FastChiq

Hey Guys,

I'm a newbie to MBWorld.org and i would LOVE it if someone could answer a few of my questions...

I leased a brand new 2006 C230 in December and ever since the 1st service inspection (at about 3200 miles) i've had this ANNOYING problem:

I know im not goin crazy, but my car KICKS when switching gears from first to second. I feel like my car's gonna break! Four service techs and advisors have test-driven the car with me and felt the problem, but they can't seem to fix it. As the service tech told me, i've tried switching from S mode to C.... SAME PROBLEM! Then they said try the kick switch...and YEP.. STILL THERE! This one tech told me i have to wait until the car reaches 17,000 miles for it to adjust itself (thats about 8000 miles from now)

I've had 2 software updates, "loose" snap rings replaced, and now my baby is in the shop again I'm surprised they haven't changed the tranny yet. Today is the 6th visit back (i have a whole list of problems, but thats a whole 'nother thread)...

I LOVE my car, but it seems like i might have a lemon in my hands...anyone else have that problem?? what did u try?

do u think i should give it another chance or should i go for the BMW e92 instead??

TA-9FF

It sounds to me you've already made your decision, and answered your own question, seeing how you're a "Soon to be proud owner of an E92"

FastChiq

Thats only IF they can't fix it...

Oc230K

Welcome to Mbworld sorry to hear your problem with your car. But if the car is giving that many problems it probably is a lemon.. The e92 is a totally diffrent class of a car a Clk would be a close match but Bmw will out perform a MB any day of the week on the twisties.

Goodluck to you.

P..S I see you are from HB, do you know Gio?

Outland

Another satisfied 7 speed slushie customer.

DukeBoy27

Our new 2006 c230 7-sp auto is doing just fine, and the shift is smoother than my then-state-of-the-art 5-sp auto 97 Audi A4.

I have to wonder if you are simply stepping on the accelerator a little to hard? Before purchasing the c230, my wife test drove the A3 and IS250 and complained of something similiar to what you described. I felt no such thing in those cars, but then again, I am very careful on not stepping too much on the gas and automatic transmissions always adapted well to my driving style.

But if everyone who drives your car feels like there is a problem, I would say return the car as a lemon. If the dealership give you problems, escalate to MBUSA or report the problem to the local chamber of commerce or the BBB.

Good luck!

FastChiq

I'm not ur typical girly-girl driver though Guys jaws drop when they finally catch up to me on the fwy and see the long hair and realize im a girl.

It kinda feels like this:

Imagine walking ur dog on leash and he spots a squirrel 3 feet away. Ur doggy runs like hell until..."YIPPPEEE!!!" the leash catches up and yanks doggy back... thats the kinda kick i feel. and it only happens from first to second.

electromethod

Our cars are slow.... I don't think all the men on the hwy catch up to you and think what a demon on wheels you are. In any case.... on some occasions I have felt this on my m271........ but only when I slam on the accelerator on a hot day. Perhaps you are expecting too much out of your car... good luck with your current/next car.

Oc230K

LAAAAA- LAAA- LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- LA- LAAAA -LAAAAAAAA LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA... Have you heard that sound from your car lately?

SuperQ

haven't had any problems with my car at all since i bought it.

SeaCoupe

I thought the same thing. You are proclaiming that you have made up your mind, so why ask us?

You may have the run on some M271 engines, but wait till you get mauled by an M111. I'm in HB sometimes. I'd love to outrun you.

Seriously, try a new dealership. If it snaps like you say, that is grossly impaired. Are they going to fault you when the tranny has a failure? If another dealer won't help, go to MBUSA. This is a low mileage car, and it shouldn't be having this issue. You may want to seek out GlassJaw on this board. Hes an MB Tech at MB Beverly Hills. He may know more.

Arn560

You can step on the gas any which way but loose and you should not have the problems she described. The car is a lemon. Just keep the loaner!

Outland

A pullied M111 Coupe is a beautiful thing. Not like you'd need it to outrun the V6 C230's though...they are almost C240 like in there inability to move off the line. Why they didn't just use the C240 name for the 2.5L V6, I don't know.

revstriker

Not a lot of good answers IMHO. Personally, I think if they have not tried to replace the tranny yet, this should be the next step. Not sure how some people can claim the car is a "lemon" when they haven't even attempted to replace the transmission.

I would suggest you take it back to the dealer and speak to the SA about your problem. Remind them that this is the ___ time you've brought the car in for the same problem, and they have not been able to fix it. Then suggest that it's time to replace the transmission. If they do not agree, do not let them try anything else. Now is the time to get tough and say that you would rather, at this point, contact MBUSA and perhaps a lawyer about the issue because you are not satisfied. I can't imagine MBUSA not agreeing to change the transmission after this many attempts at fixing the problem.

What you DON'T want to do is storm in to the SA, act disrespectful, and start demanding stuff. This will automatically put them on the defense, and they will NOT want to help you solve your problem. Trust me, it will be much better to solve the problem with their help than without.

That's my $.02. Good luck to you.

Buellwinkle

Lemon law requires four attempts (or 30 overnight days in the shop) to fix the same problem in 18 months so that's all that I would give them and then it's lawyer time. The problem sounds more like a bad motor mount than a tranny. When you accellerate hard and it shifts, the motor rocks and with bad motor mounts it could cause a jerk feeling when shifting. Try MB of LN instead (you probably go to Fletcher and they are so busy that they don't have time to deal with car issues, they just want to sell more, BTW, saw the Governator there on Sat while my kid's car was getting washed).

Anybody that drives an auto trans is a girly girl like my 2 daughters...

FastChiq

***UPDATE!!!***

Remember i had my car in the shop when i first posted? Ok, i got it back on the 12th only to find that they had not fixed the kicking problem. I figured oh, what the hell, i'll suck it up until i contact a lawyer. The next morning i woke up to find FLUIDS on my driveway!!!


Decided to put white paper on cardboard to get some of the color on there and see how much was leaking. Took it back to the dealer on the 14th! (i think its finally the 30th day). They said it would take half an hour to fix (no loaners available) so i agreed to wait....until the tech called the advisor back and said the problem was worse than they thought. For some reason, they didn't tell me what it was... Two minutes later, i was given the keys to the loaner that im driving around in right now. HMMMMM.....

FastChiq

a good driver drives manual...a great driver drives an auto REALLY well...

I'll race u old man....hahahaha....

Oc230K

Bullywinkle OUCH THATS GOTTA HURT............................ :

FastChiq

p.s. considering all the things people put loaner cars through, it drove SOOO much better than my car...hmmm..

...maybe the transmission fluid leak had something to do with it?

SeaCoupe

Doh, the new girl is calling out the infamous and much revered Buellwinkle.....


Ohhh snap back to reality...


E

r3v1ls

Haha racing in an automatic, that's fun. Lets see, hold brake down, stomp the gas, let go of the brake and wait. That's a lot of fun.

I got 50 bucks on Buellwinkle.

tyro

Moviela

Before you look down your nose, with the Europeans, at automatic transmissions, I'd invite your attention to the latest Porsche cars turning in faster and faster lap times at Willow Springs with an automatic transmission built by Allison, a division of GM. Makes you wanna go, Hmmmmmmm.

Danica Patrick has done well racing with an automatic. Now if she could not stomp her feet like a little girl when she looses....................

Outland

Really don't care. Automatics suck. I will always prefer the feel of rowing my own gears, no matter how much less sucky they make them in the future. They use far less fuel in the real world, almost never break down, and 99% of the time are far quicker than the automatic.

r3v1ls

It's not an automatic in the Porsche cars. I believe it's similar to the Bmw SMG and the VW DSG which both have clutches.
I'm now driving a 325i with a slushbox... not much fun .