Garage having problems fixing car - suggestions please?

batman2000

Our 11 year old mercedes A150 developed starting problems and went for repair last month at the dealership. They fixed corrosion in the battery compartment due to water ingress (more information in my previous thread: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5589235). Cost of repair about £500.

However, we still have the same problem in that car refuses to start every few days, plus mists up very easily. It's now sitting on our drive waiting to be transported to the garage because of today's failure to start.

The garage now want to replace the starter motor. The manager said we could 'come to some arrangement' regarding the repairs.

I assume he means a discount. Do you think this is reasonable?

It's an old car, worth about £1200 as a trade-in. But it's low mileage and has been looked after. We can't keep throwing money at it... so do we cut our losses, or can we insist the dealership fix the car (at their cost?)... and what happens if they can't?

Just looking for a way forward, thanks!

foxy-stoat

They have fixed one (visible) problem, may still have another one which they have not diagnosed yet.


If the starter motor is also faulty then you will need to pay for it, but if the inside mists up easily then I would assume you have another leak, water is still in the car or the same leak has not been sorted so I would not automatically assume its the starter motor.


Merc's electrics and water do not mix so either take it to another garage, fix it yourself or sell as it is and buy something else.


good luck

Jackmydad

Substitution of parts is all well and good, but unless it's definitely that part, it can get expensive,
Personally I'd be taking an eleven year old car to a small local garage, not a main dealer.
When it won't start I assume you mean the engine won't crank as they are looking at replacing the starter motor? Are there any clicks from anywhere when you turn the key to the start position?

Really though it could be anything. As already said it sounds as if there is still a leak if the misting persists.

batman2000

foxy-stoat: We want to buy something else and move on, but would like the car as a trade in. As you say, it might be the starter motor (can they check that, or will they just replace it?), but the issues we're having are exactly as they were before the previous repair. One step at a time - we'll see what the garage comes back with first. Thanks for your help!

batman2000

Jackmydad wrote: »

Substitution of parts is all well and good, but unless it's definitely that part, it can get expensive,
Personally I'd be taking an eleven year old car to a small local garage, not a main dealer.
When it won't start I assume you mean the engine won't crank as they are looking at replacing the starter motor? Are there any clicks from anywhere when you turn the key to the start position?

Really though it could be anything. As already said it sounds as if there is still a leak if the misting persists.

Yes, those are our thoughts... we don't want to replace parts unless we have a good idea it's the cause of the problem.

The car has been maintained by the dealership from the beginning, but you're probably right, a small independent garage might be better (although we had a huge problem with a previous car, which was written off by a local garage - but that's another story!).

The car fails to start intermittently, no rhyme or reason. Doesn't matter if it's been raining or not, but when it does happen it's usually later in the day after it's already had a run. The dash lights come on, but the engine doesn't turn over. Nothing except a quiet 'click'. We originally thought starter motor too, but the garage dismissed that initially and went straight to the battery compartment which had to be drained and the corrosion dealt with.

There could be separate things going on... the misting has come back, so as you say there might be another leak too. Sigh.

foxy-stoat

Could be starter, could be bad earth, water damage to electrics.


If it was me I would remove the start myself and test it.....if you can see it then you can give it a whack with a piece of wood while turning it over, or check the connections.


The battery could of been past its best any way.

angrycrow

Not enough info has been given for a forum diagnosis. There are several common non start issues that tend to have obvious symptoms.

What happens when you turn the key. If the engine turns over but does not even try to fire the first point of call would be the crank sensor. If it fails to turn over at all rule out the engine earth by connecting a jump lead between the engine block and a good earth point on the car chassis.
If it just clicks when you turn the key either the battery is dead or the starter is dead.

Turning over slowly but not firing points to the battery or poor contact on the battery leads.

Nothing at all happening points to the starter or the immobiliser, does the immobiliser light go off when you try to start it.

angrycrow

Just seen your post above about it clicking when you turn the key which narrows it to the starter or the electrical supply to the starter. The click is the solenoid on the starter trying to engage the starter with the flywheel but failing to complete the task. My money would be on an intermittent fault with the starter motor if the battery is confirmed as good.

batman2000

angrycrow wrote: »

Just seen your post above about it clicking when you turn the key which narrows it to the starter or the electrical supply to the starter. The click is the solenoid on the starter trying to engage the starter with the flywheel but failing to complete the task. My money would be on an intermittent fault with the starter motor if the battery is confirmed as good.

Thanks, it's good to know this... we'll be speaking to the garage in the morning and prefer to have some thoughts on what's happening before we do.

Jackmydad

Always a good idea to be a "Google Warrior" and Google the fault as in "Mercedes A150 starting problem"
Appears that it can be the camshaft sensor. Although you should have a fault showing.

System

angrycrow wrote: »

Just seen your post above about it clicking when you turn the key which narrows it to the starter or the electrical supply to the starter. The click is the solenoid on the starter trying to engage the starter with the flywheel but failing to complete the task. My money would be on an intermittent fault with the starter motor if the battery is confirmed as good.

Or a fault with the main battery negative earth wire to the vehicle body (most likely given the history of corrosion) or the earth strap from the vehicle body to the engine. In both cases you could have a battery that tests as good and electrics that appear to otherwise work OK until a high load is placed on the system. An electrical supply consists of both a source and return and a fault in either produces the same symptoms but for reasons I cannot fathom everyone seems to purely fixate on the +12V feed.

As for the misting up inside, quite often its caused by worn door or boot/hatchback rubber seals which no longer seal properly. However in your case it could be water ingress from the battery compartment. Downside is that this can mean you're going to have the problem for a while as it'll be soaked into the floor matting, soundproofing and may be pooled on the floorpan and unfortunately winter isn't really a good time of year to help dry it out.