A-Class (W169) All of a sudden, 5 errors on a W169 A150

[Fiery]

Hi Guys,


This morning, my girlfriend tried to took off with her A150 W169 (Autotronic, Avantgarde, Nov-2005). The engine started up well, but she couldn't move the gearstick from P. A couple of seconds later 3 error messages came up from nowhere:

- Brake lamp, drive to workshop
- ESP faulty, visit workshop
- Run flat indicator not available

We've checked, and all 3 brake lamps worked fine, and all tyres were OK as well. After trying 3-4 times to move the gear lever, finally it gave in, and we could start the trip. After a couple of blocks, we realized:

- the steering got a lot heavier
- we cannot accelerate above 55 km/h

We've stopped, turned the engine off, and checked all fuses related to ESP. They were all OK, started the engine, and everything seemed to be back normal. Steering was fine, acceleration and speed was fine.

Then at the next stop the gear lever stuck back in P again, and the 3 error messages, the heavy steering and the 55 km/h limitation came back. We headed home. After we arrived home, I've tried to power off the engine and power on again, and the error messages were gone again.

I'm now afraid of leaving home with this car, so the next trip will be to the mechanic's. Do you have any idea what could be wrong? Maybe the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor), or the brake pedal?

BTW, the car has 68.000 kms, and we had no issues with it before.


Thanks,
Fiery

 

[cawimmer430]

Sounds like an electronic glitch.

Better to contact your local Mercedes dealer and have them do a full analysis. The new W169 A-Class has generally gotten great reliability reports but things can always go wrong.

Also have them check brake fluid, power-steering fluid etc., just to be on the safe side.


Or contact this man: Ralph Mietzner

ralph.mietzner@gmx.net

He is an A-Class expert and can help you. Tell him that I (Christian Wimmer) gave you his contact details.

Best of luck!

 

[Fiery]

Sounds like an electronic glitch.

Better to contact your local Mercedes dealer and have them do a full analysis. The new W169 A-Class has generally gotten great reliability reports but things can always go wrong.

Also have them check brake fluid, power-steering fluid etc., just to be on the safe side.


Or contact this man: Ralph Mietzner

He is an A-Class expert and can help you. Tell him that I (Christian Wimmer) gave you his contact details.

Best of luck!

Thank you, I've dropped a message to Ralph. We'll take the car to a full analysis tomorrow or the next day. We love this car, so I hope there's only a small glitch that could be fixed in a reasonable budget

 

[Giannis]

You mentioned that the car does not accelerate over 55km/h. You mean that the car won't switch to second gear, or that no matter the gear that is in, the car just won't go faster than that?

 

[Fiery]

You mentioned that the car does not accelerate over 55km/h. You mean that the car won't switch to second gear, or that no matter the gear that is in, the car just won't go faster than that?

It's a CVT gearbox, so there are no gears The 55 km/h limitation is simply a speed limitation, probably they call it "safely get home" feature. Even if you floor the accelerator pedal, the car wouldn't change its speed at all.

 

[cawimmer430]

No problem.


By the way, that 55 km/h speed limit might be an electronic safety precaution, which then means there is something very wrong with thecar.

A stupid question, but did you fill it up with the correct octane of gasoline?

 

[Fiery]

By the way, that 55 km/h speed limit might be an electronic safety precaution, which then means there is something very wrong with thecar.

Yeah, that part is quite normal considering an ESP failure. However, what I don't get is why does everything goes away (no errors, no 55 km/h limit) after powering off and then powering on again? Maybe there's a wrong sensor somewhere, and it reports a failure at ignition self-check -- but not on every ignitions. Once the car started with no errors, we drove 30 kms without a glitch. Then after the stop, at ignition the errors and the limit came back...

A stupid question, but did you fill it up with the correct octane of gasoline?

A relevant question, but we filled it up with the usual 95-octane unleaded, at the usual filling station -- just like several times before. After the full fillup my girlfriend drove cca. 200 kms without issues, and the error came up when it was half a tank. So I don't think the gas had any issues.

Thanks for the brainstorming, please keep it up, the tips may come useful if the computer analysis cannot point to a specific faulty part.

 

[Gullwing]

After the full fillup my girlfriend drove cca. 200 kms without issues, and the error came up when it was half a tank.

Well that is the problem right there!



Wow after 12 years I finally made it to 1,000 posts!!!!

 

[VroomVroom]

Well that is the problem right there!



Wow after 12 years I finally made it to 1,000 posts!!!!

Lol I didn't know you were a mechanic

and Congratulation on the 1000 posts

 

[Gullwing]

Lol I didn't know you were a mechanic

What where have you been? Yes I was a Mercedes tech, I spent 4.5 years at two different Mercedes dealerships.

Didn't work on any A or B class cars though

 

[cawimmer430]

Yeah, that part is quite normal considering an ESP failure. However, what I don't get is why does everything goes away (no errors, no 55 km/h limit) after powering off and then powering on again? Maybe there's a wrong sensor somewhere, and it reports a failure at ignition self-check -- but not on every ignitions. Once the car started with no errors, we drove 30 kms without a glitch. Then after the stop, at ignition the errors and the limit came back...

At this point my best guess would be some sort of electronic problem. A faulty sensor maybe or just software that has gone bad.

Better to have your MB dealer check it out or ask my buddy Ralph for advice. He's been driving A-Classes forever and his father works at Mercedes (Truck Division) so he's quite knowledgeable on these things.

Currently he drives an A180 CDI I believe.

A relevant question, but we filled it up with the usual 95-octane unleaded, at the usual filling station -- just like several times before. After the full fillup my girlfriend drove cca. 200 kms without issues, and the error came up when it was half a tank. So I don't think the gas had any issues.

Thanks for the brainstorming, please keep it up, the tips may come useful if the computer analysis cannot point to a specific faulty part.

No problem.

The best thing to do is contact Ralph for more specific information. He can help you more than me.

 

[coligny]

Sounds like an electronic glitch.

Actually... sounds like a dying computer somewhere... When it works after shutting down... usually that means it stopped working because of an accumulation of errors. Error don't mean fault, it mean the software was waiting for a proper answer from other component and either the answer was "we're sorta kinda going banana" or the answer didn't came and was counted as an error. Maybe faulty wiring, a loose plug near the computer. an half chewed wire... But it can also be electronic components starting to fail when they are heating to their usual running temperature, either a component failure or some welding gone bad/dry. The key to troubleshoot is to asses how those 5 components are wired to communicate to the CPU. Are they linked, which is the earliest component between them able to fail. I hope it's nothing, but usually it's costly even to diagnose...

 

[Fiery]

At this point my best guess would be some sort of electronic problem. A faulty sensor maybe or just software that has gone bad.

It was the sensors EUR50, and the car is in top shape again Thanks for the tips. Fortunately the mechanic managed to find & fix the issue in a couple of hours. Apparently he knows Mercedes electronics quite well

 

[cawimmer430]

It was the sensors EUR50, and the car is in top shape again Thanks for the tips. Fortunately the mechanic managed to find & fix the issue in a couple of hours. Apparently he knows Mercedes electronics quite well

Good to hear.

Did Ralph reply?

 

[Fiery]

Did Ralph reply?

Nope...

 

[cawimmer430]

Nope...

Odd.

He might be busy with his school projects or biking in France.

 

[bradcapo2]

Thanks for the feedback. That is very useful.



taux pret auto - taux pret auto differe selon la rise en compte ... calculent automatiquement le taux pour un prêt automobile donne.

 

[A2002006]

It was the sensors EUR50, and the car is in top shape again Thanks for the tips. Fortunately the mechanic managed to find & fix the issue in a couple of hours. Apparently he knows Mercedes electronics quite well

Please, could you tell us wich sensors causing problem are replaced ?
Thanks

 

[Kostas]

Hi guys, nice to be here and hopefully we can find a solution to my problem as well. My bother has the mercrdes A150 W169. Over the last week suddenly the car as we drive without any reason shows all the faulyt display (all the lights are On). Then the car reduced speed around 50 km/h. Once we stop and we just push/move the cables on the engine control unit everything is perfect without any fault on the car display. after driving for approximately 10 mins the same thing happens. All the faulty lights are on including abs etc. Could you please with that? We are so desperate. We brought the car to different workshops but no one can find what is that or where the problem coming from.

Thanks in advanced.

 

[chonkoa]

Hi guys, nice to be here and hopefully we can find a solution to my problem as well. My bother has the mercrdes A150 W169. Over the last week suddenly the car as we drive without any reason shows all the faulyt display (all the lights are On). Then the car reduced speed around 50 km/h. Once we stop and we just push/move the cables on the engine control unit everything is perfect without any fault on the car display. after driving for approximately 10 mins the same thing happens. All the faulty lights are on including abs etc. Could you please with that? We are so desperate. We brought the car to different workshops but no one can find what is that or where the problem coming from.

Thanks in advanced.

I think your on-board computer aka ECU might be crazy. It needs to be replaced.
Try swapping out ECU and see if it rectifies the problem.
Sounds too wholesale for it to be a particular sensor or cables.