Originally Posted by bustedbenz

1. How many miles? Could you be feeling the first effects of an engine which is wearing out and losing compression? Maybe over the summer you crossed a low-compression threshold which is now making starts harder.


1- 289k, it might be the case. If you have a low compression should, once the engine runs, have more smoke than usual?



2. Try giving it an artificial fast idle on your very first crank. The 240D has a twist-knob for this purpose, but I'm pretty sure your car doesn't. So just hold your foot at about 1/8 or 1/4 pedal when you cold-start it. It should start on the first try, run at that faster idle. Once the tachometer (if you have one) is registering, holding it at 1000-1100 would be plenty fast. Ten seconds of fast idle and then slowly (if you yank your foot away suddenly, it might stumble and die instead of re-idling) remove your foot, and you should be idling normally.

Maybe you shouldn't have to do that. But until the problem goes away or makes itself more pronounced and therefore obvious to find, there's a good way to only have to run the starter once in the morning. *should* work.