Mybenzbenzbenz

Hi everyone,

I've spent the past 3 days reading all I can about the 2nd gear limp issue. I bought a 1999 CLK320 recently and after a week it developed the sympton of being stuck in 2nd gear. Prior to this it would sometimes jump from 1st to 2nd if I accelerated too hard.

I've read all I can about the conductor plate, bush plug, brake switch, ECU etc and am left stuck. I hesitantly took the car to a Mercedes dealers today and they did a 'diagnosis', replaced bush plug and topped up the ATF. They called me to say it was ready and cost me just under £300.

I got in the car and drove not more then 50 metres to discover it was still the same. I turned round and took it back. They told me they took it for a test drive drive twice and it worked prefectly, and then insisted that I needed a new transmisison. After complaining that I paid £300 for nothing and asking why they couldn't diagnose a serious problem they told me that they can only diagnose electrical issues with their equipment. They told me there were no 'bits' in the ATF oil, and that the transmission wasn't leaking. I asked why it worked for them and not me - they said it was the 'fresh oil covering up a major problem' They also said only about half a litre came out of the box. I don't know what to believe.

The service boss thought that his technician had relaced the circuit board as he requested, but his technician said that he didn't because it wasn't faulty. I didn't know how to argue with 2 MB dealers technicians and then drove home in 2nd gear - £300 less and no resolve. Would they have had to clear any fault codes?

I've no idea what to do next? Any thoughts please - don't want to go back to MB! I live in Rochdale.

MarcusF

Look at your receipt. How many liters of transmission fluid did you pay for? If you paid for 9 liters and they only drained a half liter, that means the transmission had to have been dry when you brought it in. Yet, the dealer says there are no leaks. The only way to lose 8+ liters of fluid is for it to leak. Also, the car won't go into drive if there's only a half liter of fluid, but you drove it in. Something here isn't right. If the dealer said only a half liter was drained, either they don't know how to drain it (doubtful), or they're wrong and a ton of fluid came out (more likely - but that means they gave you incorrect info), or there is a serious leak which they should see. The '98 model year has a torque converter drain plug and a couple of liters will come from that alone.

The service writer stating you've got 'fresh oil covering up a major problem' is not a diagnosis. You can get that from someone at the local bar. Having taken your money, they owe you a proper diagnosis. I recommend you use a different dealer. Your current dealer recommended a new transmission. That's fine IF it needs a transmission. How do they KNOW it needs a transmission? If the TCU has an issue, they could change the transmission and the new one could have the same issue. At that point, who pays for the transmission that wasn't needed and MB won't take back?

Lastly, I had a cracked conductor plate. To determine if the plate or one of the speed sensors is bad, they have to pull the plate and look at it carefully. Of course, before doing so, there should be a code stored.

Mybenzbenzbenz

Cheers for the very interesting reply. I paid for 4 liters of ATF, a Bush plug and a gasket. The rest was diagnosing fees of £160. The car is now dripping heavily ATF when I turn the car on, it didn't do this before. The service manager at the MB dealer has offered to take a look at the car for free to determine what exactly is the issue. I don't know how to proceed. The only code stored is P0730 - if the oil level is now 'correct' I'm not sure if or how to take advantage of their second look at it - or where to from here. I've been quoted £470 for a reconditioned transmission elsewhere.

MarcusF

The leak is good news, now you know there's a leak. Low fluid is probably why it doesn't shift properly.

There is an electrical connector with a $2 o-ring that has been known to go bad. When the o-ring fails, the transmission leaks. The dealer should have caught the leak when doing the transmission service because the service includes an inspection. At least it does here in the U.S. Look at your receipt. If it says something about them performing an "inspection", that is when they should have spotted the leak. I'd bring it back and ask them to #1 identify the leak, #2 determine how much it will cost to repair the leak, and #3 explain why it wasn't spotted the first time. #3 isn't just a complaint. If they missed that issue, then it doesn't sound like the inspection is very thorough.