My car has developed a jerky misfire when I apply the throttle. The engine appears to rev OK. I sense that this is an electrical issue rather than a mechanical one.
Anyone experienced anything like this?

 

good diagnostic kit will inform you exactly which of the 8 coil packs is dying - std feature on a Mercedes 50 dollars each - you don't need to do all 8 at once but it is a good idea...…

you will damage the engine and the CAT converter if you drive it like this... if it stalls as you slow in traffic and gets worse the longer you drive, but appears normal next time you start the car, change the CPS (crank position sensor) another std Mercedes failure.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF DESIGNED TO FAIL - get a lease car

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll change all of them. I only use my car occasionally.
Its like being married to a stubborn and difficult woman . You might love her, but she's is a pain in the *** to live with.

 

Like BOTUS said, get a good OBD2 scanner, or go to Autozone, and see which coils are having issues. Scanner will show current and possibly not-current failures.
If a bad cylinder, check the spark plug at that location for a possible bad plug. Then replace the coil / plug with the issue. Replacing all 8 will be costly, but cause no harm.

I do recommend changing the Crank Position Sensor every 50K miles, which seems to be their lifespan. They normally fail when they get hot, and come back to life after cooling down.
The CPS won't normally misfire, but will leave you stranded, which is never acceptable. A misfire won't leave you stranded.

Forgot to mention... a Mercedes is like a mistress...you have to throw money, TLC, and attention to them frequently, or they treat you poorly.