Good evening all.
I will do my best to keep a long story short. Grab yourself a cuppa and settle down... I know it may seem I have registered to ask for help, which I have but, there is a story that goes with this plea for help.
The background: My father was a Mercedes S Class purist until, he test drove a 2002 LS430. He fell in love and ended up buying one from eBay (He literally has no clue how eBay works and did not eve tell anyone!) and the seller, a shady private dealer offered to deliver it. My father was at home the car arrived from the midlands (100 miles away) and being him, he invited the chap in as most elderly do being super polite, he paid the man, fed and watered him, and then got him a taxi to the local train station. During this socialising time, he completely ignored to even look at the car (the most trusting man alive), assuming it was an eBay purchase so it would be fine and the seller seemed genuine. It turned out to be a dog with 1 months MOT, 3 bald tyres, paint stripper damage on 40% of the car and running like a pig. He managed to get a feeble amount of money back (I think it was for a new MOT) and that was that.
The car sat there for a couple weeks un touched until he found another but this time a 2004 face lift LS430. This time he called me first, woohoo! We agreed with a local dealer to take a look at this car and to be honest, he was a pretty nice guy. After hearing the story, he offered to take the 02' car in PX as he was able to paint and did in house mechanical work. For what he gave us for it in PX, both parties were happy and my father got to drive his dream machine! I will not forget seeing his face driving home and having a race from the traffic lights with me! What a hilarious sight.
My father has enjoyed this car since summer 2014 until July 2018. In that time, we fitted 4 tyres, new discs and pads all round, rear hubs / bearings (one was a bit noisy so we did both) and he had the exhaust repaired last winter with a new lambda sensor, so overall nothing major or costly and just maintenance. A happy experience and it was surprising he had kept the car for this long, but he could not find a fault with it so no reason to change.
Now moving forward to this July, we spent the day together at my house discussing my new porch (He is a retired builder), we had a great day but it was coming to an end so he decided not to stay over so he set off on his drive back home. He called me once he had settle at home to have our usual conversations, which included how smooth his car was on his motorway journey and why I should also get a LS430 (I drive a W211 E55 AMG, if you care to know).
This is where it goes wrong. The next day, I called him but did not get an answer. Very unusual. I thought he might have slept in but my brother had a day off and was going to head over to see him anyway and have a catch up. When he arrived, he found him collapsed on the floor, typically with his car keys in hand. When I got the call, I was in shock but headed over immediately. The paramedics had already arrived by the time I had reached him and they told us he had suffered a severe stroke. He was rushed to the hospital where he received treatment but unfortunately had lost all mobility, some cognitive function and poor speech. Around 90% loss. He spent over 5 months in hospital and during this period, I went to see him every day and checked on his house every other day. It was tiring to say the least.
Now here are some interesting parts during his recovery and when he managed to recoup 70% of his speech. We spoke about his health and future (which he hated) but it always ended up about his car past and how his LS430 is the best car he has owned. He was more distressed about not being able to drive than even eating! It explains why I was raised as a petrol head! LOL. He would ask me to take his car for a run every few weeks, something I was not able too due to not being able to find his key which, we later found it in his hospital bag from when he was admitted.
So finally: why I need your help! I had the key in hand, the car unlocked, I sat inside and turned the ignition................ the dash lit up but................ nothing happened. Damn! A new battery later, she fired into life and ran so smoothly. I got it on level ground and checked the vital fluids, all was perfect. After the tyres were checked, I set off back to my home so I could give it a clean and once over. When I arrived, I noticed some lights were on the dash: VSC and ABS with a check VSC on the cluster with a AFS coming on intermittantly. I have done around 150 miles it with fresh tank of 99 ron fuel from a low fuel light
After a good clean, I took it to my VW specialist for a scan/reset and got the following codes:
C0200
C1201
C1223
C1235
B2799
C1776
C1752
Now my father is back home, 5 1/2 months since his stroke and sadly will not be able to drive anytime soon, if ever. I know how much he loves his car but being the most selfless person I know, he has told me several times to keep It for myself or just px for my wife’s next car. I can not bring myself to do either. I know how much he enjoys his car so, could anyone please point me in any direction in what could be the cause or where to start looking? Google brings up mixed reviews and my local garage said nothing looks faulty on the wiring or abs sensors, and that they could try and swap parts out but were honestly not sure. I am able to repair and test things myself but just do not know where to start looking.
Thank you for reading and any input would be greatly appreciated
Vick
