zigurat

I just bought a 2005 E55 a few hours ago. The performance is great, but about 20 miles into the drive back home, the car's performance dropped like a rock; it would not rev above 3,000 RPM and I could not "kickdown" to a lower gear; acceleration was Ford Taurus like. The problem appeared to fix itself in a few miles. The engine did not appear to be overheated (90 Degrees C). What could have caused this?

amgme

sounds like your intercooler pump went out. very common w/ these kompressor models. i hope there's still warranty on it. if not, you can try to replace it yourself w/ a more reliable pump.

AMG_55

yep, sounds like the pump.
not a huge deal, im not sure how much $ a new one is but it shouldnt be that much.
nothing to worry about, especially since you just bought the car. take it back, get it repaired, its 05 so it should be under warranty anyways.

congrats on the new car, enjoy it.
i know you will after the pump is replaced.
this car shrinks time/distance like you wouldnt believe, no joke.
it also has an appetite for rear tires

Roseylv

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I though the intercooler pump failure was more prone to the 2003-2004 model years.

DFW01E55

Take the SA or foreman for a ride and demonstrate the problem or they will tell you they were unable to reproduce the problem and won't replace your IC pump. It doesn't always throw a code and that's the only thing they want to see in order to justify replacement.

If you can datalog your intake air temp that should be a dead give-away. They go up over 240F with a bad pump.

Ask if they have one in stock before giving your car to them, there's no sense in letting it sit in their shop overnight waiting for a part.

AMG_55

my moms car is a 05 and the pump failed.
i was driving like an ******* for like 1 1/2 hours during moderate traffic though


my SA told me that it did show up on their diagnostics

zigurat

Thanks for the good advice guys, I will try to get to the dealer tomorrow AM.

Jrocket

Where are you located,dealer wise?

zigurat

I usually go to the dealer in Walnut Creek, CA

Rudyrono

If the dealer won't replace the I/C pump under warranty, you should check with Adam and Euroelites for a nice upgraded pump from Renntech! In fact, even if it is under warranty, you should still consider replacing it with the upgrade.

amgme

no, i've heard they still fail on the newer models.

sdsilverm3

Yup, ask Jay55 who just had his replaced a few weeks ago.

zigurat

I just got a call from my SA stating that the pump was fine, but the thermostat below the SC indicated an error code, and that the tech will replace the thermostat. After this fix, is there an easy way for me to verify the intercooler is functioning correctly? (e.g. should the intercooler fins in front of the radiator feel hot). I can try a few back to back hard runs to see if the SC cuts out, but I'm looking for a more "cop friendly" way to verify this.

Jrocket

Im probabaly wrong here but I doubt that was your problem.It was having the exact symptoms of a IC pump going out,alot of us have had this problem.Some of us have had it happen a few times.The only way to really find out is measure the IAT's with a scanner(obdII),or make a few hard passes up to 100mph or so and see if the SC kicks off.The problem is these pumps dont always go out completely,they can have an intermitten effect,work some then die for a while then work again,off and on.My pump did this exact deal,would run great for a while then runs crappy.

L8Apex

How hard were you driving it during the 20 mile drive. Mine did it too after 15 miles of hard running. It resolved itself after it cooled down.

DFW01E55

Refer to Jrockets post, data logging is the only thing that will convince them. The IAT's will go over 240 and the pump shuts down for a short recovery period.

jangy

Just as prone? The new ones were spec'd on the '06s BUILT in '06.

BenzoBoi

You don't waste any time posting...Welcome to the family...

Go back to them and let them know why you took it to them in the first place. Then they will hopefully get it taken care of...

zigurat

Jrocket, you were right. The dealer's fix did not solve the problem. Has someone had a pump replaced by a dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area? If so, who was your SA? It may be easiest for me to go to that SA rather than convince my SA the pumps are a problem (my SA believes only 2003 models had a pump problem).

DFW01E55

Zig,
Starting with post 5 in this thread, it's been mentioned repeatedly to data log your IAT.
If you can't do that yourself, you should certainly have asked the dealer to do it.

If your IAT is 200+, that will constitute hard evidence that your IC pump is dead.

Jrocket

You need to have the service manager and your SA there at the same time,tell them that the car is down a hp and feels very slow.DO NOT tell them you got advice from an internet forum,seems to be against most peoples advantage to so this UNLESS you have a great relationship with your SA.My SA knows Im up on my cars and takes my talking seriously,even if I say I read it on the forums.

If you have to get ahold of a person that can log your IAT's and print the report out,take that in and show them the high temps.Done deal.Your gonna love it when the power is back to normal,my car rips when its game is on.

AdamG@NorCal

Zigurat,

EuroElites will assist you with your problem. If you can meet me, i will accompany you to the dealer to get your problem resolved.

zigurat

Adam,

Thanks for the kind offer. I'd like to bring the car to Fremont so you can take a look; we can take it from there. I will call you next week so we can work out the details. Thanks also to all you other folks for the good info. I will let you know the outcome.

AdamG@NorCal

Zigurat,

You welcome! I'll be in the office on Tuesday. Happy new year!

zigurat

I picked up my 2005 E55 this afternoon from the dealer. They replaced the IC pump with the new version. Car seems to run well; I did 5 back to back hard runs, and the SC kicked in every time.

Thanks to all for the advice, and especially to Adam at Euroelites for the invaluable guidance. If anyone else in the San Francisco Bay Area has an IC pump problem, you may want to contact my SA Wayne Schmid at Walnut Creek Mercedes (925) 937-1655. Wayne and his lead tech are now familiar with this problem, so you won't have to jump through hoops to convince them to replace a dead pump, even though no error codes show.