New Owner - Hi + a few questions.. :)

[motormusic1]

Hi everyone, just joined the forum on recommendation of a friend.

I've just picked up a high mileage 2009 C180K Blueefficiency Estate. However there are a little things that i'd like some advice on if anyone could assist.

The gearchange..
It's rather floppy in my opinion, and reverse seems difficult for me to 'find'. Is this a normal feature of the gearbox or a fault?

Wipers..
I thought they were automatic - there's a lens type thing on the window visible from the outside as well as a large mesh array that surrounds the mirror, however upon switching to intermittant they don't go automatic as the manual states.

Headlights..
Now i could be mistaken but i'm sure that someone else i knew had this shaped Merc and the 'daytime running' lights lit up the top section of the headlamp unit (eyebrow?) however upon switching mine on lights the entire right bulb up in the main lens..

Specification..
I've been informed that i 'may' have a SE specification. I have cruise control, 3 mini displays in the dash, fabric trim, dual climate control, electric tailgate, Audio 20 stereo (sadly single cd and no satnav). Is there any way to check using my vin number or reg number exactly what is fitted to the car? I'm discovering things all the time but it's rather daunting.


I'm not complaining btw. Thoroughly love the car despite the 130k+ distance it's travelled. It does have a full service history though and is a quiet as a whisper. Plus it looks like it's on track for pushing 600miles from a tank of fuel according to the computer.

Incidentally does anyone know what the left display in the instrument panel does? It lists a number in km/h which puzzles me as we use MPH and i don't understand what it's referring to..

Regards
Barry

 

[ernieh]

Hi everyone, just joined the forum on recommendation of a friend.

I've just picked up a high mileage 2009 C180K Blueefficiency Estate. However there are a little things that i'd like some advice on if anyone could assist.

The gearchange..
It's rather floppy in my opinion, and reverse seems difficult for me to 'find'. Is this a normal feature of the gearbox or a fault?

Wipers..
I thought they were automatic - there's a lens type thing on the window visible from the outside as well as a large mesh array that surrounds the mirror, however upon switching to intermittant they don't go automatic as the manual states.

Headlights..
Now i could be mistaken but i'm sure that someone else i knew had this shaped Merc and the 'daytime running' lights lit up the top section of the headlamp unit (eyebrow?) however upon switching mine on lights the entire right bulb up in the main lens..

Specification..
I've been informed that i 'may' have a SE specification. I have cruise control, 3 mini displays in the dash, fabric trim, dual climate control, electric tailgate, Audio 20 stereo (sadly single cd and no satnav). Is there any way to check using my vin number or reg number exactly what is fitted to the car? I'm discovering things all the time but it's rather daunting.


I'm not complaining btw. Thoroughly love the car despite the 130k+ distance it's travelled. It does have a full service history though and is a quiet as a whisper. Plus it looks like it's on track for pushing 600miles from a tank of fuel according to the computer.

Incidentally does anyone know what the left display in the instrument panel does? It lists a number in km/h which puzzles me as we use MPH and i don't understand what it's referring to..

Regards
Barry

The gearchange was never the best in these, but it sounds as though you may have a worn bush somewhere in the linkage.

I think you may not have the day-time running lights...the early Blue Efficiency cars had them alongside the fog lamps low down on the bumper and SE cars may not have them at all. Auto wipers are not standard on the SE.

The km/h display is your speed in these units - UK cars must show this by law. Many manufacturers have dual calibration on the speedo but MB displays it digitally.

As regards the spec for your car, there may be a print-out in your driver package which lists the options, otherwise, if you post your VIN on here, someone might be able to translate it for you.

To help you identify your model, SEs lack the chrome side and bumper strips that Elegances have and they also have cloth seats, rather than faux leather.

Glad you are enjoying your car.


Ernie

 

[motormusic1]

Hi Ernie and many thanks for taking the trouble to reply.

Ive looked at the owners information pack that came with it - there's a document that's all german which says that the following:

variante - H245KO
Version - JZAAA500

.... however this means nothing to me.

The Vin is : WDD2042452F432721

I do have cloth upholstery, not that it bothers me. Also, the computer part at the bottom of the speedo, if i select the different 'pages' one of them refers to some sort of day lighting (pic attached).


The car doesn't have chrome side inserts so i guess it's considered a lowly version, however it drives incredibly (and i've owned over 60 cars since 1989 lol) despite having 133k miles so should that bother me?

I'm very surprised if Auto Wipers isn't standard, there is what appears to be the sensor mesh in the screen around the light sensor.

Finally, i'm curious if these 1.6 Blueefficiency engines are considered reliable? I know it's a mercedes however i've read so much conflicting information about them 'not being as good as they used to be'.

Any further help greatly received.

Barry.

 

[nick7nick7]

Hi Barry, Welcome to the forum, I am arranging the next MBO meet up in Leeds, its on September 28th. If you are interested, let me know.
Thanks

 

[motormusic1]

Hi Barry, Welcome to the forum, I am arranging the next MBO meet up in Leeds, its on September 28th. If you are interested, let me know.
Thanks

Hi Nick, thanks for the invite, however work constraints mean there's no chance that i can have any time off until the end of October sadly.

 

[nick7nick7]

its the last sunday in september, thats practically october?

 

[ernieh]

Barry,
As regards your wipers, I was only going by what I could find in an old MB 204 brochure I had. Obviously the specs can change, particularly when there is an update due, eg some 180s had a 1.6 271 engine, others had a detuned 1.8 and others had a different 1.6! Looking at your photo, the instruments are definitely from a SE and that ties up with the upholstery.

However, at the top of the General section on this site there is a facility for VIN decoding where I'm sure someone will give you an the info you need. I would have put your VIN in myself, but it would be better that you do it.

The main question of reliability that I'm aware of is with the 271 engines' timing gear. If yours is a 271 but has no rattles on start up, it should be fine for a while.

Ernie

 

[Halfdan]

I have a similar car only a year newer and the Elegance model. I find the gear change very precise and as smooth as butter. One of the best I've used, so either the gearbox got updated or there something wrong with the linkages on yours. Reverse takes some effort but I'm used to that.

See here for specifications

Ident. number (FIN) WDD2042452F432721
Baumuster 204245
Sales name C 180 KOMPRESSOR
Permanent link
Order number 0 9 537 44497
Delivery date 2009-10-29
PAINT1 775U
Interior color 001A
Engine 271910 31 291350
Variant
A 271 010 50 47
Number for spare parts
27191030
Text
FUER DIESES FAHRZEUG KANN ALTERNATIV DER RUMPFMOTOR A271010214780 GELIEFERT WERDEN FOR THIS VEHICLE THE BASIC ENGINE A271010214780 CAN BE SUPPLIED ALTERNATIVELY
Text
Front axle 2 PA092891328700
Gearbox 716607 02 572313
Class 1
Infotable on engine A01047271 50
General data for model code 204245

Code Value
000A FABRIC
001A FABRIC - BLACK/ANTHRACITE
205B OWNERS MANUAL AND SERVICE RECORD - ENGLISH
255B No code designation available
280 LEATHER STEERING WHEEL AND LEATHER GEAR SHIFT KNOB
283B AIRBAGLABLE - ENGLISH
287 THROUGH-LOADING FEATURE
294 KNEE AIRBAG
299 PRESAFE
305B HEAD UNIT LANGUAGE - BRITISH ENGLISH
335B INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/HU LANGUAGE - ENGLISH
422 6-SPEED MANUAL TRANS. FOR GREAT BRITAIN/IRELAND
43P CONTROL CODE MARKETING
440 TEMPOMAT (CRUISE CONTROL)
461 INSTRUMENT WITH MILES IND. AND ENGLISH LEGEND
477 TIRE PRESSURE LOSS WARNER
523 RADIO AUDIO 20
537L GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
551 ANTI-THEFT/ANTI-BREAK-IN WARNING SYSTEM
580 AIR CONDITIONER
584 ELECTRIC WINDOW REGULATOR
5XXL EUROPE
613 HEADLAMP LEFT-HAND TRAFFIC
666 PRODUCT PROT.F.TRANSPORT VEH. W/O TIE-DOWN HOOKS
677 AVANTGARDE/STANDARD SUSPENSION
690 EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE (MINI SPARE)
775U BRIGHT SILVER METALLIC CLEAR COAT PAINT
800 AEJ 09/1
817 SIREN BRACKET FOR INCREASED THEFT PROTECTION
882 INTERIOR SAFEGUARD
885 HIGHTEN THEFT PROTECTION
890 AUTOMATIC REAR-END DOOR
953 CLASSIC/STANDARD EQUIPMENT
983 COC PAPER EURO 4 TECHNOLOGY W/O REG. CERT. PART II
989 IDENTIFICATION LABEL UNDER WINDSHIELD
B12 WHEEL REPLACEMENT TOOL
F204 MODEL SERIES 204
FS COMBI - VEHICLE
GM MANUAL TRANSMISSION
H80 TRIM PIECES - PLASTIC
HA REAR AXLE
K11 ADAPTIVE STOP LIGHT FLASHING
K13 STEUERCODE FUER SERVICEINTERVALL 25000 KM
M16 DISPLACEMENT 1.6 LITER
M271 R4-GASOLINE ENGINE M271
NC6 CONTROL CODE BREMEN PLANT
P54 THEFT PROTECTION PACKAGE
R RIGHT-HAND STEERING
R01 SUMMER TIRES
R75 16" LIGHT ALLOY WHEEL 7-SPOKE DESIGN W/ WIDE TIRES
U01 REAR BELT STATUS INDICATION
U18 AUTOMATIC CHILD SEAT RECOGNITATION (AKSE)
U37 FOGLAMP
V22 SPEED- + LOADINDEX 91V
VL FRONT AXLE HALF, LEFT
VR FRONT AXLE HALF, RIGHT

 

[Halfdan]

.......and, I have rain sensing wipers if either of the dashed marks are selected on the stalk. High or low sensitivity. They are side lights above the headlamps.

It makes me glad to see you have 130,000 miles as I was a bit concerned about the timing chain issue. I did quite a bit of research before and after buying my car. OK, it's a simplex chain but from what I can gather, around 2006/7 the tensioner and guides were changed. Reports of failure seemed to die out as well. Some owners blame the cam solenoids failing putting strain on the chain. If you have full history and no mention of the cam chain that's great.

 

[motormusic1]

Thanks to all you recent commenters, as well as Halfdan for taking the trouble to get me a spec list. Looking through it though it appears that i Don't have automatic wipers - or am i missing something?

In fact, it is probably a lowly spec after all - no xenon/special headlamps or anything.

As for the mileage - well i'm the 3rd owner. The service stamps seem to indicate that it travelled a good deal of mileage in the first couple of years after which it dropped. The last owner was Lex i think.

As for the gearbox - i can engage all the gears absolutely fine apart from reverse. And the gearstick isn't tight at the neutral position as i'd have expected.

A bit strange today though - the middle lower display screen in the speedo went red and said 'check tyres' - i had just reverse parked and noticed it but when i restarted the car it seems to have gone - could it have been caused by bumping the kerb at the back a little?

I didn't pay a lot for the vehicle though - after part exchanging my old 2006 worn out Astra it only cost a few k's so i'm hoping i won't regret it.

As for startup - it doesn't sound loud to me but i've only just bought it.

To be honest i absolutely love it.... never thought i'd ever own a german car and although it's obviously low on specification who else will know? It still looks worth over £10k

 

[Halfdan]

Don't worry too much about the spec. It will be a very fine car. The auto wipers are item 345 which, as you say, you haven't got but there again, is it such a loss. You are probably better off deciding when the wipers go on / off. The standard headlights work well and I put LED's (with load resistors) in the front side lights which look good I think.

The 204 is a well sorted car so I hope you enjoy driving it.

 

[Irresistance]

Trust me, you don't want automatic wipers. I got them on my S-class, they only work correctly in a few rain types - the rest of the time they just go bonkers and start wiping real fast when there is no need for it. I'm probably going to disable it soon so I have 'normal' settings...

 

[motormusic1]

thanks guys.. funny you both say the same thing and coincidentally i used to have a horrible Renault Megane with auto wipers and they were rubbish as well - but i put it down to the car a) being french b) being rubbish. Thought the germans would have it sorted though.

Some of those options specified on the car look quite bizarre,
666 PRODUCT PROT.F.TRANSPORT VEH. W/O TIE-DOWN HOOKS
NC6 CONTROL CODE BREMEN PLANT
V22 SPEED- + LOADINDEX 91V

Do you have any ideas how come the upper eyebrow of some of these shape cars light up during daylight mine just lights up the entire light as per previous picture?

Thanks
Barry

 

[Halfdan]

Well all I know is that when the sidelights are on my car just the top strip above the headlights get illuminated. Sounds like the previous model year must have had a different arrangement i.e. Side light inside main headlight.