Mercedes-Benz A-Class Problems

I’m not aware of a recall or class action over this problem, but it would definitely be worth talking to Mercedes-Benz’s Australian customer service department to see if there’s any help on offer. Provided the car has a complete service history, you might get a sympathetic ear, but, that said, don’t count on it.

The counter-argument you’ll likely be met with is that you should have been paying attention to the car’s temperature gauge and stopped the engine when it began to overheat. "That’s why cars have temperature gauges", will probably be the response at dealership level, but go straight over the dealer’s head and talk to head office.

This model A200 uses a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which is more or less a manual transmission with a robot to operate the clutch and gearshift for you. So, if it feels like a manual, that’s kind of because it is.

However, the transmission should never jump, jerk or thump into gears. If it does, that suggests there’s some problem within the gearbox, possibly worn clutch-packs which, like those of any manual transmission, can wear prematurely if the car has been abused or treated to patchy maintenance. A Mercedes-Benz dealer should be able to run an electronic check on the transmission to see if there’s any evidence of wear or damage.

At this stage, the smallest Mercedes-Benz EV is the EQA. Although there’s a Smart EV in other parts of the world, there are no plans to introduce it here. The decision not to make an A-Class hatchback EV is in line with the rest of the world’s car-makers who are ditching conventional hatchback and sedan designs in favour of the all-conquering SUV packaging.

However, while the EQA is physically larger than your current A250, it’s probably not by as much as you might imagine. In overall length terms, the EQA is about three centimetres longer and about five centimetres wider. The big difference is that the new car is a lot taller; about 19 centimetres higher, in fact. But even then, the EQA is still a pretty compact car, and if your garage won’t accommodate those dimensions, I’m wondering how it was ever council-approved as a parking space within a building.

As for your other requirements, the EQA has a theoretical range of up to 400km and can be fast-charged. As for more charging points in public areas on highways, I’m afraid that’s one you need to talk to your local government member about, not Mercedes-Benz.

Home servicing is a great way to learn about your car and get a better idea of what makes it tick. It also means you might even become a more `mechanically sympathetic’ driver and be kinder to the car in a long-term sense.

The service booklet in the car’s glove-box will tell you a lot about what you need to know when it comes to what’s required for a service. But remember that not all services are the same: Some are minor services and some are major. Others require one-off actions such as changing a timing belt or checking the tension of a timing chain, but you can’t afford to ignore any of these things. Other things required by the factory service schedule include checking the thickness of brake material, changing fluid beyond just the oil and plenty of other tasks that might not occur to you naturally. Most of these tasks are either time or distance-covered dependent (sometimes both).

The bottom line is that you really need to be on top of these tasks and know how to do them before you rip the car apart in the driveway one Saturday and then discover you don’t know how it all goes back together. Home maintenance extends way beyond just oil changing, particularly on a modern design such as the Mercedes A-Class. Modern cars are very complex devices and keeping them running sweetly and safely is often the work of a specialist. That said, I’m loathe to try to dissuade you from tackling a job that can be very satisfying and could save you money in the process.

A lot of TAFE colleges once offered car-maintenance courses for the home mechanic, but sadly, many of these seem to have disappeared due to budget cuts across the education system. It would still be worth talking to your local TAFE, though, to see if there’s a short course that might help you out.

A broken valve spring is not something that would be caused by the fuel. Most likely the spring was faulty, perhaps there was in inclusion in the material it was made from, or there could have been some other manufacturing problem. Use either 95 or 98-octane fuel.

Take it to an auto electrician who should be able to test it and tell you if it is malfunctioning.

Your first port of call should be to Mercedes to register a claim for updating your car. It would help if you had the promise in writing, otherwise who is to say who said and promised what. If you feel strongly about it perhaps you could get other affected owners together and contact Mercedes as a group.

There could be any numbers of reasons for it cutting out, but there are two fundamental things that are needed for an engine to run, fuel and spark. You should check the ignition system, coil, plugs and leads, and also check the fuel supply, pump, filter and injectors.