[ultradfw]

Having an urgent problem, need your experience and expertise:

Using my 2017 Metris Worker Cargo w/ ~7000 miles as the support vehicle for a 7-day 400-mile solo ultramarathon run raising money for charity. Goes through mostly rural Iowa so if car dies it's a l-o-n-g wait for a tow in the middle of nowhere.

Run starts Sunday -- and today, I started the Metris after dinner w/ no problem -- and the engine died almost immediately.

It started again (and stayed on) w/ no problem -- but gave me a Check Engine Light warning.

Got the guys at Advance Auto to read the code which is P0627 - Fuel Pump "A" Control Circuit / Open. Of course now I'm thinking "Oh boy, fuel pump is failing."

Meanwhile, after a couple more normal engine stops/starts, the CEL has turned off.

I'm currently in Sioux City, IA -- nearest dealer is 85 miles away in South Dakota. No import repair shops open on Sat here in Sioux City that I can find.

I'm planning to call the dealer service folks in SD tomorrow when they open and I can drive up in a hurry.

But -- any feedback from anyone here? How likely is this to leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere, do you think?

Much appreciation for any suggestions!

 

[RobbMeeX]

I've never seen that code in a Metris or a C class. I can't say either way. W204's got an occasional fuel pump, but it never left you dead stranded.

 

[Greenmanedlion]

Mercedes generally are good at making it to the dealer under their own power. I wouldn’t worry about it much.

 

[Sadragna]

I had a smiler problem started the van one day last summer dash was all clear drove about 100 feet and it cut out started it back up and cel was on. I kept on with my van cut out 2 more times cel still on. Then I remember I put gas in so I check the fuel cap and it wasn’t on right. After putting it back on cel went away and van never cut out. I never had anyone read the code I don’t know if my problem will help you.

 

[JEH510]

I had the same situation with the same code in our 2016 Metris last summer. I started the vehicle and immediately shifted into reverse to back out of a parking space into a break in traffic on a busy street. It stalled right away, which it had never done before or since. The check engine light came on. I made a few stops on the way home. Arriving I put a code reader on it and found the same code. The light went out. I mentioned it to the Dealer, and I never had any further problem with that. Though our Metris has had other well documented electrical weirdness (see my introduction), they were unrelated to that event. We have put 5K on it since.

 

[flacaproductions]

Any update on this? I'm guessing loose fuel cap?

 

[gwiz]

I drive a 2016 passenger model and had the exact issue JEH510 had, where I stalled after pulling out of the driveway. CEL came on, and this after my 36,000 miles service. I spoke to the tech at my dealership and they had me check the fuel cap and start the car and let it run at idle for 10 minutes. Fuel cap was slightly askew, corrected that and ran the van. Problem seemed to fix itself.

 

[ultradfw]

Arrived back home today. Definitely wasn't fuel cap.

A local Graham Tires Goodyear store in Sioux City, IA leaped to our rescue at no charge (!). Thoroughly tested fuel pump and electrical, no problems at all, so we decided to roll the dice after talking through the detailed logistics with MB roadside assistance of towing us at 3 AM from the middle of Iowa cornfields (not kidding) if needed.

Long story short, we just finished the run with no problems whatsoever. The Metris was a CHAMP. Best possible vehicle for our purpose.

And my Type 1 diabetic husband -- at age 56 -- became the first ever solo finisher of the 339-mile RelayIowa course. Booyah!

Our best guess was that we might have inadvertently done a partial fillup with higher-ethanol unleaded -- in Iowa, it can be tough to find 100% 'real' gas.

So I was super-careful to use only non-ethanol fuel for the rest of the trip. We'll probably never know for sure what the real root cause was...

Thanks again for the ideas.

PS Did I mention the low tire pressure light came on at 4 AM on Day 1?

Yup.

Some trips are just like that.

 

[RobbMeeX]

Sounds like a software hiccup.

My wife is type 1.

 

[ultradfw]

Sounds like a software hiccup.

My wife is type 1.

Thx, RobbMeeX.

PS My husband sends a thumbs-up to your wife and says #t1dstrong #t1dtribe.

Me, I think the "T" in T1D must stand for "tough."