Is there any good news W204 C180

[iandsm]

I havn't posted for some time so perhaps this is the place to start on this question.

Is there anyone out there who has had positive experience of W204 1.6 petrol K. I have viewed and test driven a 2009 with 43k on it recently and I thought it was superb, plenty of power, quiet, seems veyr well put together and the ride was very comfortable.

I read that there are reports of cam chain problems and I don't doubt that there have been some, but given that its usually people who have problems that post on forums, as opposed to what I hope are thousands of happy owners, I was wondering is there anyone has owned such a vehicle and enjoyed it without major issues and who would but another one.

 

[television]

The timing chain can be a problem on the 271 engine, the 204 is a lovely car just this chain problem that can come to light at around 60k miles.

 

[Chrishazle]

Is this the engine where the chain is at the rear of the engine, so changing it is a big job (? engine out?) ?

 

[television]

Is this the engine where the chain is at the rear of the engine, so changing it is a big job (? engine out?) ?

I think that is the 251 or something like that that has the rear chain..

 

[iandsm]

Well, I took the plunge and bought the car, however 15 days and 650 miles later the front passenger airbag warning light won't go out (Seat unoccupied) and the ESP warning has come up as inoperative. I took it back to Mercedes who had it a day, said two faults were logged which they cleared and did a software update. All seemed OK for two days then the same faults appear, in addition the windscreen wipers will no longer wipe or spray although the indicators work. It is now back with Mercedes. i was wondering if anyone has had similar experiences with these issues. I like the car very much and want to keep it, but only these issues can be solved. Needless to say Mercedes are aware I am not a happy bunny. I haven't yet resorted to speaking in very loud voice in the showroom full of customers but it might come to that.

 

[WG M-B]

Sounds like the steering column module has possibly failed
It's quite common on the 204 and 212

 

[Yugguy]

All these CAM chain worries. Are there any real stats on how many have actually failed out of the millions of W204s out there? Not that I really car cos I have OM646.

 

[iandsm]

All these CAM chain worries. Are there any real stats on how many have actually failed out of the millions of W204s out there? Not that I really car cos I have OM646.

I haven't found any

 

[iandsm]

W204 wipers and srs warning

Mercedes confirmed today that it's a new wiper motor and a seat pad sensor that's required. Should be done tomorrow with luck. They are still working on the EDP warning thinking it could be a wheel sensor.

 

[iandsm]

Sorted, I think

The ESP issue was, it appears , a sensor on the brake pedal. So at the moment everything appears sorted.

I have to say the Mercedes dealer has been very good, always took the car in the same day I reported problems, always supplied a decent loan car and of course no charge as repairs etc done under Mercedes warranty, otherwise a bill for something around £1000 would have come my way. It makes me think that extending the warranty for another year when the years one runs out might be a good investment.

 

[iandsm]

Climate control

Just wondering if I have somewhere or a fault somewhere on my C180 Compressor.

When if first start the car and turn on the climate control set to 22 Degrees the cold air comes on and the fan is running fine pushing out cold air to all vents. I can hear a slight growl sound and the engine note changes slightly. After a while the interior reaches the temperature which has been set, the fan slows down and I hear a louder growling sound, sometimes a click, the growl cuts in and out constantly with a few seconds in between. If I move the temperature dial either higher or lower to put some load on the system the growl is much quieter and obviously the fan pushes more air out. The climate control works fine but it seems that when the set temperature is reached and the system is idling,as it were, it becomes noisy and intrusive, the tone of this growl changes with engine speed and on reasonable acceleration it stops, only to start again when there is less load on the engine. This is to the point of spoiling the pleasure of driving the car, needles to say the moment it turn off the climate control the noise stops and all I hear is the normal low engine noise.

I wonder if anyone has experienced the same thing or can suggest the cause or solution.

 

[television]

All I can think of is something in the heater box, a stuck flap or something, something in the fan blades.

 

[iandsm]

Just an update, I took a service advisor out on a short run and he agreed there was noise from the climate control. The car was in the workshops for two days and the result was that the chief Tec said all was normal nothing wrong, which was at odds with what I and the service advisor thought, although he had to be guided by the technician. On collection I took a different technician out for a drive and there was an improvement in the climate control noise. He explained that the refrigerant was low so they had re gassed it replacing the refrigerant and the lubricant, thinking that the system might be struggling. Although there was some improvement the issue had not been completely cured. However a few days later I started the engine and there was a clonk and a whirring noise as if something had freed itself. Since then the climate control has been quiet as I expect it should be and working perfectly. I can only conclude that the re-gassing and new lubricant cured the problem and all is now well.

I understand that re-gassing the climate control is not a job routinely carried out on scheduled servicing it might be worth others having this check done every couple of years just to keep things running smoothly.