I posted this on another forum already, so please bare with me if you've already seen this...

I have a 2000 C230. Purchased in Sept. '09. Has 135,000 miles now.

First: Just the other day (on top of the major problems I'm having with the car) my windshield wiper just stopped working. There is power to it, but it will only come half way up the windshield and then it gets stuck, like something is blocking it. If I force it the rest of the way it will re-engage and come all the way back. ????

On to the bigger problem(s)...

A few months back the Check Engine light came on. I'd noticed a few surges in shifting and a couple of times when I'd floored the gas in 1st gear it didn't want to shift in to 2nd. This happened maybe 3 times the first year I had it.

Anyway, when I took the car in for diagnosis in October I was told that it was a difference in wheel speed and that my spare tire was causing the problem...they said it was the spare I'd just put on from a flat tire the day before. I purchased a new tire and it made no difference. Then things really started going haywire...

Cruising down the highway one day all my brake lights came on plus my BAS/ESP light & check engine. Speedometer drops down to 0 when this happened. Now it happens intermittently and if it occurs, the car doesn't want to shift gears. If I come to a stop from a highway drive and all the lights are on, the car will start in 4th gear. However, if it's starting in 1st gear with this problem, it won't shift in to 2nd. This happens probably an average of every other day now. I drive about 60 miles a day on weekdays and more on the weekend.

Took the car in to the dealership and transmission fluid had leaked in to the transmission control unit. They cleaned it out and replaced the pin connector that had caused the leak. When I took it back in a few weeks later, no new fluid had leaked in to the unit, but my problems were persistent. I changed my brakes...still all brake lights come on and car won't shift gears ONLY when this happens. Of course when all these lights are on, the car jumps when put in to Reverse or Drive. I've noticed a slight wobble when cruising down the highway over the last week or so as well. It's also intermittent.

Sometimes the car runs fine and none of the lights come on. Tends to be doing better when the weather is cold. The BAS/ESP unit in the engine looks to be a replacement part...there's marker writing all over it that couldn't have been done while the unit was installed...makes me think it was picked up from a junk yard. Also, Mercedes said the ABS fail signal came back on the diagnosis.

I'm really frustrated. I've taken care of the car and it's in otherwise nice/clean shape. I wanted to sell it before I moved (which is already going to cost me money) but now I'm in a bind.

Maintenance I've done or had done over the last few months:
Replaced head light
Oil Change/fluid check
Brakes/Rotors
Above mentioned maintenance at Mercedes dealership

 

Hi ryan55399

please remember that merc benz cars have alot of wiring....

one of my friend had some similar symptoms like your....

he went to 4 mechanics and all af them said different thing....
he did not believe,...
then I asked him to check the whole engine wiring and body wiring...

so, he went to different mechanic, and you know what........
the cable body / harness (no sure which one) placed under wiper (under plastic cover) have been chowed by mice (mouse)...

luckily, he had c230K'99 which had FHM type ECU... if it was c180, he would have replaced the ECU...

after the repair, the car worked fine....


so, please check thoroughly one by one before purchase any other things...

I guess there is something to do with the wiring as well...

Good Luck....

Ciao

Mick

 

Have you had your trany serviced, i did mine the screen was filled with sludge,,