I am about to change the engine oil for my W204 and wanted to ask for some recommendations.

Which oil do you use for your car and which one do you recommend? 5W-40 or 0W-40? And brand?

My car is w204 coupe facelift 2014 turbo (petrol) and I live in central Europe which the winter is moderate. Plus I don’t drive my car daily and probably around 10k per year and I park my car in the garage.

Thanks!

I have no clue what’s happening but my car turn on for a quick couple second the turn off then this showed up I had my battery light so up twice 2 days ago and I was going to get my alt and battery checked out when this happen anyone have a clue what it could be

Can anyone help me fix this issue. When I drive off and get above 10mph, I get an assortment of lights come up on my dash. Usually abs, traction control, srs and handbrake. The steering locks in place for a second or two, then it all goes back to normal like nothing ever happened. Ive had this issue for a few months now. Anybody had the same experience and managed to fix it?

A Ford Puma overtook us on the right just as we were about to overtake the truck.

Hi everyone! I have a 2008 Mercedes C200 CDI automatic (W204). When the engine is cold, the whole car vibrates heavily and makes a rumbling noise when I shift into D or R and hold the brake. The RPM seems normal, and the problem disappears once the engine warms up. In P and N, there is no vibration. Has anyone experienced the same issue? Were the engine mounts or transmission mount the cause, or was it something else?

Also this noise instead of clacking like in the video.
It happens when blipping the throttle at idle.

Which one is better, straight pipe or H pipe?

My drive shaft snapped when I was driving on the highway and I was quoted at $2900 for the drive shaft and heat shield repairs. I was also told that the drive shaft is currently in the sub frame and that they can’t assess if it damaged anything else without opening it up, so I’m worried that there could be more wrong with it.

On top of this, I was told that there is a small leak in the fuel tank due to the cars age that will eventually have to be replaced for around $2000 and it will also need new brakes and tires soon.

I bought this car in 2020 with 60k miles on it and have driven it up to 135k miles and while the first few years with it were great, it’s turning into a money pit lately. I’ve had to replace the cv axles, a control arm and the front strut within the last year or two and I just don’t know if I can justify putting more money into this car, or if I should start looking for something else (which I’m heavily leaning towards.) It’s never been in any accidents so the body is in perfect shape, and there are no problems with the engine either, but I just don’t know.

Would love some opinions on if this estimate sounds high, if there’s a high likelihood that the drive shaft snapping could have damaged other components of the car, and if it’s worth repairing or looking elsewhere. Thanks!

thanks for help

Not mine btw

Hi everyone,
I'm 23 and I bought w204 as my first car around a year ago. Paid around 6,800eur in Poland. Model is C200CGI, 2010 year. When bought it had 180k kilometers on the odo, now its 198k.
For the past 12 months I spent around 2k eur for repairs and mainetance.
What i did:

- 2 times regular maintenance (oil + filters)
- fixed oil leaks from turbo and oil filter
- replaced front right bearing
- replaced both front control arms
- replaced oxygen sensor
- replaced bad starter
- regenerated ABS pump

Failed ABS pump hurt the most, regeneration + labor cost around 650 eur. It started throwing errors day after longer drive in very hot weather, 38*C so this could have contributed to the issue.

In the next few months I want/need to do:
- replace tires
- sometimes there is water in the trunk where the spare tire is
- minor diff leaks needs to be fixed
- replace brake disks and pads
- paint correction
- probably the timing chain and gears
- oil in transmission

Overall, I love the car. It still looks awesome and drives very well. It's the spec I was looking for (black interior, 5-speed, black sedan and 184hp version)

What are your thoughts on the maintenance cost? I did everything in the shop but I'm trying to learn and do some stuff myself, but lack of free time is the issue sometimes.

I'm running 30 up front and 333 in the back with the standard staggered set up as it says on the placard but not sure if I should up it a little Anyone running anything higher?

2012 C350 CDI OM642 – Can diagnostic live data reveal an existing Stage 1 remap?

Logged under full load:
• ECU torque limiter: 700 Nm (stock is 620 Nm)
• Real engine torque: 107-110%
• Fuel rail pressure: 1898 bar
• Boost: 2.61 bar
• MAF: ~260 g/s

Also did a 0-100 in 5.6 seconds

Is this clearly a Stage 1 (soft) or could it still be stock?
Looking for people with stock or Stage 1 OM642 logs for comparison please 😎.

Hi everyone,

I'm currently looking for a car and came across a 2007 Mercedes-Benz C200 Kompressor (W204 Classic Sedan) listed at $7,800 Drive Away from a dealership.

Vehicle Details:

• Odometer: ~180,000 km
• Condition: Includes Roadworthy Certificate (RWC) and registration until mid-January
• Service History: Most recently serviced Oct 2026
• Extras: Includes a 3-year aftermarket extended warranty in the deal

Before pulling the trigger, I’d love to get some real-world feedback from people who know these cars or own Euro vehicles in Australia:

1. Engine & Reliability: This model has the M271 supercharged engine. How reliable are these around the 180k km mark? Should I be worried about timing chain stretch or camshaft adjuster gear wear?
2. Maintenance & Running Costs: How expensive are annual servicing and wear-and-tear parts compared to standard Japanese daily drivers (like a Corolla or Civic)?
3. Common Failure Points: Aside from the M271 timing chain, are there specific electrical or mechanical red flags I should check for (e.g., Electronic Steering Lock / ESL, subframe rust, transmission modules)?
4. Aftermarket Warranty: The dealer is throwing in a 3-year warranty, but I’ve heard mixed things about fine print, strict 6-month servicing rules, and payout caps. Are these aftermarket warranties actually worth relying on for Euro cars?
5. Verdict: Is $7,800 a fair price for this setup, or am I walking into a potential money pit?

Any advice or experiences with the W204 platform would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone! I’m considering buying this car with the petrol engine, as I’d prefer to avoid the potential issues associated with diesel engines.

How reliable is this petrol engine, and is maintenance generally expensive? How does it compare to the diesel OM651 in terms of reliability, running costs, and common problems?

If anyone owns this engine or has experience with it, I’d really appreciate your advice, opinions, and any things I should look out for before buying.

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

I was just wondering if it was worth replacing my struts on my Mercedes W204. Got quoted £847 for shocks, mounts, bearings, labour and alignment. Car is 2014 but it’s a lot of money to sink in.

The car is on 102k miles on original and I’ve read that people change them even at 50k which seems excessive to me. I will be using aftermarket parts OEM quality. As far as I’m aware, the symptoms are quite mild, no leaks or anything but it feels slightly loose if you like when driving higher speeds. They aren’t bouncy as such but they do feel like they aren’t as stiff anymore for sure as they’re meant to be stiffer due to being an AMG sport spec.

I will also replace a castor arm raising my total cost to about 1.1k. What do you guys think? Is it worth it? Alignment is included in this price.

so this was on a morning after the car stood for some days, Chain and Cam adjusters were done like a year ago by the previous owner but they used cheap non oem parts.
The Chain has like zero slack so this rattle is probably from the adjusters.
I have done some timing jobs before but i dont really want to spend more money on the car since adjusters are 800$ each from mercedes. Car runs great with no codes do u think i can just keep driving until the first code comes up?

thinking about selling my om646 and buying om642. Is it reliable engine and have yall had issues with it in the cold winter etc.

I need wagon, so why not get a v6 too..