Is my tranny going?
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Hollywood
1998 C230 5-a
Is my tranny going?
My 98 C230 5 sp auto has 98000 miles on it. When it shifts from 3rd to 4th at higher RPMs, there is a noticeable vibration that could even be a grind.
It MAY just be the vibration of all of the junk and lost coins in and around the shifter area.... or I will soon be tranny shopping.
Any comments?
It MAY just be the vibration of all of the junk and lost coins in and around the shifter area.... or I will soon be tranny shopping.
Any comments?
Super Member
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 670
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From: NJ
hmm not sure, but with 77,000 miles now.... random stuff has been happening. besides the popular 1st - 2nd 'throwback', ive been noticing that it downshifts very randomly and abruptly during braking/deceleration and also clutch slippage once in a while (revs in neutral for half a second before the next gear catches while upshifting)
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Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Virginia
1997 C280
Today while driving my 97 C280 my transmission decided it did not know which gear to stay in. On I-95 going roughly 65mph it downshifted all by itself to the point where i had to pull over for fear of getting run over by a tractor trailer. I stopped and got out, inspected the exterior of the vehicle and noticed no burning smells or odd warning lights going off. I restarted the car and took off slowly. It took about 5 minutes for the problem to start again, I immediately pulled over and switched from Standard mode, to Wet mode on the transmission. Drove to work with my fingers crossed and made it alive. My car has about 92K miles and until this day has never given me any trouble. Is this a common problem? Any thoughts?
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Toronto, Canada
540 6spd
I had to change my tranny on my '97 C280 around 75000 miles.. I started realizing that it was dying after random problems like getting suck in 3rd gear no matter how fast or slow I drove. Then the 2 -1 downshift became increasingly abrupt. Finally, the tranny would slip on the 2 - 3 shift. It was slipping so badly that the rev's would climb +/-1500rpm between shifts. For redline shifts it would bump against the limiter briefly before shifting.
When I got the tranny changed MB gave me 50% off the parts and my total bill incl. tax and labour was about 3g's CDN.
When I got the tranny changed MB gave me 50% off the parts and my total bill incl. tax and labour was about 3g's CDN.
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Joined: Jun 2004
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From: Ashburn, VA
2004 C32, 2006 Honda CBR1000RR, 2007 Harley NightRod, 2013 Harley Road Glide Custom
Originally Posted by alhang
Today while driving my 97 C280 my transmission decided it did not know which gear to stay in. On I-95 going roughly 65mph it downshifted all by itself to the point where i had to pull over for fear of getting run over by a tractor trailer. I stopped and got out, inspected the exterior of the vehicle and noticed no burning smells or odd warning lights going off. I restarted the car and took off slowly. It took about 5 minutes for the problem to start again, I immediately pulled over and switched from Standard mode, to Wet mode on the transmission. Drove to work with my fingers crossed and made it alive. My car has about 92K miles and until this day has never given me any trouble. Is this a common problem? Any thoughts?
When was the last trans fluid change performed? I wonder if all of us are looking at the same thing..... I have a young 41k on the odometer so it might
be something for me to save up for. I-95..... I remember those days.. Now it's
I-66 for me (still stinks).
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 27
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From: Virginia
1997 C280
trbo2nr, i'll probably do a fluid change anyway just as a precaution. But i seriously think it's an electronic issue or design flaw. It's been a few days and the transmission has been fine in "W" mode. It doesn't shift hard or late, there are none of the usual signs of the transmission going.
on a side note, i don't know how you survive the beltway day in day out.
on a side note, i don't know how you survive the beltway day in day out.
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Almost a Member!
Joined: Dec 2004
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C 200
i had this bad experience before....my tranny won't shift to 4th...the problem is that there are this thing that you had to change...i don't know the name in english but it is a small, round and thin and there are 16 of them if i'm not mistaken ....it has some layer that look like a sand dust and if it's not quickly change you will burn your thick iron plate and eventually ruin your body valve and your tranny itself. i had those change and service and now mine is back again. please change your automatic transmission oil filter too
Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 212
Likes: 2
From: Maryland USA
2003 C230 Coupe
with my MB cars hovering around 60,000 miles and 6 years old, I decided to read more on transmission oil change periods, problems before and after changing, etc.
A friend of mine was kind to provide some literature on the subject. There is a basic trend to just syphon out the oil. That is causing clogging of the filter when the new oil is installed and it starts to dissolve the accumulated sludge on the pan, etc. Moral of the story the pan has to come down and the filter replaced. I for myself plan to syphon out the trans oil and then remove the pan when not much oil is left (less mess). See links below:
https://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techse..._council01.pdf
https://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techse...ions_Guide.pdf
https://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techse...Procedures.pdf
I was also able to find an alternative to the costly MB Trans oil (up to $20/liter) with same performance specs from his site. Send a private message for details.
Lastly for evidence on what I am saying just refer to a car for sale advert on this forum. Note that the guy changed the transmission oil at 73000 miles at a dealer and then 1 year later at 83,000 miles the whole transmission was dead and he spent $4,000+ on the repair. Ouch.. So much for "lifetime" trans oil. What most people fail to understand is that "lifetime" usually means warranty lifetime or first owner average ownership period. All car oils used everywhere eventually will loose their properties and need to be replaced if one is interested in preventing high repair costs.
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ansmission+oil
A friend of mine was kind to provide some literature on the subject. There is a basic trend to just syphon out the oil. That is causing clogging of the filter when the new oil is installed and it starts to dissolve the accumulated sludge on the pan, etc. Moral of the story the pan has to come down and the filter replaced. I for myself plan to syphon out the trans oil and then remove the pan when not much oil is left (less mess). See links below:
https://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techse..._council01.pdf
https://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techse...ions_Guide.pdf
https://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techse...Procedures.pdf
I was also able to find an alternative to the costly MB Trans oil (up to $20/liter) with same performance specs from his site. Send a private message for details.
Lastly for evidence on what I am saying just refer to a car for sale advert on this forum. Note that the guy changed the transmission oil at 73000 miles at a dealer and then 1 year later at 83,000 miles the whole transmission was dead and he spent $4,000+ on the repair. Ouch.. So much for "lifetime" trans oil. What most people fail to understand is that "lifetime" usually means warranty lifetime or first owner average ownership period. All car oils used everywhere eventually will loose their properties and need to be replaced if one is interested in preventing high repair costs.
https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ansmission+oil
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Joined: Apr 2003
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From: San Antonio, Texas
2016 BMW Z4 sDrive35i M Sport
I've noticed kind of a lunge on the first to second shifts lately, mostly when the car is cold, but I'm taking it to the dealer for a flush and fluid change here pretty quick.
Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 212
Likes: 2
From: Maryland USA
2003 C230 Coupe
Originally Posted by davis449
I've noticed kind of a lunge on the first to second shifts lately, mostly when the car is cold, but I'm taking it to the dealer for a flush and fluid change here pretty quick.
Davis the weather is getting cold and I believe the emissions parameters in the car computer are set up to keep the car in the low gears longer so as to heat up the catalytic converter fast. I wouldn't get scared by that. I believe it is just natural. My 99 C230K does the same thing on cold early morning starts.
In any case changing the transmission oil above 60000 miles on a 5/6 years old car is a prudent insurance investment.
I believe dealers do that for about $200+.
Car lovers that maintain the car themselves could probably be able to do by half.
