Hi all I’m new to the forum I just bought a 2018 E63S last week with 45,000 miles. On the third day of driving it I decided to try out launch control and launched it twice then it immediately went into limp mode. Check engine light was flashing and the car turned off. I let it cool down then was able to start it and drive it home. I hooked it up to the scanner and got over 20 codes including P0300, P2279, P152B, P0308, P0306, P0307, P0305, P1525. I towed it to the dealership because luckily I bought extended warranty on it, and also found out there was an extended manufacturer warranty on the ignition coils so I thought that might be the issue since there was also misfire codes. It’s been there for 5 days and they are completely clueless. After initial diagnosis they said the coils weren’t the issue, and they called me today asking for approval for an additional $500 diagnostic to do a compression test and leak down test which I’m still waiting for the results for. Any insight would be great, and if anyone experienced anything similar please chime in.

 

Too little data right now to really know.

wait for that compression test

no one has reported issues exactly like this thus far, check out the sticky there are a myriad of threads on 2018 cars with injector issues and CEL issues and a bunch were bought back or lemoned.

sticky:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w213-amg/...fixes-diy.html

Is your carfax clean? Did you pull the VMI to see if any significant work was done early in it's life involving injectors or coils or spark issues?

Discussion on 2018 lemons:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w213-amg/...e63-wagon.html

whats the history on this get - is or was it tuned?

where do you get your gas?

the dealer will most likely figure this out - who is your extended warranty with?

 

clean Carfax and yes clean title. Spark plugs were just replaced 4000 miles ago at MB dealer. There are plenty of maintenance records on Carfax seems like it was kept up with. I got Fidelity Gold warranty supposed to be one of the good ones. It’s fully stock no tune or aftermarket parts. I live in TX so only 93 octane in this baby. Other recent maintenance 3000 miles ago: Thermostat replaced, air filter replaced, air intake hose replaced

 

Read on, somewhat similar case with fidelity discussion:
https://mbworld.org/forums/w212-amg/...60k-miles.html

 

From ChatGPT:"It sounds like you’re having quite the ordeal with your E63S. From the codes you’ve provided, here’s a brief breakdown of what they could indicate:



• P0300: Random/multiple cylinder misfire detected.

• P2279: Intake air system leak.

• P152B and P1525: Likely related to the engine control module or camshaft timing control.

• P0308, P0306, P0307, P0305: Misfires detected on cylinders 5, 6, 7, and 8 respectively.



It seems like multiple cylinders are misfiring, which could point to an underlying engine issue beyond just ignition coils. The air intake leak (P2279) might indicate unmetered air getting into the system, which can throw off air-fuel ratios and cause misfires. The dealership’s suggestion of a compression test and leak-down test makes sense, as this can help check for any potential issues with the engine’s mechanical components, like piston rings, valves, or gaskets.



A few possibilities could be:



1. Ignition system issues: If it’s not the coils, the spark plugs or wiring could be suspect.

2. Fuel delivery problems: A bad fuel injector or fuel pump can cause misfires.

3. Engine mechanical issue: Compression loss due to valve, piston, or ring damage.

4. Air intake issues: The P2279 could suggest a vacuum leak, which might need to be addressed.



Given that you’re under warranty, it’s great you got the dealership involved early. Hopefully, the tests will pinpoint the issue. Be sure to follow up with them for detailed results and push for them to thoroughly investigate since you’re covered. Keep us posted!"

 

I just called for a status update and they reassured me that the spark plugs and coils are not the issue. They are still working on the compression test and leak test.

 

MB dealer said they want to do a compression test because they suspect one of the cylinders has an internal failure or possibly one of the injectors. But I think that’s weird because shouldn’t the injectors be checked first before do a compression and leak down test?

 

they are optimizing the tech's time and also making money - they have to go through their process and you'll count on Fidelity to pay for the damage. Also it's a telephone game between the tech and the service advisor, you're getting a small part of the story. Let them go through it, they're likely a reputable dealer and know what they're doing

this will likely be something significant - glad you have a warranty, never own a Benz without one that you buy used! A bunch of 2018 owners had their injectors replaced during the infancy of the w213amg ... links above

 

I think the previous posters pretty much covered most possibilities. More data is needed, but I just wanted to point out one thing. Octane rating says nothing about the fuel quality. It could be as simple as stale fuel potentially. Especially with premium, you wanna fill at stations that see a lot of traffic from premium vehicles, otherwise you run the risk that the premium fuel in the gas station tank has become stale. Mercedes/AMG engines, like many modern engines these days, also call for TOP TIER brand fuels as they have the proper additives to keep these engines in working order. You obviously don't know what the previous owners used to fill the tank.

https://www.toptiergas.com/

 

Just got a call that cylinders 5 and 6 have low compression, he said tomorrow they will verify 100% if cylinder head needs to be replaced before calling fidelity. It just sucks that this happened after only 3 days of buying it I can’t help but feel like I got screwed but then again I drove it 300 miles with no codes so I don’t necessarily think it was a pre existing issue.

 

It likely wasn't a pre-existing issue as such. However, this car may have never been driven hard before. A lot of E63 end up mostly as commuters, relatively lightly driven cars and/or see a bunch of traffic, so mostly spend their life at low rpms. Suddenly launching it w/o knowing how it was driven in the past isn't a particularly good idea and it likely blew something on the second launch given the sudden stress the engine may have not experienced in its prior life. I'm assuming you also don't know how this engine was broken in. The M177/178 engines are very particular about their break-in procedure due to the hand-built nature of the engine. Hopefully they can fix it for you w/o having to replace the entire engine worst case. Ideally, the weak parts failed and you'll get new parts that you can then properly break-in first and gradually let the engine build up to its full performance before you go out and launch it.

 

suddenly launching the car isn't a particularly good idea? What are you supposed to do with an E63S that is all warmed up with 45k miles and you wanna launch it?

Explain the correlation of a commuter driven car not being able to withstand the capabilities of the car as intended - I'm just curious

OP - in the 3 days of ownership before you launched it - whats the hardest you drove it?

 

we really have no idea if it was pre existing. Don't beat yourself up, the upside is you were wise to get a solid warranty. This will get fixed and you'll be enjoying the car again. And you'll forget this happened soon enough

this is one of the risks of buying used - big savings but big hassles are a risk. I like buying new and the money is less important to me than the hassle.

 

The correlation is that if the car hasn't been gradually driven in to its max performance and used, then parts of the engine haven't been cycled through moderate and hard use and may not be worn in as they are expected to be. These engines need to be gradually broken in and actually used. It's similar to how you wanna heat cycle the breaks and tires and not just getting on it, because you may end up with warped rotors and subpar performing tires. These engines are complex machines. There's nothing wrong with launching it once warmed up as long as it was properly run in and the engine didn't spend its life just diddling along at 1000 rpm mostly. There are things like carbon build up that can occur over time, especially on engines that saw a lot of short distance driving and suddenly driving it hard could knock some of these deposits loose at the wrong time. I'm assuming you are not a metallurgist, so it might surprise you to learn that materials can fail if they are not properly stress cycled and then just suddenly exposed to very high levels of stress.

 

based on this one would be silly to buy a used e63 if he wanted to drive it aggressively, having no idea of the previous driving pattern (which is what everyone buying a used e63 probably does a few hours/days into ownership like the OP)

so you're saying the best you can hope for is gradually take your used e63 and ramp up aggressive driving until it's conditioned to tolerances sufficient to mitigate the stresses of hard launches etc?

 

I'm not sure what you want me to tell you here, but buying a used car comes with all kinds of risks. I'm just putting out possible theories as OP has requested. You could equally end up with an E63 that has been abused and beat on by the previous owner, and you'll have to deal with the consequences. I don't particularly recommend buying used performance cars. They were either driven hard or babied, and neither scenario is really great for the next owner. Let's be honest, most of these cars never get launched, and that includes the ones that are bought used. I would certainly not buy a used performance car w/o knowing exactly how it had been driven. I also have a strong hunch that the RMS failures that are affecting the E63 and are caused by a clogged oil separator are also likely due to how these are driven mostly. It only seems to happen on the E63 and G63. Two cars that are more boulevard cruisers and family cars than serious use performance cars.

 

i don't really need you to tell me anything, just clarifying your points which you've done. Like I said I don't buy used cars. Cheers

 

I drove it hard the whole time prior to that in race mode and sport, just didn’t launch it until that day when it broke down. But yes I figured since it had 45k miles already wouldn’t be an issue.

 

Did you get any PPI out of curiosity? I'm a big believer in thorough PPI for any used car including at least scope of cylinders and compression test if they'll allow it.

 

Yeah, would definitely be curious to see what it looks like inside.

 

Interesting thread...From what I understand about engines; at 45K miles there is nothing you can do at that point to break-in a motor. I probably disagree with most of what was said above.
I think this problem was based on a pre-existing condition. Something wasn't right, which caused the car to have a problem on launch.
Even if a car was "babied" over the first 45K miles, you chould be able to drive it aggressively if you want. It sounds like the assumption is that lubrication or coolant passages were blocked, or not fully open. That would qualify as a pre-existing problem in my book.
I bought my 2018 S63 last year with 37K on the odometer. I've launched it around 8 times with no problems.
I would never drive my car in race mode or sport mode unless I'm launching it, otherwise keep it in comfort mode. And I hope the car was at nominal operating temperatures, both when launching and before driving it in sport/race modes. Far less wear and tear in comfort mode, and you still have the same sporty characteristics available anytime you want just by pushing the pedal. Suspension is different, but that also causes more stress in race/sport mode. Your choice obviously, but it's an amazing car even in comfort mode.

 

likely the vast majority of buyers of "high performance" cars with around 45k miles on them end up without catastrophic issues (indicating that the OP's issue today qualified for "catastrophic")

risk is everywhere we go. I think buying a used amg, though I still wouldn't do that personally, is a low risk scenario and the OP was unlucky in the risk lottery. He was a winner in the warranty lottery however and gets a second chance - he can repair the car and dump it or continue to drive it and break it in according to the poster above and his recommendations.

additionally the m177/8 family is getting on in age that we are starting to see it's Achilles heels, much like we well know about the m157. RMS/OVS has been the only significant prevalent issue, but it'll be interesting to see who else will report here as common bigger issues.

Nonethless, forums attract people with issues mostly; most out there are enjoying their w213 amg's without issue

 

Unfortunately I did not get a PPI, but that would have been smart to do like you said get a compression test done before buying it.

 

other than scoping the cylinders you have the most of the PPI done - ask them to give you results of the cylinder scope - if it's all good then the car is a keeper I think from an engine standpoint - would be nice for someone to look at rest of drivetrain (mct, trans, diff), cooling lines and turbos

 

Yeah, nobody really knows w/o doing forensics on the engine to determine what led up to the failure, and I agree at 45k miles one isn't gonna make up for any neglect or abuse the engine has experienced so far. The one thing that is always on my mind with babying and not driving cars enough is that potential issues are less likely to shake out during the factory warranty period. At 45k miles, this car left a lot of factory warranty on the table, but thankfully OP has an extended warranty. I'm kinda dealing with this with my C63S coupe now. It's a 2019 and I only have about 35k miles on it. The COMAND system suddenly started to lose some of its settings, although this could be the 5-year old battery dying, but I also have a clicking coming from the front axle when maneuvering at slow speeds. Dealership wanted to replace the steering rack, so they haven't been very helpful with diagnosing the issue. If I had driven the car more, it likely would have started during the factory warranty and I'd just have them work on it until it's fixed. So low mileage cars always raise a bit of a red flag for me. This is my first car that I drove this little, pandemic and all, and I wanna keep it, so have to eventually figure out what's going on.