[Chuck V]

I'm having some construction done on my house and as a result, I've been parking in the grass. Its been rainy and cold (40F) in the morning. The last few mornings, the car would start right up but spit and sputter for 10-20 seconds. I'm going to bring this up with the dealer, but I suspect that they will tell me that they couldn't replicate the problem. There were not error messages. Any ideas as to what may be wrong?

 

[C230Jeff]

I've had that happen with my '02 coupe, ONCE. It happened one time, on a cool and wet mor...

I've had that happen with my '02 coupe, ONCE. It happened one time, on a cool and wet morning, not since (and it has been cool and wet since).

 

[tcmo]

My 2002 C230K did the same thing when I parked it outside in 30 degree weather. It fired ...

My 2002 C230K did the same thing when I parked it outside in 30 degree weather. It fired the second time I tried it. The service writer at the dealership said I should use 89 octane rather than the recommended 91 in colder weather. I have not tried this yet and I am not sure I will-it flies against everything M-B mentions in the handbook.

 

[mattvanzant]

A possible cause

Because engines consist of all steel and aluminum when things get cold they shrink. And it is because they shrink that your engine will run poorly until it gets warmed up. There isn't any solution to this problem. It isn't really bad for the engine although I wouldn't step on the gas hard when it is doing that. Just let the engine warm up.