Fire from gearbox on C63AMG

poacher3536

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Good evening all.

This is my first post and hoping for some idea into whats happened.

I have a C63 AMG PP+, the car is only 2 and a half years old. Everything has been fine until i drove it away from being serviced at the dealer. Afew miles down the road, lots of white smoke comes from underneath the car so i drove it back to the dealer for them to fix it.

I was told during the service they changed a transmission seal which has not sealed very well, they changed the seal again and told me it was all good.

2 days later, while driving same things happens again!! white smoke everywhere so i limp to the dealer who agrees its the seal again so not only change the seal on the gearbox but also the pan. I was assured it was fixed.

Afew days later, driving on the A1 at night, it happens again!! I pull into the services but this time it starts burning. The fire is clearly coming from the gearbox and although i attempt to put it out its not working so i call the fire brigade who put the fire out.

The fire did spread into the cabin, and has burnt out the centre controls, gearstick, all the airbags have gone off and all the electrics are burnt out, water and smoke damage etc etc. The list of damage is so long. I'm only guessing, but i reckon the fluid/oil was leaking onto something hot which must of set it alight??

To be fair to Mercedes, they have been really good, given me a car to drive around in until they finish they investigations. As the car is under warrenty i'm hoping it will prove in my favour as i dont want to claim on my insurance if i can help it.

Has anyone else suffered with this type of leaks? has anyone got any tips or advice?

Thanks in advance.
 

Naraic

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I think atf will burn if it overflows on to a hot exhaust.
 
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poacher3536

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Thats my gut feeling, although i don't have much technical knowledge!
 

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Hello and welcome,,how can you be so calm. This very poor work to say the least and I cannot recall another doing this, and all cars share the same gearboxes. Yes the fluid has caught fire as you know, the worst is getting the car back to normal, that is if ever it will be possible to. the smell could in the car for a year or more, and the problem is will it ever be the same.

This is nothing to do really with your insurance company and all down to the dealer that did the work, 3 attempts to get it Ok and still wrong, just not good.

This is a first on here :(:(
 

Naraic

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I doubt he's calm Malc...but had time to calm down a bit. I can't imagine the shock of seeing your pride and joy go up in smoke!!

I've seen this smoke before (Volvo 245 in the 70s) and was fearful of a fire. In that case it was fluid escaping on to the exhaust.
 
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poacher3536

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Hello and welcome,,how can you be so calm. This very poor work to say the least and I cannot recall another doing this, and all cars share the same gearboxes. Yes the fluid has caught fire as you know, the worst is getting the car back to normal, that is if ever it will be possible to. the smell could in the car for a year or more, and the problem is will it ever be the same.

This is nothing to do really with your insurance company and all down to the dealer that did the work, 3 attempts to get it Ok and still wrong, just not good.

This is a first on here :(:(

Hey.

Thankyou, to be honest i'm so angry but being angry won't solve the issue, the dealership are on side and doing everything they can.

The car is to badly damaged to be repaired! and even if they could repair it surely with that ammount of damage the car would be really hard to sell?
 

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Hey.

Thankyou, to be honest i'm so angry but being angry won't solve the issue, the dealership are on side and doing everything they can.

The car is to badly damaged to be repaired! and even if they could repair it surely with that ammount of damage the car would be really hard to sell?

I did not want to say it before, but we have a general consensus that if you car catches fire it is better to let it burn for as you say it will never be the same, you can never lose the smell.

I dont know what box you have in that car as the 7g was not fitted to all the higher powered cars, and it could be the 722.6 box.

OK we all know on here that the pilot bush can leak, but that is not under any real pressure, and just splash, so the points under pressure are the connections to the transmission cooler in the rad. the sump is not únder any pressure at all. Oil leaking from a non pressured point would just run under the car. leaks from the cooler pipes could spray out any where, and you have the twin exhaust, one each side..

Any good company should be insured for this, so do not let MB go near your insurance.

Was it MB Brentford or Mayfair
 
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poacher3536

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Hello and welcome,,how can you be so calm. This very poor work to say the least and I cannot recall another doing this, and all cars share the same gearboxes. Yes the fluid has caught fire as you know, the worst is getting the car back to normal, that is if ever it will be possible to. the smell could in the car for a year or more, and the problem is will it ever be the same.

This is nothing to do really with your insurance company and all down to the dealer that did the work, 3 attempts to get it Ok and still wrong, just not good.

This is a first on here :(:(

Hey.

Thankyou, to be honest i'm so angry but being angry won't solve the issue, the dealership are on side and doing everything they can.

The car is to badly damaged to be repaired! and even if they could repair it surely with that ammount of damage the car would be really hard to sell?
 

walkenblue

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You backed it ! Leave it with them ! Their fault !....Hope they don't come up with a goodwill gesture towards cost of another car.Would'nt be surprised.
 
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aquanaut

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Welcome. Blimey, really sorry to read your post. I hope everyhing gets sorted asap. Please Let us know how merc and dealer resolve this, thanks.
 

BAZZER1

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This is a Disaster, I do hope you get this sorted, do you think this could be a fault of the MB Dealer and if so, I hope you get them to reimburse you to the full amount or replace your car if down to faulty workmanship on their part.
Welcome to the Forum, I am sure a lot of Members will be interested in the outcome of this.
Best regards
BAZZER1
 
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poacher3536

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I did not want to say it before, but we have a general consensus that if you car catches fire it is better to let it burn for as you say it will never be the same, you can never lose the smell.

I dont know what box you have in that car as the 7g was not fitted to all the higher powered cars, and it could be the 722.6 box.

OK we all know on here that the pilot bush can leak, but that is not under any real pressure, and just splash, so the points under pressure are the connections to the transmission cooler in the rad. the sump is not únder any pressure at all. Oil leaking from a non pressured point would just run under the car. leaks from the cooler pipes could spray out any where, and you have the twin exhaust, one each side..

Any good company should be insured for this, so do not let MB go near your insurance.

Was it MB Brentford or Mayfair

I think it has the AMG speedshift gearbox but i could be wrong! Mercedes have said everytime i took the car back that it was the seal on the gearbox that was leaking. It makes me think they could have a batch of unserviceable seals?

Even though i have let my insurance company know, I don't intend to claim on my insurance. They have even told me to claim against Merc. The car is currently in a recovery compound awaiting Mercedes to pick it up and investigate it.

So far Mercedes have been really good, but i was thinking of paying for an independant engineer to also inspect the car but i'm not sure if thats a good idea or not??

Everyone has been really helpful so thankyou. I will keep everyone posted and i will upload some pics later of the car
 
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poacher3536

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This is a Disaster, I do hope you get this sorted, do you think this could be a fault of the MB Dealer and if so, I hope you get them to reimburse you to the full amount or replace your car if down to faulty workmanship on their part.
Welcome to the Forum, I am sure a lot of Members will be interested in the outcome of this.
Best regards
BAZZER1

I honestly think it's the fault of Mercedes, not sure if its the actual dealer or not as if they have used the correct parts, the right procedures etc then perhaps it's the parts at fault, either way someone, somewhere from Mercedes has to be accountable.

I want a new car!! i doubt very much they could repair it and as i have already said i would never want that one back. I currently have a nice C-Class 220 CD1 as a loan car which is really nice, it makes a nice change to get over 40MPG, although i'm missing the noise of my AMG haha.
 
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poacher3536

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Here are some pictures of my baby:

Damage list so far:

All windows smashed
Gearbox burnt
Fire damage to engine bay
Centre console burnt
All wiring/electrical looms burnt
Airbags deployed
Bonnett damaged
Smoke damage
The car is flooded with water and foam
 

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mika63

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Hi poacher

the problem according to your notes indicates its a gearbox seal failure or something similar
now im no techie but i ve had something remotely similar
which was traced to an oil seal ring not sitting properly
I was driving along quite happily then the engine light came on and it went into limp mode (apparently because there was a slight and sudden drop in oil pressure)so i stopped called mercedes they brought a truck and took it back to base and replaced the oil seal
in literally a few minutes they had it fixed and i was driving away (they topped up the oil about half a litre - i had noticed a small leak next to the pick up truck whilst waiting)
anyway couple of things
i would have hoped your limp mode would have cut in and stopped the major damage
and mercedes may well have numerous engine /gearbox seal problems as they fixed mine so quickly - this could support your argument for assistance in repair (if you need it)

hope it works out

crikey just seen the photos...
 
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walkenblue

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Here are some pictures of my baby:

Damage list so far:

All windows smashed
Gearbox burnt
Fire damage to engine bay
Centre console burnt
All wiring/electrical looms burnt
Airbags deployed
Bonnett damaged
Smoke damage
The car is flooded with water and foam

Your poor car is a write off i am sure.But you surely would'nt want a car that's been damaged like this.Really feel for you.
 
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poacher3536

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Hi poacher

the problem according to your notes indicates its a gearbox seal failure or something similar
now im no techie but i ve had something remotely similar
which was traced to an oil seal ring not sitting properly
I was driving along quite happily then the engine light came on and it went into limp mode so i stopped called mercedes they brought a truck and took it back to base and replaced the oil seal
in literally a few minutes they had it fixed and i was driving away (they topped up the oil about half a litre - i had noticed a small leak next to the pick up truck whilst waiting)
anyway couple of things
i would have hoped your limp mode would have cut in and stopped the major damage
and mercedes may well have numerous engine /gearbox seal problems as they fixed mine so quickly - this could support your argument for assistance in repair (if you need it)

hope it works out

crikey just seen the photos...

Hi, I had no warning lights or anything come on to tell me something was wrong, just lots of white smoke, that was the same for everytime i had this problem.
 

mika63

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Hi, I had no warning lights or anything come on to tell me something was wrong, just lots of white smoke, that was the same for everytime i had this problem.

Hi poacher

sorry i should say mine was an engine oil seal not gearbox but i think the principles may be relevant

if theyve sent you back out in it after temporary repair im thinking the accountability is/should be with them
 
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BAZZER1

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Gawd what a mess ! I would'nt want this back either if I were you, even after a good clean up I would'nt feel at ease driving it and the burning smell would take ages to clear from the interior.
Looks as if you have a pretty good case against whoever initially caused this.
Hope all turns out ok for you.
Keep us all informed
Best regards
BAZZER1
 

Corned

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I think it has the AMG speedshift gearbox but i could be wrong! Mercedes have said everytime i took the car back that it was the seal on the gearbox that was leaking. It makes me think they could have a batch of unserviceable seals?

I am thinking a different way. I would put money on them having seriously over-filled the gearbox at the service. Hence it blowing out seals repeatedly.

They would have been replacing seals until kingdom come until the level was back to where it should have been to start with.
 


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