I just purchased an 05 crossfire limited. Car has 76K miles.

I'm noticing that the car hesitates for a slight second when shifting into gears (2nd-3rd -4th etc). In addition, the car is starting to vibrate when idling. I assume the car needs new wires and spark plugs but I'm not certain thats the reason for the slight hesitation between the gears. The check engine light isn't on & from what I know, the transmission leak was previously fixed by the dealer (years ago). I don't know if the transmission is low on fluid. How do you check it?. . . . and if so what fluid do I use and how do I refill it.

I live in Orange County, California. I would appreciate the help and guidance for which I am new to german cars and I'm only 20 years young.

Thank you in advance,

John M.

 

Welcome to the club, purchasing a car like this is probably a better idea for someone that is more experienced in mechanics (no offence)
but fear not! This forum is full of people with a great knowledge base.

Last I checked the spark plugs are good for 100K miles. Transmission fluid could be gunked up need to be replaced. We need more info on your vehicle.
Auto or Manual?
As far as the vibration during idle I had the same issue in my '05 limited 6 speed which also caused the rpm's to spike between shifting and whenever the car went into neutral the rpm's would spike for a second then go to normal idle.

I inspected under the hood with the intake cover still on and I could hear some hissing. turned out the hose from the throttle body to one of the valve covers was worn out and had cracks in it. I went to Autozone and spent $2 for a foot of hose and haven't had the issue again.

I would send pictures if you still had trouble but my car is on a boat to come join me here in Guam.

Good Luck!

 

If it's a manual I would suggest 5hour energy..

And vibrate when idleing makes me think of the CPS since your @ 75k.. Think that is about when mine went out. Click the link in my signature for more information. It wouldn't hurt to get one from Ebay (BOSCH) and get the tools to replace, even just to have handy.

 

MB auto transmission problems and maintenance thoroughly explained. Mercedes Benz Transmission Service in MA Randolph South Shore Cape Duxbury Metro Boston

 

Good post. I found this when I was figgering out my trans. issues.

 

This^ , there's also a thread on here showing how to install , doesn't look to difficult even for a beginner
Thanks for the reminder , I'm at 83k and i still need to buy one

As for my rough idle when I first got mine I found out that using anything less than 91 will result in knocking and slight vibrations , the downside is when my dad paid for the first fill up with 89 I got great gas mileage , since then I use 91 and mpg's are not as good but i feel faster Lol

 

The C in CPS....Crankshaft, or Camshaft?

 

Crankshaft - it's the most common of the two for failure.

 

I had the slight hesitation (maybe a good 3 sec delay) since I bought the car 4 years ago. This past summer I took advantage of the Eurotune sale and the
car's shifting is nice and quick and crisp.

 

Thank you guys for your input.

So basically my idle problem will most likely be the CPS and not the spark plug wires? How about the transmission hesitating between gears? Should I just replace the fluid and see if that fixes the problem.

 

In addition, here is some info on my car.

- The car is Automatic.
-It has never turned off on me, and it always fires right up. The only issues I face is that it sometimes vibrates a little bit when I come to a red light or at idle (very slight vibrate though, but I can still notice it)
- Additionally, like previously stated, the car hesitates for a millisecond when shifting between gears. It's not that noticeable but it bugs the hell out of me. You can feel the hesitation more when the car shifts at higher RPM's (3,000+ or soo)

I don't know if I should change the spark plug wires to fix the idle problem or the CPS?? & as far as the transmission problem (should a fluid replacement fix the problem)

thanks in advance,

john m.

 

CPS is cheaper than the twelve plugs and knuckles.. LOL. And might very well save you from a roadside thumb out to the parts store.. plugs aren't going to leave you stranded in a parking lot..

 

I personally do not think that the CPS is the problem, if it was I would expect more stalling episodes and a longer time to start the car sometimes. A sudden total failure to start can also be expected.
Vacuum leaks would be my first guess, or less likely a faulty plug or cable. If the engine cover is not firmly seated on the MAF housing it has caused idle problems I have read, although mine was not seated when I first got my car and it ran just fine.

Low oil in the transmission would cause some hesitation, the severity of the hesitation dependent on the oil level. Problems with the valve or electrical plates in the transmission could also be suspected.

 

Alright guys. Here is an update.

- I took my car to a shop and they replaced the transmission fluid as well as the transmission filter. The slight hesitation still exist.
My car is still vibrating at idle and I noticed that i'm getting bad mpg. I have been reading several of threads to see if others have fixed similar problems. Everyone seems to be replacing the sensors and making sure there is no leaks in there hoses. In addition, no one seems to have replaced their spark plugs and coils because it is expensive.
-I'm going to replace both the spark plugs and the coils to see if this fixes my idle problem and the slight hesitation between gears. The reason I'm doing this is because my car has 78K miles (close to 100K) and I keep hearing that coils on MB motors are a common malfunction. So well see what happens.

 

I had stated earlier that I did the Eurotune and it seemed to help. Before the Eurotune I had the fluids replaced because of the common plug leaking issue. Could be a software issue???

 

Why not take the plugs out, clean them, check the gap then make sure the wires are seated well before going to any expense? The plugs and wires aren't cheap and the coils less so. While your at it, like has been suggested, check and recheck the hoses.

 

Orange county is nearly 950 square miles! But I lived in Cypress til I was 20.

Are there any OBD codes?

 

Update:

I replaced my spark plugs and coil wires and the car runs a lot better. The car doesn't have a rough idle anymore. In addition, the car pulls so much better, feels healthy.

-I replaced everything myself and I must say getting the coil wires to sit in properly was a *****. In all, the car feels a lot better. It's more responsive, picks up faster and the transmission doesn't hesitate as much.

 

Make sure the transmission fluid is at correct level. If it is low the car usually shifts roughly in 1st or 2nd and even in autostick mode. Our cars have no transmission dipstick and require the Mercedes transmisiion fluid, about $25 a quart. Missed post where you had it replaced