Mercedes Benz 2002 C240

KEMI

MEMBER
2002 MERCEDES BENZ C240
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
60,000 MILES

I have a MB 2002 C240 that is about 5800 miles overdue for a Service B. Back in Oct when my car started flashing the service notification, I called the dealership and they told me that Service B is an oil change and 21 point check; for $500. I've regularly gotten the Service A and Bs done since I bought the car preowned 5 years ago, but this was the first time I asked what was actually involved and I was turned off by the exhorbitant fee for a simple oil change. Since then, I have had about 3 oil changes at a Meineke in my area, where I asked that they use the Mobil 1 oil that the dealership said should be used. Around the same time that the service notification started flashing, my car began to shake when idle. Again I took it to the Meineke and they said two of my tires were worn and the alignment was off and that this may be causing the shaking, so I got that fixed. But the car was still shaking. This month, I had to replace my car battery, as another notification flashed (only once) saying I should check my battery/alternator. I had it replaced at the Meineke after calling the dealership and being told that it was fine to take something like that to a local place and not the dealership. Meineke said it was the battery and not the alternator. About two weeks later, I received the battery/alternator notification again (once). I'm not sure what is going on with my car-- is there a malfunction with the CPU that it's giving me the battery/alternator notification even though the battery was changed? Is it possible that Meineke didn't change the battery and just charged me for it? And no one can figure out why my car is shaking. Please help!

1 Reply

CUP1981

MEMBER
133 POSTS

Kemi--

It is highly doubtful that the Meineke did not change the battery. They are a reputable repair company and it would shock me if that every happened.

That said, it could be that Meineke does not have the equipment needed to correctly diagnose the car. I am a little nervous about the fact that they said you needed two tires and an alignment due to a shaking at idle. The tires have nothing to do with the idle.

The shaking is likely related to the charge of the battery. The 2002 C240 has hundreds of electronic controls and low voltage can cause running issues.

I would doubt that it is the ECU, as I have never run into a failed Mercedes ECU. My advise would be to seek out a Mercedes specialist -- not the dealership -- to check it out. Most medium to large size cities have several qualified Mercedes specialists that are just as good as the dealer at a sharply reduced price.