Normally, I'd suggest looking at the supercharger or catalytic converter, but with this low mileage, I doubt that's it. Those are usually good for at least 100K miles (150K+ kms). Maybe you have a fuel delivery problem? Bad fuel pumps are not unheard of, and it might not be a bad idea to replace the fuel filter. Also, check the intake air filter.

 

the 2003 c230 is packed full of problems...sorry to say

first off if your canada mercedes dealerships suck...call your dealership and give them your vin ask for any recalls...theirs 3 recalls...and 1 extended warranty for the air bag harness

find a good mercedes independent shop who has SDS....i'd suggest a trans service but not at the dealer...avoid the dealership (this will help with that weird shift problem)

i'd arm yourself with knowledge about this car to save money and time and heart attacks

 

Fill all your details including location.

Check transmission pilot bushing adapter for leak,... has partial transmission oil change ever been done,...

Examine service history of car,... if you do not have it, check if dealer has it,..

Maybe us some Chevron Techron to clean injectors,...

Fuel filter should be replaced at about every 60,000 km,... especially with ethanol gas,... also partial transmission oil change every 60,000km,... assuming yours is automatic.

 

I hope not the transmission, must be fuel related

thanks guys so far for the suggestions.

Yes, the car is an automatic transmission with tiptronic -/+ manual feature. I read somewhere that this car has a ECM computer feature were it records your driving patterns and then shifts the gears in the transmission according to your driving patterns. Is this true?

The two previous owners took really good care of the car. I have all the service records. The car was always serviced at MB dealer and all the usual maintenance performed regularly. It's a weird problem, it hesitates, sputters and jerks slightly when you drive off from 0kms. It definitely feels like a clogged something that is confusing the fuel delivery to the engine.

If you drive very carefully from 0kms - to 20kms or 1st gear its fine, then when you give more gas from 1st - to 2nd it kind of hesitates/sputters or jerks like a loss of power, but only slightly then it's fine, then when you give it more gas from 2nd - to 3rd it kind of hesitates/sputters or jerks and loses slight power again, then once it's in 3rd or 4th it drives fine with no loss of vacuum or power. On the other hand, if I were to step on the pedel really fast from 0 to 60kms it goes with no problem. It shifts ok.

It feels like the car is confused. At times, it feels as if it dosen't know when or how much fuel to spray into the engine. Maybe the shift of the gears thing is just coincidence.

My first gut feeling is that gas is not being sprayed into the chambers evenly. Like clogged injectors or air/fuel mixture problem. Maybe a misfire.

i checked the service records and the car had a new a air filter, fuel filter and 4 spark plugs changed 1 year before i bought it. i also see that a vent hose was replaced through a recall - cause #2008110003. Also, it has already been in the shop 1 year ago for a misfiring problem or fuel trim problem. the cause was cyl #4 misfire and 2nd exhaust 02 sensor not working.

 

never changed

I don't think the transmission oil has ever been changed.
Maybe the fuel filter needs replacing, but after 1 year?

 

Had the same problem on my 2005 C230,changed the fuel filter,the fuel pump,serviced and cleaned out the fuel nozzles,also changed the plugs and coils,problem solved.

 

The car has adaptive transmission,... that adapts to your driving pattern. There is a way to do a ECU reset that will reset throttle and adaptive transmission pattern back to factory settings,... temporarily, then it relearns your driving pattern again. This is useful if you're constantly driving in stop and go congestion and car adapts to grandma driving pattern. This is NOT the issue with your car.

Are there any engine lights on the dashboard?

Fuel filter should be changed about every 60,000km,... since it was changed recently, it should be fine.

Seems to be a fuel or air problem,... clarification: the air filter in air filter housing beside engine was the one replaced, right?

Try cleaning MAF (MassAirFlowSensor) with CRC SensorKleen. Also clean throttle body with CRC Throttle Body & Air Intake Cleaner.

Did the car operate fine when you first brought it? Or did the previous owner dumped it due to its misfiring problems?

Listen to Sammy567,.... get transmission oil and filter change,... search for DIY. Also check Transmission Control Unit plug (under front passenger kickplate) for oil due to leak at transmission pilot bushing adaptor,..

Since car had post cat 02 sensor changed,.. I would suspect it was due to leaking oil at cam magnet sensor,... one of the common issue on M271 engine as Sammy567 mentioned,... check for oil leak at cam magnet sensor,.. pull out plug and stick finger or q-tips into socket to check for leaking oil. Look for oil at main wiring harness and ECU plug.

You should get OBD2 scantool to check for any stored codes.

The above checks sounds like a lot of stuff,... but they are all relatively easy checks and tasks for any DIYer. When things goes wrong with these cars,... they become high maintenance divas!

I'm in Toronto,.... where are you in Toronto?

 

sputter/hesitation on acceleration

Hi Sunny,

Thanks for all your input. I have to figure out were all these plugs are now. Do you have a drawing or picture or know were I can get one on the internet? I'm in the north west part of the city closer to Brampton.

BTW, I took another look at the odometer. it's not 90,000 but 160,000kms. The wife's car is 90,000.

 

Another possibility - coolant mixing with transmission fluid due to the defective Valeo radiator. Check to see if you have the Valeo. If so, replace it and hope it didn't do any damage:

Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums - View Single Post - Identification of the early Valeo Radiator?

 

hi guys,

I was thinking of taking the car tomorrow for an oil change, fuel filter change and a computer code reading. Which of these do you recommend as far as price and honesty. they are both convenient for me in the west end.

McNally Auto Service - Home
WorkShop MB
BMW repair Mississauga. BMW Mercedes Porsche Mini Specialist

 

Use the search function,... this board and mbworld are a great resource for DIYer,... these cars are generally easy to work on,... most parts are easily accessible,... generally.

If you can wait until next weekend,... I can take a good look at the car, hook up my OBD2 scantool and hopefully give you an idea what's wrong. I'm in the Yonge-Sheppard-401 area of North York.

So far,... I'm leaning towards a transmission issue,... 160,000km without ever servicing the transmission oil,... Yes, Mercedes says transmission oil are filled for life and don't need oil changes,... But Mercedes outside of North America says to do partial transmission oil change every 60,000km. Are there any oil leaks under front passenger area,... search 722.6 transmission pilot bushing adapter,... again, check for oil at TCU. And pray you don't have the Valeo radiator.

If you're not comfortable as a DIYer,... and want to take it to a Mercedes Indy,... I would strongly recommend Charlie McNally Auto,... They're the best Mercedes Indy in the Toronto area,.... 15 service bays and 8 mechanics,... Their hourly rate is a bit on the high side (still way cheaper than MB Stealership) but they only charge for actual time spent on the car,... and they're fast. Charlie & Aidan just fixed my ECU problem a couple of weeks ago,... Tell them Raymond, the Chinese donut guy with the redish-orangy C230 coupe sent you,...

Workshop MB,... is small,.. and seems to focus more on parting out cars,... I've never had my car serviced there, so I have no opinion of their prices or honesty.

I've never heard of BMW repair Mississauga,... why bring a Mercedes to a BMW shop?

I seriously doubt the fuel filter is the problem,... MB fuel filter (OEM Mahle KL82) are very durable,...

 

Checked the work history again, and I see the previous owner changed the cams seals and tied the plugs in an upward position so that if it were to happen again the oil will not seep into the harness.

- new cam seals
- new 02 sensor

the problem has to be either transmission slipping due to old oil viscosity or some crazy fuel/air mixture problem like the coils or MAF. The the thing is if you are in park and rev the engine there is no hesitation or sputter at all! which leads me to believe the fuel pump works fine and the noise from the fuel pump motor is there when you first turn the key.

rrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggg!!!!!!!!!

 

c230 sputter/jerking maybe solved...or at least better

Hi guys,

Since my last post I have burned off the remaining fuel in my tank. I was using Petro Canada Premium 91 since I bought the car because I had that stupid points card and found that there are only a few stations in Ontario Canada that sell "PURE GAS" - no ethanol. Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

Ontario:
Shell V-Power 91
Costco 91
Canadian Tire 91
Esso 91
Ultramar 91

As of yesterday I filled the tank with Shell V-power 91 and instantly I got a smoother idle and better acceleration. Although my jerking/sputter was still there. So I did a little more research and learned that I can reset the Throttle and Adaptive transmission pattern very easily. So i tried it and took the car for a good 100km run to learn my new driving pattern. Well, call me crazy but the car is shifting better and I am getting better fuel economy! I called MB Canada head office and wanted to know if there were any outstanding campaigns, recalls or ECM software upgrades and nothing came up. I explained the problem I was having and he suggested as did some of you to replace the transmission Oil and filter with MB approved synthetic fluid every 60,000kms. So since I bought this from a previous owner I will change all the obvious components and see what happens.

- Oil and filter
- Air filter
- Transmission fluid and filter
- Spark plugs
- Points? (don't know if MB have them)
- Fuel filter

and will report back next week.
cheers

 

Since your car is at 160,000km without ever doing a transmission oil-filter-gasket change, I would suggest doing a FULL transmission oil-filter-gasket change (good DIY here) and then doing partial transmission oil-filter-gasket change every 60,000km. thereafter. If you only do a partial transmission oil-filter-gasket change now,... then you should do another partial transmission oil-filter change in another 30,000km,.... then another partial transmission oil-filter-gasket change 30,000km after that,... and then get back on with the regular 60,000km change interval.

BTW,.... MB dealership will only do partial transmission oil-filter-gasket change,... they do NOT do the full transmission oil change. There`s DIY for both full and partial here,... search for them,.... relatively simple to do and you will be saving about $450 on just a partial transmission oil change.

Since you are in Canada,... sign up for these *MB points*,... http://keepitgenuineforless.ca/
Some MB dealership will honour the 20% off parts only,... other dealership insist 20% off only applies to parts and service when the car is serviced there,...

McNally will sell the Fuchs Titan 4134 ATF (what MB uses at factory),... 4 or 4.4 L jug for $50. The ATF MB parts department sells is relabelled febi bilstein 134 ATF at about $25 for 1L. You will need about 14L for full transmission oil change,... and about 4L for partial.

I would be very surprised if your transmission pilot bushing adapter 0-rings are still good,... actually, I would be shocked! the o-rings should be red jello by now!

 

my 2003 c230 Kompressor Auto w/ fully loaded Evolution package

This is the c230 I have been writing about. She's running much smoother these days.

 

That's good to hear,.... another satisfied customer,...

Did you do the work yourself or visit Charlie McNally Auto?

From your list of ToDo,... the following are really simple DIY
- Oil and filter (get MityVac to such out the oil)
- Air filter

Relatively simple but have to get under the car and could get messy,....
- Transmission fluid and filter (gasket & pilot bushing adapter)
- Fuel filter

No comments,... I haven`t done this one yet,...
- Spark plugs

What do you think really solved your issues,..... I think it was the partial transmission oil change.

Ahh,.... your car like mine is a 487 AventurineOrange,... aka Paprika Metallic Red here in North America (only because we tend not want to have an orange coloured car).

BTW,... for the pre-facelift coupe, you do realize 487 AventurineOrange (aka Paprika Metallic Red) was the signature colour! Every Mercedes model has a signature colour,... all brouchures and advertisement (TV & print) must feature the model in the signature colour. Mercedes of the signature colour are special order only,... the buyer must pay a premium for the signature colour. Models of the signature colour are never sent to MB dealership without a buyer,... they can not sit in a dealer's lot waiting for a buyer.

 

My 2003 C320 Sportcoupe was doing the exact same thing, Jamie. I took it to my mechanic and he said that the car was revving too low. He adjusted it, and the problem was gone.
Perhaps a similar issue?

Usually issues like this have something to do with the transmission.

 

Could be that too, but I reset the adaptive pattern transmission feature and it seems to run better with smoother shifts. Although I am now noticing that the problem is returning after a week of driving. It's the adaptive transmission thingy. This adaptive transmission is the stupidist invention ever. Who drives the exact same way twice.

I still have to do a tranny fluid change and gas filter change.

Sunnyray, I may take you up on your offer. I'll contact you in about a week if you have time.

 

Sure, anytime,... find a nice day on a weekend with lots of sunshine so I can see what I'm doing. Just don't wait too long,... otherwise, it'll be too cold outside.

In my area (Yonge-Sheppard-401), there's a valley nearby,.... so we can try to recreate the original sputter-hesitation problem going uphill with load,... you'll have to provide the load.

 

Jamiec230 did you ever figure out what was causing yr sputter-hesitation problem? My 2004 C230 is experiencing the same thing. Took it to my mechanic and he can't figure out what the problem is. Suggested I take it to the dealer to test.

Thanks

 

Try cleaning the MAF "mass air flow" sensor.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

No, i never found out the true cause. I went to McNally's before the winter and they couldn't find the problem. Said it could be anything. I wasn't impressed. I spent over $200 and he found nothing, or least he told me he didn't find anything. He wanted me to leave it with him for another whole day so that he could give it a thorough exam.

I had it stored for the winter and haven't driven it since my last post. I use to reset the adaptive transmission every other day.

This spring I'm going to take the MAF sensor area apart and give it a good good cleaning. Also, going to change the transmission oil and filter and I have one spark plug coil thats not 100%.

 

My problem ended up being the transmission. Coolant mixing w/transmission fluid. Since you just replied I happened to read through the posts again from yr original post and someone mentioned that it could be the issue w/ a defective valeo radiator. Now I'm wondering if that's what my problem was. Dealer wanted 8k to replace transmission. I took it to a transmission shop had it rebuilt for 3500.00 w/ 1 yr warranty. I can't remember it driving as well as it does now......knock on wood

 

Actually, in many cases where the Valeo radiator has contaminated the oil, the transmission is fin e- it just needs a good, full fluid flush to get rid of all the coolant.

 

OMG, knock on wood. I would never change the transmission. I would just sell it as is. Its not worth investing $3500k for a 03 c230. First thing I'm gonna do as soon as I take it out of storage is get the tranny fluid and filter changed.