Hi all,

I'm hoping to get some advice and possibly some help from someone in the Chicago-land area that can do some STAR diagnostics for a beer or two. Before going on with the issues, I have searched both Google and the forums for answers, but my issues seem slightly...different than those that I was able to find.

First, my AC off is acting up. It's lit up when you start the car, and pressing it will just cause it to flash for 5 or so seconds, and then remain solid. We disconnected the battery for a few minutes and threw that back on, but to no avail. The AC was charged at the shop, so that's not the issue. I read that there was a fill level setting that can be changed with STAR, so I'm thinking that's my problem there. I'd like to get this fixed ASAP as it's been getting hot this week and I'd prefer not to sweat like a pig while driving to the office .




The next thing was when I left the shop tonight I accelerated a bit, not too hard but it was wet out, and I saw a brief message about ESP being unavailable, visit workshop. I didn't think anything of it, and kept driving. As I got closer to home I smelled what I recognized as that telltale burnt clutch smell. It seemed that it was stuck in 3rd or 4th gear.

I took the car out on the highway a bit later, and punched it a little, and the car basically went into neutral. Couldn't do a damn thing to it. Had to pull over and stop/start the car, and it was fine. I pumped the accelerator a little down a side street and got some wheel hop, and then it acted REAL funny. I didn't punch it hard enough to make it pop into neutral, but it wouldn't change gears. Furthermore, I wasn't able to switch from S to M or C. I couldn't manually shift or change those settings until starting/stopping. This is what seems unusual to me, as I haven't read of these symptoms on any similar threads. Also, I hadn't had any issues with the transmission prior to the work on the car. I'm wondering if the shop did the alignment wrong, screwed up the computer into making the esp go wacky, and then this is causing the transmission to freak out. But I'm the last person who should be diagnosing these things...


Oh and I'm still getting a stupid "small evap leak" code. I thought we had cleared it at the shop, but it might still be an issue.

Other than that, my parktronic is a little bit out of wack from the e63 conversion, but the body shop figures they can fix that.

If anyone could lend any help it would be greatly appreciated. If anyone is in the NW burbs or somewhere in the Chicago-land vicinity that has STAR and can help me out, I'd be ecstatic.

Thanks in advance!

-Dan

 

start with the basics and check transmission fluid level. ESP unavailable is probably due to battery disconnect?

 

ac is fixed with star...

trans sounds like either low fluid or connector plate. ESP could be because of battery disconnect. Start the car and cut the wheel full hard left and right a few times, turn off and try again.

 

Yeah it was acting funny this morning. I'm going to stop by an auto-zone today and see if I can check the trans fluid level. If that's the only problem, then it's an easy fix.

Jake, would you possibly be available any time this evening to help with the STAR aspect of things? I'll drive anywhere that would be convenient for you. I'm meeting up in Schaumburg with the other folks on Saturday, but I really want to try to get this thing running correctly as soon as I can. I'm driving in a state of nervousness in the meantime...

Thanks a ton!

-D

 

Oh and I'm not sure if this is important or not, but I haven't seen the ESP message since that one time. Still have odd symptoms like the car choosing to stay in one gear or another, but haven't seen the ESP message since.

 

you won't be able to you need the special mb tool to check the trans...and yes I have one

I can try and have our star shipped into to chi. We send it all over the place to dealers etc..

 

Well yeah if you can help in any way at all I'd be very appreciative.

I figure if I bring it into the dealer they're going to try to steal my wallet...and it's not that big as it is!

 

This kinda seems like a silly question, but does anyone in the Chicago area know if the Hoffman Estates Mercedes dealer has STAR at their shop? I would think they do, but who knows...And I guess I can also go to Motorwerks up in Barrington too.

Or if anyone has a buddy at a shop with STAR that they can recommend to take a look at my transmission, it'd be appreciated.

Thanks!

-D

 

Evap leak may be due to gas tank leaking. Check under your seat for fuel residue or vapors a few hours after fill up. Currently there is a NHTSA investigation going on for this problem.

Parktronic may be out of wack due to aftermarket xenon fog light installation which is triggered when you turn on the lights. I have this issue

 

Update:

Took the car to Speedriven today and Aleks worked some magic. The AC off problem was fixed with star pretty easily and it turns out I WAS low on trans fluid. 2.5 quarts low!

Anyhow, a couple pokes and prods and my beast is once again ready for the hunt. Thanks to everyone who offered their time and/or advice.

and thanks again!! the knot in my stomach is gone!

-D