Mercedes Fault Codes

Mercedes Fault Codes Explained

With its efficient German craftmanship, Mercedes is among the luxury cars lusted over by many a car enthusiast. They are built to last, demonstrated by the vast amount of beautiful vintage Mercedes still on the road. But after many years on the road and many miles driven, it is common to run into issues down the line, but thanks to the onboard computer, these issues can be easier to diagnose and identify – meaning the problem can be fixed quickly and efficiently.

Mercedes Benz error codes start with a letter to identify the location of the issue, to explain – this means that P stands for a transmission issue, B represents a problem in the body of the car and C is an issue with the chassis. The letter is then followed by a four digit number which helps identify exactly where the issue is.

For example, a common issue Mercedes fault code is around engine misfire, the code can help us identify which cylinder this is occurring in – so the code P0301 represents a combustion-misfire in engine cylinder one and P0302 would mean the same for cylinder two and so on.

This issue is often caused by bad spark plugs, but engine misfire should always be treated as a priority as it can damage the catalytic converter if left unfixed.

What Do I Do With Mercedes Benz Engine Fault Codes?

If you have a scanner and decide to run a scan yourself to identify any issues with your Mercedes, the codes displayed can help identify the location and diagnosis of the issue – these codes can then be looked up online or within your car manual and help you understand what the problem is. Depending on the type of scanner you have, you may notice how efficient this may be.

Once you have identified any Mercedes fault codes, you’ll want to take action depending on what the code corresponds to. If it is a small issue, you may decide to fix it yourself or take it to your local garage to be fixed. However, as Mercedes Benz specialists, we would recommend that when taking your car to be serviced or repaired you should seek out Mercedes experts such as Power Developments to help find, diagnose and fix the problem identified by the fault code.

The issue is, that while you might be able to find out where and what the issue might be using the Mercedes fault codes list, it can’t give you a full diagnosis. So you might know there is an engine misfire in cylinder one, but this could occur for any number of reasons.

Many general garages that don’t specialise in Mercedes cars, will tend to rely on diagnosing the issue based on the code alone, then offer you a quote to replace the car part. However, you could replace the offending part and the fault code could still be present – so then you rely on diagnosing by process of elimination by replacing each of the parts until the problem is fixed. This can end up becoming costly and much more expensive than it should have been.

At Power Developments, as a Mercedes specialist in Essex, we will troubleshoot the problem manually, meaning we can identify the exact issue and replace or fix the part saving you time and money. We are familiar with many common Mercedes Benz error codes and have the knowledge and experience in fixing them. By fixing the issue early and efficiently, you can avoid repair costs escalating and protect your Mercedes from accumulating serious damage.

Mercedes Fault Codes List

To help with your diagnostic scan and identify any issues you are having with your Mercedes, we have compiled a list of common Mercedes error codes as well as some handy DIY fixes for small issues. However, we always recommend getting your car regularly serviced by a specialist garage to get problems identified and repaired so you can get back on the road.