C220 CDI Safe Mode

[davebox]

I'm holding off the shouting for now. Mercs say it was the wastegate that needed oiling so oiled it has been. I'm waiting it out now, let's just see what happens.

 

[onetosee]

hello again have you had any luck sorting out the problem ? i have spoken with a friend of mine and he said his saab was doing the exact same thing and his problem was a sticking wastegate. Has anyone actually managed to sort out this problem?.

 

[davebox]

As the problem has arisen only four times over six months I am waiting for a couple more months to find out. If I have any further problems I'll let you know.
Cheers
DB

 

[davebox]

Guess what? Yes, its going mad (or maybe that's me) The car has done this more frequently since I last posted. It has been in three times and still the problem persists.
Ive even let a different garage look at it. I'm off to have a meeting with the after sales service manager on Friday afternoon, wish me luck. :-(

 

[Blobcat]

Good luck!

 

[davebox]

Thank You very much, your thoughts are well appreciated
Ddiolch 'ch iawn lawer , 'ch feddyliau ydy bydew brisiedig

 

[davebox]

Well everyone, I'm gutted. I feel that MB are only out for my money (not that I have any). Even though I have had this problem from almost day 1, I have just been offered Bottom book £14,795 for the car on a trade in. I paid £12,000 + a £7,000 PX nine months ago (bit longer than I thought). so £19K.
I'm lost for words to describe how I feel at the moment. I'm thinking of contacting trading standards first thing Monday morning.
Worst of all, I have looked at the MB UK web site and found an identical car a couple of months younger, same mileage. same spec. £18,000. Over 3K out of my pocket.
I'm off for a lie down now - my temper is getting heated just thinking about the whole mess.

Do a search from google to MB Uk - look at used car search and enter the following:
C Class, Saloon, Diesel, C220CDI, Automatic, Price from 14K to 20k, Mileage up to 15K.
Closest to mine.
54 plate 2004 Same spec & colour 17,999
53 plate 2004 Same spec, silver 16,950.
MB profit from customers misery.

 

[jberks]

err - this was supposed to be a swap, because the car is not , as the phrase goes, of merchantable quality. What they have offered you is a trade in as if you'd walked in off the street. If they fully understood this and still came up with such a derisory offer, I'd have lost it with them. Start getting nasty and making VERY LOUD noises in the showroom. Ideally when they are very busy. Usual stuff, solicitors, media etc you knwo the drill. Who are these prats? Name and shame!

 

[television]

Hello Dave, Do not know why I have not seen this thread, and did not know that you were having all of this agro.
I learnt alot from Rajinders car, though it was a 129, it does share the same gearbox as yours. His car was plagued from new with the same problem, and MB never found the fault. The car would every now and then go into the limp home mode. In my learning curve I found that gearbox faults reset themselves each time the key is turned. Rajinders fault was a poor connection on the multi cable from the gearbox to the car, upsetting the Can Bus,with no real recorded fault,due to the re setting.
I wonder if yours is the same fault,this is starting to become a known fault and is a matter of cleaning the contacts with a good contact cleaner.

Malcolm

 

[davebox]

Cheers both! My head has stopped spinning now and the plaster in the walls can be sorted with a little filler and paint. Having thought this through for a bit I have decided to give the workshop manager one last chance at the car (He says that he can fix it - I say so why haven't you?, you know how it goes) He is going to have the car in and drive it himself for a week and I'm having his E class.
They changed a switch on the car today whilst the manager and I had an hour long chat. (please do not ask me which one because my head would not take it in when the sales chap gave me the bad news). One more thing I have discovered. They now tell me that limp/safe mode is where the car will not climb out of second gear? I have got to say with this information that This fault cannot be Safemode as it climbs through the box to top, just too fast and will not kick down through the box. Why not say this first time round? To give the workshop manager a fair chance he has only been in the job for six weeks and insists that the service level is changing. I have told him to prove that to me. I have also told the sales guy and the workshop manager that if this fault is not sorted I'll be visiting both the press and MB UK. Maybe I'll even consult with a solicitor (after talking with Trading standards first).
I'll post an update as always when I know more but feel that all Merc owners should be aware of this outrageous offer. (or should that be robbery?).
Cheers all. DB. :-(

 

[Blobcat]

Hi Dave,
Write everything down from your meeting today whilst it is still fresh. It may be useful later, although I hope it won't and that they do finally fix the car. When they do that then you need to have a list for them of all the times the car was unavailable to you, the time you took off work, the miles you drove etc. etc. Then present them with this along with some options for them. Like a coule of free services, some MB trinkets etc.
Malcolm's suggestion looks good, lets hope they get it fixed for you v-soon

 

[Rajan Berry]

Hi davebox

My wife has a C220 CDI with exactly the same symptons you describe above.

Has the fault on your car now been rectified, and if so, what was the cause?

 

[davebox]

They now tell me that limp/safe mode is where the car will not climb out of second gear? I have got to say with this information that This fault cannot be Safemode as it climbs through the box to top, just too fast and will not kick down through the box.
Is this the problem?
If so mines the same. As of yet I'm waiting for MB service to contact me about the swap for a week. I parked the car on the drive on saturday and only moved it tonight for a short drive. I'll update when I know more.

 

[mh81]

Hello Dave, this is madness..... Loads of people including me are having the same problem with no solution!!!!

I have a C220 CDI Manual, my symptoms are If I accelerate hard the engine dies and the ECP light comes on, If i restart, problem fixed.
There is no point in having 150bhp if the car cuts out.

I read on another post that someone ended up having to replace injection pump which caused the problem. The fault codes as a rule point to a valve in the pump which is not supplied seperately.


C220D'S suffered with them quite a bit. Around the 100k mark. apparently. Mines only done 31k.?

 

[Rajan Berry]

Yes my wife's car has exactly the same problem.

When you put you foot right down it goes quickly through the gears (automatic) but there is no quick acceleration and the rev counter never goes above 2500 rpm. It also does not go above 80mph.

Itially this happened occasionally. Now it happens more often than not.

I have been told it is the air mass sensor which will need changing.

The car is going to the delaer tomorrow to get fixed, and I will let you know the outcome.

 

[Rajan Berry]

HI Dave

I refer to my post below in response to your problem.

'To summerise the car had symptoms similar to your, when you press the accelerator the car is very unresponsive. It climbs through the automatic gear box but faster than it should i.e.. changes before 2k revs even if your foot is planted firmly on the pedal. There is no ‘kick down’ and it will then not go faster than 80 mph'

The car was lloked at by the MB dealer in Fulham who did not find the fault, so I then took it to a company called Mercedes Only in Ealing who were execellant. They carried out a full check and said the problem was caused by the lack of pressure in the fuel system which was caused by leakage from the Common Diesal Rail. They changed this together witht he Pressure Control Valve and Air Mass Sensor. The car is no as good as new.

These parts are expensive: Common Diesel Rail - £424 / Air Mass Sensor £58.70 / Pressure Control Valve £130.02 together with Labour at £200.

However, the Dealer who sold the car (Car Giant - London) agreed to meet the cost in full.

Initially they objected, however, I am a Lawyer and, although it is not my area of speciality, I gently informed them of their obligations under the Sale Of Goods Act and that the burden of proof now lies with them to prove that the vehicle was not faulty when it was sold.

I hope this helps.

 

[davebox]

Hi all! I have had the Pressure Control Valve changed by MB dealer on the Saturday that I lost all faith. I'll never forget that day and MB can take a running jump. I've contacted Trading Standards and have to now try and recall dates that the car has played up and visited MB
The overall outcome from the call was that:
The goods must be of satisfactory quality, free from defect and durable.
The trader has an obligation to remedy the situation by:
Repair first.
Replace - Like for like second
or refund.

with repair, as I have given plenty of oppertunity to do so I was advised to give them a written warning that they had one final chance.

to replace the vehicle with a like for like will always be difficult but not impossible.
(With a large network of used cars available I found two that fit the bill on the Saturday of lost confidence).

Refund is the final option. A refund should take into account a loss for depreciation, this should not be a trade in value but a current market value.
(I would consider this to relate to the price paid in respect of market value. i.e.. I paid 19K for the car. If the value was at that time 20K I have had a deal of 1K off. If the market value is currently 18K then I would accept 17K)

I hope I have interpreted this correctly as I intend to write to SG this week (I'm not giving figures, just actions that I will be willing to accept) I will also to copying the letter to MB customer service (no there is a contradiction in terms) and also MB finance (because I have a part loan for the vehicle with them (I did this because I wanted to keep everything under one roof knowing that I could have a cheaper loan through other banks, lenders. My stupid idea of loyalty).

If anyone is of a legal mind that does not agree with the above, please contact me as you see fit.

Posting a reply to this would not be taken as legal advice and so no fear of the current trends to sue anyone for anything should concern you.
I've added this because of the way our culture is turning. (but that should be saved for another post)

Cheers all for your help and advice on the subject.

Dave

 

[davebox]

Guess what! Yup it's gone again. This time though I was parked outside focus about 7 miles away from home. (My friendly service manager gave me his mobile number so I used it. He very kindly travelled up from Swansea and I met him at the Dealership, He called in a service engineer and gave me his own car to get home. I have to say that my faith in this man is exceptionally high. The rest of the service team I'm not so sure about. Anyway, he phoned me earlier to let me know that the Mass and Pressure switch codes were up on the computer so he is going to get them fixed tomorrow. I told him what trading standards had said about the whole mess and as he had already apologised wholeheartedly I did not expect anymore of those. I nicer guy I could not wish to meet and If he had been the service manager when I first had the trouble I probably would not have had the bother that you all by mow have read about.
Anyway, lets hope that this fixes it once and for all.
DB:roll:

 

[davebox]

New Turbo Fitted today.
Will this post ever end? I now have all the dates together so can write a very nice letter to MB. What a palava! :mrgreen: I can still smile though :mrgreen:

 

[Blobcat]

:mrgreen: I can still smile though :mrgreen:

That's the important thing. .

Have they looked at the gearbox multi cable as per Malcolm (TV)'s suggestion?