Mercedes C32 AMG FAQ

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Index

1) C32 Problems and solutions
2) Insight into the Intercooler
3) Build status information
4) C32 at the track!
5) Tips and Tricks
6) Members
7) Pre Purchase checklist
8) Car Care

Mercedes C32 AMG Problems and solutions

Slow acceleration problem

Problem: Wiring to supercharger cooling pump short:

I bought it yesterday and on the test drive already I could tell something was way wrong. Bogged off the line... no chance for wheel spin even with ESP off/air off/ S mode. Then seemed to fail completely about 1/2 the time as redline approached... like the engine was just kind of spinning slow and not connected to the tranny. I did a 0-60 of 7.5 and 7.6 in the same place in both directions. I told the salesman that this is NOT the fastest Benz sedan ever produced.

The service bill was for $261 (warranty), $11 in parts for fix of wiring to supercharger cooling pump that had a short. Very simple fix they said.

Not to worry. The previous problem was a bad supercharger sensor. Quick fix - one day assuming they have the part. Nothing major or mechanical. It seems that there must be a bad lot of them, which is causing some rough running. They are likely passing the plant inspection and going bad on the ride over.

The car is back and is FAST. The dealer was great in keeping me informed, finding the problem and fixing it. OK...I gave them DW's post to get them going in the right direction.

It sounds like it was exactly the same problem he had. Supercharger intercooler switch was shorting.

Hey DW... do you know your cars production date ?
Mine was 7/13/01... maybe they had a bad day.

Get on the freeway, nail it and hold it down till you hit 100MPH (make sure you ran the car for aprx 15min 1st). Repeat a few times. If the car loses power, doesn't kick down, feels sluggish then you may have the problem. I replicated the problem at 50mph too.

Its really not difficult to tell. If your car feels like a C320 when warmed up, you have a problem.

When working properly, this car feels ******* fast and there is no question about it.

Ticking sound from the dash

Problem: Ticking sound from the engine and from the dash

Solution #1 Purge valve needs to be replaced:

The sound was resolved by replacing a bracket
that guides the purge valve lines. I've seen other posts where the purge valve itself was replaced as the solution.

Well, My service advisor explain it to me in detail where the sound is coming from and why it's doing it. I think I understand it but don't know how to explain it to you guys. I just know it's some kind of valve needs to be replaced and it should take care the problem.
He also ensured me that it will not damage my car at all and I do not have to worry about it. I have made appointment with him in Nov to replace the part.
If you like you can call Penske Mercedes service Dept and ask for Carlos. Just tell him you have a C32 and Charlie Chen refer you to him and he should be able to explain to you in detail.

Solution #2

Chirp Sound when initially accelerating or shifting gears

Just noticed a short squeak (birdlike) sound that comes from the engine when I accelerate from a stand still. I'm not flooring it, just accelerating from a stop or slow roll. Sounds like a belt slipping 'chirp'. Could be belt or the supercharger?? Don't know, just trying to isolate sound before I take it to dealer. Had to turn off radio cause it's ever so slight until you hear it then it's annoying.

This sound also happens when the car downshifts sometimes.

It sounds like a belt is slipping but seems to be coming for the transmission.

Solution: People have had fixes from tightening the pulley to replacing the whole supercharger. There is no one single solution.

 Please email C32 Life if you have solutions or additional info

Jerk or (slam) around 1,500rpms

Put either your C32 or SLK32 in W mode.

Then accelerate slowly like you are window shopping, but keep the throttle steady and let the rpms climb.

When the rpms pass around 1,500 I get a jerk. It feels as if the car just changed gears...but it didn't. It's still in second.

Do any of you have this? Is this the torque converter engaging or the supercharger? I thought the supercharger only activated under heavy throttle.

Sometimes the jerk is almost a slam. When the car is cold I can hardly notice it.

If you have this symptom please email me.

I can feel it mostly in second gear.  When I put the car in "W".

There is a jerk when accelerating slowly at around 1500rpms.

The car jerks then slows. I then have to give it a little more gas to get it up to speed.

I think it is the torque converter. I guess it is slipping and then when it locks up at 1500-2000 rpms it does it harshly.

It's really annoying me. I can't drive this car slowly without this stupid jerk.

Most people think it has to do with the shifting of gears. No matter how many times I tell them it is NOT the hesitation from a dead stop nor is it happening when the car shifts they still don't understand.

If it is the supercharger engaging which sounds plausible I still don't understand why it makes the car jerk. If I get on the gas hard, I can feel what ever it is engage right as I apply the gas, then the car takes off.

This is going to be a long story so skim at will and thank you for your patience.

For the last several months I have been watching this board and can finally participate! I ordered my C32 for a late January delivery. Last Saturday my dealer emailed saying 'come in ASAP!' Turns out they had one that almost matched my specs (minus COMAND and Xenon both I can live without) and I could test-drive it! I jumped in the Volvo (S60 T-5 w/5spd) and headed in. Didn't even take my checkbook. Well the guy who ordered it backed out and I ended up driving it home!

Let me start by saying everyone at the dealership has been wonderful. I have no relationship aside from being a customer but have rarely been treated with such respect and listened to more closely. This is my first Mercedes and I had high expectations.

Sunday was drizzly but I had to take a drive so my brother and I headed to our parents. This is where things began to get a little odd. When I first drove the car it had 23 miles and I took it very easy. Being unfamiliar with the vehicle I was just trying to get the feel but something was a little off. As others have noticed (see the FAQs) there is an odd lurching or lugging feeling under light throttle/load at about ~1500 RPMs. We stopped by the dealership Sunday on our way home and I made a service appointment for Monday morning.

Monday I arrived and the service manager jumped in and we went for a drive. In about 1/4 mile I reproduced the problem; it was obvious to us both. They plugged into the diagnostic system and could find no codes. Wanting to do further testing they gave me a loaner ('01 E430) and sent me home. Being unfamiliar with the car (the first they had seen) they started looking for an engine misfire. After 12 new plugs, a minor vacuum leak and a manifold sensor, nothing had changed. This was Thursday and I missed my brand new $54k car! Their communication of what was going on was very good but they could sense my frustration. THEY suggested I call 1-800 FOR-MERCEDES and apply some heat. I did.

Earlier in the day they had called NJ and had an Engineer on his way.

Friday about 11:00 I received a call saying the engineer was on site so I headed down. By the time I got there they were plugged in and testing.

The problem wasn't a misfire, turns out the transmission ECU was sending signals to the torque converter instructing it to lock (as much as 92%) at ~1500 RPMs. The engineer could monitor the PWM (pulse width modulation) signal being sent to the torque converter by the ECU and manually control it with the test equipment. He could reproduce the 'problem' pretty much at will. He also noticed at least one odd shift sequence. First gear, torque lock, shift to second instead of unlocking prior to the shift to second. This produced a noticeable 'lurch'.

After discovering this he was on the phone to NJ and they started looking for another C32 to test. All they could find (Friday afternoon) was an SLK32. The engineer in NJ was going to plug into the SLK and videotape the results. He is scheduled to head for Stuttgart Friday, Nov 2nd with the results.

From what I was told, there has been a similar complaint from a service manager in LA but it has not been pursued to this level.

I have the car back, with 140 additional miles but back nonetheless. There are currently two things that are going to be attempted. First, if the problem can be reproduced then a software update will be investigated. This may take a while; there are regulatory issues that need to be addressed for any SW changes. Or a new transmission ECU will be installed and the tests rerun. Regardless, my dealer plans to have an extra transmission ECU and torque converter on hand. That in itself says volumes about my dealership, mine is the only C32 they have sold!

I have been assured that I will be kept in the loop and have no doubts I will.

I can't stress enough how pleased I am with the way my dealer handled this. They stepped forward and backed their product 100%. The fact that this problem made it to the customer (me) is taken very seriously by MB. This should never have happened.

Yes, the car still does it, and it's annoying as heck. I have been assured no damage will result. If it does, its not coming out of my pocket. BTW, if I stomp on it the only lurch is my head hitting the headrest!

Based on posts I have seen on this site I know not all dealers would have handled this with the same dedication. That's unfortunate.

When I get additional information I will post it. Please feel free to ask any questions but keep in mind I am not an automotive engineer and these are only my opinions. I have no relationship with MB other than being a customer and can only hope that this information will become available through official MB channels.

Solution: This seems to be normal for 2002 C32's. The torque converter is locking up at around 1500 rpms. There is a computer software upgrade fix. Ask your MB dealer to put the 2003 C32 software in your 02 car.

 Please email C32 Life if you have solutions or additional info

Removing the C32 center dash panel and radio

These are not my instructions, they were garnered from the web, I merely pasted them onto a doc file.  There is Air Bag wiring nearby.  If you feel uncomfortable with that fact I suggest you don’t proceed.  Take your time: be careful not to break the plastic locks and scratch your dash panels.  The first time you do this it will take about 30 minutes, the next time may well be half that time because you will have the correct tools and will understand exactly what you need to do.

There probably is airbag wiring nearby, you should not tamper with that, so be very sure you know what you are doing with the wiring.

If you study the Mercedes Documents (pictured below) for several minutes before you start, you will understand them as you proceed.

Tools needed:

Torx driver small-med #15 or #20?,

a thin steel tool such as a 1/2 inch wide steel ruler,

small flat-blade screwdriver (tweaker driver style)

regular, “long” flat blade screwdriver

small, bright flashlight

Removing the center dash panel to get to the radio

(These are installation notes, I suggest you follow the actual MBZ docs 1 page below).

Remove Vent Assembly: The hardest part is the first, the upper center vent assy. It has to come out. Look inside the vent itself: Find the locks on the top/sides, they allow the vents to rotate fully, farther up and down than normal. Phase 1: Release locks, rotate the vents fully up, remove the torx screws on the bottom. Phase 2: Unlock again, rotate fully down, and hold the top “teeth assy’s”, pull firmly to remove the whole vent assembly. You will soon appreciate the tight fit and the German Engineering.  It is a little tricky to get the center vent assembly out. You need to keep the top latches pressed down as you pull out the assembly. They have several "teeth" that grip the lip molded into the dash piece above, so you need to keep some pressure on the unlock tabs as you slide it out. It's a tight fit, but if you pull straight out and gently rock it, it will come out.  Disconnect the electrical connector that supplies power for the backlit controls.

Removing the aluminum trim piece: Stop the car with the gear selector in “N”  Remove ashtray. There are two spring “Metal Clip” locks (which are deep and thus hard to see) on either side inside the ashtray receiver area/in the gap above the Ashtray door. Use a flashlight to locate them. Careful not to scratch your ashtray door. Lever them DOWN to UNCLIP these spring clips. Panel should now be loose. Remove the panel. Watch where you disconnect cables, pay attention else they can be reassembled incorrectly.

The radio itself is held in place by two torx screws (one on each side). For this dash/radio removal work the torx screws are different, keep each torx type separated from the others. Once you remove those screws, the radio slides right out. After you slide out the radio, the pocket below it also slides out (no screws holding it in). Be careful that your fiber optic lines don't kink while you're sliding out the radio. It's a little tight in there. Be especially careful not to kink a line during re-insertion of the radio.

Actual Mercedes instructions follow below:

Removing the radio is done in three major steps:

1)     Center Air Nozzle (Vent) Removal, (this is the black, plastic 2-channel vent directly above the  radio).  This step is a little difficult.

2)     Center Console Cover Removal, (this is the metal panel surrounding the radio itself). This step is a bit easier.

3)      Radio Removal. Mechanically this step is very easy

Click here to download file with illustrations

Q Insight into the Intercooler

QBuild status information