Hi All,
I'm interested in purchasing a Crossfire Coupe and rented one ('04) for the weekend to really get a feel for it. I had a few questions I was hoping could be answered (keep in mind, this was a renter so probably taken more abuse than intended - just wondering if these issues were common or just for this car).
1. Power Steering - the power steering was virtually non-existent when the car wasn't moving. Meaning parallel parking and 3 point turns were difficult? Does this occur in all Xfires?
2. At times, when I pressed the gas hard the RPM's would jump up, but wouldn't pick up any speed, and then the car would have a very, very rough idle. I would have to stop, turn off the car, and then back on again - then everything was fine! I'm assuming this doesn't happen for all cars.
3. There is a little black "dial" by the manual shifter - what's that for?
4. When at the gas pump (and I tried various gas stations), the pump nozzle kept "stopping" and wouldn't pump the gas. Only if I applied the slightest pressure to the nozzle, did the gas go in. It literally took 10 min to fill the tank. The rental agency told me about this, but again, I'm hoping it's not a common problem.

That's all for now. Thx for the feedback.

 

To answer your questions no, these are not typical issues. The car you had rented has evidently been very badly abused. The power steering does not have any problem when the cars are stopped. They usually purr at an idle, and the dial you spoke of adjusts the mirrors. Unfortunately the gas tank is a known problem that several of this forums members have had problems with. It is covered under warranty and the replace your entire gas tank.

 

Buy It!!! Yes I Am Shouting!!!

 

Little black dial? You mean the exterior mirror adjustor?

The other items you've listed certainly isn't normal and I have an '04.

 

Answer to your items: One very abused rental car.

The problems you saw are not the usual experience of the XFire owners.

I would not hesitate to buy one.

 

#4 - I had the same problem and my gas tank was replaced. Good news: when researching the problem I read half a dozen Mercedes forums and only found two references to this problem. Looks like this is really an insignificant issue. Bad news: the replacement tank had the same problem and had to be replaced also.

I wouldn't worry about this. The reported number of incidents are far less than the reported heated seat failures, tranny o-ring leaks, or differential whines. And what are the odds of having two bad tanks in a row? Then again, my problem tanks show that anything is possible.

 

I have an '04 with none of the listed problems.
The biggest problem I have had is dealing with the dealer and my heated seats.
Oh and in '04 there was one trim level.
If you look at an '05 or later and want all the features the '04 had be sure to look at the limited model.
'05 and later also offered a base with less stuff.