what are the chances of it being something major. i called for service appt and they gave me Nov 22nd. I explained it's the "check engine" light. she said if its not red or flashing it's okay - not an emergency.


i checked the gas cap, etc . . . and it didn't clear. all I know is my gf drove it last night and now I have a check engine light. also I noticed she filled the tank up. she knows to use 93 ONLY. could using a lower octane result in a check engine light notification?

11/14/2005 4:08:30 PM

You know, if it's not flashing, and you've not noticed anything unusual about how the car drives, then I'd be tempted to drive a week or so (at least 100 miles) to see what happens.

But it doesn't hurt to go have your codes pulled. As long as it's not at the stealershit.

11/14/2005 4:11:51 PM

Just so you know, they're going to charge you $100+ just to pull the codes. Not even to diagnose the problem completely, just to plug the diagnostic machine or LAUNCH tool, or whatever they use up to it.

11/14/2005 4:13:08 PM

Quote :

"You know, if it's not flashing, and you've not noticed anything unusual about how the car drives, then I'd be tempted to drive a week or so (at least 100 miles) to see what happens."

I'll second that motion. Just bought my wife a '99 Jeep XJ. Very first day we had it, check engine light came on. Downstream O2 sensor. I cleared it, it came back on. Checked for vacuum leaks, exaust manifold leaks, manifold to exhaust pipe donut gasket, cat seemed ok and wasn't getting "white hot", then I got really busy and didn't have a chance to do much else. Day before yesterday, it cleared itself. Some codes will self-clear after so many start-to-warm cycles if the problem is no longer a problem.

11/14/2005 4:18:49 PM

Go to Advance Auto and get them to pull the code to see what it is.

Your gf could have not put the gas cap on tightly.

11/14/2005 4:25:50 PM

I dont know if Advance or AZ can pull your codes, and if they can dont believe what they tell you it "probably" is. Honestly, leave the merciless service to the professionals, either the dealer or find a qualified local shop, there is sure to be independent benz service centers in Miami.

Quote :

"Just so you know, they're going to charge you $100+ just to pull the codes. Not even to diagnose the problem completely, just to plug the diagnostic machine or LAUNCH tool, or whatever they use up to it."

There is good reason for this, getting computer diagnostics from a mercedes tech cant be compared to having jose @ auto zone pull code(s).

I used to work at a european repair shop, and we owned one of the high dollar official mercedes scan tools. It has a special interface cable that connects to the main system connector underhood (not the standard ALDL shit) and it is totally based off a IBM Thinkpad. To get an idea what it costs, I was told the owner bought it off the books for $11,000 cash from a M-B dealer in Texas that went out of business. Late model mercedes are much much more computerized than you may realize, almost ANY function the vehicle has can be controlled with said scantool, raise this window, lock that door, start the car, flash highbeams, I think you can even honk the damn horn, whatever you want to do you can right there with a few mouse clicks or keystrokes.

[Edited on November 14, 2005 at 5:06 PM. Reason : Also, I wouldnt bet on your codes dissapearing on their own on a benzz]

11/14/2005 5:05:02 PM

"Its a mercedes its going to break and its going to cost a lot to fix" ~Jeremy Clarkson Top Gear

11/14/2005 5:16:34 PM

i'm not worried about price - the car is still under the 50K/4-year warranty. so I don't pay for any maintenence.

just trying to figure out if it was something I could do to clear it. i sealed the gas cap, etc. i just naturally thought my gf broke it - but who knows. i know she filled up the tank, i was just trying to ration out if she used the wrong fuel type and that's what caused it. it only uses 93.

11/14/2005 6:25:55 PM

maybe she used diesel because it costed more than premium

11/14/2005 7:31:59 PM

you got bad gas.

11/14/2005 8:51:22 PM

Quote :

"There is good reason for this, getting computer diagnostics from a mercedes tech cant be compared to having jose @ auto zone pull code(s)."

Yeah I agree, that's why I said that earlier. One of my best friends works for a company that remanufactures mercedes electronics. It's nice to know people, I always have a LAUNCH tool at my disposal

11/14/2005 9:15:23 PM

can't you pull codes from the obd II, although it'll be more generic then the actual manufacter codes. atleast you can find out an area that the problem would be in.

11/14/2005 9:38:12 PM