kgard

I took my 1998 C280 with 77,000 miles to the dealership due to problems with my transmission. It was down shifting hard when coming to a stop. also, it was taking a long time to shift between gears in the morning and when not coming to a complete stop and starting again there was a gap before the tranny would catch again. The car was under warranty so they changed something on the inside of the transmission and the modulator. All I had to pay was $50.00 co pay.

then they call me to ask me have I noticed any leaks. I've never had any leaks with my car and now they tell me my rear differential seal is leaking and it will be $1,900.00 to repair. Also, they are saying that the bushings in my front end are gone and it will cost $700.00 to replace those.

I'm going to pick it up today but I'm concerned about all of these new found problems. They weren't problems before I took it there and now I'm concerned that when I get it back, differential oil will be leaking. If this is the case do I have any recourse being that it wasn't leaking before I took it there.

davis449

All the stuff in the first paragraph sounds like a normal Benz (or any other German car for that matter). They always have delayed shifting in the morning when cold and they always shift hard into 1st when coming to a stop. Now if this was an extremely hard shift when coming to a stop accompanied by a noise, I would think something was wrond, but anything short of that is perfectly normal.

The rear diff is probably leaking, but probably VERY slowly and they're trying to get you to pay them to repair it before it really needs to. When you get it back, if you haven't noticed it leaking previously, it probably won't be "leaking" like they are implying. I wouldn't repair it until you see fluid on the ground. The bushings are typical on a Mercedes. They probably "worn", which is why they are telling you to replace them. If you aren't noticing a vibration, then you probably shouldn't worry, for now.

2000c230sport

Past 6 months:
Rear Differential Reseal
Ball Joints
Control Arm Bushings
Wiper Motor
Speakers
Some Transmission Cooler

Differential reseal was like 300 bucks or 400 at the benz dealer here in chicago. The ball joints and control arm bushings were a little more, I have the receipt and could let you know exactly if you want. They said the rear differential reseal was pretty important to repair when I got the car checked out. btw I have a 2000 c230k.

calsonic

Dealer always tries to rip you off !

wizkid

The seal for my C240 2002 cost me $10.50 and differential oil is $20 per quart.

I haven't replaced it yet but I will by the end of the month if all goes well.

You tell me if $1900 is too much. Yeah, way too much!

willengage

I'm bringing my car to the dealer on Monday for this (AMONG OTHER THINGS )... this has me a little worried. I often hear a clunk whenever the tranny shifts back into first gear; what could this indicate? I've also noticed when the weather is cold that the car won't go back into first quickly when the car is still warming up. When I almost, but not quite, come to a complete stop, and then hit the gas again, the transmission isn't ready for me... and it takes a second to drop into first gear. These two problems make me worry that I'm going to have to have the transmission rebuilt, which I hear is a problem for the '97s. The transmission shifts very nicely except for these two facts. I hope it's the differential or something... anything else!

Also... my car has been struggling to idle... it seems to idle at 750 RPM. I've noticed that it seems to want to die most often when I'm turning and coming to a stop, but afterward, it will start right back up... and it usually doesn't die... just starts choking... although this is getting worse.


anyway, any input would be appreciated!