epasc

I searched and could not find anything like this:

Twice, after fast highway driving, at the end of the freeway exit stop sign, when I tried to accelerate after a full stop, the engine just raced, as if in neutral. I "rebooted" (shut engine off, restarted) and everything worked fine.

Another time, when on city streets, the car got stuck in maybe 4th gear and would not shift down to 1st or 2nd at stop lights. Again, solved by rebooting.

Sound like a known problem to anyone? Glycol? Software?

Thanks.

Polar Bear

Have you checked the radiator brand?

SZMB

I would take the car to the dealer and have the fault codes read.

petep86

that sounds like software to me..

jbm37379

Saw your post after same thing happened to my 2004 E500 with 130K on transmission. Drove hard on highway then tranny wouldn't shift-it was like it was stuck in one gear. Next day-car drove fine. Car is at dealer now they are telling me $2700 to fix-a valve body problem-they described it as the "brains" of the transmission. I will get a list of fault codes and post-would like an educated second opinion-not that the dealer would sell me more than I need-never

Lefix

Have your transmission fluid level checked first.

tepelena

1. Check trany oil level first.

2. I have seen too many of these cars have a very common problem between 70k and 80k. What happened is that they develop a trany oil leak where the electrical wires plugs to the transmission (conductor plate). The oil shortens the connector and the car acts funny as you describe. The part is only like $15 dollars online and can be very easily changed if you have some basic DIY skills. You can easy check it for leaks. Look under the car at the transmission oil pan. The plug connect to the front-right above corner of the pan. It has a black ring that you twist a little and pull out and inspect for leaks.

3. If there is no leaks there than your problem is most likly the valve body inside the transmission. It's common as well. You can buy a valve body online some where around $500 USD and replace it. You will have to pull the transmission oil pan to replace.

I am assuming your car has the 5 speed transmission, and I think you do. But if you have the 7 speed you can have much bigger problems.

Attached you will see two pics. One is the connector what leaks fluid, unplugged. And the second is the valve body.

brm

Now #7 is a helpful post. Kudos.

Lefix

I had this exactly same problem. Got it done at an Indy for $250 including a transmission oil change, new transmission filter, gasket and plug

foreyes

I had the same exact problem with my 2003 E500. My transmission fluid level was fine, and no leaks at the conductor plate connector. My Indy scanned for transmission codes and found a faulty speed sensor code. He replaced the conductor plate itself (sits above the valve body inside the transmission). The speed sensor on the conductor plate is a common failure component. Now the transmission shifts flawlessly. The conductor plate was $192, labor was $150 including transmission fluid change, new pan gasket and filter.

ozusa

my impression is that transmission parts, especially the conductor plate, are not nearly so expensive to buy nor as labor-intensive to instal as the dealers make out that they are. They rely on us to be ignorant of what they are actually doing: Dropping the transmission pan, removing the filter, undoing a few bolts, torqueing some new ones, some software configuration, test and off you go. "That's $2000, please."

PlatinumPi4u

Well I am having the Valve Body replaced at the moment by the indy, and its 1800 dollars, a savings of 900 from the dealership.

jagata

Same issue as OP, and I had the ATF changed about 6 months ago but this problem just started.


Lefix what indy shop did you go to?

tepelena

Check the wire harness plug that goes into the transmission. Make sure there are no oil leaks. You will have to unplug it to inspected it. It only takes a few minutes.

If no oil leaks at the plug, then I would do transmission module reset if you know someone with DAS Star. Oh, and see if there are any codes. Not engine codes, transmission codes that you can get with Star.