue fixed.

I understand that it's nearly as frustrating for you and your techs as well.

Please check with your supervisor and see about having someone bring me a loaner to [My Home Town] and pick up my car. I'll be happy to drive the loaner back out to you when my car is ready, but I have meetings here the rest of this week trying to catchup for missed time and won't be able to get it out there. I have to go to [other distant town] next Wednesday and would like to not be stuck somewhere without windshield wipers or ESP like I just was just now driving home from work. Safety is a main reason to own a MB, and unfortunately when the car thinks it's off, those safety features don't work.

Thanks,

CyberMage

Nice... now the dealer is refusing to return my voicemails or emails.

konigstiger

Check PM

MB_Forever

Maybe you can leave the car overnight, sleep in a hotel near by and request to be present with the mechanic when they start it in the morning. Also, take the other key with you just in case they needed to help diagnose the problem.

CyberMage

Well Thanks go out to konigstiger for helping me get in touch with MBUSA SPOM. While they never contacted me directly, I got an email from the dealer's service manager yesterday.

Amazingly after the service advisor telling me there was no way it's the key, the manager suggested that after speaking with MBUSA that maybe they should replace the key. He's placed one on order, said it will take 3 to 5 days to arrive.

I'll confirm it's the key - over the past few days while waiting I swapped keys with my wife and the problem followed.

vettdvr

I have already had the ignition key replaced on my e500. The switch and fobs. I also got the could not duplicate answer when my airmatic was leaking down. Photos of the fss are the way to go. Hope it works out well for you. I found staying professional is really the best way to go. I also feel your pain on the drive, each dealer trip for me is over 200 miles total.