2010 E550

i have had my '10 E550 for almost 2 months & at 3000 kms now ......i am one to hear any noise or creak in the car .....i became alarmed when, early on, i was hear a rattle/marbles-dropping -in -a -metal bowl/ringing castanets type sound ......searched on the internet & i now know it's called pinging or engine knock ......spoke to the dealer who asked me what octane gas i was using since that may be causing the noise [ it will only occur when i am going at around 50 km/hr [ 30 mph] & engine is at low RPM [ maybe between 1000 & 1500] .....when i depress accelerator slightly i wlill hear the sound. The shop foremancalled it pre-ignition. Told him i was using 91 octane --- he "adjusted the fuel map" & it continued though at a lesser frequency .......went back & he "turned it doewn a notch" again ....to the lowest level he said he can adjust it to....said i may see a slight difference in the power/performance.....now that he said that i think i do notice it . But, I have put in 2 tanks of 94 octance & the pinging seems to be gone ---- i intend to go back & ask dealer to adjust it 'up' 1 notch again because i want that little extra performance back... ...

has anyone else had any such issues with either the 350 or 550 ? does anyone know exactly what the dealer did to "adjust" ?? also if i get it adjusted back up & still hear the sound, the dealer says i shouldnt worry & it wont cause any engine damage ..... any thoughts ?

Steel.Grey.MB

Haven't encountered that problem. Sorry to hear about that. I've had a few problems with my 550 but thanks to the warranty all have been fixed. I would say keep a look out for that same sound and if it comes back bring it back to the dealer and demand they fix it to your satisfaction.

sosh

The dealer must have retarded the ignition timing. Thats about the only adjustment that will eliminate it but it does reduce power. you may have gotten some substandard Gas. The engine is designed to produce rated power on 91 octane fuel.

2010 E550

when you say retarding the ignition timing will reduce power , what kind of reduction are we talking about ? in % or horsepower terms ?

sosh

Sorry I just do not know the reduction percentage or HP degredation. Do not even know if there are any engineering computations for it. However it will or should be noticable to the driver. You need not use any gas thats higher than 91 octane as thats what the engine was designed for to produce max rated power. You just may have gotten a bad batch.

stanatl

On a car like this I wouldn't think that they should have to adjust the timing down to get it to stop pinging if you used good gas that meets the octane rating that they spec. The only time it should noticeably ping is with low octane gas or "bad" gas - perhaps with water in it. I would hate to think that I would have to sacrifice normal performance if I'm using the right gas. The performance is one of the reasons I'm buying the car!

I believe that my BMW on-board computer adjusts automatically for lower octane fuel with a subsequent loss of power. A lot of people went through this awhile ago when we had that short term gas shortage down here and there was absolutely NO hi test. A lot of times the only gas available was regular (if there was any gas at all).

2010 E550

thanks for the input .... as i said with 2 tanks of 94 octane all seems well .... i will revert to 91 & monitor it ...then go back to the dealer to have the factory settings re-done......

sosh

MB has the same type of auto retard and advance along with a knock sensor. However it seems what the OP had was gas that was very poor and way lower octane than the range of the auto system could compensate for. As for water in the gas that would create a whole different set of issues. The engine in my 2010 ML550 is the same as used in the E. I have never had that or any other isues with it.

bobcpa

I have a 2010 E350 coupe. My girlfriend (and now I) have noticed exactly what you are referring to. It doesn't happen a lot, but at low RPMs....we definitely hear the sound that you refer to. I am going to print out a copy of this thread. As soon as the indicator goes on to top off the oil, I am going to bring the car to the dealer for them to look at it.

K-A

Something is definitely up. He shouldn't have to retard the timing so much to get to stop pinging. You are definitely losing some power, and your car should run 100% with the stock timing, and 91 octane, any lower octane should result in your cars computer automatically retarding timing itself, with no pinging.

2010 E550

what can i say but ...... i am sorry to hear that you are also hearing the same thing......& in the 350 engine ...... i had thought that perhaps one reason for the sound was that in C [ Comfort] mode the car starts from a stop in 2nd gear & that because that was the default mode, perhapsthe pinging was due to some type of 'engine load' ..... i dont believe that is the case though ; whether the 350 or 550 engine ......i really wish i had never heard the sound now !

on question though Bob - - why wait until the oil top off indicator goes off & when does that happen ? shouldn't that be part of the first Service A ?

sosh

As I said in a previous post any auto retard mechanism will only go so far. The gas he purchased was way out of spec and created a situation that the auto system could not compensate for. He should have taken a sample of the fuel and had it tested and sent back to whoever blended it. There is no auto retard system that can handle an extremely bad tank of gas. I once purchased a tank full of a 93 octane gas ffor my vintage Corvette. By the time I got home the car would barely run. I drained the fuel and put it into my tractor which would not even start with it. I stopped buying fuel from that station and never had an issue again.

K-A

Yeah, that's hopefully the case. O/P, this is a good time to hit a drag strip, just burn that gas out of the cars system, get the timing put back to normal, put in some (different than the last place you went) 91 Gas, and see if that works.

Kar don

I noticed the same thing on my 550 when climbing hills or at low RPMs. I switched to Shell V-power gas and haven't noticed it anymore.

JoeVal

I'd limit myself to first line banner stations with plenty of activity, and keep getting 91 octanes. To start, I'd go to a Chevron/Texaco or to a car parts store and get a .375 ml bottle of Techron Injector Cleaner and feed it into the tank followed by 25 litres or 8 gallons of 91 octane gas. This will take care of cleaning the fuel system. Should the ping continue, the gas is bad.

As for the adjustment, there is a range of tolerance for setting the timing, and it is only in this range that the dealer would have adjusted it. The rest is protected by the ECU and sensors. Once you are satisfied, have it reset, and go...

2010 E550

thanks all for your replies ..... i will trythe Shell V gas & the injector cleaner....then reset to factory setting since i want optimal power as i had the day i got it .....7 weeks ago