2000 E240 Engine Management Light, HELP!!!

[three pointed star]

Hello Again,
Regular visitors to this page may recall my posting 3 or so weeks ago about my latest acquisition, a 2000 E240 2.6. A beautiful car with just 35000 miles. At the time, having just bought it, I was concerned about the dash binnacle gear indicator and clock not working, a small point I thought when buying it, perhaps a couple of hundred pounds to replace/rectify, having been told it was nearer £700, I have decided to live with it and use my watch!!! Also the SRS light came on within 3 days of having it, a small matter of £230 and a new passenger child seat sensor and the light was extinguished, having spoken to the previous owner he's never had a child seat in the car.. I have literally done less than 100 miles in the past 3 weeks and other than taking it in to MB for the SRS light and an MOT have not used the car for over a week, so started it yesterday to keep the battery charged up, and noticed after 10 or so minutes the engine management light has come on!!!! I bought this car to replace an elderly, but trusty 1996 C180, which other than annual servicing and scheduled maintenance has had nothing done to it in its 120000 miles, and am starting to think perhaps I should have kept it. Any thoughts on what the engine light may be, and any easy way of extinguishing it. Thanks for looking.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Can you get the C180 back?

The W210 E class is not Mercs best car [understatement, experience]. If you bought privately I hope you bought right. If a dealer purchase you need to thoroughly examine the car and also service records.

Problem areas:

Air conditioning expensive. Check its working properly, condenser radiator is weak point. Get a run on these in summer as everyone discovers their air con is dead.

Knock at front end, very cheap, droplinks, life expectancy 25-35k.

Rust, potentially bad, tops of doors, under the seals, covered by Mobilo if your service history is intact. Wings and underbody also at risk.

ABS/brake problem and sudden brake failures, expensive.

Dash clocks/dials seem a risk too, but you already found that one.

Electric windows, especially rear.

Uneven running and Mass Airflow Meter....few hundred £

Transmission seems to occasionally go wrong, it seems you either get 20/30k and trouble or else it lasts forever, not had any trouble on this one yet.

I kept my old car and the Merc is off road so much I would have to say you need a spare car with the E class

 

[jberks]

No idea what the light is - in fact, I was not aware it had one! I lost the O2 and air sensors one day and no warning lights came on - just ran like a lada.
Which light is it?

The clock issue will ease if the car is used regularly with the air con on - I lost the whole lot (unreadable) when the car was parked ouside in the snow and damp for 2 weeks. A couple of months of regular use later and only the gear display is missing a few dots. I am told the repair is easy (haven't attempted it myself yet) though Merc would no doubt want to replace the whole binnacle. Its just a pressure contact issue - nothing wrong with the displays. Also this affects most modern VDO displays.


I would strongly suggest that with a 2000 model you do the following
1) check the service history - if the mobilio and corrosion warranties are still in existance, do a full corrosion check and put in a claim - takes 6 months or so to get a reply and you're bound to need something, however insignificant.

2) For anything other than servicing (and then only if the warranties are valid) use a specialist for maintenance. The dealers are an expensive and inferior option.

To be fair, Olaf's experience is at the worst end of the scale. 5 years old, 52k and I've replaced the following (non wear and tear items)
Plug leads (£250!)
Air mass sensor (£250)
o2 sensor (£120)
Fan regulator (£125)
Steering rack - Just an occasional slight squeak but hell it was under warranty!
1 door pin switch
Brake light switch
Corrosion wise - boot lock and top of doors though these aren't really worth doing its so slight but if Merc are paying ....

Never had aircon,drop links, gearbox etc issues.
And I am VERY fussy and do a 100 mile daily commute (so would notice any fault)- so ownership doesn't have to be a nightmare.

The light could be anything but a decent specialist should be able to put you right. I've had my 2000 E240 for 4 years now and whilst it has been less reliable than the old C, I'm still fairly happy with it and given the reports on the new one, I'm beginning to wonder whether the 210 will be considered as 'reliable' in years to come!.

The w210 is not as good as the old C, then neither is the new C - but I've just replaced a 15 year old AEG oven for the exact equivalent model and the drop in build quality even on that is obvious. This appears to be progress.

Olaf - perhaps you should demand a loan car - might speed them up if they needed it back !

 

[three pointed star]

Hello, Thanks for your thoughts. The light in question is an amber box with a picture of the engine in it, located to the right of the rev counter. I still have the C180, and joking aside, I will be keeping it!!!

 

[jberks]

Hi,
I was a little confused about the check engine light as I've never seen mine and always assumed it was built into the computer display. As you say, it's supposed to be on the right of the tacho according to the manual. It seems mine doesn't light up at all. Probably the bulb I guess so thanks for mentioning it and I guess that's why mine didn't light up when the engine management packed up.

As a thought I put a warranty on mine for £240 for 13 months. Covers all the serious bits. If you are unsure about problems it may be money well spent.

Now, how do I pull that binnacle out ....