2005-2006 E320 CDI Buyers Guide, Common Problems, & Roll Call - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

chronometers · #1 03-19-2015, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTUpower

I bought my 05 CDI (145K) late last year; it has the gen I interior. I looked at five IIRC, drove three and bought the one in the best condition for cheaper than the other four. I bought it at a small buy here/pay here lot with cash. He had bought it at the local auction- which is common. Here in south Florida most cars over 6 years old do not stay at the dealer which traded for them- they get sent to the auction and then to a small used car lot or a non luxury dealer. My car has the apparently rare dynamic seats- which is my favorite option - they are simply fantastic. It's a dark metallic green which appears black to most people over a beige leather. Heated seats are awesome and so is the HC sound system. I wish I had the trunk pass thru. Asking prices in South Florida are between $8800-14,000 depending on miles and seller. I found the power levels of the engine vary greatly between examples- some are dreadfully slow in comparison to others and some are in the middle. IDK why- but I'd check for the leaking injectors if I were in the market again.

X2 on dynamic seats. They only were available in the 2005. Perhaps MB thought they were offering too much luxury/performance in their mid-line vehicle.

Difference in power may be injectors or.....EGR system. Apparently these can be fouled especially when there has been a lot of short distance travel. Can anyone illuminate from first hand experience? Any DIY procdeures for cleaning the EGR valve/system?

Quote:

Originally Posted by funola

The expensive tools needed ($1k to $2k) to do DIY maintenance is kind of a turn off for me though.

Are you referring to the diagnostic computer system? Basic PM seems easy/low cost for things like air, fuel, oil filter/oil changes.

funola · #2 03-19-2015, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chronometers

X2 on dynamic seats. They only were available in the 2005. Perhaps MB thought they were offering too much luxury/performance in their mid-line vehicle.

Difference in power may be injectors or.....EGR system. Apparently these can be fouled especially when there has been a lot of short distance travel. Can anyone illuminate from first hand experience? Any DIY procdeures for cleaning the EGR valve/system?

Are you referring to the diagnostic computer system? Basic PM seems easy/low cost for things like air, fuel, oil filter/oil changes.

yes, tools to read and clear fault codes and to program ecu. Also tools to service the fuel system, pulling injectors etc.

MTUpower · #3 03-19-2015, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chronometers

...

Difference in power may be injectors or.....EGR system. Apparently these can be fouled especially when there has been a lot of short distance travel. Can anyone illuminate from first hand experience? Any DIY procdeures for cleaning the EGR valve/system?

...

I'm thinking that it may be the leaking injectors ... ie black death. I drove a CDI which had just started to leak in two injectors and it had less power than my car, and another CDI which was far slower which had well over 200K- but I did not check for BD. My car has no BD and it's powerful. You can buy aftermarket tunes which basically close off the EGR and it only gets fresh air- which is what I will do eventually.

chronometers · #4 08-06-2015, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chronometers

Difference in power may be injectors or.....EGR system. Apparently these can be fouled especially when there has been a lot of short distance travel. Can anyone illuminate from first hand experience? Any DIY procdeures for cleaning the EGR valve/system?

Trying to be proactive in maintenance.....have had several episodes in last few months of "engine...hesitating at part load with no fault codes." Car would not downshift and turbo seemed inoperative. All restored to normal after car shut off and restarted. Dealer said to wait till it starts to throw codes (if ever).

Any first hand experience on EGR clogging? The first 2005 CDIs had a different EGR valve that was replaced by MB along with software upgrade. I wonder how many of the first type of EGR valves caused/will cause problems? Wonder how many of the new EGR valves will cause problems?

How many of the 2005s had work done by MB (please check your VMIs and report back)?

Here is excerpt from DR. Diesel in 2006:

Quote:

Originally Posted by DR.DIESEL

Hello,

Those EGR valves have been known to be trouble and were modified.

See the following Dealer technical Bulletin.

DTB Date: January 10, 2006
Order No.: P-B-07.16/55a
Supersedes: P-B-07.16/55 dated October 31, 2005
Group: 07
SUBJECT:
Model 211.026
Engine Performance Complaints / Check Engine Light On with Code 2511 and/or 2355
If you receive customer reports in the above model vehicles of the engine being in limp home mode with the check engine light illuminated with fault code 2511 and/or 2355 stored in the engine control unit (ECU) or
the engine is surging/hesitating/misfiring at part load with no fault codes, perform the below procedure to resolve. These may be caused by the EGR valve temporarily binding and consequently exceeding the setpoint and causing the fault code and limp mode condition; or the software version in the engine ECU (lean condition under certain RPM/load, temperature and fuel quality conditions).

To resolve, install modified EGR valve (see parts information) combined with ECU software update (available as patch 2005-10-13-0474 with DAS update 10/05 and later DAS updates without patch).
Note: It is important that the modified EGR valve is installed together with the modified engine ECU software and vise versa.

Note: After the software flash, perform SCN coding (refer to Star Tekinfo Document S-B-07.61/38g or S-B-07.00/144) and verify injector coding.

Parts Information
Qty. 1 EGR valve A646 140 19 60

I would ask your Dealer about some goodwill reimbursement or checking the Fedral 8/80 emmissions warranty for that model.
If no luck, call the CAC at 1-800-FOR-MERC and start squeaking.
The regional SPOM will be notified of your complaint and should respond.

Good luck.

DR.D

Any shared experiences would be helpful to me and future members