First day with a benz and need some help with 2 problems
 

Hi everyone!!!! Today I became a first time owner of a 2003 C 240 I have 2 problems that i am concerned with. The first is when i start my car I get a clicking sound from the left side of my dash. I know it is related to the A/C cause with every click the air coming out the vents stops and starts stops and starts till the clicking ends. The second problem is I am having some sort of miss when my car goes to change gears. I don't think it is the transmission because sometime the gear that the car chooses to miss on will shift perfectly without the hesitation only a minute or so later. Thanks for any responses in advance and hope i explained this enough for everyone to understand.

Welcome & happy Benzing.

The W203 chassis c-class have had problems with the A/C footwell flap actuation, usually a broken plastic lever..cheap part $12. but 5-6 hrs to install.

As far as "misfires" are concerned, has the engine had new spark plugs? & has the fuel filter been replaced?

Okay back to my "miss" I am still getting nowhere in solving it. When my car is changing gears it will shift *bump* and then finish the gear change. It is puzzling the hell out of me. and this only happens between 20-40mph anything above it will shift perfectly 9 times out of 10. Thanks again for any ideas you guys can come up with.

Either the transmission control module is faulty, or you have engine coolant mixed in with the transmission fluid. Both problems can cause the same symptoms you're having. Some early 203's, 209's, and 211's have defective radiators, which allow coolant into the ATF. Vehicles built prior to 9/03, and equipped with radiators made by Valeo are prime candidates for the contamination problem. MB issued a DTB in January of 2005 addressing this issue. With the pressure cap off, take a close look at the coolant in the expansion tank. In severe cases, you'll see traces of ATF floating around.

Two questions now:

1) how can i tell if my radiator was made by Valeo?

2) Has driving the car around for the last few days caused any damage to it? I opened the radiator cap and didn't see anything other than coolant in the expansion tank. I am just afraid that along with a car note I will have a second bill for a new transmission. But thanks for the response ILUVMILS

There will be a label on top of the radiator. You may need to do some dis-assembly to find it. It will specify the manufacturer as well as the production date. This is the first thing you should do. If you already have the improved radiator, the ETC.6 control module is the likely culprit.

Now, if it turns out that you do have a coolant contamination problem, I wouldn't worry too much about subsequent damage. Replacing the radiator, and completely flushing the transmission fixes the problem almost all the time. Over the last two years or so, I've had to replace two torque converters (by the way, it's the clutches in the T.C. that cause the "bump/jump" when shifting) to completely eliminate the problem, but I've had dozens that were fixed by flushing.

My advice is to go to your dealer and ask to road test the car with a Shop Foreman. That way you'll know if your car does indeed have the problem I think it does. If you opt to go to an independant shop, or a transmission shop, ask them if they're familiar with the issue first. If they look at you funny run, don't walk, to an MB dealer. Good luck, and let us know what happens.

'03 C240
 

Is your car not still under warranty?

Oh no warranty ran out long time ago...LOL I have 94k on the odo and paid 9k for it. :D It looks like brand new inside and out. Also a local one owner car.

OKay I have taken my car to the dealer for my "miss" while shifting. They ran a code check on every system in the car and they said there was nothing wrong with it and that they could not duplicate the problem. I had them do a fluid and filter change on the tranny while it was in the shop. It has somewhat lessened the bump feeling when shifting but the question is what is still causing it? Could a clogged injector or fuel filter cause this problem when the car is under load such as when preparing to shift. THanks in advance for any responses

The fact that they found no fault codes doesn't surprise me. Did they check the date code on the radiator? Also, how is it that they couldn't duplicate the problem, while it occurs every time you drive it? The fact that the symptoms have improved since the transmission service was done tell me that the lock-up clutches in the torque converter are the cause of the problem. Go back and ask them to dis-able the torque converter lock-up feature (this can be done with SDS), and drive the car to see if the problem goes away. I'm betting it will. The lock-up feature will re-set itself at the next key cycle. If the torque converter is found to be the problem, and there’s no visible coolant contamination, the dealer can still check for trace amounts of coolant in the ATF.

still actin up!!!
 

well iluvmils the car is back up to it's old tricks again. It has been 3 days since I had the tranny service and it is back to shifting strange. It was 32 degrees tonight and I left work and the car was driving along like it was missing or not getting enough fuel. Also the next morning after the tranny service I left for work and when I got to the red light the car was shaking like it was going to die. I left the red light and back to normal. I am also feeling what seems like a miss or and intermittent fuel cut-off as the car nears the shifting stage. Also when I hammer down on the accelerator and it shifts at higher RPMS it still causes that little double shift feeling. When in tiptronic mode it also shifts with the double shift feeling. Could this be a dirty fuel filter or do you still think more along the lines of a TCM or coolant in the transmission fluid. thanks in advance for any response

From your description it's hard for me to tell what the problem is. In your first and second posts, you described the T.C. lock-up problem perfectly. Now you have a problem when the car is at idle? That sounds like a separate issue. Make sure the air filter housing is installed correctly. If it doesn't fit properly around the MAF sensor it can cause exactly the problem you've just described. I've seen this happen many, many times.

To answer your question about the fuel filter being clogged? Sure it's possible. The diaphragm pressure regulator may have failed too, but I don't think it's what's causing your "miss while shifting" problem.

The above mentioned items are easily checked if you have the right equipment (fuel pressure guage, MityVac pump, SDS). Anything else is just a guessing game. At this point I really think you need to get back down to your dealer and go for a road test with the Shop Foreman. They shouldn't have a problem with it, and it shouldn't cost anything. I do it all the time. Also, you never told us the production date and manufacturer of the radiator.

The dealer never told me the production date or manufacturer of the radiator. I am really getting frustrated with this now...LOL I also think it is two seperate problems but the shifting problem is my biggest concern. I also forgot to add that sometimes after the T.C. issue the car gets rather sluggish till it gets to the next gear. I was told by the dealer that changing over to "winter" mode would resolve the problem. I had to request a tranny service. So I feel there is a little bit of incompetence with the dealer.

Have you changed the park plugs? At 94K it would be more than about time.

Dealer told me that the spark plugs were fine.

I'm assuming you bought it with books and records? If not, you need to do a 60k service, include a trans fluid and filter change in that, and I'm also wondering, could a faulty AMM cause the trans action? When they would fail in my VWs, strange things would happen, like trans not shifting properly. More of a slow, silent death in my 202.......

No books or records. I did the 60k and the tranny fluid and filter change. It is still acting up and I am to the point of hoping someone hits me and totals out the f*cking car cause I am tired of getting no where with the dealership, and I am not about to spend a fortune looking for the problem. I am over the car after only having it for a little over 2 weeks. Will probably trade it in for something cheap and disposable after new years.

It Think I Fixed It!!!!
 

As with the previous posts I stated that I was having a little jump in transmission, a lack in power, rough idle and just a ****ty performance in my car. Yesterday I had a few bucks on me and I decided to stop by the autoparts and pick up some cheap $11 puralator(sp?) air filters for my car. I decided to put them on at around 10pm will dressed in dress clothes to head to the bar. Took all of about 10 mins. They seemed dirty and had alot of dirt and sand in the filterboxes. I got everything cleaned up and put the thing back together. When i started the car I was shocked. The RPM gauge no longer twitched and the car sounded quieter. Once on the road that is where I noticed the transmission no longer jumped or shifted strange, the car has much more power, and my gas mileage is much better. I also noticed this evening leaving work there was no surging that normally occured when i would first take off after leaving the car sitting for 10hrs. Could this be possible that it was only clogged air filters? Cause it has been about 24 hours and still none of the problems from the original post have surfaced. Could the moving around of the MB engine cover/air filter have knocked dirt out of the MAF???

The best way to check the results would be to install the old filters and see if the problem returns. For the sake of your wallet, I hope the problem is really fixed. One thing bothers me a little, though. If the air filters were restrictive to the point that they affected engine performance, the fuel trim numbers should have been off the map!!! Unless of course, the engine was getting air someplace else. Either way, drive it for awhile and let us know how it works out.

It's back!!!!
 

Problem returned this afternoon but not nearly as bad as it was before. I noticed that it is not as bad this time but it is still there.