motorkas

It's at the dealership right now so hopefully I'll find out what's wrong tomorrow but here's what I learned: When they ask "is the car located in a safe area such as a parking lot or safely on the shoulder",or something to that effect say "no". Your call automatically gets priority and they will get there in under 30 mins (it was 17 mins from the time I placed the call until the tow truck showed up).

nlpamg

sorry to hear that, but good to know.

thanks and good luck

930chas

BT, that really sucks! Were you up in Philly when it happened...and ...what did happen? Uggghhh, bro that is just no good.

NORCAL///AMG

Thanks for the tip...

BenzHawaii

Sorry to hear!! Hope everything works out for you. How bad is it?

tgoss

LOL I should have inquired about the status of your ride here... I'm sorry to hear that buddy! Hopefully they get it fixed up and you'll be back out soon!

Reading your other post I'm definitely curious to see what caused it to go into limp mode.

motorkas

No worries - just wanted to help the community!!!; in the past I've never had a tow come in under an hour let alone under 20 mins - had to share the wealth!

Yeah man - visiting the parents - went into limp mode and then died and wouldn't start (it would crank but not turn over). I happened about 10 miles away from where they live (Devon, Pa); I was lucky all around - it died on a local road, my dad was able to pick up my wife, dog and all the stuff in the trunk while I rode with the car to the dealership, the dealership is less than a mile away from their house, the service department is open on Saturdays and I didn't know this, but EuroMotors bought this dealership so it's part of the Germantown, Bethesda group (I told them - hey I get a loaner when I'm in Germantown what about here - they said they should have one ready tomorrow). Don't know what it is yet (luckily, I have the Chrysler warranty) but I'm hoping it's something small so it can hopefully get done tomorrow. If that happens - this will officially be the luckiest, best breakdown ever (just trying to look at the bright side).

On a side note - still going to pick up the "package" tomorrow

motorkas

Thanks - hopefully, I'll find out tomorrow.

Thanks man - the funny thing is that I'm sort of happy because at least I get the first "break down" out the way (I was viewing it similar to riding motorcycles - its not a matter of "if" but "when") and hopefully this buys me some time until the next incident

Me too - I'll post as soon as I know

bigswin

Possibly the crank position sensor.

benz_addict

thanks for the up and sorry to hear!
or the alternator

emoving

My vote is crank position sensor. $50 fix

MB_Forever

That's good to know, thanks for sharing.... please let us know what the dealer says.

barlow100

bad luck mate.

my 1st problem was an hour from home with a blowout at 120km/h passing a boat trailer a week after purchase. No spare in 04.

tyre man thought car had been left sitting with flat or near flat tyre and had damaged chords.

all the best

+1 on the crank sensor wifes 530i did exactly the same thing, close to home luckily.

snail45

Sorry to hear. These cars are S**t. I seriously can't believe the lack of reliability of the E55. I have a $10,000 Ford Escort that destroys it in the reliability department. Glad you got it to the dealer in a timely matter.

Mamba003

Same thing happened to me recently and it wound up being one of the fuel pumps. Covered under warranty.

Forrest Gump 9

From the way it sounds, I also think it's the crank position sensor. The same thing happened to me 2-3 weeks ago. My local dealer wanted $600 to fix it, I was able to fix it myself for $60. It was literally easier than change the spark-plugs. Anyway, did you see any check engine light?

blackbenzz

Damn that sucks! I feel your pain, at least things kinda worked out. They should be able to get the car back to you today. CPS has those same systems. Did you get any things pop up in the dash before it shutoff? If it was the alternator you would have gotten a bunch of crap pop up before the car shut off. And since the car is cranking over (but not starting) I dont think its the alternator. CPS is first guess, then it's either fueling or spark

930chas

I totally agree with snail45. What is up with these cars? BT, you definitely have a great attitude about the whole ordeal, but it is just so unacceptable for these cars to leave people stranded. I can deal with minor nuances like the keyless go door handles not working, or heated seats malfunctioning or whatever. But damn there are 3 people just in this thread that have been stranded by what is probably the same malady. That is ****ing ridiculous!!

motorkas

QUICK UPDATE (at my nephew's birthday party) - I was there this morning to pick up the loaner and they already had the car in the bay and hooked up to STAR - they still don't know what's wrong with it because they said it wasn't throwing any codes. When it went into limp mode it nothing flashed on the screen and no lights came on, when it died and I would try to restart ALL the lights came on.

Luckily, the 55 is a play car and both my wife and I have other cars so I think that's helping with the positive attitude but with how complicated these cars are, I always thought it was a matter of time. The funny thing is when everybody asked me "why a Mercedes", I say "the engine"; if Lexus made a 500 hp supercharged V8 with 4 doors. . .

I'll update once I hear back from the dealership (they said it should be by the end of the day).

Thanks guys for all the trouble shooting help and well wishes

motorkas

UPDATE - they got it running but I can't get it until next week. It's not the CPS - it's fueling. They said the fuel pump is fine but what ever controls the fuel lines is messed up. Apparently, there's something that opens and closes the fuel lines that's not the pump and that's the problem. As I said - they got the engine running but they were'nt confident that it wouldn't happen again (they said this is the first time they've seen this happen - usually it would have been the CPS or the fuel pump). Anyway, driving the loaner back to Maryland and then I'll have to come back to pick it up later this week.

Thanks again guys.

pearlpower

Yep!

novae500

sorry to hear about the break down. Good to see that euromotors is part of the dealership where you broke down. I'm glad to hear that ASE opened a dealership near me in Chantilly. i hate driving to Arlington for warranty service, esp living in loudoun county

Karlson

it is HBL of Tysons Corner who did that. basically just part of Penske network dealership.

MB_Forever

Glad they found out what the problem was When you pick it up, make sure to test it thoroughly somewhere close to the dealership in case it decides to stop again.

Don't forget about the torque....

220S

I dunno, but I don't see these cars as any less reliable than BMWs or Audis. Or any Swedish, Italian or British car. Maybe the bigger issue is because the parts and repair costs are so inflated (i.e., expensive) on MBs. Or that they have that ethos of a 'built to last forever' kind of history attached (real or imagined.)

It seems like most everyone here is under a warranty of some kind and covered.

(fwiw, the Porsche I have is the best so far of all the Euro cars I've ever owned, but still pretty expensive for parts and certain repairs.)