W168 Fault Light Showing Again

[vikingsteve38]

Hope you guys can shed some light on this one.
My wifes had this A160 Avantgarde with the full auto gearbox for more than 5 years and its only covered 35,000 miles. A few months ago it started slipping as it changed up to second, (revs rise for a second or two before it changes into gear). Our local Indie Specialist told us it just needed fluid adding which they did. Shortly after the fuel consumption started to rise and the gearbox started slipping again but worse than before (it changes correctly once warmed up by the way). Then the F light came on one day when I was driving the car, I had to pull over , turn off the engine and restart to clear it, a few days later it came on again and stayed on putting the car into limphome mode. The Indie told us that it was a MAF sensor fault code and the MAF + ECU unit would need rebuilding. We got the car back yesterday and the F light came on again on the way home. The Indie is refusing to accept any responsibilty and says the fault must lie elsewhere.
The question is ; If its not the MAF/ECU then any ideas what else would cause this?
Would the gearbox ECU cause the same error code as the MAF sensor and would it cause the car to go into limphome mode?

Any help will be appreciated.
Steve

 

[Stu_CDX]

Before starting, I must say I've no experience of A-Class's...

But adding fluid is a very short term fix. Also, what would the Mass Air Flow Sensor have to do with the gearbox? I reckon the fault lies in or on the box, a sensor or something. Try a different indie, it took me 3 attempts to find mine.

 

[star]

At a calculated guess, i would think that one of the clutch baskets has split. If you get the adaptations checked, you might find that one is out of spec. The ecu recognises the slip and puts it into limp home.

 

[vikingsteve38]

If this turns out to be the case is it a recon box job or scrap the car job because it'll cost more than the cars worth.

 

[MB Service Centre]

If this turns out to be the case is it a recon box job or scrap the car job because it'll cost more than the cars worth.

As Star Says, prob k1 clutch split, i have been doing these boxes now for the last 6 years, try and find a diff independent mercedes guy,
No need for a new box, just get it out and stripped and all will be plain to see.