Choosing a good option in the secondary market is not so easy. Especially when it comes to the Mercedes-Benz C-class.
The main difficulty is to deal with car engines. About a dozen of them were installed on cars from 2007-2015. Alexei Strelnikov, an expert at Za Rulem, the oldest and most authoritative automotive publication in Russia, gave readers some valuable tips.
Motor line C-class extensive. But in most cases, versions with four gasoline engines with a volume of 1.8 liters of the M271 series (156-204 hp) are presented on the secondary market.
The second most popular is the 1.6 engine (156 hp) of the M271 and M274 series.
Since 2007 these engines are equipped with a propulsion compressor, and since 2009 it has been replaced by a turbocharger. Unfortunately, it is these popular versions of Mercedes that are best avoided.
Weak point of engines M271 – timing drive with a single-row chain, which can withstand about 80 thousand km. An unreliable tensioner can even cause the chain to fly off and the valves to hit the pistons. There are also leaks in the oil filter and the heat exchanger. After 150 thousand, the elements of the crankcase ventilation system may collapse. And the pipes of the cooling system begin to collapse after 200 thousand km. But superchargers and turbochargers run at least 200 thousand km.
Engine M274 – This is a lightweight and improved M271 engine. The resource according to documents is less by 50 thousand km (250 thousand km). But the timing chain is 20 percent more reliable and will last about 100-120 thousand km. But there were problems with the clutches for changing the valve timing (they may not reach the mileage of 100 thousand km). They should be replaced with improved ones. The electric pump of the cooling system turned out to be not the most reliable node, struggling with overheating. The control valve in the lubrication system also fails – after a trip of 100 thousand km, and this threatens to jam the cylinders.
Read about other engines and the reliability of other components and assemblies of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class W204 and S204 in the March issue of the magazine “Behind the wheel” – already on sale.
The material was prepared on the basis of Alexei Strelnikov’s article “Is it still reliable?”, published in the magazine “Za Rulem” No. 3/2023.