automatic gearboxes

[eagle]

has any member experienced problems with automatic gearboxes ? i have had my 2001 e320cd1 from new now at 53000mls it is in the red at 60mph main dealer says need valves replacing having had cars from ford,renault,vw and volvo with auto boxes without problems despite far higher milages is this an inherant fault with mercs or am i just unlucky

 

[television]

has any member experienced problems with automatic gearboxes ? i have had my 2001 e320cd1 from new now at 53000mls it is in the red at 60mph main dealer says need valves replacing having had cars from ford,renault,vw and volvo with auto boxes without problems despite far higher milages is this an inherant fault with mercs or am i just unlucky

Not quite clear on your fault, are you saying that the car is in the limp home mode. can you put up the first 6 numbers of the VIN WDB210---

malcolm

 

[eagle]

wdb2102262b434410 afraid im not technically mineded,car is reving too high for the indicated road speed ie 5k@60mph, im guessing that it is not going into the top gears

 

[carabind]

Fluid change to start with?

 

[tom7035]

wdb2102262b434410 afraid im not technically mineded,car is reving too high for the indicated road speed ie 5k@60mph, im guessing that it is not going into the top gears

Should be easy enough to check. When increasing speed from a standstill on gentle throttle just count the upchanges. Tacho helps too in this case.

 

[television]

two faults recorded, the transmision speed sensor is faulty and lose connector on ETC module, these will put the transmision ino the linp home mode.

Malcolm

 

[eagle]

thanks folks for your input, athough the more i get into this problem the more confused i get . merc main dealer says need new gearbox plug ,plate and seal. claimed they wiped memory and road tested how ever problem was still there. took to autobox specialist he to wiped memory car ran for several days okay then problem reopered, found that by moving stick through gate positions sometimes cures it ,does this info narrow down the most likely cause of fault .i must say that having proggresively bought better quality cars as my finances improved to finally have a supposidly classy reliable one and experience this problem at 53k is most disapointing,especially as some owners will do this milage in 1yr . i also find mercs goodwill gesture of £100 towards the cost of repair an insult

 

[jberks]

Frustrating but in answer to your original question , you are unlucky. Many of us have done a lot more and the gearboxes have been perfect.
Get a quote to fix from an indie as well as the dealer. Dealer's labour charges can make such issues very expensive.

 

[eric242340]

Transmissions

UK tend to sell more manual gearbox cars than transmissions. Out here its very rare to a manual gearbox, so obviously we get more transmissions to repair. With the intr of the 722.6 and 722.9 there are rarely any problems, but prior to this we had more tansmission rebuilds than engines. Anyway from what you say it seems to be input speed sensor which is mounted on a plastic plate under the valve body. Also on this transmission where the electrics enter the box, the seals often leak. Now to make it worse oil can travel up the electrics and into your transmission computer. If this happens dont be pushed to buy a new computer as they can easily be cleaned and reset.:smile:

 

[jberks]

UK tend to sell more manual gearbox cars than transmissions.

True for Ford, GM etc but most MBs are autos.

 

[eric242340]

Automatic boxes

True for Ford, GM etc but most MBs are autos.

Thanks for the info, ive been away from uk for the last 12 years, lm a tad out of date. In more ways than one

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Hi Eric, given your comments on gearboxes I would be interested in your opinion on mine. I have a 2003 W203 C240 Avantgarde SE Auto, just approaching 50,000 miles. The gearbox can be very jerky. It doesn't seem to be related to heat, i.e. it's as bad cold as hot. The other day I was sitting in slow moving traffic on the A3 after driving back from Heathrow and the gearbox would thump down when I backed off the throttle and then when I apply the throttle again there would be lots of engine noise, very little movement and thn a thump like someone has driven into the back of me as the gear engaged.

I couldn't get it to do it again today. Today it has been fine. Generally the lumpy changes seem to be the lower end of the gear box. Once I get over 45 mph its nice and smooth.

There have been suggestions about getting the fluid changed, which I haven't done yet but it's in the MB dealer the week after next anyway because the cruise control keeps dropping out so I'll ask them about this.

btw, it has had the gearbox control unit replaced once already as they felt that was what was causing the cruise to drop out. I think the gear changes have actually been worse since then.

Any suggestions?

 

[eric242340]

Hi Eric, given your comments on gearboxes I would be interested in your opinion on mine. I have a 2003 W203 C240 Avantgarde SE Auto, just approaching 50,000 miles. The gearbox can be very jerky. It doesn't seem to be related to heat, i.e. it's as bad cold as hot. The other day I was sitting in slow moving traffic on the A3 after driving back from Heathrow and the gearbox would thump down when I backed off the throttle and then when I apply the throttle again there would be lots of engine noise, very little movement and thn a thump like someone has driven into the back of me as the gear engaged.

I couldn't get it to do it again today. Today it has been fine. Generally the lumpy changes seem to be the lower end of the gear box. Once I get over 45 mph its nice and smooth.

There have been suggestions about getting teh fluid changed, which I haven't done yet but it's in the MB dealer the week after next anyway because the cruise control keeps dropping out.

btw, it has had the gearbox control unit replaced once already as they felt that was what was causing the cruise to drop out. I think the gear changes have actually been worse since then.

Any suggestions?

Its WDB203, what are the next three digits and ill have a look, but I already have an idea?

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Thanks Eric. It's actually a WDC (2030612)

btw, it's currently on a ServicePlus contract so I am keen to get it resolved whilst it isn't going to cost me anything.

 

[eric242340]

Transmissions

Thanks Eric. It's actually a WDC (2030612)

btw, it's currently on a ServicePlus contract so I am keen to get it resolved whilst it isn't going to cost me anything.

Well you have a 722.6 transmission and thats one of the newer ones and so far only electronic problems. However it has done 50k so change the oil and filter and after that we will see how it fairs. These transmissions, thus far, have proved to be very effective. But with any transmission 60k is the limit for an oil and filter change. Try this first and after let me know how it goes. Thanks

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Thanks Eric, I appreciate your help. Oil change seems to be what everyone is saying. I wonder how that will go down with ServicePlus? I understand the recommendation is 60k miles so they may not pay for it at 50k. Still I think it's worth doing and I'm sure it can't be much more than £150 ish.

They are keeping the car for a couple of days to sort the cruise issue out so they should have plenty of time to sort it out.

Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[eric242340]

Automatic boxes

Thanks Eric, I appreciate your help. Oil change seems to be what everyone is saying. I wonder how that will go down with ServicePlus? I understand the recommendation is 60k miles so they may not pay for it at 50k. Still I think it's worth doing and I'm sure it can't be much more than £150 ish.

They are keeping the car for a couple of days to sort the cruise issue out so they should have plenty of time to sort it out.

Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes.

Maybe they wont pay but if its having problems now,is it worth waiting until 60k and the poor viscosity of the oil damages your valve body? I know the price of a valve body in china but not UK and believe me its expensive. Better safe than sorry.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

I agree. Is it likely to have done any damage at 50k miles?

 

[eric242340]

Transmissions

I agree. Is it likely to have done any damage at 50k miles?

No, but these transmisions are kinow to have electronic problems, however change the oil first and then (look see).

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

I e-mailed the MB contracts department and got this very helpful reply:

Nice to hear from you. In answer to your query, yes, the gearbox oil and
the filters should be changed at regular intervals (normally at around
40000K or four years whichever occurs sooner). Therefore you should book
the car in to get this done and it would be covered under the Service Plus
contract.

I'm seriously loving ServicePlus