I took my 2002 C230 in for the first scheduled service today. The car has 11,635 mile on it. I went to the dealer from which I purchased the car for the service, R&S Import in Fort Washington, PA. They provided a very pleasant experience at service check in, including a 2002 C240 as a loaner (with C2, C4, Bose and CD changer!)

I provided them with a list of items as follows:

Items to Service - 1) maintenence A 2) set speed sensitive volume to 0db 3) eliminate vibration/rattle from interior trim peice across the rear hatch

Items to Check - 1) wheel alignment

Items to Note - 1) oil consumption: required 1 qt at 9100 mi and is down 1/2 qt at 11,635 which may indicate an icreasing rate of consumption 2) 1st to 2nd shift feels and sounds different than the other shifts 3) noticeable vibration felt through clutch pedal 4) heavy feel to clutch first time it is depressed after considerable time cruising on the highway - seems more prominent in hot weather

I had dropped the car off just after 8:00 am. I recieved a call at about 3:30 pm with an update. The "Items for Service" had been completed. "Items to Check", wheel alignment , was slightly out of spec and has been adjusted. They also took the time to evaluate the "Items to Note". At this point I'd have to say that their approach and effort appear to be worthy of considerable regard.

Here's the unsettling part. In evaluating the 1st to 2nd shift they drove the car and agreed that it felt different and that warranted further investigation. They removed the pan for the transmission and found some metal fragments. They felt this was outside the range of anything that might be considered "normal" and therfore indicates a likely problem with the transmission. Rather than take the transmission apart to try to find the defective part, they are reccommending that the transmission be replaced with a new unit. They will have the replacement transmission on Monday and have installed by the end of the day on Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

With all the talk on this forum about the 1st to 2nd shift, I never really thought that there was a problem with my transmission or shifter, I just assumed it was the nature of the beast. I guess the thing to do is follow the dealers lead and have the transmission replaced. However, being that the only "problem" I was able to detect was a slightly more prominent notch in the 1-2 shift, which seems as though it is an intrinsic characteristic of the car, this suggested course of action from the dealer seems like it might be extreme.

Anyone with questions, comments or opinions, I'd like to hear them.

Thanks!

 

Don't knock it. Extreme or not; it seems that your dealer is trying to take care of you. You got the loaner and what I would consider good service. Unless you know enough about the mechanicals I wouldn't question the dealer on this. He has to justify it to MB. So, I would think this actually deserves a very favorable rating for the dealer on the followup MB survey. Or would you rather he didn't and you would have wound up with more FOD in your tranny and quite possible no gears.

 

i goto R&S and they're pretty good. (mb of devon is closer...) in fact, i'm just about to schedule a service A w/ them and also have the alignment checked out. also a couple of other little things like the seat belt (not sure if anything can be done about that).

anyway, in this area, i think R&$ is the best dealership to go to.

btw, i've gotten a C230k, e320 (w208) and a c320 wagon from them... they ocassionally ask me if i want the ML, but i kindly decline.

ps not sure where you are, but if driving to R&S is problematic, they will pick up the car and drop off the loaner. i was told they sometimes go to cherry hill, nj for their customers. just give them advance notice.

 

I think it sounds like you have a great dealer.

Rest assured that your old tranny will get torn down to find the cause...and getting a new unit is MUCH preffered to having them do a tear down and rebuild on yours. Its not so much that you are getting a new unit, rather anytime you have the dealer take something apart and rebuild it, it won't be "good as new", and they will likely damage other components in the process.

In a RWD car, the swap shouldn't take long, once they get tranny, and that's still less time than it would take em to rebuild it.

Were the metal bits aluminum, or steel? Could be part of a shifter fork...if it were a gear, you'd feel the vibration. If its aluminum, it could be part of the casting, and that would immediately explain the need to replace it...

 

What did the 1-2 shift feel like?

 

Patronus:
The 1-2 shift presented more resistance as the shift lever was moved through the gate. When that resistance was at it's worst, the shift would produce a feel and sound that I would describe as a slight "clunck". I would not get the clunck every time and when I did it wasn't terribly offensive. No one else who ever drove the car ever commented on it. I've probably had about a dozen other people drive the car.

 

I had a problem with the gear shift (1 -> 2) and the rear hatch rattling. The dealer said that the shift was normal and Did nothing to fix it. They said that they did not notice anything unusual with the shift. For the hatch they replaced some part and now it doesnt rattle anymore.

Any advice on the shift or any dealer in the NY/Nj area that has noticed the problem.

 

Sounds like your dealer is being very proactive and that's praiseworthy. Enjoy your new tranny and let us know how it works compared with the old

 

I bought my car at R and S, Fred Mielke helped me out, he is great.