Assistance Graphic




No doubt I've joined the right group. And hopefully learn something to help the next guy.




- Radar Front Left
- Radar Front Right
- Windshield camera.
-- Radars to CAM use their own separate "flexray" CANbus
-- CAM acts as gateway to talk to ESP on I forgot was bus.
It is normal when poking at the camera and ESP for cluster to display amazing messages and warning icons during troubleshooting.

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Oct 23, 2023 at 09:21 PM.




- Radar Front Left
- Radar Front Right
- Windshield camera.
-- Radars to CAM use their own separate "flexray" CANbus
-- CAM acts as gateway to talk to ESP on I forgot was bus.
It is normal when poking at the camera and ESP for cluster to display amazing messages and warning icons during troubleshooting.

You know, you are correct about stuff showing up while being connected. I’m just trying to complicate stuff, it’s what I do.
I for got, I got labs tomorrow, the kind where I gotta fast. So once I’m done and get some nutrition in me, I’ll start back on it.




Will be a minute before I can resume the electrical gremlins plaguing the distance assistance issues.
Thanks for all the help,
To be continued...




Will be a minute before I can resume the electrical gremlins plaguing the distance assistance issues.
Thanks for all the help,
To be continued...
Do you think it is your intake passenger lock-pin is wasted already or simply your chain tensioners leaking oil pressure? While tensioners are empty they make pretty decent rattle with the same frequency as the MB signature VVT Rattle.
You can easily pop the magnesium timing cover, rotate crankshaft to assess damage.
Recently I've watched Tasos talk about rebuild kit options to prevent $700Ea. VVT.
Tasos pretty much said the engine either wears the Intake phasers driving low RPM around town or the Exhaust with higher speeds.
So you want to rotate the crank manually 2X TURNS to witness any loose phasers.
While in there, secondary chain tensioners always good items to replace. My '14 came with check-valves factory installed.
New genuine tensioners are weak and less than smooth. You can pull the pin and manually play with the plugger, that gets stuck, release etc
🤞
+++ Next Frontier: MFK!
It's likely I will crack open my working sealed MFK before the loose pins cook up a surprise (networked radars keep reporting transient ghost's, to get my attention 🙂
.The windshield twin camera feature their own high current glass defroster controlled locally - So their internall pins handle DTA/PWR ... me hitchy handed too

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Oct 25, 2023 at 09:15 PM.




Normally cold starts are just the werring sound of the secondary tensioners pumping up.
Mine is a 14' should have the check valves as well.
I had previously captured and graphed all four cam sensor readings, the exhaust and bank 2 intake showed a rise but was smooth, the bank one intake was jagged showing the pin not fully locked in place. I can't image the capture if I'd gotten a graph from today's sadness. So I'm fairly confident it's both the secondary tensioners as well as the bank one Camshaft Adjuster based on those captures.
I've not pulled the cover to physically verify the fault yet. Stamina not yet recovered. Took half a day just to do a simple oil change on the wife's Santa Fe the other day. Simply embarrassing. I use to be able to do two full brake jobs and a couple wheel alignments all at the same time in a couple hours.
Still trying to decide, the dealer or a run down Mercedes and import shop, that was well recommended by the BMW shop I know, but the junk cars on his lot, Albeit he's been there since the 80s or longer. Also good reviews online. No other shop has the tools.




Do you think it is your intake passenger lock-pin is wasted already or simply your chain tensioners leaking oil pressure? While tensioners are empty they make pretty decent rattle with the same frequency as the MB signature VVT Rattle.
You can easily pop the magnesium timing cover, rotate crankshaft to assess damage.
Recently I've watched Tasos talk about rebuild kit options to prevent $700Ea. VVT.
Tasos pretty much said the engine either wears the Intake phasers driving low RPM around town or the Exhaust with higher speeds.
So you want to rotate the crank manually 2X TURNS to witness any loose phasers.
While in there, secondary chain tensioners always good items to replace. My '14 came with check-valves factory installed.
New genuine tensioners are weak and less than smooth. You can pull the pin and manually play with the plugger, that gets stuck, release etc
🤞
+++ Next Frontier: MFK!
It's likely I will crack open my working sealed MFK before the loose pins cook up a surprise (networked radars keep reporting transient ghost's, to get my attention 🙂
.The windshield twin camera feature their own high current glass defroster controlled locally - So their internall pins handle DTA/PWR ... me hitchy handed too

But if it is just the tensioners, all the better. I wish I could do it, I would not replace the adjusters, I'd tig weld with stainless rods, reshape the plates and they'd never wear out as long as I own the car.




Normally cold starts are just the werring sound of the secondary tensioners pumping up.
Mine is a 14' should have the check valves as well.
I had previously captured and graphed all four cam sensor readings, the exhaust and bank 2 intake showed a rise but was smooth, the bank one intake was jagged showing the pin not fully locked in place. I can't image the capture if I'd gotten a graph from today's sadness. So I'm fairly confident it's both the secondary tensioners as well as the bank one Camshaft Adjuster based on those captures.
I've not pulled the cover to physically verify the fault yet. Stamina not yet recovered. Took half a day just to do a simple oil change on the wife's Santa Fe the other day. Simply embarrassing. I use to be able to do two full brake jobs and a couple wheel alignments all at the same time in a couple hours.
Still trying to decide, the dealer or a run down Mercedes and import shop, that was well recommended by the BMW shop I know, but the junk cars on his lot, Albeit he's been there since the 80s or longer. Also good reviews online. No other shop has the tools.
It seems this Bank 1 intake VVT will be the one to worn itself out in M276 V6, is inline with its distance being further from oil filter distribution point compared to Bank 2 intake VVT.
After all the oil filter is at Bank 2.
The Best of Mercedes & AMG








I've been able to duplicate the view in my car, below (left). The screen reads "OFF" because your "Collision Prevention Assist Plus" (Code 258) is disabled (right pic). Not a feature of any Distronic function at all. But you do have Code 258, as noted in your first post.
Press OK to reactivate this feature and the "OFF" graphic goes away.
Last edited by DFWdude; Oct 26, 2023 at 02:05 PM.




I've been able to duplicate the view in my car, below (left). The screen reads "OFF" because your "Collision Prevention Assist Plus" (Code 258) is disabled (right pic). Reactivate this feature and "OFF" goes away.
Aside from that, it has been "Enabled" since I bought the car a year ago.
Thanks for trying to help.




The way HPFP is mounted at the rear of Intake camshaft gives VVT Phaser greater need for pressure to spin it. With low pressure, it's easily forced into locked position.
I noticed my rattlesnake pump sounds less diesel-like with normal oil pressure.
More pressure, better lube & less locking pin workout.
Now we have all the reason why "Passenger VVT" is the go-to for early rattle!
There are Phasers rebuild kits for sale out there... dono exactly where -
Thanks Rick 🙏
++++ part II ++++
Camshaft drives HPFP with 3 or 4 lobes, right?
That means any shaft speed variation is multiplied by 3 or 4, correct?
Fuel rail pressure is controlled by a PWM solenoid, right?
Listen to the idle sound difference:
-- with "Low oil" idle sounds like a butterfly going up and down slittly.
-- with "normal oil" idle sound smooth and captured, no up/down. Humm like bumble bee.
I bet intake camshaft Bk1 unsettled motions correlate with fuelrail pressure variations, else with fuel trims - TBD 🤞
The shortcut back to goodness here is "normal oil...". MB went the other route

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Oct 26, 2023 at 06:22 PM. Reason: Murphy's nest




The way HPFP is mounted at the rear of Intake camshaft gives VVT Phaser greater need for pressure to spin it. With low pressure, it's easily forced into locked position.
I noticed my rattlesnake pump sounds less diesel-like with normal oil pressure.
More pressure, better lube & less locking pin workout.
Now we have all the reason why "Passenger VVT" is the go-to for early rattle!
There are Phasers rebuild kits for sale out there... dono exactly where -
Thanks Rick 🙏
++++ part II ++++
Camshaft drives HPFP with 3 or 4 lobes, right?
That means any shaft speed variation is multiplied by 3 or 4, correct?
Fuel rail pressure is controlled by a PWM solenoid, right?
Listen to the idle sound difference:
-- with "Low oil" idle sounds like a butterfly going up and down slittly.
-- with "normal oil" idle sound smooth and captured, no up/down. Humm like bumble bee.
I bet intake camshaft Bk1 unsettled motions correlate with fuelrail pressure variations, else with fuel trims - TBD 🤞
The shortcut back to goodness here is "normal oil...". MB went the other route

Good call Cali giving even more food for thought.
So ultimately, if we can disable the _____ low oil pressure sadness, the engine will live longer.
Designed Obsolescence...Good job MB.
I may have mentioned, I thought of plugging another oil pressure solenoid, only outside engine, possibly fool the system and allow full oil pressure 100% of the time. Will only work, tho, if it is a single or dual wire circuit, if it has a third sensor/feedback wire, or if the PCM verifies oil pressure, it will not work. Hmm.
I drive both interstate and in town. I try to keep an equal balance, along with shorter oil change intervals to further protect the engine and keep it clean inside.




So ultimately, if we can disable the _____ low oil pressure sadness, the engine will live longer.
Designed Obsolescence...Good job MB.
I may have mentioned, I thought of plugging another oil pressure solenoid, only outside engine, possibly fool the system and allow full oil pressure 100% of the time. Will only work, tho, if it is a single or dual wire circuit, if it has a third sensor/feedback wire, or if the PCM verifies oil pressure, it will not work. Hmm.
I drive both interstate and in town. I try to keep an equal balance, along with shorter oil change intervals to further protect the engine and keep it clean inside.

There's no need to plug in a decoy load, the ECU fault is kept silent - So personally, I went the easy route.
The direct impact is better heat management with better lubrication. This has transformed my engine driveability.
Mercedes finest looking... great all around, what else do you want? My engine quit burning oil black...
When you fix all the bad then your left with all the good, right?
My heads & pistons say thank you MS!!!

Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Oct 27, 2023 at 12:02 AM.




















Sure, I can find plenty 300 to 500 miles away, but by the time I tow it there and back, I'm still out that much money.
I could attempt the work myself, I can buy the special tools needed, but my body is not physically able anymore to perform the work without help. I tried to put a battery in my Jeep, and I had to get my neighbor to finish it for me.




Only until you get into the $30 range are low mileage taken care of cars begin.
I've a long ways to go to be spending that kind of money on this one.
However rentals to my oncologist would be 4 or 5 hundred every month. I still have the nutritionist and gastro for my feeding tube.




Only until you get into the $30 range are low mileage taken care of cars begin.
I've a long ways to go to be spending that kind of money on this one.
However rentals to my oncologist would be 4 or 5 hundred every month. I still have the nutritionist and gastro for my feeding tube.
You can drive the car to a good town and catch a airplane back or a limo ride for cheaper than $4,000.USD -
🤞
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Nov 4, 2023 at 11:12 PM.




I have been talking to every possible tech and shop, looking for a place to depend on.
The hard part is my voice is reduced to a whisper, my wife's interpretation of my questions are frustrating at best. She feels she must embellish. And most of the time in a way that loses the point of the question.
Don't get me wrong, she's my best friend, and would be lost without.








What did get replaced and not fix your start-up rattle ?
> Parts canon in that order:
1x 2x secondary tensioners
1x 2x 4x VVT Gear
1x 2x camshafts
1x HPFP + roller
oil grade in use?
Mileage, engine type/year
> Startup Rattle type:
short/long: 2s or 5s?
how often: every day, once a week?
🤞
++++ Me just picked up vertical freeplay in front driver axle driver side at 55kMi...
I guess ball joint plastic cradle got smashed already.
It feels like bearing freeplay except only in vertical axes.... so I guess I need a set of fully dressed front control arms.
Is there anything better than basic MB Control arm... Lemforder, MOOG ??
While on this topic, I don't really want a stiff silicone bushing but improved bushing.
Wheels coming off Saturday : rear pads + front Headlights module
Last edited by CaliBenzDriver; Dec 15, 2023 at 09:50 PM.


