Rascal203

Hi Guys,

Just thought i'd share my experience. A week ago, 2 days before i can take the 55 out on a 850 Mile weekend road trip to another City and back in South Africa, I was driving home from work in some traffic when all of a sudden the Engine shuts off, it happened so quickly and smoothly that i almost didn't notice it shut off.. Immediately, I put it into Neutral and try to start it up again. It started up no problem , there was no warning or errors that came up so i thought it was a minor hiccup and continued driving. it happened again once more a few miles down the road... got the car home and had a look, couldn't find any unplugged sensors or connectors, charged the battery in the engine bay and the one in the boot and hoped this was the end of it...

The next day going to work, the car was fine. I did some research online and alot of the guys said that they had a similar experience when the crank position sensor needed replacement. So i step out the office to get a new one from the BOSCH supplier here, On the way there, the car dies once but i was able to start it up immediately and continue.... got the new part and went back to work...

On the way home from work, the car shuts down 3 times within a 1 mile radius... but after the 3rd shutdown, it doesn't want to start up... Sitting in peak traffic on one of the most busiest roads in Johannesburg, I tried to force it to start and on the 6th attempt it cranked for a few extra seconds and started up but this time it gave a warning light... I was then able to drive the car home and let it cool down then I read the code and it was P0335 Crank Position Sensor. Then went on to remove and replace the sensor.

I started out by removing the intake Y pipe and air boxes, then getting access to it by fitting your hand down the rear of the motor and the firewall... was a fairly easy DIY. Took the car out of a 70 mile test drive and didn't seem to have any issues.... got 4 hours of sleep and then left on my road trip, had a great weekend at the coast and got back home without any issues... the car is now running perfect...

If you guys ever get this error, Replace that sensor immediately as you dont want to get stuck on the side of the road for a cheap sensor thats so easy to replace...

Rascal203

All because of this guy...

MSG 55G

Thanks for sharing, fortunate not to have this problem but always on guard if CPS start acting up. Glad to know it’s an easy DIY fix. What’s the cost on the sensor?

Rascal203

The pricing i got locally in my country was:
Merc OEM part - R2300 (ZAR) or $161 (USD)
Bosch Replacement part - R700 (ZAR) or $49 (USD) but i think you guys can find it even cheaper on FCPeuro and ECS tuning.ect

e55guyy

I just got this work done at the dealership and it was 200+ for the part and 400+ for the labor. I know this is way too much but I'm not car or mechanic savvy and the guy who could have helped me for a much more reasonable price was backed up to a point where he couldn't take my car for 3 weeks.

Had the P0335 code fire a few times, road tech came to look at it and erased everything. Service tech at the dealer said no system failures, but there were 3 instances where the car wouldn't start and I have long trips coming up so I didn't want to risk it!

SICAMG

Part is 45.00 on Ebay and takes a half hour to install when I did it. Dealers are crazy money because the boys are flat rate and want ALL the money.

thtguy

I actually keep one in the trunk with a small 1/4" ratchet set and e-torx socket. I have had to change it on the side of the road a few times, in versions m113 powered cars. Oh yeah always good to keep a thick long sleeve shirt in there too, because trying to change with hot engine is not fun.

e55guyy

On that note, does anyone know a mechanic or someone who works on Mercedes in the upstate SC area? Definitely need to know someone who can help me when I'm in a pickle!

machild

The Bosch crank sensor at RockAuto is $22. To pay $600 for this to be replaced is legal crime.

SICAMG

E55guyy.....when your stuck with something just post it and someone will respond.