Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Doctor Gollum]

Well, the low speed fan kicks in on demand and runs when the relay is bypassed, so that's all dandy.

Nothing happens when you bypass the high speed fan at the engine fuse box, so I guess that's toast.

[Marks DTM Calib]

The early Chrysler engine is utter junk and drinks fuel so much, when a friend replaced his with a v8 Cayenne, he noticed no change in fuel bills.

Best avoided, the later French engine is better

[JasonH]

Well, the low speed fan kicks in on demand and runs when the relay is bypassed, so that's all dandy.

Nothing happens when you bypass the high speed fan at the engine fuse box, so I guess that's toast.

There is just one fan, low speed is achieved by using a huge resistor (which often burns out). If the low speed works then high should unless you have a wiring problem.

There's a hidden menu (like on BMW's) accessed via the odometer trip reset. Item 7 is the coolant temp in C. The low speed fan cuts in at 105C and brings the temp down. Only if you are really working the engine hard will you hit the 111C needed for the high speed fan.

In normal driving the fan often doesn't even come on at all, only when sitting in traffic.

If you use the hidden menu and you're not getting above 100C then there's a leak in the cooling system that's losing pressure, what happens then is the coolant boils and boils out of the reservoir. First thing to do here is replace the coolant pressure cap for about £13.

[Doctor Gollum]

The early Chrysler engine is utter junk and drinks fuel so much, when a friend replaced his with a v8 Cayenne, he noticed no change in fuel bills.

Best avoided, the later French engine is better

I'll bear that in mind if I buy another, but this one seems to be around 40mpg on my commute... Which is about 21mpg better than the S Class. Although I did know that when I bought it, so that's not a slur on the Merc.

[TheBoy]

Obviously round these parts they are common, probably because all used car places are full of them, given the proximity to Oxford, and the number of employees buying them as 2nd cars on the factory schemes.

They seem to suffer quite badly from niggly engine faults that can get expensive to fix - on the later ones, the EML often signifies a very expensive engine rebuild - gearbox failures on early ones, and power steering problems across the board.  In fact I know of several people who bought brand new ones and due to issues, were given another brand new one several months later due to constant recurring issues with the steering.

Corrosion is high on older ones, though suspect more due to lack of owner care rather than the car.

[TheBoy]

Should add, quite fun to drive.  Although the seats are incompatible with my poor back.

[JasonH]

They're definitely not suitable for most people - you have to be able to fix cars yourself. Parts are plentiful and cheap, working on them is pretty decent. If someone else is fixing it the labour will add up and in no time be more than the value of the vehicle. They're a bit like a little tiny Omega!

[countrywoman]

Had a few with the French engine fail emissions due to burning oil