Transmission - Not able to change gears
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2006
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Transmission - Not able to change gears
Hello,
My stock 2002 Automatic C240 (65,000 kms) has been acting up:
- It will stay in 1st gear & will not switch to a higher gear. This is more noticeable in the morning or after being parked for many hours. Also if the car is not warmed up for a long period of time (i.e more than 5 minutes @ idle) it has this transmission problem.
Sometimes I have to pull over & restart the car, let it sit at idle, then hope the car returns to normal.
- I also have one malfunction at the moment, something to do with a light sensor. Any possibility this is relaying some msg to the computer --> causing my transmission problem?
I'm hoping this isn't to serious, as up until now the car has been relatively good, except for lights burning out etc.
Any help would be very much appreciated, I'm going to visit the dealer ASAP, however thought I would get some extra feedback. The problem is the car is no longer under warranty (purchased in late 2001).
Thanks!
My stock 2002 Automatic C240 (65,000 kms) has been acting up:
- It will stay in 1st gear & will not switch to a higher gear. This is more noticeable in the morning or after being parked for many hours. Also if the car is not warmed up for a long period of time (i.e more than 5 minutes @ idle) it has this transmission problem.
Sometimes I have to pull over & restart the car, let it sit at idle, then hope the car returns to normal.
- I also have one malfunction at the moment, something to do with a light sensor. Any possibility this is relaying some msg to the computer --> causing my transmission problem?
I'm hoping this isn't to serious, as up until now the car has been relatively good, except for lights burning out etc.
Any help would be very much appreciated, I'm going to visit the dealer ASAP, however thought I would get some extra feedback. The problem is the car is no longer under warranty (purchased in late 2001).
Thanks!
Senior Member
Joined: May 2004
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From: da rock
c240
in the morning your car needs to warm up the catalytic before it starts shifting normally. The once the cats are warmed up it should shift normally. In the winter my car does the same thing for about the first 10 minutes of my commute, in the summer its only lasts about 2 or 3 minutes. But if this is the first time your experiencing this problem, then you should get it checked out. Right now my car has 49,000 miles on it the tranny is shifting gears extremely hard, and slipping when it tries to catch the next gear. Maybe our cars have tranny problems. Mines a 2001 by the way.
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2006
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From: France for now
C230k, A170, Mustang GT Convertable
While I am no MB mechanic, I would doubt the cats being warmed up. I would get it checked ASAP. It could be a relatively small control problem that could cause a large transmission problem.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2006
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A mechanic looked at it today & it turns out the battery was faulty. Essentially causing the computer to reset intermittently & causing the transmission problem.
If your waiting 10mins to warm your car up, you may have the same problem. Check it out for sure, cause I don't think you should ever have your car stay in 1st gear, whether winter or summer.
If your waiting 10mins to warm your car up, you may have the same problem. Check it out for sure, cause I don't think you should ever have your car stay in 1st gear, whether winter or summer.
Newbie
Joined: May 2007
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Just to add to the initial question . . . I was getting my 2002 C240 inspection sticker a couple of weeks ago and during the emissions testing the shop (not the MB dealer) kept getting a transmission error code. Well, as it turned out after the inspection the car would not shift out of first gear. Following a couple of days of headscratching, I finally had the shop tow it to the dealer. $2500 later, my car needs a special sensor coded from Germany and some other little something? According to the dealer, this replacement part isn't overly common. It was a pre-owned vehicle, so whomever had it before me didn't exactly keep up with the typical maintenance. I hope nothing else major happens!!!?
Brian
Brian
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From: The OC
2006 C230SS & 2009 E350
Just to add to the initial question . . . I was getting my 2002 C240 inspection sticker a couple of weeks ago and during the emissions testing the shop (not the MB dealer) kept getting a transmission error code. Well, as it turned out after the inspection the car would not shift out of first gear. Following a couple of days of headscratching, I finally had the shop tow it to the dealer. $2500 later, my car needs a special sensor coded from Germany and some other little something? According to the dealer, this replacement part isn't overly common. It was a pre-owned vehicle, so whomever had it before me didn't exactly keep up with the typical maintenance. I hope nothing else major happens!!!?
Brian
Brian
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Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 102
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From: Vancouver, BC
2002 C240
[QUOTE=knight;1670574]A mechanic looked at it today & it turns out the battery was faulty. Essentially causing the computer to reset intermittently & causing the transmission problem.
My 02 c240 had the "light sensor visit workshop" diplay also. This warning only showed up in the morning after my car has been park more than 8 hours. The dealer said the light/rain sensor would have to be replaced. I suspected the battery was on its way out. Took my car to an independent mechanic, he checked the battery (load test), and turns out it is the battery. Replaced the battery and no more error code on the multi function display.
I think if the battery is weak and when you start your car in the morning, it may drop the voltage a little too much and trip some of the sensors to display a temporary error code. Just my thoughts.
My 02 c240 had the "light sensor visit workshop" diplay also. This warning only showed up in the morning after my car has been park more than 8 hours. The dealer said the light/rain sensor would have to be replaced. I suspected the battery was on its way out. Took my car to an independent mechanic, he checked the battery (load test), and turns out it is the battery. Replaced the battery and no more error code on the multi function display.
I think if the battery is weak and when you start your car in the morning, it may drop the voltage a little too much and trip some of the sensors to display a temporary error code. Just my thoughts.
