Mercedes :: 2001 E320 Seems To Lose Acceleration Suddenly And Unpredictably
Feb 22, 2016
We have a 2001 E320 4-Matic. Recently, it has developed a serious problem. Every now and then, when I come to a stop (e.g., at a red light), the car would shake/vibrate significantly. Even more importantly, the car seems to lose acceleration suddenly and unpredictably (not necessarily correlated with vibration at the stop). The latter problem goes away "for the moment" by switching off the engine and then restarting it. The Check Engine light has come on as well. The codes that are diagnosed are P2001, P2003, P200F, P2082, P2050, P20151, P2055, and P2053.
While there are several issues with the car, I am most concerned now with the two issues I highlighted above - sudden loss of acceleration and the vibration while stopped (both happening unpredictably). I took the car to two mechanics. The two mechanics seem to sharply differ on how to resolve the "sudden and unpredictable loss of acceleration" issue. One mechanic (Mercedes dealer) attributes the problem to issues with EGR valve and claims replacing that will fix the problem. The other mechanic attributes the problem to the Catalytic Converter which he says is broken and is causing sudden loss of acceleration (and yes, there was a rattle some time ago). The second mechanic does not disagree that the EGR valve (and the secondary air injection system) has issues but he says it is the Catalytic Converter which is causing the core problem of sudden loss of acceleration (and yes, there was a rattle some time ago).
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Over the last 2 to 3 weeks I have been noticing a bit of a shake at 55mph and higher. If I slow down, it becomes less and less noticeable. Well, last night, that little shimmy got serious. My check engine light came on (solid, not blinking) and it was shaking so hard, I pulled off the roadway. When I put it in N and then into P, it continued to shake violently. so, I of course turned off the engine. I waited a few minutes, restarted the car and the CEL remains lit, but the shaking is completely gone. I have 164k miles.
Since I purchased it, various electrical options have gone funky, lights mysteriously going out, rear defog and wiper gone, blinkers, central locking , mirrors won't adjust, etc. I changed every fuse in the car one by one until all elements were functioning again. The central locking, fob locking and rear defog and wiper never returned. I have already replaced the battery, Crank Position Sensor and alternator. The harmonic balancer is tight. From my research on the MB forums, I am looking at :
1) Camshaft position sensor?
2) new plugs? or the
3) MAT connection?
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Car: 2000 Mercedes-Benz E320 (W210) 4matic
This car runs beautifully if the air temperature is above 60 degrees or so (maybe 65) Fahrenheit.
If the air temperature, however, is much cooler, and the engine has had enough time to cool to air temperature, it stalls. Here's the sequence:- Start the car. Car runs fine, sounds good. Initial idle speed about 1200-1500 RPM.- Wait for car to warm up for a few seconds so it settles into normal idle. Idle speed settles to about 800 RPM after 5-20 seconds, depending upon air temperature.- Shift car into gear (D or R - doesn't matter). Idle speed drops to 500 or so, then the car stalls.- Restart the car. Allow it to warm up significantly (how much depends upon air temperature). - Shift into gear (D or R). Engine idle speed drops a bit, then recovers to ~800 RPM. No problems after that.
If it's a little cool (55-60 degrees Fahrenheit), I can drive off once the engine temp gauge needle rises a few degrees (45-50 degrees Centigrade).If it's around freezing (20-40 degrees Fahrenheit), I can't drive off until the engine temp gauge reaches nearly 80 degrees Centigrade.
If I'm on a hill (pointing down), I can start at a slightly lower temperature by allowing the car to start rolling as soon as I shift into gear. In this case, there's less resistance, so the idle speed doesn't go low enough to stall the car. If I am on a level surface (or pointing uphill), 80 degrees Centigrade seems to be almost a magic number when the air temperature is below 40 Fahrenheit (near freezing). When the needle is showing about 78 degrees Centigrade, the car will still stall. When it reaches 80 degrees Centigrade, the car is fine, and will not even come close to stalling when put in gear.
ONE CONFUSING VARIABLE: When I took this to my mechanic, it didn't exhibit the problem for him. When I picked it up (about 30 Fahrenheit), it stalled. He came out and started it, put it into gear, and it idled without stalling. I got in and let him watch while I got in, started it, put it into gear, and it stalled. We have no explanation as to why this would be any different (we tried several times, varying techniques, brake pressure, etc., with the same confusing results).
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1996 C220 Mercedes, This car "Mercy" whistles like a slow quail unpredictably but almost every day. I understand that this may be a vacuum leak.Sometimes when it is pouring rain, she won't start unless I open and close the gas cap. Now she has a new trick. When I slow down and stop for a stop sign or a red light she frequently dies but always (maybe I shouldn't say this) restarts. My brother thinks we need to start with the pump in or near the gas tank.
I bought a repair manual CD about 5 years ago but I never could hook up with the online manual so I cannot use it. We need to know where the pump is and how to go under the dashboard and look for where the singing originates without setting off the airbags. Also, when I totally fill the tank, gas leaks. Another problem is a broken O2 sensor, but I don't want to repair it until I have to for inspection since my mileage is double what it was before. By the way, my ABS and check engine lights are on.
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I have a 2001 Durango. My one year old battery suddenly began to lose its charge last month if the car sat for two or more days. A local repair shop determined the alternator was okay, but the battery was bad. The parts store agreed and replaced the battery under warranty.
A week later the new battery also went dead after the car had been parked for two days. I then took it to a Dodge dealership that kept it for over a week, but couldn’t find anything wrong. Even after being parked over the weekend, it started right up for them.
After getting it back home I drove it for three days. I parked it for two days, and the third morning the battery was completely dead. After charging with a trickle charger for a couple of hours the car started fine.
I bought the car new and have kept up on all the maintenance. It’s parked in my driveway the same way for over seven years with the doors locked. What’s going on?
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Last night i noticed a slight hesitation during acceleration. Today i had driven around in town for awhile and did not notice any hesitation. When i got onto the interstate I pushed down the peddle to pass someone and it did nothing, I let off the gas and back on and the car bucked pretty bad. All the way home it has issues when I pressed on the gas but did fine at cruising speed. I would think a fuel filter would have been a slow progression issue so I am thinking maybe it is a sensor. I sprayed carb cleaner around vacuum hoses today and did not notice any surge so I think I eliminated a vacuum issue.
2004 Santa Fe 2.7 149k
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Coming home from the coast last night, my car started to hiccup and lose power. I had to pull over to the side of the road as no matter how much throttle I applied the car kept losing speed. The car was acting like it wasn't getting any fuel. Once stopped on the side of the road I revved the engine for about a minute and it picked back up. I drove the remaining forty miles home without further incident. Went out today to drive to the car and my car won't start. It will turn over, but will not start... again feels like it's not getting any fuel.
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I have a 2001 Acura MDX automatic transmission that at least once a day when driving around town, will suddenly loose power, RPM's seem to be stuck at 2000, and then surge up to 5000 with no forward motion. When I try to accelerate again, the car "stumbles" forward until the RPM's settle back down to between 1-3 and the car drives normal. This is creeping me out...any thoughts? Valves have been adjusted.
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Our 2006 Chevy Tahoe will at times while running the speed limit (or slightly above) will suddenly without warning lose power. All the gauges remain in good ranges. This will happen without warning and not on a regular basis - sometimes going six months without happening and then happen three times within thirty minutes. The stability system warning message comes on as does the check engine light. Also the traction control warning light comes on. We can pull to the side of the road, turn the engine off for a few seconds and then it will start up again and run well with only the check engine light on. When this happens, the rpms will drop and go under 1500 and the engine will still be running, just without power.
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My daughter has a 1995 Grand Prix - 3.1. The car has an intermittent problem that can go 2-3 weeks in between occurrences.
It runs like a top, but will suddenly lose power while driving and die completely. After a while it'll be fine. (starts up again.)
The lights will flicker and give a bit of warning before it dies. I had both crankshaft sensors replaced a month ago and I though that would do the trick.
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I have a 2001 Mercedes C320 and this has happened to me twice within the last two months. While driving, all of a sudden the lights on dash go out, including speedometer, odometer, gas gauge looks to be empty, heater/A/C off - the engine still running & the radio still working. I don't know about the headlights because it was during the day & I didn't think to check. Both times it was after 5:00 or on the weekend and my mechanic was closed. Next day after starting the car everything worked again. What could cause this?
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My fiance is having issues with her car. It seems under acceleration to buck and lose power. I know more about 1.8t's but hers is the v6.
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I have a 2004 saturn vue. It is a 5 speed standard with a 4 cylinder engine. Now that I have that posted here is my problem. I have normal acceleration up until I hit 3000 rpms. At that point my low engine power light comes on and I lose acceleration. To explain that better, if I take my foot off the gas pedal completely and then try accelerate again nothing happens. My engine stays on but I do not have any reaction when I push on the gas pedal. When I run the computer codes it says it could be my accelerator pedal sensor or my ecm. I do not want to have to replace the ecm if I have to due to how expensive it is.
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In the past month for 3 times I've experienced problems with engine start (starter turned properly and I could hear fuel pump working). Yesterday however, I noticed that during full acceleration - at higher revs, engine suddenly loses a bit of power and at the same time you can feel kind of rattling or vibration in the engine. After letting off the gas pedal everything goes back to normal ... Besides, everything seems to be normal. Lambda control light does not light up indicating any errors. However I get a faulty knock sensor code 1-4-3. To my intuition the problem is with the ignition (but approx. 2 years ago I replaced distributor cap + rotor and the plugs + ignition wires were replaced about 3 years ago) or the amount of fuel in the mixture, but that could be caused by many things.
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I have Toyota 4runner 1996 4 cylinder. it was running good (from time to time I would lose power for 2 to 10 second than it go back to normal acceleration). I had the check engine light on for almost 8 month. last week I took the car to mechanic shop for diagnosis. the mechanic changed the spark plugs and after that the engine lost power. the car cannot go over 30 or 35 mile per hour. He changed the spark plugs and put different ones, same thing he put the old ones back same problem, he changed the wires, the fuel filter, air filter, the distributor and rotor, but still the same problem. the problem is that the check engine light is off now and there no codes.
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I have an 02 2.4 gas SF. After a good while, the car will run rough, lose power and will not take any throttle. As if it is starving for fuel. But it will idle fine and if it does stall, will restart. On a hill, I have to drop into first and keep it at 1000 RPM (yikes!)
If I keep going with very little throttle, it may resolve itself. It is always fine after a complete cool down. I checked for vacuum in the tank by opening the filler while it was misbehaving. I have a new CPS, new coil packs, new filters. I've have enough gas fill ups to eliminate water in the gas.
It has thrown no codes. I went ahead and ordered a MAF sensor and a cam position sensor...just guessing. (it had failed emissions which I resolved by cleaning the MAF.)
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It can go for days without stalling. It will rev up at a stop light on its own, so I need to put my foot on the break harder to prevent taking off.
Sometimes while shifting gears, mostly to reverse. Car smells like gas when windows are rolled down.
Other people say there's an air leak by listening, but I can't hear it. I sprayed starter fluid on the hoses to see if the rpms would go up but nothing happened.
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My vr6 some times loses its power but it's weird because the check engine light does not appear. It does for like 30 seconds then it goes back to driving normally.
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I have a 2005 Elantra GLS. I've noticed that anytime it rains or I hit a puddle, my belt squeaks and sometimes it almost sounds like it's grinding and I lose power for 4-5 seconds. From the front passenger wheel well, I can clearly see the belt. I noticed there are holes drilled into the frame, and I was wondering if there is suppose to be a guard there to prevent water from getting on the belt?
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1997 6 cylinder Chrysler Cirrus 162,000 miles. My car will randomly and unpredictably go into limp mode. I suddenly find myself in second gear while my engine is revving at high speed (3000-5000 RPMs) in order to maintain velocity. The check engine light comes on immediately, but usually switches off after 2-3 days maximum, and typically less than that. If I pull over, and turn off the engine, it re-sets, allowing me to start the car, and continue my journey, shifting normally.
Additional pertinent information:
• it happens more often when the weather is warm
• it has happened while traveling down the highway at 65 mph (scary!)
• at times, the shift into second is so abrupt, it feels as though I have been rear-ended
• once, while in a traffic jam and moving at about 20 mph, I hit a pot hole and the engine started revving at 3000, with no change of gears
• a couple of times, rather than throwing me into second, it has seemed to throw me into neutral, with the familiar high revs, but absolutely no power with increased pressure on the gas pedal
• it is happening with increased frequency i.e. I have had to stop as many as six times during an 16 mile trip.
• Recurring computer codes: P0140, P0141, P0700, P0765, P1494
04/2011 replace right front cam sealFront engine mountReplace front valve cover gasket w/tube sealsFront bank spark plugs & wires (3 platinum plugs)Transmission flush
05/2011 cylinder #5 misfireReplace rear valve cover gasket & tube seals3 platinum plugs (leaky power steering pump fouled the plugs)
05/2011 recall work #C45 floor shifter ignition/park interlockPush rod trans- shifter
09/2012 transmission shift solenoid
10/2012 6 new plugs & wires Plenum gasketDistributor capEGR valve gasket
There has been other service work done during this time period, but (I think) I have included only that which may relate to the transmission. I am so frustrated, and my mechanic is stumped. He has referred me to either a transmission shop, or a Chrysler dealer. After hearing my account of the problems over the phone, the head mechanic at the dealership suggested that it’s time for me to get a new car.
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I drive a 2002 Honda Civic 4 door DX.
In 2011 at intersections, the car unpredictably shut off completely and then restarted ten minutes later - this happened twice, spaced two weeks apart.
I took the car to two mechanics, one a Honda, where they simulated driving and performed diagnostic tests but could find nothing wrong.
I Googled the Internet in search of an answer and ran across a fellow who had experienced a similar shutdown with his car and resolved it by purchasing a new ignition switch. So I tried that. Everything was fine until two weeks when I stopped at an intersection and the car shut down again - the dashboard lights stayed on. A police officer nearby push the car to the side of the road and we then pushed the car back and forth a bit. About ten minutes later, the car started up again as if nothing had happened and everything was OK.
I again took my car to the Honda dealer, but they could find nothing wrong, including driving the car around the neighborhood.
I am a total loss as to what do to. I am reluctant to junk this car because everything else is A-OK. The car drives fine and I love it because it is manual with minimum digital stuff including manual windows. But I cannot afford to drive this car when there is the chance of another unpredictable shutdown.
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