The radio display doesn't even light up. None of the buttons are illuminated at night when the lights are on. Hope just a fuse. Will have to crank up my copy of WIS. 2nd issue I discovered with the driver's power seat is the inboard track is inop. The outer one moves fine.
Bought a unicorn today.
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Definitely check all the fuses. If the entire headunit is dead, that's a big job since it involves the entire dash.
The seat track may have an object lodged in the path of the turning screw. I would lift up the seat as high as it will go, tilt it forward and from the rear seat footwell area inspect everything with a bright light.
You also mentioned a tear in the driver's seat bottom; I'm assuming yours has the MB-Tex interior. You can find replacement bottom cover directly from MB, it's around $200ish.
What's the word on maintenance/service records?
Edit: you may want to peruse the MB specific forums for the W204 at https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w204-83/ as there is a lot of information available that you'll likely find useful.
The seat track may have an object lodged in the path of the turning screw. I would lift up the seat as high as it will go, tilt it forward and from the rear seat footwell area inspect everything with a bright light.
You also mentioned a tear in the driver's seat bottom; I'm assuming yours has the MB-Tex interior. You can find replacement bottom cover directly from MB, it's around $200ish.
What's the word on maintenance/service records?
Edit: you may want to peruse the MB specific forums for the W204 at https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w204-83/ as there is a lot of information available that you'll likely find useful.
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Originally Posted by atikovi
Brought it home today. The only mechanical problem I saw was the radio not working. What's the issue with the steering lock and ignition switch mentioned? Does it apply to stick models as well? As someone else mentioned, the shifter feels a bit rubbery, not as precise as you would expect on a rear drive where it's just about attached to the transmission. My Jetta with 8 times the miles feels better to shift. The only thing so far I would change is the sound. Engine is way too quiet for a manual where you shift by the sound of the revs as much as with the tach. I was in some traffic at 30 mph and it took me a minute to notice the engine was at 3000 rpm and I should have upshifted way before.
It's good that the engine is quiet, means the motor mounts aren't shot which is also common. Mine went at 60k. It's a Mercedes, it's suppose to be quiet. The steering lock/ignition is an EIS problem, seems to be more common on the cheaper models. If you don't have it, you'll probably be fine between now and when you sell it.
When you have it for sale, make sure you activate Sirius, you get a 2 month free trial as a new owner so you can show it off to new buyers without paying for it. I normally just call them up and do their $60 for a year deal.
Brought it home today. The only mechanical problem I saw was the radio not working. What's the issue with the steering lock and ignition switch mentioned? Does it apply to stick models as well? As someone else mentioned, the shifter feels a bit rubbery, not as precise as you would expect on a rear drive where it's just about attached to the transmission. My Jetta with 8 times the miles feels better to shift. The only thing so far I would change is the sound. Engine is way too quiet for a manual where you shift by the sound of the revs as much as with the tach. I was in some traffic at 30 mph and it took me a minute to notice the engine was at 3000 rpm and I should have upshifted way before.
It's good that the engine is quiet, means the motor mounts aren't shot which is also common. Mine went at 60k. It's a Mercedes, it's suppose to be quiet. The steering lock/ignition is an EIS problem, seems to be more common on the cheaper models. If you don't have it, you'll probably be fine between now and when you sell it.
When you have it for sale, make sure you activate Sirius, you get a 2 month free trial as a new owner so you can show it off to new buyers without paying for it. I normally just call them up and do their $60 for a year deal.
Originally Posted by andreigbs
Couple notes of caution: make sure the electronic steering column lock issue has been taken care of, or that you're capable of repairing yourself. When (not if) it goes, the steering column is locked, stuck, you're unable to even start the car and will have to get it towed to the MB dealer where they'll take about 2 grand from you to fix it.
It's funny because we have 4 W204 models in the family, and my buddy has one as well, and none of them have had the EIS issue. Two are 2008, mine is 2009, and two are 2010 models. Two manuals, three automatics, all over 120k miles on them.
To be honest, they have collectively had very few issues to speak of. My W204 has been one of the best cars I've owned and will continue to own since it literally drives like a brand new car even at 11 years old.
Originally Posted by andreigbs
One other thing is the manual transmission (at least on mine) is quite notchy, not what I would call a smooth shifting job. You have to really be careful and time the rowing just right since you're pushing quite a bit of heft around from gear to gear. Crunching may result.
Very interesting to hear this. Mine shifts absolutely perfectly even all these years later, both in very hot weather and in temperatures well below freezing. No crunching except maybe for the first two shifts from first to second on a cold winter morning. No rubbery feel either. I definitely do not have to be "careful" under any circumstance other than knowing how to properly operate a manual transmission. Maybe yours is out of adjustment, or your shifter bushings are shot, or the clutch wasn't disengaging properly. Also worth noting, these cars come factory filled with fully synthetic 75W gear oil (straight 75W, very thin). If anything else is put in them, they grind and balk when shifting (don't ask me how I know, aka dealer screw up). Mine is great, as is my buddies which I've driven many times. Both compare very favorably to my brother's manual Bimmer.
Originally Posted by andreigbs
The last item is to be wary of a known issue with what sounds like bearing knock on a cold start, for only a couple seconds. The M272 engine needed slightly thicker bearings and some owners had theirs replaced under warranty.
One of our 2008's has this all the time, and the others occasionally depending on temperature (mostly in the summer in between short stops). The rod bearings knock for a split second because the lower mains are slightly oversize. This causes the rod bearings to wait a second longer for full oil flow. The dealer up here very kindly offered to fix any of them we wanted fixed under warranty, but I was not going to have them tear into my perfectly good factory built engine to replace main bearing shells for some esthetic problem. After 11-12 years and 120k miles, nothing has worsened at all nor I'm I worried in the slightest bit about longevity.
Couple notes of caution: make sure the electronic steering column lock issue has been taken care of, or that you're capable of repairing yourself. When (not if) it goes, the steering column is locked, stuck, you're unable to even start the car and will have to get it towed to the MB dealer where they'll take about 2 grand from you to fix it.
It's funny because we have 4 W204 models in the family, and my buddy has one as well, and none of them have had the EIS issue. Two are 2008, mine is 2009, and two are 2010 models. Two manuals, three automatics, all over 120k miles on them.
To be honest, they have collectively had very few issues to speak of. My W204 has been one of the best cars I've owned and will continue to own since it literally drives like a brand new car even at 11 years old.
Originally Posted by andreigbs
One other thing is the manual transmission (at least on mine) is quite notchy, not what I would call a smooth shifting job. You have to really be careful and time the rowing just right since you're pushing quite a bit of heft around from gear to gear. Crunching may result.
Very interesting to hear this. Mine shifts absolutely perfectly even all these years later, both in very hot weather and in temperatures well below freezing. No crunching except maybe for the first two shifts from first to second on a cold winter morning. No rubbery feel either. I definitely do not have to be "careful" under any circumstance other than knowing how to properly operate a manual transmission. Maybe yours is out of adjustment, or your shifter bushings are shot, or the clutch wasn't disengaging properly. Also worth noting, these cars come factory filled with fully synthetic 75W gear oil (straight 75W, very thin). If anything else is put in them, they grind and balk when shifting (don't ask me how I know, aka dealer screw up). Mine is great, as is my buddies which I've driven many times. Both compare very favorably to my brother's manual Bimmer.
Originally Posted by andreigbs
The last item is to be wary of a known issue with what sounds like bearing knock on a cold start, for only a couple seconds. The M272 engine needed slightly thicker bearings and some owners had theirs replaced under warranty.
One of our 2008's has this all the time, and the others occasionally depending on temperature (mostly in the summer in between short stops). The rod bearings knock for a split second because the lower mains are slightly oversize. This causes the rod bearings to wait a second longer for full oil flow. The dealer up here very kindly offered to fix any of them we wanted fixed under warranty, but I was not going to have them tear into my perfectly good factory built engine to replace main bearing shells for some esthetic problem. After 11-12 years and 120k miles, nothing has worsened at all nor I'm I worried in the slightest bit about longevity.
Originally Posted by atikovi
The radio display doesn't even light up. None of the buttons are illuminated at night when the lights are on. Hope just a fuse. Will have to crank up my copy of WIS. 2nd issue I discovered with the driver's power seat is the inboard track is inop. The outer one moves fine.
The radio buttons are designed to not light up when the radio is off, even if it's night time and your headlights are on. They will only light up if the radio is turned on. So your main issue is determining why it will not turn on in the first place. And if it comes down to it, it does not involve the whole dash as someone else mentioned. The audio 20 unit is behind the button area where the CD slot is. It is likely expensive though unless you find a junk yard unit. Also, worth noting, a used unit may require coding by a dealer to make it operate.
The radio display doesn't even light up. None of the buttons are illuminated at night when the lights are on. Hope just a fuse. Will have to crank up my copy of WIS. 2nd issue I discovered with the driver's power seat is the inboard track is inop. The outer one moves fine.
The radio buttons are designed to not light up when the radio is off, even if it's night time and your headlights are on. They will only light up if the radio is turned on. So your main issue is determining why it will not turn on in the first place. And if it comes down to it, it does not involve the whole dash as someone else mentioned. The audio 20 unit is behind the button area where the CD slot is. It is likely expensive though unless you find a junk yard unit. Also, worth noting, a used unit may require coding by a dealer to make it operate.
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