JohnGalloway
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- Oct 23, 2004
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I have had a 1989 300 TE 4-matic for over 8 years. Recently the 4-matic function keeps disabling itself and the 4-matic warning light (the rectangular one at the bottom right) comes on. If I disconnect the battery for a while the 4-matic will work again - presumably because the computer has been reset. The on demand 4WD will work completely normally for a few miles or up to a day at the most before it stops and the warning light comes back on. I have mostly given up resetting it now and run it in permanent 2WD.
The car has been into 2 MB dealer service centres and an independent garage but they have not been able to fix it. One garage replaced the rear self levelling dampers (£750) because the pressure in the shared 4-matic and self levelling sytem was low from a small leak in the damper and they thought this was the cause. This made no difference.
A few years ago I had the same problem and the cause was duff information from a faulty left front ABS sensor which casued both the ABS and the 4WD to malfunction and diable themselves simultaneously. The ABS is functioning normally this time. The 2 front senors have been checked and are OK. The single rear sensor is not easy to get at.
It seems to me that this is most likely to be a sensor or computer problem but the dealer service centre tells me that it is the 4-matic box (new at about 70,000miles) that is likely to be faulty. It would not be economic to replace the box in a car of this age.
Does this story sound familiar to any other 4-matic owner?
John Galloway
The car has been into 2 MB dealer service centres and an independent garage but they have not been able to fix it. One garage replaced the rear self levelling dampers (£750) because the pressure in the shared 4-matic and self levelling sytem was low from a small leak in the damper and they thought this was the cause. This made no difference.
A few years ago I had the same problem and the cause was duff information from a faulty left front ABS sensor which casued both the ABS and the 4WD to malfunction and diable themselves simultaneously. The ABS is functioning normally this time. The 2 front senors have been checked and are OK. The single rear sensor is not easy to get at.
It seems to me that this is most likely to be a sensor or computer problem but the dealer service centre tells me that it is the 4-matic box (new at about 70,000miles) that is likely to be faulty. It would not be economic to replace the box in a car of this age.
Does this story sound familiar to any other 4-matic owner?
John Galloway
