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[johf]

I have a 2008 C 300 4 MATIC which I have owned since May. The M272 engine is probably not the best sounding Mercedes engine, based on my experience.

The engine has a rough idle and it sputters at speed bewteen 1500 rpm and 1800 rpm. The sputtering noise appears to come from the quad exhaust. Well, I am buying a luxury car, not a "sputtering" performance car! If I want the sputtering noise, I would have bought an AMG C 63 for both performance and noise. I am not sure why MB would install a quad exhaust system for the C 300 and C 350. They have to remember that most of their clients are still "conservative" like me. By the way, I am only 34 years old.

The dealer said the rough idle and sputtering noise is normal due to the emission requirement that MB is required to meet?? The dealer also said other owners have complained, as the rough idles and sputtering noise drive "some" owners "nuts". Well, I guess I am one of those "some" owners.

The engine has 4500 miles on it now. It consumes about 1 quart of oil so far, which is normal (I think). I read somewhere in other posts that the M272 engine takes a lot longer to "break-in". I have taken the car up to 4,000 rpm only a few times and sped up to 100 mph just a couple of times. I guess that's still not enough to break the engine in.

I read somewhere that MB has issued a TSB before on how to break the engine in properly. The engine should be sped between 4000rpm and 6000rpm for 1 hour to properly break it in without further consuming oil. I didn't have the guts to try that, as I think 4000rpm would put quite a bit of strain on the engine??

By the way, the car has been very reliable so far. Unlike the previous W203, it feels like a Merc that it should. I
"fully loaded" the car when I ordered it, including the Keyless-Go.