this 1999 e200cdi that a friend of mine purchased, behaves strangely:

bad idling
puffs of thick black exhaust gasses when accellerating (automatic gearbox)
occasional near-stalling at curb-idle
20% lower mileage than similar e200cdi
the car drove 180.000 kilometers (110.000 miles approx.)
there is a full service record.

the car was bought with an official MB dealer, with one year guarantee, but the repairmen aren't able to find anything. They did, however, do 'preemptive' repairs at the ekas- environmental array that sits on the intake manifold.

So far, the problems haven't gone away.

A second opinion by another MB-garage in another town stated there is some kind of problem, but no accurate diagnosis can be made.

Is there a known problem with early e200cdi's that includes behaviour as above?

please advise

michiel, the hague, the netherlands
owner of 660.000 km 250 D, 1985