S-Class (W221) 2007-2013: S 320 CDI, S 350, S 450, S 500, S 550, S 420 CDI, S 600

Engine light and shaky idle.

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Old Nov 5, 2012 | 11:55 PM
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Engine light and shaky idle.

My 2007 s550 with 87000 miles is acting up. I was on the expressway when I hit the gas to change lanes and suddenly my check engine light comes on. Also when I give it gas it makes a sputtering noise and is very shakey. Idle is even worse. When I restart the car the check engine light flashes a few times before staying solid. Anyone with any info on this?
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Old Nov 6, 2012 | 12:43 AM
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You need to get it diagnosed for codes with star.
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Old Nov 6, 2012 | 06:18 AM
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I will this afternoon but can't be without a car. Anyone with this experience at all? Engine temp is fine. Soon as I give it good gas I hear a slight high pitched whine coming from the engine also.
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Old Nov 6, 2012 | 07:21 AM
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Just recently had a check engine light come on, ended up needing an intake manifold. Could be anything for you. Maybe you can call ahead and arrange a loaner vehicle?

jw
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Old Nov 6, 2012 | 10:31 AM
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Did the car shake at all? Was is it covered under warranty?
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Old Nov 6, 2012 | 03:30 PM
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It vibrated slightly under acceleration. My car (2008) is not under warranty.

Was an $1800 repair. But I wouldn't assume that is what yours is.

jw
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Old Nov 6, 2012 | 05:17 PM
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It could be many different problems, the only way to diagnose is with star to see what codes show up.
Your symptoms are similar to mass air flow sensor i had on my s500, a cheap fix.
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Old Nov 6, 2012 | 08:08 PM
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I'm curios too, let me us all know what star dx
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Old Nov 6, 2012 | 08:20 PM
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Its sitting at MB of Chicago right now, won't have an answer til tomorrow. I paid $2700 for a 24 month warranty, hopefully the problem will be covered by it.
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Old Nov 7, 2012 | 12:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Zerocarpileup
My 2007 s550 with 87000 miles is acting up. I was on the expressway when I hit the gas to change lanes and suddenly my check engine light comes on. Also when I give it gas it makes a sputtering noise and is very shakey. Idle is even worse. When I restart the car the check engine light flashes a few times before staying solid. Anyone with any info on this?
Codes will tell the story, but this sounds somewhat what I had on our V12.
Basically the spark plugs and one of the coils were at issue, causing the car to run on half the cylinders.

On the 600, of course, that was over $3k to replace the coil and spark plugs
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Old Nov 7, 2012 | 03:27 AM
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Oh wow, sounds pricey. Did warranty cover the either plugs or coils?
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Old Nov 7, 2012 | 12:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Zerocarpileup
Oh wow, sounds pricey. Did warranty cover the either plugs or coils?
Replacing the spark plugs was around $1500 if I recall. Never covered by any warranty as they are considered consumables. just like tires.

The coil pack was paid for my MB, even though the car went of out warranty before.

For anyone that doesn't have a warranty on their MB:
It's important to know that if a car is less than 7 years old and has less than 100k miles, Mercedes will pay for the parts and even part of the labor as a courtesy if the Service Manager of the dealer asks for it.

Obviously it doesn't hurt to be a repeat customer and/or have a good relationship with your dealers service manager.
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Old Nov 7, 2012 | 03:13 PM
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Was that to change all spark plugs or just one?
UPDATE: being told it is the number 1 coil causing a misfire, also the excess vibration is from a collapsed motor mount that I wouldn't have really noticed without this coil issue.
So how much to replace thus one coil? I'm on stand by to see if my warranty will cover it.
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Old Nov 7, 2012 | 05:45 PM
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Just found out my warranty will not cover anything. They told me 400 for one coil and one plug. Them told me I need motor mounts and trans mounts. Wanted to charge me an extra 700 if I wanted all new plugs. Grand total 1800 for all this work. So pissed. Anyone know what all is needed when replacing a coil or plugs? I got a feeling I can do this myself. Anything with star that would need to be done? Did I mention a expensive bottle of cologn was stolen from my console at this service center as well.

Last edited by Zerocarpileup; Nov 7, 2012 at 05:50 PM.
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Old Nov 8, 2012 | 03:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Zerocarpileup
Just found out my warranty will not cover anything. They told me 400 for one coil and one plug. Them told me I need motor mounts and trans mounts. Wanted to charge me an extra 700 if I wanted all new plugs. Grand total 1800 for all this work. So pissed. Anyone know what all is needed when replacing a coil or plugs? I got a feeling I can do this myself. Anything with star that would need to be done? Did I mention a expensive bottle of cologn was stolen from my console at this service center as well.
I've never done it on this car but if it's anything like other cars it should be a piece of cake since they told you which plug # is bad already, all you need know is figure out the firing sequence.

Do a quick google search on "S550 Ignition Coil" they're like $50 ebay has them also.
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Old Nov 8, 2012 | 04:21 AM
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What do I need to know about the sequence?
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Old Nov 8, 2012 | 05:22 AM
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parts.com has OEM ignition coil for $47.40. autohausaz.com has spark plugs Bosch YR7MPP33 for $9.08 each. You can do the spark plugs and coil for under $150 yourself. #1 coil should be the one on the passenger side closest to the front of the car. (I'm not 100% sure so please do confirm.)

Motor mounts on autohausaz.com is $89.25 each for Sachs/Boge brand part number 2202403317(OEM according to them). Your car needs 2. If you are handy with tools, you can do them yourself in about 2-3 hours. An independent shop should charge around $200-300 to put them in if you provide your own parts.
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Old Nov 8, 2012 | 05:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Zerocarpileup
Just found out my warranty will not cover anything. They told me 400 for one coil and one plug. Them told me I need motor mounts and trans mounts. Wanted to charge me an extra 700 if I wanted all new plugs. Grand total 1800 for all this work. So pissed. Anyone know what all is needed when replacing a coil or plugs? I got a feeling I can do this myself. Anything with star that would need to be done? Did I mention a expensive bottle of cologn was stolen from my console at this service center as well.
The S550 seems to be so much cheaper to fix than the V12!
The 600 has a just two coil units at $1500 each and have to be replaced as a whole. Lucky you...

If an individual coil is all you need to do, this sounds both easy and cheap to do, provided you know which cylinder is the culprit. EDIT Didn't see the comment about coil 1...

Personally, at 90K it may be time to change the set of plugs.

Re. the motor mounts, definitely do that, it will make your car run better and much smoother. This is something you shouldn't attempt unless you know what you are doing and have the tools. It's pretty cheap too.

On the 600, replacing the mounts alone is another $3k as they have to pull engine out completely. 18 hours labor!

Why is the warranty actually not covering the coil or motor mounts? That doesn't make any sense.

Last edited by Wolfman; Nov 8, 2012 at 05:29 AM.
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Old Nov 8, 2012 | 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Zerocarpileup
What do I need to know about the sequence?

sorry was thinking something else. What I meant to say is figure out which one is coil #1
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Old May 21, 2015 | 07:16 PM
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604Benz your suggestion is what fixed my car.

2007 S550 RWD was driving on the highway fairly hard in sport mode on a nice day. Came off the highway after 20 mins of driving and straight to the gas station. I was pretty empty on gas on top of it. Filled up with 91 octane and hit the push start. Car started and then just died. Tried this 4-5 times and same thing. Then started and hit the gas and it would stay on as long as I held it above 1500 but sputter up to 3200 rpm. Got it towed home and searched these forums. There is another one titled Idle Problems for the same car. Anyhow I was inclined to check the MAF sensor along with other things after doing some research. As soon as I disconnected the MAF sensor and started the car the car was perfect running fine and idling with the only issue being the engine light on.

Next day ordered MAf sensor.. changed it and Voila! Car is perfect now.. Engine light came off.

Hope this info helps someone out. Total cost $ 200 cad and easy to change
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Old May 28, 2015 | 02:59 AM
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1999 S500 W140 69K Miles 2013 W221 S550
OOH

Originally Posted by Zerocarpileup
My 2007 s550 with 87000 miles is acting up. I was on the expressway when I hit the gas to change lanes and suddenly my check engine light comes on. Also when I give it gas it makes a sputtering noise and is very shakey. Idle is even worse. When I restart the car the check engine light flashes a few times before staying solid. Anyone with any info on this?
Okay I know this post is old. But 3 days ago I was in the same situation like you but in my W140 S500. Engine light came on, started vibrating... and vibrated harder on idle.
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