2012 Merc C220 CDI strange problem - transmission related?

JPS23

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Hi guys

Sorry to sign up and go straight into posting a thread but I am doing this on behalf of my dad who really need a bit of help with his Merc and this place seems to have a vast wealth of knowledge.

He has a 2012 C220 CDI on 60,000 miles which he has only owned for 6 months and I believe the gearbox is the 7G-tronic? Would be grateful if someone could confirm this. Although on my car app it states the car has 6 gears?

His C220 CDI has been making a strange judder/stutter sound from under the car that you can feel through the car when slowing down to a very slow speed and coming to a stop, down at about 5mph just before it stops. It feels like it would make sense if it's the gearbox going down a gear and that's what you can feel, as it does feel mechanical. He also noticed a burning smell coming from the back of the car after a 50 mile drive last week. I've been in the car and experienced the judder and it is unusual. It's always when slowing down. I asked him is it only when he brakes and he said it's not just when he's on the brakes although I feel like I want to drive it myself to check this out but have not had a chance yet.

Gear changes from 1st to 2nd have been a little slow, especially in the cold but I know this is a normal characteristic of the box.

He had the car's suspension checked over a few weeks ago and all was ok with that.

My initial thoughts after going through everything was it's something to do with the transmission fluid and sure enough after some Googling I read how important it is to get the gearbox oil changed / serviced on these gearboxes. We have no idea if it had ever been done before, so he booked it in to have it done today. The mechanic said the oil that came out was in decent condition with no metal shavings or anything, so that's good.

He also plugged it into diagnostics and it has the dreaded error code 2783 which I now know means there is something up with the torque converter and again I know this is a very common problem with these gearboxes.

My dad drove it away and went for a short drive and he was gutted to find the juddering was still there when coming to a stop - in fact he said it felt even worse :(

My dad told me a few weeks ago, when it snowed really badly, as he was coming down a street on a fair decline that he knows well, the car went a little crazy and started slipping loads and the ABS went mad - he said it caught him totally off guard and really scared him, as he was going extremely slowly down there and is a very experienced driver and never had anything like that before (he had a C220 coupe before this car). I have now just though.....if the TC was faulty, could it cause something like this? Not knowing exactly how to send the right amount of torque/power to the wheels in unusual conditions? I might be totally wrong with that, but it went through my head.

So that is everything that has happened the last few weeks and this is where we are at now. He is worried about driving the car - the fact we have seen error code 2783 - can that code come up as a one off when it has a wobble? Or once it's shown up does it automatically mean there is a serious problem?

Thank you for reading all of that and thanks in advance for any responses :)
 
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Blobcat

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Hello and welcome,

Gearbox is 7G (1,2,3,4,5,6,D)

I’d find a Mercedes Independent Specialist - (not a general garage) and get them to take a look.
 

Mark777

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Hi, I'm experiencing I very similar problem with my 2012 C220 cdi, what was the outcome with your Dad's car? Thanks Mark
 

rifiki

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As with Blobcat, get the codes read using MB STAR diagnostic before throwing £££ at it.
Oil service may fix problem, should be changed every 40K miles.
 
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JPS23

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Hi, I'm experiencing I very similar problem with my 2012 C220 cdi, what was the outcome with your Dad's car? Thanks Mark
Hi Mark.

Sorry to hear that. The gearbox oil change seems to have done the trick for my Dad. Car is driving very nicely now but does not guarantee something will come back in the future, if there is something wrong with the torque converter. Definitely best to take it to a Merc independent garage to see what they think.

Yep, get the codes checked to see if the car is telling you what is up with it before doing anything else. Good luck!
 

Mark777

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That's good to hear
Took mine into local independent Merc garage yesterday,leaving it with them to check over so fingers crossed
 
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JPS23

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That's good to hear
Took mine into local independent Merc garage yesterday,leaving it with them to check over so fingers crossed
Fingers crossed for you! How many miles is your Merc on? Do you know if the gearbox oil has ever been changed before?
 

Mark777

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It has 110k on it, I bought it just over 3 years ago with 80k and supposedly FSH, but when I've looked through all the A&B services I can't see anything relating to a transmission service....
 

Larkone

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It has 110k on it, I bought it just over 3 years ago with 80k and supposedly FSH, but when I've looked through all the A&B services I can't see anything relating to a transmission service....
Rules are:
If it hasn't been done - do it.
If your not sure if its been done - do it.

The cost of a transmission oil change is a lot less than than gearbox rebuild and transmission oil wears out. If yours has never been done then at a 110K it will be as thin as water and black.
 
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JPS23

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It has 110k on it, I bought it just over 3 years ago with 80k and supposedly FSH, but when I've looked through all the A&B services I can't see anything relating to a transmission service....
How did you get on?
 

Gazwould

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It's so disappointing when you get the wrong information by seasoned forum members .

It's a 7G+ with 7 gears , ATF interval is 5 years / 77,500 miles
 

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