mobinakhtar

Hi, just took her out for a long trip (Houston to Slidell/New Orleans and back) about 800 miles roundtrip. After about 350 miles of non-stop driving, I took an exit and on the ramp, the rpm's went up like it was slipping for a second or two. I went to a drive-thru food place, and back on the road (did not turn the car off). I immediately noticed that it would not shift over the 3rd gear (60mph @ 3K r.p.m). r.p.m's would go up if I pressed gas. I had this event happen before once, but it was resolved when I switched the car off, and restarted so I took the next exit, shut the car off, and restarted - it went fine, transmission shifted perfectly and everything was fine.

This is from yesterday (Sunday). This morning, wife called me and told me that Transmission slipped again and car would not move at all, but then she turned it off and back on again and it started and drove perfectly.

A little history might help. I bought the car at 102K miles in January of 2004. Dealer (Not mercedes, but a local luxury car dealership - pretty good sized)casually informed me that the transmission was rebuilt by a third party vendor (The custom merc/bmw shop behind their store) at 101 K miles. There was no leak in the transmission and it shifted silky smooth so I gladly accepted that something got repaired before I had to spend the $$$ on it. A month or two later, I noticed that TX seal was seeping oil, not much, maybe a drop or two over the night. at 105K I had the Mobil 1 oil change and TX fluid checked by dealership (it was full). Now the vehicle has 108K miles.

Unfortunately, the dealership will not give me any documentation on the transmission job, and the shop refuses to even identify the car. so I am kinda on my own.

Any help will be appreciated. There is no lights, warnings, or anything. Is it even ok for me to check the tx oil level? i heard it is sealed! I am a pretty much diy guy but this is my first decent merc. so I am a little shy to screw up anything.

Any advice or help is appreciated.

thnaks

Moby 97 e420 Dark Metallic Green

osiris667

I had this exact same problem. When I went to the dealer they wanted to replace the transmission unit for $6K or more.

Luckily i read alot of posts here about this very same issue, and mine turned out to be the same problem.

The transmission has an electronic control unit, sometimes referrred to as ETC or TCU on other cars. This unit electronically controls the shifting. Fluid will sometimes leak onto this electronics board. which causes the mis-shifting, and the limp mode shifting. Turning the car off and back on again will reset it, however when more fluid gets into this unit, eventually it will cause an engine error code, and the turning it off and on will no longer work.

I got the board removed and replaced and resealed for under $500.00 US.
and the cars runs like new.

I hope this is your issue, a good mechanic should be able to check the control unit for fluid leaks.
good luck.

mobinakhtar

I swear I read it too, several times! I read allthe archives when I purchased the vehicle, but lo and behold, can't find ***** when I need it.

If anyone knows where these posts are, please post the link here. Even if you recall any keywords from those posts, please post them here so I can research this issue. Really making me nervous.

Hey osiris667, you have been through this, and I hope and pray that it is the same and not the tranny. Can you give me any more details, parts info etc. I will really appreciate

thanks

Moby

mobinakhtar

anybody remember anything? I even searched on the web but no luck in tx oil leaking into transmission control module.

He orisis, how can "I" check for this? can you help direct me to the TCU so I can check if there is oil in there.


thanks

Green E-300 DT

Moby,

I found it , and not by using the search engine either!

Go to:

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/65801-tranny-shift-problem.html

Down at the bottom of the page, osiris667 talks about it.

Hope that is what you were searching for?

Let us know if that is what the problem is?

HTHs

Green E-300 DT

In mine, the middle computer or the smallest one is for the transmission.

I would say that if you found that it was wet with tranny fluid, you'd be able to change it out yourself and at least save the labor.
What's the labor hourly rate now?
Even not knowing what I was doing, I had all three of the computers out in just a few minutes.

'Course, mine's a diesel, but it's still a W-210!

osiris667

sorry. didnt get back sooner, was travellin.

I believe the ETC/TCU is above the valve body, inside the tranny. below the shift sensors, but I'm not 100% on this cuz I was watching them repair it from the ground and my view was slightly obstructed.

The TCU unit looks like a long square U shaped plastic board with solenoids and a wire bundle at one end. it is made of black plastic.

My car eventually threw a Check Engine Electronics error, and when checked with the scanner it was more specifically "Torque Sensor Error".

I am still looking for the Parts Numbers that were replaced, I wrote them down to check against the MB Parts List, but will cont. to look for them.

-o

mobinakhtar

Hi Guys, been travelin myself. I feel like there is my MBWORLD family out there watchin out for me. thanks everyone for their replies and help. I navigated the URLs and think that I have same exact problem as Osiris677.

This weekend, I will get down and see if I can locate the TCU on top of tranny. I am pretty handy so probably I will replace it myself.

I keep reading about these three computer boxes? where are these at? in the engine bay? or underneath?

Finally, I will appreciate if Osiris677 can get those part numbers for me. Do you guys advise if I can find this ETC box from a Junkyard, or should I go for a brand new one? Sorry for asking this but I am kinda tight on money these days.

thanks and lots of appreciation to all that replied to this thread and will (hopefully) continue to answer my questions.

FYI, the car has been running without a tranny glitch since Monday now.

Moby

Green E-300 DT

Mine is a diesel, and the computers are all (as far as I can determine) located
in a black container box within the engine compartment up near where one might expect to find the battery.

This may or may not be different than the various gasoline powered models?

Always wondered how tranny fluid could make its way up to that computer within that well sealed box?

Anyone know if the diesels are different in this respect?

mobinakhtar

Sorry guys - been very busy lately. Car hasn't had a glitch ever since. I removed the black cover from the computers and found several modules in there. There was a drop (really a drop) of some kinda oil in the bottom corner but no oil at all in the wire harnesses, wires, or the computers.

I am begining to think if its something else. However problem has not repeated itself.

Maybe somethng else! It has become more prominent to me that when car is cold (like first startin morning, the reverse engages immediately, but D takes a second or two to engage. this never happens when vehicle is hot.

C230Ken

I had the trans fluid 'wicking' problem about 6 months ago. Apparently, the seal around the wires going from the trans to the ECU fails and fluid wicks' thru the wires up to the ECU getting it wet and shorting it out.

They found it when I went in for an oil change and was told by MB dealer that I would need to replace the 2 control boards and the wiring harness. Estimated cost was about $3200. I never had the transmission slip or any problems - they just found the problem from the error codes when they hooked the car to their computer.

Long story short, I brought the car to an indy shop. They were aware of the problem and even said that MB knew of the problem and had a repair bulletin for it (I never was able to find this, though or verify it). However, they said the repair that MB recommended was to double up the transmission seals around the wires and clean the boards. They did this 6 months ago (10k miles) for ~$200. - no more error codes and no slipping.

Hope you're as lucky.....

mobinakhtar

This time I was driving and stopped at a traffic light. When signal opened, the revs went up but vehicle did not move. I quickly put it into park and then back to D (Seems to reset the damn thing), and all was well for rest of the 40 minut commute in rush hour houston.

This is becoming more common to me now as it has domne this second time within a 5 day period. When I stop at a stop-sign after the first cold start, trans moves to neutral. All I can do is put it in P and then back to D.

C230Ken, can you reported ~200 for the procedure. I guess I will give it a shot and take it to my mechanics. Any notes or procedure detail on their receipt? I will appreciate because that way I can tell my mechanic to follow your mechanics steps.

Man while anybody else has any ideas? I popped open the computer box (under hood) and no sign of oil in there.

mobinakhtar

Is this something NOT under the hood? PS read earlier posts. One post suggests that the car was up on a jack when service people saw fluid wicking into ECU. Another suggests a U-shape plastic ECU-holder "ON" the tranny itself.

I am desperate to fix this! Also I know that my tranny fluid seeps from the main tranny seal! Is that a b**** to repair/replace/reseal? I want to keep this car for ever, but if a tranny is gonna die on me, I may not be able to take that hit!

thanks

mobinakhtar

Please continue discussion. problem not solved yet!

BillB

Here is the skinny on part numbers:

"TCM - Ordering Procedure
REF. NO. MBNA 27/94
DATE: October 1996
TO: ALL MERCEDES-BENZ PASSENGER CAR DEALERS
SUBJECT:
PARTS ORDERING INFORMATION FOR VERSION CODED ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE (TCM) N15/3 FOR ALL 722.6 TRANSMISSIONS

Effective Tuesday, September 3, 1996, all version coded TCM's for the 722.6 transmission have been system blocked to prevent regular MB Net ordering.

for E420 - TCM 017 545 05 32 must be replaced with 017 545 06 32 and should only be used with valve body 140 270 04 06

E300 diesel - TCM 020 545 87 32 (to be used with valve body: 140 270 04 06) E300 diesel

Transmission Control Module: 021 545 04 32 (to be used with valve body: 140 270 04 06)- for E320

After installation of the version coded TCM, the DTC's must be cleared from the TCM memory via the HHT. DTC's may be stored during the version coding procedure and would keep the vehicle in limp home mode if not erased."


I have software version codes and version numbers if you guys need them.

youseffex

same problem here.

$500 on the way

moelsaied88

hey guys, my car has been having the same problem, where it gets caught in third gear when im really going at it. ive noticed though that if i switch into W then back into S it resets, but if i accelerate hard it happens all over again. A mechanic told me that if any water had spilled on the shifter it could possibly be that, but i dont belieave that ever happened. From reading i see that theres a chip that can get tranny fluid on it and cause the problem, but im having trouble understanding where it is. I would really appreciate some help, thanks.

samvel1981

hello i have a qwestion is eny one now wher i can get lip kit for my 97 e 420 thenk you oooo if it's like form $1000-$5000 i know allrady like little bit cheaper ok thenk you again .........

jguico44

Hello E420 owners!! If I end up replacing the transmission control module, do I need to reprogram the TCM with the vehicle???