First time driving w202 - gas pedal is strange.

[kbro3]

Hi guys,

Quick backstory: Wanted a w210 as my wife and I are expecting our first child and wanted something that can house a baby capsule comfortably (and was thinking of converting the w210 to a manual down the road). Decided to try a w202 because why not? Was positively amazed at how roomy w202s are inside - more room than the wife's Accord Euro. Baby capsule fits easily! I still can't believe how much usable space the car has inside. I'm impressed.

Now onto the strange bit - the accelerator pedal apart from being hinged in an uncommon way to the floor (and sitting pretty much straight flat) feels like it has absolutely no effect for the first 50% of it's travel. Like literally no effect, to the point I was scared to pull out onto the main road lol.

I should mention the car I drove probably has some mechanical issues which probably didn't help my experience (Accelerator to the floor from standstill the car really struggles, and produces some misfire-sounding pops, and eventually smooths out).

Question - is this typical, and does it take some getting used to? Or is it just something very wrong with the car I drove? My father in law owns a w203 and that feels completely normal and not like this.

[Tony From West Oz]

That is abnormal for a car in good condition - ANY CAR!
My W202 C250 Turbodiesel would take off fairly fast, until the turbo started working, and then it took off like a rocket! Petrol cars normally have a better acceleration from standing start than a Turbodiesel, but the turbo makes up for it over 10 km/h.
Easy to drive and smooth. Comfortable and a huge boot too.

[Ivanerrol]

What model and what year W202 do you have?

W202's normally start in first gear, unlike the W124's, W201's, W126's etc backwards.

If you have a W/S button beside the gear shifter make sure it's set to "S". "W" is winter and sets the transmission up to start off in second gear.

Normally even the C180 moves off relatively briskly. W202's are very pleasant to drive.
Clarkson on his initial road test back in 1993 stated it drove beautifully. Although the very first C180's were very slow 0 - 100.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPKycnRiyac

Your problems are a little hard to diagnose without more info.
Could be fuel pump or air leaks or ignition issues or even worse - the dreaded eco wiring issue - if your car falls into the year category.

Long accelerator pedal travel has always been a feature of Mercedes Benz. My sister in law always complains about it when driving one of my Benz's.

I set my C200 up with new suspension rubbers, fixed the ball joints and steering arm and then put on 16 inch wheels with 215/55 rubber. Drives like a steel ingot and very quiet.

W202's are well setup for interior space. The rear seats are set high, the doors open quite wide.
I could get my invalid mother easily into the front seat - the W210 was a little more difficult.

Far more room and far easier to get into than my W204.

[stefcep]

If its pre-1997 then it might be the wiring degrading. Personally i wouldn't even consider one of those unless I knew the wiring had been replaced. Buy 1997 and up IMO.

When I bought my 2000 W202 C200 Sport (which I sold 3 months ago and now really miss), the car did some strange things like you said. The dealer replaced the coils, the plugs and the MAF sensor.

Accelerator feel on these cars seems to vary depending on the car. My dad's 1996 was VERY stiff, and required too much force. My brothers 1998 C200 feels very soft, Japanese-car like, and the car literally lurches with the slightest of touches.

Mine was medium firm and a bit notchy. I think the cable and the linkages with age lose their lubrication. The other thing is there is a plastic hinge that holds the accelerator pedal together which in my car kept coming out, I replaced with a metal nut and bolt I had lying about.

[kbro3]

Thanks for the replies guys.

This was a car I was test driving, not my own car. It was the facelifted ('98+ ?) model. Everything I've read here makes sense, I have no experience with Mercedes, but based on experience with other cars, I'd almost say it feels like the MAF is broken/on the way out.

The gas pedal certainly feels weird to me, but I think I'll drive a couple of other w202s to get a feel.

Is the wiring harness problem as bad as the results from Google would have me believe? Definitely go for a later than '96 car? I'm still deciding on a direction to go, and still tossing up between w202 and w210. w202 really does have more room than I was expecting, even the boot is generous!

Cheers.

[Ivanerrol]

Post October '96 no eco wiring difficulties.

MAF always can be an issue. Get the codes read by a specialist. - Not a European Specialist - A Benz specialist with the correct diagnostic hardware.
MAF' failures can cause the transmission to go into limp home mode.
If you have a MAF problem you will need to buy the real McCoy Bosch unit($$$$). Knockoff MAF's are no good.

Later W202's didn't use a direct cable to the throttle body. Electric throttle unit between the accelerator pedal and the throttle body. These throttle control units play up. (Codes show up).

AS an aside.
The U.S. insisted on OBD for 1996. U.S. Benz's all conform to this. Ozzie models didn't conform to 2001.

[jt8d]

Hi,
Just inherited my Dads '98 C200 Elegance and it always had this issue. After removing the accelerator pedal assembly the reason was obviously the LOUSY design of the pivot point that essentially, after years of cycles, would result in considerable lost motion for the first inch or so of pedal movement.
There seems to have been recognition of this issue as a modified pivot point and pedal lever assembly are available as genuine replacements part nos. A1403000213 and A2023011920 respectively. A retaining clip may also be required to secure the modified pivot and pedal to each other. Am trying a modification to the existing arrangement and will see how that goes before going down the upgrade path if required.
If you get under the dash you can see how flimsy the original pivot point arrangement is, not unlike a garden hose adaptor, and over time it just collapses and causes lost motion in the pedal action.
Hope this helps

[stefcep]

Would be interested in seeing a photo of the area you're re talking about after you've modified it. I spent a lot of time lubricating the pedal, the cable and even used a nut and bolt. Still felt too firm

[kbro3]

Hi,
Just inherited my Dads '98 C200 Elegance and it always had this issue. After removing the accelerator pedal assembly the reason was obviously the LOUSY design of the pivot point that essentially, after years of cycles, would result in considerable lost motion for the first inch or so of pedal movement.
There seems to have been recognition of this issue as a modified pivot point and pedal lever assembly are available as genuine replacements part nos. A1403000213 and A2023011920 respectively. A retaining clip may also be required to secure the modified pivot and pedal to each other. Am trying a modification to the existing arrangement and will see how that goes before going down the upgrade path if required.
If you get under the dash you can see how flimsy the original pivot point arrangement is, not unlike a garden hose adaptor, and over time it just collapses and causes lost motion in the pedal action.
Hope this helps

Cheers jt8d,

Seems like this is an extremely common issue on w202s. I wonder how these would have been new, before the pivot point wore out. I did read that typically older Mercedes have a somewhat long accelerator travel. Though I only drove just the one car, so I probably need to drive a couple more for comparison.