29th Jul 2007, 09:16

Your problem might be air mass meter or angle sensor, or a bad sensor wire, take a look in all connectors and see.

I have a E200 1996 which use almost same engine as yours...

7th Aug 2007, 15:19

Thanks. I have suspected the Mass Flow meter, but it's so expensive to replace I've delayed it until it gets really bad.

8th Aug 2007, 01:31

Please proceed with caution. This model was popular and the customer service rating for that model was low. Nothing on this car is inexpensive; however if you live in California (Car Culture Capital) these car parts are constantly being recycled from owners who don't care to fix the problem. Parts are everywhere. Shop around.

13th Aug 2007, 12:40

There is a web site here in Canada that has prices that are hard to beat. (No I'm not on commission!) autopartsway.com

2nd Sep 2007, 12:12

Just replaced the Mass Air Flow Sensor since it had jerky shift problems and idling was poor. Seem to be much better now although I'm not 100% sure that was the problem, since it comes and goes now. Once again bought the part for only $215 from Autopartsway. Stealership wanted $375, for the same Bosch part. Also replaced the differential oil with synthetic. Noticed a few drops on driveway, nothing major but will wait and see how long before I'm forced to change the seals ($525) Still love the car, but not so much now.....I would sell it tomorrow if I could get what I paid for it.($9000)

16th Feb 2008, 12:41

Well it's nearly a year now and I still love it although it's starting to rust a little around the doors. No mechanical problems and it starts without any problems in -30C without plugging in. Looking around for a new car now, but this car has spoilt me since it's so well made and nice inside! I've even got used to the RWD winter driving, but winter tires are a MUST. That's all for now...

27th Jun 2008, 13:22

Finally traded it in for a new Hyundai Elantra. The transmission was not always smoothly changing down to 1st gear for some reason. There would be a scary thud which felt like a loss of power. It would be fine but I couldn't risk having to replace it. That and the price of Premium gas finally swayed me into parting with it. Will always be one of the best cars I've ever owned though...

19th Apr 2014, 23:36

Erratic gear changing down to 1 could be as a result of a bad MAF sensor. I had a similar issue when I performed kickdown maneuvers; changing my MAF sensor cleared off the issue.