myn8m3is8ndy

Mercedes of San Francisco wants to charge me $878.49 for a transmission fluid change on my 2013 C350 sedan (not 4matic)... this price seems extremely steep to me. is this normal??

Kent Seaton

Honestly that sounds insanely high. Check around for an indie shop which specializes in foreign cars. Midwest region I had a local shop who did a 4WD transmission for $350. Granted it was a domestic vehicle, but that was the standard rate for 4WD cars, $250 for 2WD. Labor was generally 1.5-2 hours.

Carsy

Crazy price.

Make sure you are quoted for a flush ie torque converter & not just a drain.

Very important to be done every 39,000 miles.

myn8m3is8ndy

what else should i ask for other than torque converter if i want a FULL transmission service?? or is that just it??

Kent Seaton

If the drain is inclusive of the torque converter, it's covered pretty much everything.

Carsy

A filter change & new pan gasket should be included.

michail71

With a 2013 he may only be required to change it at 70,000 miles. But I'm going to cut it in half and do every 35,000.

I've watched the DIY videos and it's not a trivial job. Given dealers charge US$400 for an oil change I can see that as being dealer price.

timlippold

Seems steep. I have seen this around $400 even at dealers.

Gotdbenz

My local dealer wants 758.30 without draining torque convertor and 875.45 with the TC. I have 31K on car now. Figure I will wait and do it myself for a lot less using the info on this site.

myn8m3is8ndy

im already on 46K, where can i find evidence of this 70K fluid change?? this would give me at least another 2 years

louiet3

if you can travel to the East Bay (Oakley) check out http://www.eastbayautohaus.com/. I have been going there since 2009. It's owned by a former MB master tech, price is way better than dealer and they will surely do the torque converter if there is a drain bolt.

michail71

This is for the 2013 C-Class, https://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/Digital...ce_Booklet.pdf

jlr82

That price is insane. My dealer charges $375 for the transmission service. The full service should include new fluid, as well as the filter, gasket seal and new screws for around the gasket. The new seal is important as they aren't meant to last.

michail71

They charge less than they do for an oil change? My dealer wants $90 just to change wiper blades.

sagar526

Recently had the dealer do a transmission fluid service. Charged $192 including drain, fill, new filter and seal. The originally said "700" as well but invoice paper only shows $192.

michail71

Now that price seems crazy low. That only gets two sets of wiper blades or 1/2 oil change at the dealers around here. Did they do the torque converter for that price? That adds a bit more work.

Watch a DIY on servicing this transmission. I would guess from watching that video that $300 give or take would be reasonable.

Staff@WORLD

We offer a complete transmission flush using all factory Mercedes Benz parts for $300.00.

stratman1954

I went to two local dealers and both told me that draining the torque convertor was not needed! Both wanted about $550 to do the job. Third dealer said "of course you need to drain the convertor" and did the job for $590 saying the extra $40 was for the fluid needed to refill the convertor. They did a " transmission flush, drain and refill torque convertor, and hooked the car to "SDS" whatever that is, for $590. Price included assorted charges for screws, a plug and a metal ring. Car shifted great afterward.

Carsy

See Post 262 in the diesel forum.

https://mbworld.org/forums/diesel-fo...seized-11.html

tanktube67

Usually everything is a high in SF drive out of San Francisco and you will pay 1/2

edgalang

Just for reference I called a few dealers in the Bay Area...

Autobahn Motors (Belmont) = $620
Mercedes-Benz of Oakland = $584
Mercedes-Benz of Walnut Creek = $550
Fletcher Jones Motorcars of Fremont = $495
Mercedes-Benz of San Jose = $469

None of the above can verify if they do torque converter in the service, or tell me how much fluid they use to refill.

*Mercedes-Benz of Pleasanton = $495
*Claims to use ~8 quarts

**Mercedes-Benz of Modesto = $475
**Claims to use ~10 quarts

***Mercedes-Benz of Fairfield = $396
***Price quote is for no TC drain. However if they find out your TC has a drain plug, they will do it but charge an additional $24/qt extra.

cvx5832

Why does that not surprise me. I take anything they say with a heaping lump of salt. For example :

Picking up my car from its first transmission fluid change I asked that same question "Was the fluid in the torque converter drained?". After looking at his computer, paging through his notes and even calling someone at the service bay, he then replies with a solid "No, looks like it wasn't". When I finally got it on stands it was clear the fluid HAD been drained. Anyone who has drained the TC from a 7G knows that the oil stream sputters as you drain it and makes a mess of the exhaust pipe reinforcement, bell housing opening, cables and whatever else that traverses that access port.

On a separate occasion I had a CEL during my warranty. Likewise at pickup I asked what happened and they said something was wrong with the fuel tank ventilation and that the gas tank was replaced. Yup, with a straight face he told me that. Looking at the invoice when I finally came home it was a cracked line at the fuel breather hose up front, and looking online I was apparently not alone. Makes sense since the repair only took half a day and I got my car with the same amount of gas.

Both stories above are from two different SA's, each with multiple plaques of recognition up on display.

Long story short, I don't trust them. Getting technical details from an SA in my experience is an exercise in futility. They'll tell you anything to keep you happy, like a good Customer Service Rep or Salesman would.

Draining/not draining the TC has never bothered me, but if it did I'd be sure to go to a shop that allowed me to watch, if only for the peace of mind.

For those verifying the dealer's work, this access port and everything around it will be covered in oil as the TC sputters during draining:

<img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1653/25919043694_43026b0c14_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="image">

edgalang

So in the event you cannot watch or go under the vehicle, I guess the best thing you can do is verify it in the receipt on how much fluids they charged you?

cvx5832

My receipt DID say "up to 9 quarts", written as a note, but it wasn't enough to give me peace of mind that it was changed. It looked like boiler plate text and made no mention of a TC drain. I was charged for the TC plug but I still wasn't sure. After all, the SA said they hadn't.

If we're debating the nuances of draining vs not draining the TC then I suspect a note on a receipt wouldn't placate you either. I know it didn't with me.

That said, any tech worth their salt would probably do it. But if the SA won't guaranty it, the next best thing would be them allowing you to see it. You don't have to be directly under the car. Even from a distance it's easy to see that they're working on the TC.

<img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7428/26805537180_05daed0c1d_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="image">

edgalang

Based on that receipt, they charged you for 6 units of ATF @ 17.50 a quart/liter. Based on previous threads, the drain pan alone is around 5 and the TC is 4 more.