Help! engine shake/cough 2012 c220 cdi w204

umuk

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Hi guys,

Really hoping someone can help me here.

Bought a c220 cdi sport 3 weeks ago with 89k on clock, privately.

Test drive was fine, paperwork all ok, so did the deal and drove it home, no issues.

The very next day, when i started the car i felt a shake from the car...then again, and again....every few seconds, noticed the rev needle move at the same time too, seemed to get stronger when in gear than in park. Went away when i began to drive but every time i came to standstill the cabin shook ever few seconds.

It happens more often than not and having read up on injector issues and timing chains, i quickly had it linked up to the STAR diagnostic machine at a local Mercedes specialist. The 'quick test' they carried out showed nothing to be faulty, they then checked the injector values and every time the car 'coughed' the values went down from anywhere between -4 to -14 on 1,2 and 3 injectors...4th seemed not to be affected.

My question to you knowledgeable folk is, are my injectors causing this? or is it something else which is causing the injector values to drop ? i was told by the guys at the garage that the tolerance is between +/- 10. but they aren't sure if its the injectors as when the shake/cough does occur the values are +4 to +8 range

I had the fuel filter changed and have tried the BG244 additive in the hope that its a small issue, this was only yesterday but i'm not so sure it will work, my luck isn't that good!

i've read up on the symptoms of the timing chain and couldn't hear anything untoward on the first start up of the day...no rattles etc. but one of the mechanics said he heard a metallic noise when bringing the car into the car bay, not heard it since.

The car seems to drive fine and is returning reasonable mpg (high 40s on 100 mile round trip)

im absolutely bricking it as to what it could be and related costs!

having looked at the injectors...there no sign of 'black death' they match the pics put up on the main injector issue thread as being the later delphi ones with the return values and the ecu states 'solenoid' on it so im guessing its not the older type ones that caused the majority of the issues (my car is a march 2012 registered on 12plate)

im summary (apologies for the long write up) the car engine seems to 'cough' or shake every few seconds...sometimes making the whole car shake enough to shake me in my seat (gently)....occasionally it doesn't do it at all and everything seems fine.

any help would be greatly appreciated, the garage is suggesting the next action should be to send the injectors off for analysis...

im really beating myself up about being bitten by the seller....in hindsight he did seem to want to keep the eco button on during the the whole of the test drive....that meant that when i came to a stop the engine turned off and of course the shake didn't occur!


thanks in advance
 

LostKiwi

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Was this a dealer purchase or a private purchase?
 
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umuk

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was a private purchase im afraid, i have text the seller and told him of whats going on, not had a reply unsurprisingly. I'm wanting to get to the bottom of it....if its not too much of sting i'll just have it done with. If its something really major i'll be reasonable and ask him to cough up half the money. i dont think ive got a leg to stand on legally.

Whats bugging me is not knowing what the fault is! and more so now as the merc specialist isnt too sure either!
 

Yugguy

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Bg244 won't have caused the issues so dont worry about that.
 

ernieh

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"Quick repair problem and get shot quick"...problem is you've got landed with it. The only redress you might have with the seller is whether he made any statement as to the vehicle's condition and particularly if there were any faults.

Sorry to hear this but hope you get it fixed without it being too painful. Do you have any records of who serviced it? It might be worth contacting them for clues to history, or even get your nearest MB dealership to search history. If there is none or little, did the seller give a false statement as to the Service History?

Ernie
 

malcolm E53 AMG

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Does sound like an injector problem. If you have a diesel specialist near you it might be a good idea to have the injectors removed and the spray pattern checked, worn injector tips give the symptoms you are experiencing at tickover.

Or alternately take it to your local MB dealer for a diagnostic and get their opinion and if it is injector replacement MB might make a contribution depending on service history.

Hope you soon get this resolved.
 
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umuk

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Thanks for the replies guys...

As I said, I added the bg244 stuff a few days ago and it really has made a difference! I'm still not convinced that I've managed to resolve the issue just by adding that stuff but so far I've not had the shake since putting it in. The only other thing I did was to fill the tank full of the shell v power stuff.

I'll report back in about a week or so but so far so good.

Going on to the seller, he had the car from 3 months old, did 85k in it and had it serviced from the same specialist throughout. The service records and invoices are all up to date and traceable via the online database that Mercedes have. I checked with the dealership and there's no outstanding recalls on it.

The ad stated 'maintained regardless of cost' and I asked him outright if it was all working fine, which he said it was.

I really don't know guys, he may not have known about it. Especially if he kept the Eco button on. But then again, the shake was there from the min you started the car. God knows! I'm just glad that it seems to have gone away and if nothing else I know now that it's something to do with the fuel system/injectors, right?
 

malcolm E53 AMG

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I had a poor tickover, nothing as bad as you describe, with my 350cdi as soon as I bought it. All fill-ups since purchase last November have been with premium fuels (in my case BP) and the problem has gone away. I can only assume that the fuel additives are an important element of clean burn technology and if not present lead to these sort of problems

Hope this is the case for you
 
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umuk

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So the shake is back guys...I don't think it's doing it as often but certainly still there....I'm at a loss to what to do? Does anyone know of a garage who actually know how to use the star diagnostic machine properly or know of a injector/Diesel engine specialist in the West Yorkshire area to help get to the bottom of this issue please?
 

Farhan123

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Hi

I know your post has been a few years since but i have the exact same problem with tge ezact same car. Did you ever get any resolution to the problem? Like you noone seems to know the problem and im deeply worried something major is going to go wrong. Please help
 

Wighty

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Hi

I know your post has been a few years since but i have the exact same problem with tge ezact same car. Did you ever get any resolution to the problem? Like you noone seems to know the problem and im deeply worried something major is going to go wrong. Please help
Best find your local MB independent buddy to have a Star diagnostic test done , where do you live so someone can recommend an Indy
 

Farhan123

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I live in bolton. Theres a couple but would rather someone recommended or even a diesel specialist. Thankd
 

Wighty

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I live in bolton. Theres a couple but would rather someone recommended or even a diesel specialist. Thankd
Not my area buddy , hopefully someone can recommend a garage in your area . There is a specialist finder on the forums front page
 

Farhan123

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Oh right didnt know that. New to the forum so ill check it out. But if anyone has first hand experience id appreciate the info. Many thanks
 

EmilysDad

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I think @EmilysDad uses Mastertech - I'm sure he'll be along in a bit...

I fell out with Mastertech years ago after they charged me 4 hours for a job that MB say is 1.4 hrs and left me with a fuel leak because they re-used the original O ring on the fuel pump. Apparently though it was due to me over filling the car. Funny how the smell of fuel disappear after I replaced the O ring myself.
 

EmilysDad

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I have used MStar in Radcliffe in the past but I have doubts about them too. I get the feeling that they just want to do the easy stuff ....
 

LostKiwi

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I fell out with Mastertech years ago after they charged me 4 hours for a job that MB say is 1.4 hrs and left me with a fuel leak because they re-used the original O ring on the fuel pump. Apparently though it was due to me over filling the car. Funny how the smell of fuel disappear after I replaced the O ring myself.
Ah yes... I remember that now!
 


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