New E270i auto power loss

[stevee]

I have owned this car for a month, and over the last 2 weeks have been having problems with sudden power loss. Looking at the owners manual it seems to be going into emergency mode, and the only way to clear this is to stop the car and restart it. I have booked the car into Mercedes but will have to wait 2 weeks (as I need a courtesy car). The probelm has happend twice to us in the last week and can be quite dangerous. Has anyone else had this problem ?

I should point out the car is a year old and done 12000 miles.

Also does anyone know if its possible to have folding mirrors fitted ? mine is an Avantgarde but its an import and Mercedes have told me its not standard on imports.

 

[jakmeticklerpaper]

For heaven's sake Stevee, get the ****** thing back to the dealers and demand that they do something about it damn quick! It's a Mercedes guarantee problem and they must fix it AND supply a courtesy car if you need one. Don't stand for any bullshit, threaten to contact your local radio station, if need be!

 

[Sanny]

E270CDi Power Problem

I've got a new 2003 E270CDi Avantgarde Estate and haven't had any problems. You do need to get this problem addressed urgently and would suggest that you call out Mercedes Breakdown. They are obliged to give you a hire vehicle at their cost and the dealer must get your car back on the road within a week or they have to pick up the cost of the hire car!

Can't help with the folding mirrors query but would suggest that anything is possible and only the cost might be prohibitive.

From past experience you might need to contact a number of different dealerships to get a decent quality of support with the above problems.

 

[guydewdney]

at teh very least get the dealer to do a diagnostic on WHY its going into emergency mode - i kicked up a hell of a stick in a dealer whn my (within warrenty) 202 C220cdi went into energency mode - turned out a screw from a (MB installed) car phone had punctured a vacuum pipe.

if its easy, it might just be a day - if complex, then it might be worth getting angry

 

[stevee]

Thanks for all the comments. Rest assured I will be creating a stink if this is not resolved. I have managed to get it into Mercedes for this week, thanks to Mercedes customer services getting involved. I'll post later with details of how the dealer has dealt with this issue.

 

[FreckBlue]

Seems I have the same problem - please my post from earlier today on Technical Information and Support Forum. Please let me know if you get this sorted

 

[stevee]

The car went in last week. Mercedes couldn't find the problem. It appears that unless you can get it in as and when it happens, the fault gets cleared on the computer when the engine is switched off. This is pretty useless as the only way to clear the problem is switch the engine off and restart !!

All I can say is it hasn't happend for about 3 weeks now. From what I can gather the engine management system goes into 'safe' mode when it detects a problem. The guy at Mercedes did say this has been known to happen on the W211 model and it seems the problem, most times, has been down to a fault with the injectors....who knows. All I know is its a little disconcerting when you lose power all of a sudden.

If anyone gets this problem resolved I'd be very interested to hear why.

 

[stevee]

This Saturday my kickdown failed when I was pulling out into a very busy junction, a little scarey would be an understatement. Anyway I drove it straight to Mercedes without switching off the car (as this clears the fault). They have diagnosed a problem with the Turbo. This put my mind at rest, as at least I figure it'll now get fixed. They kept the car and got me a hire car as they said it was to dangerous to drive. They also said there was a small fuel leak. All of this is a little worrying, I never expected it to go in with problems so early into its life, its only done 13,000 miles.

 

[reefer]

sounds a bit iffy having to leave the car running to get the fault code out?
what if you drive it round there, run into the showroom and someone nicks your car lol
on a more serious point tho..it is againts the law in this country to leave a car running unattended

 

[stevee]

Iffy or not thats what Mercedes told me. As for the leaving the car running .....driving it to the garage getting out and letting the mechanic drive it around to the workshop isn't too risky is it !! lucky for me there were no traffic police about.

I'm still not happy that a Mercedes has a new turbo and fuel leak at 13,000 miles.

 

[RichardM]

Mine's in the garage today with a fuel leak, I wonder if its the same thing. I noticed the car was taking longer to start, and the dealer said this is because of the fuel leak and loosing pressure. I've never had any problems with power loss.

With regards to driving to the dealer to get them to look at it, if its like mine you'd have to park the car and then go and stand inline inside and wait for 10 minutes (at least) to be seen, plenty of time for someone to nick the car!

 

[piestore]

211

Hi Stevee

I guess your car is a new E class as there have been fuel leak problems there are modified fuel pipes wich cure the proble, make sure the dealer also checks the condition of the water hoses around the engine as the fuel rotts them, as for the turbo this is also a known fault and the new turbo's are modified.

This is a new engine and it is very different to the previous 270 CDI hence the teething troubles.

 

[groesfaen.freeserve.co.uk]

The car went in last week. Mercedes couldn't find the problem. It appears that unless you can get it in as and when it happens, the fault gets cleared on the computer when the engine is switched off. This is pretty useless as the only way to clear the problem is switch the engine off and restart !!

All I can say is it hasn't happend for about 3 weeks now. From what I can gather the engine management system goes into 'safe' mode when it detects a problem. The guy at Mercedes did say this has been known to happen on the W211 model and it seems the problem, most times, has been down to a fault with the injectors....who knows. All I know is its a little disconcerting when you lose power all of a sudden.

If anyone gets this problem resolved I'd be very interested to hear why.

I am experiencing a similar problem with a 1999 E320 CDI.
The car is in today for diagnosis and remedy.
The proposed remedy is to change the glow plugs; the warning light stays on for about 2 minutes after starting the engine. Does anyone know whether faulty glow plugs would cause such a problem?
I am not convinced. The problem goes away when the ignition is switched off and the car re-started.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Warning of glow plug failure is that the glow light stays on....

 

[Raj]

problem with kickdown E270 CDI

I have been having intermittent problems with the kickdown on my 270 CDI which seems to be getting worse. When trying to move off at roundabouts, putting my foot down and expecting the car to accelerate, I get no power at all. I get stranded in the middle...also very dangerous with oncoming cars. To fix the problem, I have to switch the car off and switch it back on again which is a bit of a pain. Used to happen at least once a week before. Now its happening at least three to four times a week. Mercedes Benz in Colindale were not helpful at all trying to sidetrack the issue and saying it may be because of the way I drive and may not be covered under warranty. Trying to book the car in with them was a nightmare. When phoning them its always "we will phone you back for an appointment". I gave up trying after a week and several phone calls every day. In the end I took the car to George Frasier who usually services all my other cars and he diagnosed it as a faulty pressure valve. He also mentioned that this was a common problem and as a result, the design of the valve has been modified. Hopefully this has fixed the problem.

You dont expect this on car with 12000 on the clock!!

 

[IanB]

I have a 270CDI and it wasn't until reading this string of messages that I realised I have the same problem with kickdown - I assumed that it was a normal delay in the turbo cutting in. It has not got any worse since I bought the car, but I will make sure that it's fixed now. Thank you!

 

[Billc]

E270cdi emergency mode

I also have this issue. I originally thought it was something wrong with the cruise control but I guess its anytime you kick down. The dealer I spoke to this morning (before I found this list) claimed not to know about the issue. I'll post an update after I've let them look at the car.

 

[Jeremyrobin]

E270 cdi power loss/turbo problem

I am glad I am not alone. My March 2003 E270 cdi regularly but unpredictably refuses to accelerate. It is rather like the description of emergency gearbox mode in the handbook, but I don't think it's that. On my first visit to MB I was told it was a 'glitch'. The next time they happened to have some technicians over from Germany who diagnosed a turbo fault. Something was replaced, producing a three-month cure. Now the problem is back again. I despair about getting it put right, and I feel this is a pretty shabby performance from Mercedes.

 

[stevee]

So, this seems to be a known problem, why is it some garages admit this and other plead ignorance ? Anyway, as stated before my turbo was replaced a couple of months ago and so far so good, but reading some of the other comments I dont think I shouldn't hold my breath !!

 

[Jeremyrobin]

Since my last post, I have had a second new turbo, said to be of a modified type, fitted. So far so good. It appears that this was a general and known fault, and in my opinion, a dangerous one