W169 A-Class CVT Diesel - No Transmission

shaungjones

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I am looking for any suggestions as to a fault I encountered today.

On starting the car and selecting R I moved a metre and heard a clunking noise and moved no further. Selecting D or R sees no engagment and the car remains in one spot.

There are no indications on the dash of any fault.

Could there be a physical breakage between the selector and CVT gearbox ?

Is this a common fault.

Thanks in advance for any replies.
 

ernieh

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In the absence of any other replies, it sounds like there is a component failure in the transmission somewhere. Difficult to say without seeing the vehicle, but there are a few checks you could do, for example, when you select D or R, do you get an indication on the dashboard? If not, might be electrical, but the fact you heard a clunk could indicate something has broken. I'm not an expert on these, but I seem to remember that there was a spate of drive shaft failures some time ago, and it might be worth having a look underneath to see if anything is obvious.

Failing that, it needs an expert assessment at a trusted Indi or Dealership when they reopen. If the problem is in the transmission, it could/will be expensive!

Hope you get it sorted and let us know what is the outcome.


Ernie
 
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shaungjones

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Cvt ecu

I have had the car towed today and the electronic diagnostics indicated the ECU in the CVT box has failed. They quote £850 for a replacement and it may also need to be re-programmed to work with the main ECU.

Have any forum members heard of this happening on Mk2 A-Series cars with 69k miles on the clock ?
 

Steve@Avantgarde

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Yes I have had 3 of these failures on the A Class now and 1 on a B Class. Seems to be getting a common problem. Yes the ECU has to be SCN coded by a main dealer or a specialist with official star diagnosis factory system.
 

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Might be worth asking the dealer for a contribution - you never know?
 

WG M-B

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Yes as above they do fail. But just as common is the splines shearing off on the end of the driveshafts at the cv joint. I would imagine the garage would have checked this though
 
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shaungjones

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Making things worse.

I am already £530+ down and await the MB Workshop diagnosis. At this rate my A-Class repair may be more than the car is worth. Since the car went out of warranty I have used a reputable independent garage for regular servicing. They have the Star diagnosis machine and provide good customer service, something I have not received from MB. From the MB breakdown engineer to the Service Dept at the Dealer they are all out to make me pay for not having my car regularly serviced with a main dealer. BTW their hourly rate is £108 plus VAT - I see how the bill can escalate.

At this rate I am in for a £2,500 to £3,000 bill to put right a fault that should not have happened in my opinion.

I am unlikely to get a great hearing at Head Office based on recent dealings with MB. I am pretty sick.
 

ELGRINGO

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cvt transmission

Unfortunately seeing more and more gear box issuses lately, with a and b class models. Just returned from 7g tronic course at mb uk cant believe problems with it. Have three cars with faults not good.
 
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npuk

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Out of interest your car being on 69k should have had an ato transmission fluid change by now. Have you had that done and when was it done?
 
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shaungjones

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Transmission Fluid

I beleive the car has been serviced in accordance with manufacturer guidelines. I have all the information on servicing in the glove box but the car is at the MB Workshop right now so cannot confirm.
 
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shaungjones

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Further update on fault.

Yes as above they do fail. But just as common is the splines shearing off on the end of the driveshafts at the cv joint. I would imagine the garage would have checked this though

Thanks for the above contribution - after all it is a drive shaft failure that does not flash up on electronic diagnosis. The longer shaft has failed and the part is £632. With MB Worshop labour the repair invoice will be £1170.

I do hope that the codes that were showing on diagnosis will clear once the mechanical connection between gear box and wheels is restored.

Moral to this tail - don't just rely on electronic diagnosis.
 

Alex Crow

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Moral to this tail - don't just rely on electronic diagnosis.

Absolutely! Not the first time a broken drive shaft has been mistaken for a broken gearbox, and sooooo easy to diagnose if only the mechanic bothers to look under the car.
Electronic doagnosis is just one tool, and often the wrong one.

Good call W G M-B (Wayne Gates?).
 
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shaungjones

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MB - Goodwill

So this is a note to sign off my recent difficulties. The repair to my A160 was completed today. A replacement drive shaft. I got to see the broken one (the long one), it simply sheared off just in front of the gearbox - a pretty clean snap of the pipe section - the teeth that engage into gearbox were fine.

I have also been pleased by MB Head Office who agreed to contribute 50% towards the replacement parts and labour. It still cost £700 to drive away the car and an additional £270 incurred (incorrect diagnosis by Independent Garage and breakdown recovery) which I could really have done without and wonder about the quality of the original components. I hope the replacement is better made and this repair at least comes with 2 year warranty.

If MB Workshop wanted me back in the fold for all maintenance they didn't impress - the car electronics (date/time) needed my adjustment - they must have disconnected the battery and no wash/valet to help me fall back in love with my MB. They boast about their brand and service but there is still room for improvement. I will look at replacing my A-Class and will most likely choose another nearly new model and will use MB Workshop while the car is under warranty - after that period I will still revert to an Independent Garage as their labour rate is 1/3 of MB Workshop and they are much closer to home.

Thanks to all contributors.
 

WG M-B

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Yes it is Wayne Gates
Glad it was just the driveshaft and not a new transmission!
 

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