Sensor problems /DPF removal - would really appreciate advice!

[nidgemo]

Hi All

I recently (about 6 weeks ago) bought a 2013 (facelift) W212.

Within 20 mnutes of picking it up, the engine warning light came on, and it transpired to be a small electrical fault that was extremely hard to trace (a boost pressure sensor).

I must say, the independent (but very large) dealer I bought it from have been excellent to date in getting it sorted out, extending my warranty for another 18 months (on top of the 12 I got initially)

However, on getting the car back (eventually) from that repair (which took going to the dealer for 3 days, Mercedes for 9 days and an independent diagnostic for 5 days!) within another few days another fault appeared (Temperature sensor 1 Catylitic converter cylinder bank 1 has a malfunction. The signal is outside the permissible range)

The dealer got the specialist to come and look at it and (bear with me - long story, I know) he said because I do a reasonable bit of town driving, that sensors would keep failing.

(I am aware of the needs of a modern diesel with dpf etc, to take for decent drives etc, and make sure I do this - I bough a MBII sensor to read the dpf levels once a week, and, if it's getting a little high, I take it for a 60 mile A road and mororway run which takes it back down nicely)

The independent specialist then recommended I get the dpf bored out, ECU remapped etc, as with my driving style sensors would keep failing.

So, two questions...

1. Does this sound right? Even with me being aware of DPF soot level, checking it regularly and taking the car for a spin to clear it out? Surely in a modern, £15,000 car with only 60k on it, it shouldn't be the case that a bit of town driving during the week should be leading to continual sensor failures surely?

2. I'm not very keen to cause about £2000 worth of, essentially, damage to a £15k car... And would obviously be concerned at future MOT failure and having to spend that to put it back in... but, frankly, I'd also be glad to see the DPF, ECU and that whole bank of sensors gone too, as it's a balls of a system (and I'm not concerned about being ecologically friendly as, living in Northern Ireland, you should see the state of some of the messes and black smoke machines clogging up the roads over here)...

So, any advice, answers to the questions, thoughts, experience of having had dpf bored out and remapped etc and anything you have for me welcome!

Thanks

 

[mancman]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but if you knew about DPF problems being caused by low mileage journey,s why did you not buy a petrol model ?

 

[nidgemo]

Try going onto auto trader and a northern ireland postcode. You just can't get any large prestige cars at all in petrol. ****ing diesel mad over here. Which is weird, as we've no motorways (well, 2) E class, 5 series, A6, XF, etc all only available in diesel. So, like i say, you accept it, keep an eye on the DPF levels, and take it for a decent drive when needed.

 

[nidgemo]

And surely EVERYONE with a diesel takes low mileage journeys? Everyone with a diesel can't just drive it 50 miles to work, 50 miles back and never pop to the shop for milk, or down the road for a takeaway, or drop the kids to school, or 2 miles to the office etc? Any car should be able to handle that, mixed with occasional long runs. I did research it extensively, on here and with Mercedes dealers, technicians and MBUK - who ALL said town driving is fine, as long as you take it for a 20 or 30 mile run every few weeks.

 

[V6Matty]

The blue tec engine is supposedly known to blow those sensors according to an Indy I know, not cheep to replace either I'm afraid but the only option. Yes you could delete the dpf but the new mot regs mean any little puff of smoke on a euro 5/6 it's an instant fail,
There are some emulators you can get fom the US but I'd personally not recomend them.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Sorry to hear this, like you I do a fair amount of short runs 3-5 miles but to mitigate that effect on the DPF if I sense a regeneration starting I keep the car running and the cycle takes about 15 mins to complete. My car is the pre-facelift without urea injection so probably not as problematic.

Having read your posts and the professional advice given about ongoing problems I would be inclined to return the car and look for a pre-facelift

 

[Jimbo1959]

The more I read about MB and the DPF and sensor issues the more I wonder if I've bought the right car, or I just being paranoid?

I have a twenty mile each way commute every day with the occasional shop, drop my lad off run, locally.

I do tend to have a bit of a divers boot on my right foot, although I always warm her up and cool her down before using it and switching off.

In my previous experience of VWG, PSA group and Japanese cars I've owned and/or used I've never had any issues with EGR and MAF sensors either. Have I just been lucky or does my driving style/method have a lot to do with it?

If my E350 CDi starts playing up it will be gone, I have no patience or a bottomless wallet for any of this nonsense chaps, regardless of how much I enjoy the car otherwise.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

The more I read about MB and the DPF and sensor issues the more I wonder if I've bought the right car, or I just being paranoid?

I have a twenty mile each way commute every day with the occasional shop, drop my lad off run, locally.

I do tend to have a bit of a divers boot on my right foot, although I always warm her up and cool her down before using it and switching off.

In my previous experience of VWG, PSA group and Japanese cars I've owned and/or used I've never had any issues with EGR and MAF sensors either. Have I just been lucky or does my driving style/method have a lot to do with it?

If my E350 CDi starts playing up it will be gone, I have no patience or a bottomless wallet for any of this nonsense chaps, regardless of how much I enjoy the car otherwise.

I wouldn’t be overly concerned Jim, I believe your car is the pre-facelift so isn’t affected by the introduction of ADBLUE system which raised emissions to EU6

 

[LostKiwi]

I seriously doubt anyone here would suggest removing the DPF is a sensible option due to legality issues. With MOTs getting increasingly strict on emissions in my view it would be a very foolish and expensive mistake.

 

[Jimbo1959]

I seriously doubt anyone here would suggest removing the DPF is a sensible option due to legality issues. With MOTs getting increasingly strict on emissions in my view it would be a very foolish and expensive mistake.

Absolutely sir, from my reading, basically if it's fitted and you remove it, it's an automatic fail now. A very expensive lesson.

 

[Jimbo1959]

I wouldn’t be overly concerned Jim, I believe your car is the pre-facelift so isn’t affected by the introduction of ADBLUE system which raised emissions to EU6

Thanks for the reassurance there, a big sigh of relief was given!

 

[V6Matty]

Yours being the EU5 is a different system Jim and the same as my engine, it's happy to do short runs but not all the time, I'm lucky that my office is either home or an 80 mile trek to Birmingham so short runs are a rarity for me?
Give your car a longer run once every few weeks and you'll be fine

 

[400ixl]

OP, it seems common that those two sensors fail at the same time, whether one fails and doesn't cause an issue until the other does I don't know, but common for them both to need changing together.

Haven't seen much in the way of them continuously failing though. Doing short journeys with a decent length of journey every 3-4 hundred miles should not cause any DPF issues either.

 

[nidgemo]

The blue tec engine is supposedly known to blow those sensors according to an Indy I know, not cheep to replace either I'm afraid but the only option. Yes you could delete the dpf but the new mot regs mean any little puff of smoke on a euro 5/6 it's an instant fail,
There are some emulators you can get fom the US but I'd personally not recomend them.

Not a bluetec, though, just the standard one.

 

[nidgemo]

Yours being the EU5 is a different system Jim and the same as my engine, it's happy to do short runs but not all the time, I'm lucky that my office is either home or an 80 mile trek to Birmingham so short runs are a rarity for me?
Give your car a longer run once every few weeks and you'll be fine

Mine is probably EU5 as well - facelift W212, but not adblue

 

[nidgemo]

OP, it seems common that those two sensors fail at the same time, whether one fails and doesn't cause an issue until the other does I don't know, but common for them both to need changing together.

Haven't seen much in the way of them continuously failing though. Doing short journeys with a decent length of journey every 3-4 hundred miles should not cause any DPF issues either.

Thanks Stu - that's my understanding.

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

All the 350cdi engines in the 212 facelift were BlueTEC so I assume yours is a 2.2 or 2.5 BlueEFFICIENCY engine, very few reports on the forum of sensor problems on those

 

[V6Matty]

Not a bluetec, though, just the standard one.

So yours is a blue efficiency?
I ask as the blue tec actually came in before the facelift so I'm surprised that it's not an EU6, not saying your wrong just surprised