jap_jdm

I have a 2000 S430 and have been having some serious issues with it I need answers.....PLEASE HELP
So i bought the car about 2 months ago and one day was driving around town and the AIRMATIC Service indicator came on and the transmission stopped shifting. I stopped and turned the car off and started again immediately Problem was gone a couple days later I took it to a shop to have it looked at and they said there was nothing wrong with it and for like a month everything was fine. about 3 days ago i drove the car from Reno to Seattle and it did it again this time though it wouldnt stop doing by shutting the car off and back on. Now when you start the car you have to put it in gear and wait for the AIRMATIC warning to come on before you drive it or it wont shift. As long as you wait for the light to come on it shifts but lacks power. I hvae read alot of the posts about this same problem but haven seen any difinative solutions for it. Any ideas? the AIRMATIC doesnt leak and operates fine. any help would be greatly appreciated....

Bob727

I know that most people on this forum shy away from taking cars to a MB dealership for mechanical issues, but once in a while it's the only smart move. These transmissions are very tough mechanically, but can be easily damaged if they run even slightly low on fluid or shift improperly because of the electronic signals. I have no clue what the Airmatic has to do with the transmission, but I'd get it hooked up to the computer at a Benz dealer to figure it out before it's too late. It only costs about $150 to diagnose. It worked for me when my '01 S430 was popping out of gear...turned out to be a leaking signal boot and it was 2 quarts low on tranny fluid...best $188 I ever spent. Good luck.

Skylaw

Welcome to the forum.

As a new owner, I'll point out the W220 S-Class Owners Start Here sticky at the top of the forum.

It won't solve your particular problem - Bob727's advice is best under the circumstances. You do seem to have two separate problems occurring, and your authorized dealer or a very good Mercedes-certified independent should diagnose them.

The sticky will give you a good starting point, however, for future problems.

jap_jdm

I took it to an independent here in Reno and they said that it was because of a voltage drop. The dealership wouldnt even take my call

jap_jdm

Please dont think that Im argueing with you but how come the transmission would not shift only when the airmatic light comes on? I saw another post on here about the same problem but remedys.....

Skylaw

I have never known a dealership NOT to make a service appointment to diagnose and repair a problem with a Mercedes. As to diagnosing it over the phone, or giving free advice - those are things they may refuse.

tusabes

you may just have a weak battery (thus the comment about voltage drop) these cars exhibit all kinds of issues and warnings when the battery is low.

Either disconnect the battery from the car, charge it and reconnect (DO NOT CHARGE WHILE ATTACHED TO THE CAR), or get a new battery and see if that fixes it.

VMAX7

to answer your question: the only thing that will fix this problem for good is to buy a set of conventional strut/springs from strutmasters.com or look around on google for a shop that maunfactures and installs strut conversions. Throw away your Airmatic! Here's a pic I took of my car yesterday (in sig) with the strutmasters conversion albeit they were just a quick fix i recommend going to an indy instead.

tusabes

you didnt include the pic

and how would springs solve the transmission issue? at least read the problem before suggesting a fix that wont work

VMAX7

lol, I didn't read your original post sorry. About the the transmission issue all I can say is search benzworld.org and google. Worst case scenario is to let the dealer look at it then take it to an reputable mb repair shop around your area.

I uploaded the pic but i'll try again.

thinhlecali

hi
i have same problem 2000 s430 AIRMATIC show on
i go to dealership to check he say my electronic shifter need to replace $1700 plus tax
no good today

cybertronicify

When the tcu thinks something is wrong with the tranny, it will flip it self into limp home mode and not shift or go above. A certain rpm. You can plug in a computer and look at fault codes.