New CLK Owner -worried

[craigdm]

Hi, I've just become a MB owner for the first time (might have something to do with turning 40 !!). Anyway, I've just traded in my MG ZT-T 190 for a 2000 model year 320 CLK. I had always thought that mercs were bullet-proof, but reading through some of the threads on this site I'm suddenly a very worried man. Having said that I was also a member on the MGR site, and despite several scare stories over there, my ZT never let me down. So here's what I'm worried about :

1. Before I bought the car, it was not driving that well, a problem that was solved by a new MAF sensor. I've seen a few references to this on here, so is it something that's likely to cause a problem again in the future ??

2. Secong day out in the new car I went to Currys, when I came back the car wouldn't start. It turned over for about 5 secs, but wouldn't fire. It sounded like there was no fuel getting through. After trying for about 5 mins I rung the RAC, and they arranges to send someone out. Two mins after putting the phone down, I tried it again and it started no problems. I cancelled the RAC and went to the MiLs house. Came out 45 mins later, and the same thing happened. Right down to it starting as soon as I'd rung the RAC !!!. Any idea what this could be ??..it was a very wet day, but my guess was something to do with the alarm/immobiliser system.

3. There seems to be a lot of people suffering with their CLK rusting around the rear end. Mine looks okay, but I'm still a bit worried. Mine is a face-lift model with the door mirror indicators,,,does this car still suffer ???

Any help/reassurance gratefully recieved... Otherwise the car will be going on EBay, and I'll be back to my original plan of a 3.0 X-Type.

PS, the car is great, once it's started :wink:

 

[Schtum]

Note-to-self. Never buy a car from ebay.

Seriously though, I know there is nothing worse than an intermittent starting problem, after all what use is a car that won't start?

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to offer advice.

It does sound fuel related IMO. Have you checked the plugs and leads?

 

[television]

With the amount of crankshaft sensors failing, maybe something to do with weather. Anyway that is the most obvious cause and not expensive.

Malcolm

 

[hawk20]

I find it hard to understand why so many are prepared to buy expensive and complicated cars and then begrudge about 3p per mile to have them serviced at an MB dealer. If you bought with Full MBSH, and serviced at a Merc dealer, you would not need to join the RAC or AA (quoted me £150 p.a for a couple). You would have Mercedes free breakdown service. And factory trained mechanics would likely know more about what was wrong and how to fix it than an AA or RAC man. By the way, if you had bought from a Mercedes dealer, you would have a proper guarantee. Do you not have any guarantee?

Personally, I would bite the bullet and get it to a Merc dealer. Many give big discounts for older cars. (Many will no doubt disagree).

 

[craigdm]

I find it hard to understand why so many are prepared to buy expensive and complicated cars and then begrudge about 3p per mile to have them serviced at an MB dealer. If you bought with Full MBSH, and serviced at a Merc dealer, you would not need to join the RAC or AA (quoted me £150 p.a for a couple). You would have Mercedes free breakdown service. And factory trained mechanics would likely know more about what was wrong and how to fix it than an AA or RAC man. By the way, if you had bought from a Mercedes dealer, you would have a proper guarantee. Do you not have any guarantee?

Personally, I would bite the bullet and get it to a Merc dealer. Many give big discounts for older cars. (Many will no doubt disagree).

I'm not too sure I like the tone of that reply. FYI I certainly don't begrudge paying for the servicing, I'm not some low-life council estate pimp, you know . In fact I'm a company director, who could quite easily afford to buy a new MB. I don't care to, as I like to change my car quite often, and I'm not one of these people who just swop for the same model. I like my cars (actually involved in the design side), and I like a bit of variety. All I wanted was some reassurance about some of the more common faults that appear on the fora.

The MGR guys are VERY friendly.....

 

[Speedmaster]

I had the same thing on my CLK430 last year with the Mass Air Flow sensor thingy and the Mercedes dealer said once it was sorted that was it.
Apart from that mine has been perfectly reliable and a joy to drive. I have a v small pin prick of rust above rear wheel arch but hardly notice it and touched it in.

Any more questions just ask, quite a few CLK owners on here

 

[jberks]

Craig,
These intermittent issues are always a pain. Malcolm's suggestion sounds good (for future info - he's rarely far wrong). We have had a fair number of these faults coming up recently and the symptoms are the same, with no spark so no start and an intermittent nature.
These cars rarely suffer from fuel starvation so I'd be going with an ignition fault and the sensor is the most common cause of no ignition given that the rest of the system is split between cylinders (so you normally get misfires rather than complete failures).
As far as the MAS goes, few owners get aways with not fixing or replacing them at some point but it does tend to be a one off job so I think you can sleep soundly on that one.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

I'm not too sure I like the tone of that reply. FYI I certainly don't begrudge paying for the servicing, I'm not some low-life council estate pimp, you know . In fact I'm a company director, who could quite easily afford to buy a new MB. I don't care to, as I like to change my car quite often, and I'm not one of these people who just swop for the same model. I like my cars (actually involved in the design side), and I like a bit of variety. All I wanted was some reassurance about some of the more common faults that appear on the fora.

The MGR guys are VERY friendly.....

Hi Craig, welcome to the site and the wonderful world of MB ownership. Dont be put off by Hawks' response, there are a lot of friendly and helpful people here. Hawk can be too, he just has a stlightly different opinon on the world to some people here. But then it would be a bit boring if were all the same right?

MB ownership seems to be a bit hit and miss. Some have no problems at all and some, like myself, seem to spend more time in the garage than on the road. Don't forget that most people that come here do so mainly because they have had problems with their cars and this is a very small proportion of Merc owners worldwide. Very few people, although there are some, come here just to say everything is still working.

As has been said before Malcolm (Television) is rarely wrong with his diagnosis.

 

[angus falconer]

MAF's and crank sensors go on them all after a few years and miles.

I don't think the MAF failure is in any way unique to Merc - they fail on ALL cars with computer-driven engine management systems.

Not sure if the crank sensor problem is unique to Merc but is you get a specialst to stick one in at a cost of £150 when your nearing 50,000 miles you can forget about that problem for a long time.

Having spoken to various people in the trade ALL manufacturers now struggle with brakdowns caused by electronics.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

This is true. I had one go on my Audi (although at was at about 130,000 mile, not 25,000 like on Mercs) and a guy at the office had one go in his Golf VR6.

I guess the problem is the more complicated they make the cars the more likely they are to have problems. I notice the new fiesta is being advertised with auto-lights and voice activated mobile etc. I wonder how ling they will last. I guess the secret is don't buy anything more than 3 years old. Maybe that's the idea, car comapnies want you to buy new cars rather than second hand ones afterall....

 

[craigdm]

Many thanks for the messages of reassurance, and appologies for the early morning rant....I'm not at my best early doors..

Things appear to be working okay now, maybe it was just the rain that was causing my starting woes..:???:


PS Anyone care to recommend a good independent garage in my area ?? (Lytham St Annes/Blackpool, Lancs)

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

nothing wrong with a good rant

 

[eric242340]

If I had just bought this car, with the problems you describe, Id be more than worried. They are prone to computer problems, especially in the wet. Use WD40 or a suitable electrical spray to protect your computers.

 

[jberks]

Things appear to be working okay now, maybe it was just the rain that was causing my starting woes..:???:

Sorry - but I doubt it. MB's are pretty well sealed and moisture is normally only an issue if a major seal had failed - e.g. water ingress into the boot where a SAM gets wet. As the SAM wasn't designed to be in wet conditions, you get a problem. ECUs under the bonnet are normally well sealed and sit in a sealed compartment inside a sealed engine bay. Look at the connectors and you'll see, most are well designed and shouldn't suffer from moisture.

I still suspect it is an intermittent sensor issue and you will be hearing from it again. Personally I'd be looking at getting a new crank sensor, if just for the peace of mind.

Eric - I don't see where you would spray WD40 - I certainly wouldn't blast the computers with it! Also, it's one issue on a 'new' car. Hardly a litany of woes! Get it sorted and it will probably give reliable service.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

I agree with Jberks, even with my genuine "litany of woes" I would say this is the first time you've had a problem so don't panic yet. It doesn't help that you've only just got the car, but hopefully this is a one off. Even if it is the sensor, and it comes back, the sensor is no biggie and hopefully you'll be trouble free from then on.

This forum can be a bit like "blacks medical dictionary". If you read too much of it you'll swear you have suffered from all of the ailments!

 

[kth286]

craigdm

A sensible move would be to get the codes read and see if any faults are stored.

I would go to a main dealer for that as they have the best/latest diagnostics.

Depending on the results of the read-out I would probably use a specialist to do any work required.

It is often the case that car purchasers get it back to front with their research. The research should be done PRIOR to an intended car purchase, not after. A much better buying decision will then ensue.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

what kind of research would you recommend? Apart from an AA/RAC inspection I can't think what else you can do. I suppose phoning the previous owner is always a good idea, but not exactly trustworthy. If they sold it because it was a pup they're probably not going to tell you

 

[Blobcat]

You could always read a few forums, only problem is that you would probably decide never to buy any car ;-)

 

[124coupe]

Hi, you mentioned "traded in" so I assume a dealer of sorts was the source and very recently?

The law is on your side these days re being sold a non-functioning (won't start) car from a dealer - look at the Trading Standards website.

You should have the problem diagnosed and fixed by the trader (he should pay for the 30mins labour at MB to get the car on the STAR system).

If the CPS is the fault, it WILL have set fault codes from the failed starts as the ECU withholds fuel to protect the cats in the event there is no CPS signal.

I am not a believer in "changing it to see it if fixes the problem". In Merc-land, that is the route to madness and poverty. codes should always be read first and then ask the guys on here to help with the likely remedy (or your local decent Merc independent).

I have to say that Merc dealers are NOT hot at fixing older cars - they tend to throw parts at them (at your expense) until they find the right one...

 

[craigdm]

How exactly would I go about 'reading' these codes, and indeed finding out what they mean ??

I did buy the car from a dealer, and in fact he gave me £200 of my cash back to hold on to as the car is presently on a private plate that will shortly be making it's way back to the original owner... The fact that this dealer has to arrange to change over the plates and indeed to get the remaining £200 gives me a nice warm(ish) feeling about the problem...