smartchoice: since you say your fuel from half tank does not cover 100km hence my question, if I may ask how many kilometres does your full tank of fuel cover? and when you refill how many litres does it take?
there's another fuel sending unit in the tank I believe, which can cut off even with 20liters in the tank!

Interesting.. .

I've not really taken note on the km it's full tank takes but I noticed the half tank gives me close to 96km or there-about.

You have a point there, with regards to the sending unit in the tank, I understand this requires bringing down the fuel tank entirely. And this involves taking out the rear drive-train.

Would you advice I have that checked first before trying any other options? Btw, do u have pics of the 02 sensor location yet?

You've been most helpful and I appreciate.

This stats sounds unreal for any w202 c180....however I'd advice that when the fuel is near empty from full tank note the distance covered before taking down the tank! Am sure you might still find ur fuel embedded therein!

inze:

Interesting.. .

I've not really taken note on the km it's full tank takes but I noticed the half tank gives me close to 96km or there-about.

You have a point there, with regards to the sending unit in the tank, I understand this requires bringing down the fuel tank entirely. And this involves taking out the rear drive-train.

Would you advice I have that checked first before trying any other options? Btw, do u have pics of the 02 sensor location yet?

You've been most helpful and I appreciate.

O2 sensors can't cause this, IMO strictly.....half tank of fuel covering 96km in a w202 C180....I don't think so but please check your tank first.

But I also hope you're not talking about the rate of depletion of fuel when the gauge is just below the half tank mark to quarter tank?

smartchoice: O2 sensors can't cause this, IMO strictly.....half tank of fuel covering 96km in a w202 C180....I don't think so but please check your tank first.

But I also hope you're not talking about the rate of depletion of fuel when the gauge is just below the half tank mark to quarter tank?

Noted.

And no, I wasn't referring to the depletion of fuel from half-to-quater tank. I took note of the fuel Guage a little below the half-tank Guage, I then reset the trip counter and that's how I arrived at my figure.

Hello Inze, Several things could cause bad fuel economy, I'm going to start from the most commonest ones that we knowingly or unknowingly do to our detriment, and i'm going to be as brief as possible:

1.wrong oil viscosity in your engine( your car suppose to carry oil weight 0w40 or 5w40 not more than 40 weight as some do even put 20w50, which is very wrong: this alter the frictional level of your engine,hence demanding more drag coefficient to operate also limiting your performance, efficiency and lifespan of your engine

2 Bigger than recommended tyre size and wrongly inflated tyres, Too big tyres or less air increases the surface area conatc of your tyre with the road and hence does more work expending more fuel to run in town, but with bigger sizes rightly inflated you could achieve more on the highway on the contrary to the city.

3. Aged catalytic converters

4. bad O2 sensor: The O2 sensor is part of the emissions control system and feeds data to the­ engine management computer. The goal of the sensor is to help the engine run as efficiently as possible and also to produce as few emissions as possible. When they are bad the obvious is expected

5. clogging mufflers

6. clogging air filter

7. Very dirty throttle body(actuators)

8. Leaking current

9. Wrong plugs and leaking plugs cable(not recommended oem ones for your vehicle)

10. Driving habbit(sudden frequent acceleration and deceleration) and two frequent start and stop movement etc


see images of catalytic converters

oxygen sensor is a plug like substance that terminate into a cable end

Thanks a lot hanson and smartchoice. You guys have been wonderful.

Will inspect all these by nextweek. Already had no2-changed to recommended new 195/65/15, no7-cleaned, no9-changed(oem Mercedes plugs, thanks to cardoctor)

1. Can someone help me on how to get a spare key for my C180 (1998 model) sucking type.
2. How do I get a brand new camshaft sensor too. My C180 1998 elegance does not fire very well at low speed. After scanning, it was detected that the cam shaft sensor is bad and I have replaced it twice and yet no changes on the performance. do you think that the fault is coming from somewhere else? PLEASE ADVISE.
3. My user manual is written in German language... how do I get an English copy? Thanks

chibabe3: 1. Can someone help me on how to get a spare key for my C180 (1998 model) sucking type.
2. How do I get a brand new camshaft sensor too. My C180 1998 elegance does not fire very well at low speed. After scanning, it was detected that the cam shaft sensor is bad and I have replaced it twice and yet no changes on the performance. do you think that the fault is coming from somewhere else? PLEASE ADVISE.
3. My user manual is written in German language... how do I get an English copy? Thanks

it's a hard-coded key (if I'm not wrong), Trac, Hanson or the experts would know better. I think security may not allow you to purchase and re-programme. An order from a dealer is the best option.
your model I think is similar to Gee's.

yungboss:
it's a hard-coded key (if I'm not wrong), Trac, Hanson or the experts would know better. I think security may not allow you to purchase and re-programme. An order from a dealer is the best option.
your model I think is similar to Gee's.

Maybe he shld post a pics of his current key.... My key is similar 2 those of current models. Was not sure abt the key cos it looked 2 modern for my car(99/00 W202) but its over a year now and its never flicker a min so I guess who ever hard-coded it did it right.

@ inze, hope the house suggestions help u out. Coz ur consumption rly scares me, even my C230k guzzler cld do 160km on half a tank.... All the best at restoring it.

chibabe3: 1. Can someone help me on how to get a spare key for my C180 (1998 model) sucking type.

The key you mentioned will probably require changing the entire kits alongside your ECU to match with the newly precoded one by your dealer, and will definitely cost you close to 200k.

Alternatively , of recent, i learnt there's a scanner that does the coding to align your spare key with the originally coded one if you may not wish to change the entire kits with its sensors and ECU. I'll find out for you, i think a friend did a spare key this way.. though the scanner on its own can cost over a couple of some hundreds of thousand.Why do you really want the spare key?

chibabe3: 2. How do I get a brand new camshaft sensor too. My C180 1998 elegance does not fire very well at low speed. After scanning, it was detected that the cam shaft sensor is bad and I have replaced it twice and yet no changes on the performance. do you think that the fault is coming from somewhere else? PLEASE ADVISE.

That's easy, you can order it through amazon, and it will get delivered to you between 2 to 5 working days by DHL.
But then, when you replace the camshaft did you scan your car to check for what usually kill the camshaft sensor?
Usually, if you have a problem and the scanner point to something , while replacing that component it's always wise to a rescan to know if there's any other thing behind that could keep spoiling that particular component.

There's this scenario of a friend whose c240 always embarrasses him on the road and will keep him stranded, He will need to call service centre , they will come with their train and carry the vehicle for fixing returning same to him at a cost close to 200k .This fateful day the ugly incidence repeated itself , he called them again, they told him same ..he was actually coming to meet me for a biz deal, so he called me and narated his ordeal and i told him to wait for me to meet up with him. I borrowed a friends scanner and met him right at the spot. we scan the car and discovered that it was just a 250 naira fuse that got bad. we left and bought the fuse and replace , the car started up again very normal but i wasn't satisfied. Out of curiosity i decided to scan the car again and this time it pointed at the ignition coil, though it never brought up any fault. I decided to go down all the way to check the ignition coil what i saw there was amazing , strange oily colouration . He confesses that when the mech guys were changing oil sometime ago , the oil accidentally spill over , he never knew it had gone that far.. causing him so much money as such. we call for the ignition coil at the after market and replace it for just 4k he couldn't believe his eyes. He beg me to mention my price but i decline , he had to finally forcefully refilled my tank and took me out for celebration, because he had just avoided spending one hundred and something thousand naira again. Finally i ordered for a scanner for him at amazon. Today he is the happiest guy with his benz, which was once a night mare to him. Infact he scan his car every weekend. He finally orederd for this scanner after one day when the car was kind of doing a jerking kind of movement and the mech guy told him that it was time to change his injector, he came to me again, on scanning, it was a camshaft sensor that was not socketed well during oil change(as this started after oil change , or probabbly could have been our bad state of the roads that shook it off it place. when that was snap in into position again, the jerking stop, since then the car has been very smooth

What i'm i trying to say? Always do a re scan , it cause no harm, Perhaps the hidden fault could show up itself and save you another nightmare, and make sure the camshaft sensor is well seated in place[i][/i]. Goodluck

inze: Thanks a lot hanson and smartchoice. You guys have been wonderful.

Will inspect all these by nextweek. Already had no2-changed to recommended new 195/65/15, no7-cleaned, no9-changed(oem Mercedes plugs, thanks to cardoctor)

You are welcome, could also be 205/60/15,or 195/60/16 Just follow the math that way.

Gee2728: @ inze, hope the house suggestions help u out. Coz ur consumption rly scares me, even my C230k guzzler cld do 160km on half a tank.... All the best at restoring it.

Thanks Gee,

Ofcourse, you all have been most helpful.
Am presently taking a study on its mpg. Got 20litres of fuel on it(didn't want to fill it up), had the trip meter reset. I'll take down the reading when it gets to reserve.

au.hanson:


You are welcome, could also be 205/60/15,or 195/60/16 Just follow the math that way.

Noted, already done the change before now.

_{nairaland really got men with head on their shoulders (hanson/smartchoice/gee, i throway salute)}

@au.hanson
I currently drive a w203. which scanner would be most compatible for my ride? any idea bout price? I want to start getting some minor things done myself DIY.

danadam: @au.hanson
I currently drive a w203. which scanner would be most compatible for my ride? any idea bout price? I want to start getting some minor things done myself DIY.

Amzdeal MS 509 OBD2 EOBD Code Scanner Reader Tool will be very good for your Benz. It is also very useful for other German cars like BMW and Audi etc from 96 model and above , then for below you could buy the New Mercedes Benz 38 Pin to 16 Pin OBD OBD2 Diagnostic Adapter Cable Connector and attached to it head to do the scanning as well.
Its about 47 dollars, shipment may cost you about 24k naira extra and the adapter for those who may need it for the older c class will cost about 11dollars

@au.hanson
Amzdeal MS 509 OBD2 EOBD Code Scanner
Reader Tool will do just fine. That's approximately N32, 000. I need one, will work towards aquiring it soon. Thanks.

Smartchoice, Gee2728, au.hanson,

Just as my earlier post, the 20litres of fuel just got below the reserve indicator and my trip counter reads exactly 85.0km.

What's ur take on that?

inze: Smartchoice, Gee2728, au.hanson,

Just as my earlier post, the 20litres of fuel just got below the reserve indicator and my trip counter reads exactly 85.0km.

What's ur take on that?

That's very poor.....20lit to do little over 50miles is not good at all. Like I said even my guzzler kompressor will easily beat that.

Gee2728:

That's very poor.....20lit to do little over 50miles is not good at all. Like I said even my guzzler kompressor will easily beat that.

Sadly enough,

Do you have any idea where i can do a scan on it? Its not obd2 acceptable i guess, since its a 95 and obd2 kicks from 96.

I wouldn't want to start gambling here and there with replacement parts

NB: The 85.0km statistics was with the A/C turned ON always, i don't drive without it.

sounds confusing...fill ur tank up to d brim.....drive 100km then re fill.

inze: Smartchoice, Gee2728, au.hanson,

Just as my earlier post, the 20litres of fuel just got below the reserve indicator and my trip counter reads exactly 85.0km.

What's ur take on that?

au.hanson:


The key you mentioned will probably require changing the entire kits alongside your ECU to match with the newly precoded one by your dealer, and will definitely cost you close to 200k.

Alternatively , of recent, i learnt there's a scanner that does the coding to align your spare key with the originally coded one if you may not wish to change the entire kits with its sensors and ECU. I'll find out for you, i think a friend did a spare key this way.. though the scanner on its own can cost over a couple of some hundreds of thousand.Why do you really want the spare key?



That's easy, you can order it through amazon, and it will get delivered to you between 2 to 5 working days by DHL.
But then, when you replace the camshaft did you scan your car to check for what usually kill the camshaft sensor?
Usually, if you have a problem and the scanner point to something , while replacing that component it's always wise to a rescan to know if there's any other thing behind that could keep spoiling that particular component.

There's this scenario of a friend whose c240 always embarrasses him on the road and will keep him stranded, He will need to call service centre , they will come with their train and carry the vehicle for fixing returning same to him at a cost close to 200k .This fateful day the ugly incidence repeated itself , he called them again, they told him same ..he was actually coming to meet me for a biz deal, so he called me and narated his ordeal and i told him to wait for me to meet up with him. I borrowed a friends scanner and met him right at the spot. we scan the car and discovered that it was just a 250 naira fuse that got bad. we left and bought the fuse and replace , the car started up again very normal but i wasn't satisfied. Out of curiosity i decided to scan the car again and this time it pointed at the ignition coil, though it never brought up any fault. I decided to go down all the way to check the ignition coil what i saw there was amazing , strange oily colouration . He confesses that when the mech guys were changing oil sometime ago , the oil accidentally spill over , he never knew it had gone that far.. causing him so much money as such. we call for the ignition coil at the after market and replace it for just 4k he couldn't believe his eyes. He beg me to mention my price but i decline , he had to finally forcefully refilled my tank and took me out for celebration, because he had just avoided spending one hundred and something thousand naira again. Finally i ordered for a scanner for him at amazon. Today he is the happiest guy with his benz, which was once a night mare to him. Infact he scan his car every weekend. He finally orederd for this scanner after one day when the car was kind of doing a jerking kind of movement and the mech guy told him that it was time to change his injector, he came to me again, on scanning, it was a camshaft sensor that was not socketed well during oil change(as this started after oil change , or probabbly could have been our bad state of the roads that shook it off it place. when that was snap in into position again, the jerking stop, since then the car has been very smooth

What i'm i trying to say? Always do a re scan , it cause no harm, Perhaps the hidden fault could show up itself and save you another nightmare, and make sure the camshaft sensor is well seated in place[i][/i]. Goodluck

thanks for the information. How do I make this order online.

smartchoice: sounds confusing...fill ur tank up to d brim.....drive 100km then re fill.

I'll give it a try.

inze:

Sadly enough,

Do you have any idea where i can do a scan on it? Its not obd2 acceptable i guess, since its a 95 and obd2 kicks from 96.

I wouldn't want to start gambling here and there with replacement parts

NB: The 85.0km statistics was with the A/C turned ON always, i don't drive without it.

I dont i think its poor considering your location, "Lagos",people hardly achieve more than that overthere, because of the almost dragging slow movement that barely lift you above 20km/h

I know people in free traffic city would always wonder why cars in densely traffic city consume so much.There are some axis here in PH that i avoid so much because i can barely achieve 160km on a 32 litre tank of fuel no matter how much i try.
I noticed these when i started observing my car in Calabar and uyo compare to PH. The feats i achieve in those cities can never be achieved here in PH. Infact during peak ours over here, i still achieve 13-16 mpg in few cases, a very sharp contrast with the 20- 27mpg i achieve most times in off peak period, so i time my movement. Of course i use ac 99.9% of the time, and ac is worst at peak period with these 4 cylinder engine, it gulp.

Once in a while, take your car out to less densely populated city, or try observing constantly during off peak period, i mean your mpg, you will notice what i have just told you

Then for the scanner i can get you that when you're ready.

chibabe3: thanks for the information. How do I make this order online.

under automotive parts and accessories,http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dautomotive&field-keywords=O2+sensors+for+Benz+c180+1999+model&rh=n%3A15684181%2Ck%3AO2+sensors+for+Benz+c180+1999+model. Use your Nigeria atm master card and place the order to ship to your address. Good luck

smartchoice: sounds confusing...fill ur tank up to d brim.....drive 100km then re fill.

@smartchoice and all.

Pardon my long-silence, i've been busy since 1st Nov.

Anyway, i had her filled-up and trip reset, and now its at half-tank and i have got 211km on it.

Whats ur verdict on it?

@au.hanson

How ready do i need be for the scanner, hook a brother up na?

Now re fill the tank again and tell us the number of liters that filled it.

inze:

@smartchoice and all.

Pardon my long-silence, i've been busy since 1st Nov.

Anyway, i had her filled-up and trip reset, and now its at half-tank and i have got 211km on it.

Whats ur verdict on it?

@au.hanson

How ready do i need be for the scanner, hook a brother up na?

smartchoice: Now re fill the tank again and tell us the number of liters that filled it.

Thanks

Would do that by morning, God willing.

okay

inze:

Thanks

Would do that by morning, God willing.

smartchoice: okay

Funny enough, i went for a refill at "the supposed" half-tank.

It took 49litres to fill it up.

Whats ur take on this?

NB: Full tank usually takes about 63litres or thereabout

interesting stats here...49l for 211km? Am sorry but my ancient w202 will have covered 490km! somtin is wrong

smartchoice: interesting stats here...49l for 211km? Am sorry but my ancient w202 will have covered 490km! somtin is wrong

i just had its trip reset, would do another check. This is because, as at the time i went for a refill, its tank was displaying half-tank prior to re-fill and went up to full tank after refill.