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Cylinder 1 and 2 misfire, check engine light on

35K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  begbpc 
#1 ·
Hello, I'm new to this forum, great to be a member.

Anyway, I have a 2003 C230 Sport Coupe with a Kompressor 1.8 (271.948) and I just had to have the car towed back to my place because the engine was starting to run more and more rough. At the start, it began as a tiny little hesitation pulling from a red light. No big deal. But, further down the road, the engine began running rough and the the check engine light came on.

I pulled off the road and turned off the car, hoping a "reboot" would work. It did, but the check engine light remained on. Engine ran as smooth as always and I proceeded to my destination. After I left to go home, the engine started smoothly, but then 3 minutes in the trip back, it started running roughly again. I pulled off the road. Restarted it and the engine still ran rough. Pulled off again and put my code reader on it (I prefer to be armed with some kind of knowledge before I take it to the shop -- lesson learned from the past!). It read P0301 and p0302. Cylinders 1 and 2 are misfiring.

I just had this car for it's A service not two days ago after a years worth of trouble free driving. I'm wondering what to do and was hoping someone online could help.

Thanks!

Ian
 
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#2 ·
How many miles does it have?
 
#3 ·
I had a miss firing issue a few months ago. A few times, One cylinder even stopped working while going on the highway resulting in a very rough idle and with a check engine light on. But in my case, it worked fine after restarting the car. I ended up replacing the plug wires and coils and that fixed the problem.
 
#4 ·
Thank-you, I'm thinking about doing that, just replacing the spark plugs.

I just had a thought. Cylinder one begins to misfire, then number 2 shortly after. The oil filler nozzle begins at cylinder one. I'm noticing quite a bit of oil around the nozzle head. Perhaps the service A mechanic was a little sloppy adding oil and some of it seeped over to the two cylinders, while the #1 cylinder got the brunt of it.

I'm going to pull the spark plugs and see if they aren't drenched in oil. Only now I need the right tool. It seems the coil packs have this bolt head that is unique. Tried using a hex head that seemed to click in place, but I'm afraid I will strip the bolt and really have to take it into the dealership :(

The car has 150,000 Km (92,600 miles).
 
#5 ·
Star/Torx sockets external/internal in MM. Buy a good set. You will use them...
 
#7 ·
I had a similar problem w my 04 about 2 days after it came back from it's service b. I turned the car off and started it again and it ran fine although the check engine light remained on. I took it to Tri-Star in Roseville Ca, and he said that the #1 cylinder was miss firing. I did not have time then to have him change plugs/wires so I continued to drive the car. The check engine light went on/off for a couple weeks after but eventually went off and has not been on since.
 
#8 ·
Ya, it did this about 6 months ago, a stumble and a stall (at highway speed :eek:) with the CEL coming on. I did a highway restart and didn't have a problem since.

This problem is now solved anyway (I hope). I relented and took it to the dealer. It began chugging just as I was passing by them so I figured it was a sign...

They figured it was two cracked spark plug connectors -- so they replaced the lot. They also told me this was an obvious fix and that it still may misfire and further diagnosis will be required. oy.

Whatever. It ran smoothly today going to work, so hopefully that will be the end of this saga for now.

...now I just have to replace the tire that had a thumbtack pushed in its side after the car was towed home last week. nice
 
#9 ·
IMO... The C230 K from 2003 and up are lemons. I've had the same issue as you. I was told by Mercedes that my Cylinder head was defective. It was totally replaced along with several sensors and hoses. 3,000 miles later, the check engine light is back on with same issues. The car totally cut off on the expressway during rush hour. It's a not safe
 
#11 ·
2003 C230 MISFIRE STILL MISFIRES AFTER REPLACING ECM,CAM SENSOR, WIRING HARNESS



I just paid MBZ $1100 to MBZ in Escondido to replace CAM sensor, wiring harness, ECM and plugs.After 4 days, I claimed my car just to be told that this time compresson on cylinder 3 is weak needs to be worked on. Thats why it is still misfiring after idling the car a few minutes. But I was told its still save to drive to Denver from San Diego 1500 Miles. What do you think people? Should I also get cylinder 3 fix too due to low compression? My brain is now shot. Please advise. I am so disappointed and flabbergasted to find out I wasted $1100 repair for nothing :surrender::surrender:
 
#12 ·
It's probably OK to drive, but it will likely have degraded performance and MPG. There are ways to check to see if it's bad rings or valves. The mechanic will remove the spark plug and put a small amount of oil into the cylinder. If that improves compression (temporarily), then it's rings. If not, then it's valves. Either way, it's not a cheap repair job. Personally, I'd find a good indy mechanic to work with - not a dealer.
 
#14 ·
I totally agree, this is a lemon. I may try too add the Engine Restore to see if it'll raise the compression of Cylinder 3, which the MBZ DEALER in ESCONDIDO quoted me finally when I had them replace the EM, Cam sensor and wiring harness, and still getting misfires. They said those were the issues but they were wrong too. So now they say cylinder 3 compression. Keep my fingers cross and maybe misfire will disappear. Positive thinking LMAO
 
#17 ·
You have an I4 engine? The inline engines are numbered front to rear (1-4). The V engines are numbered front to rear (1-3 or 1-4) starting on the right bank (USA passenger side) then front to rear ( 4-6 or 5-8) on the right bank (USA driver side).
 
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