jenjen

Hey everyone!

This is my first post on the forum, though unfortunately I've had to reference it more than a few times... any advice would be greatly appreciated!

My question is at the bottom, but here is the backstory:
In October 2009 I bought a 2003 c230 Kompressor coupe, automatic, 48k miles, one owner, had it checked by a mechanic and it looked to be in perfect condition.

Then... in March of this year, the car suddenly went into limp home mode. Oh boy! I use an independent Mercedes mechanic about 30 miles away, but I read about the camshaft recall so I figured this might be the problem. I had it towed to the dealer, and they did the recall work, but it did not fix the limp home problem.

They said I needed to replace the conductor plate and the valve body. $1200 later, that work was done and the car seemed to be working fine.

Now it's May. Two weeks ago, the car went into limp home mode again!! Ahhh!! Are you kidding me? So, we had it towed back to the dealer since the work they just did in March was still under warranty. Now they told me I need a new transmission! They never mentioned that the transmission was bad in March, but now they claim they did. Freaking liars!

Anyway, they quoted $5k to replace it. I decided to have it towed to my mechanic (20 yrs experience, specialty in Mercedes, used to work in the dealership) and have him do the work. (I did get my $1200 back, at least.) When I went to the dealership to get my car towed to my mechanic, the floor was ripped up on the passenger's side where the transmission control module is located. Whatt??? Why? I asked and they said they must have checked something there. Not sure why they didn't close it up, but anyway, I had it towed to my mechanic.

He replaced the transmission yesterday. I went to drive it home, happy to be done with this crap, and two miles later the car went into limp home mode! You must be kidding! I drove it back to the mechanic, restarting 10 times in traffic. That was fun. The mechanic is somewhat baffled, but he is thinking the transmission control module is bad. But he is not 100% sure.
...


My question is this: Could the camshaft problem have caused a leak to the TCM? Is this even possible? (I don't know a lot about cars, but starting to learn!)

Otherwise, what in the heck is going on?! I thought it might be the shift module (when I bought the car there was a soda spill), but the mechanic says there are no codes for that problem.

Any ideas?? I am so ready to sell this lemon!

jenjen

Well, I spoke to my mechanic and he said the camshaft is unrelated to the TCM, so I got my answer there... basically, I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same problem? I mean, I had the transmission replaced and my poor car is still broken! I am so frustrated! My mechanic is convinced the first transmission is bad, but I am not so convinced now that we have the same problem with the replacement.

skittles

wish i know how to help you man. there are lots of people here who could though. sorry for your bad experience. Good luck!

so much money wasted here...

maryjcl

Not trying to be a wiseguy, but find a better mechanic. These cars aren't that hard to diagnose, if you have the right diagnostic tools and some experience. Personally, if it were me I would have left the car at the dealership and let them finish what they started, because you are not going to save significantly from them with respect to an original Mercedes transmission, and aftermarket transmissions, outside of a few places nationwide, are a pig in a poke.

If you let people know where they are, we can try to recommend a good shop, but on the newer cars, which I would consider yours to be, the dealers are among the few shops that have the correct diagnostic equipment. Does not mean that they don't screw up, as you saw, you just need to find a good dealer.

Good luck

jenjen

I'm in the Miami / Fort Lauderdale area.

Yep... a new mechanic is certainly an option. However... the problem *was* diagnosed as a bad tranny at the dealership to begin with...

jenjen

I just want to reiterate that my mechanic has over 20 years of experience working on Mercedes, certified, etc., and has the diagnostic equipment... he seems to know his stuff.

I was getting the runaround at the dealer up in Ft Laud. Perhaps I'll switch to the Miami or Coral Gables dealership. Anyone have a recommendation?

skittles

even if he has many years of XP on MB doesn't make him knowledgeable about everything on MB.

also how long have you known this mechanic?

Dealers will be stealers. i think everyone knows that.

most of the time they wont even explain to you thoroughly what is happening to your car. You really have to get to know your SA well. but none the less its their job to tell you everything even if it takes 3 hours to do so.

based on my experience Ive taken my car to 4 dealers and none really did and said the right thing. i have numerous posts here with attached pics of their diagnostic results and they were all wrong.

proof: a close friend happens to own MB diagnostic equipment and we did it our-self. my car had a few frozen codes that i never knew about. (I never had a CEL since i bought the car up to date.)

I'm not trying to bad mouth you mechanic or your SA/dealer, im just stating that you cannot trust them with everything they say no matter what they try to say to assure you of who they are.

this limp mode happened to me once only, ever, and that was because i was acting like a douche. i was running 15mph and shifted to N and rev'ed the car, then at high RPM i pull it to D carelessly. then car limped. parked to the side and shut off the engine and turn on again, after that it was ok.

I'm sure your problem is with one of the sensors or settings. Its not much of mechanical.

Be patient and don't keep spending if your not sure. You FL guys have lots of meets there. You should go to one and get to know the community well. I'm sure they will be more than happy to help you.

jenjen

Patrick, thanks for the lengthy reply. I hear you about the dealers - I've (obviously) had nothing but bad luck with them. I even requested a new SA the second time (but the same dealership). Honestly, I would join the community down here, but I am leaving the country in August so I should be rid of this car by then. I only bought the car to use for a year, and unfortunately, it ends up as a lemon.

With the current situation, my only option right now is to limp over to the dealer a few miles from my mechanic, as they are the only ones that can replace the transmission control module (for security reasons, I think?). I have never been to that dealership, so hopefully it will be a good experience. So, I'll be doing that on Monday (can't make it tomorrow). I'll be saying my prayers that it will be fixed!

I'm pretty sure when it gets to the dealer they'll come up with another $5k diagnosis... but trying to remain optimistic. I'll make sure to update here, hopefully with good news!

nrg_mike

Not to rub it in but I guess I'm one of the few that have had good experiences w/ the dealership (I use West Covina Penske MB). I should also note that my SA was my Xgf's god brother and he took care of me regardless of my relationship status w/ his godsis.
Anyway, any work I've had there has been covered in warranty. While it takes a bit of time to complete, I've always had a back-up or rental. I guess the worst part about the dealership is the price paid. Guess I'm lucky.

As for your problems, it definitely sounded like a transmission problem. I had that problem twice with another non-MB car. I had one transmission replaced and within 2 weeks it was bad again.

One thing I want to ask is do you happen to have any electrical aftermarket equipment installed near your ECM? Maybe a HID kit or something? I know a ballast near the ECM can cause the same problems as "limp-mode" and even throw an additional 6 other errors. Again, I know this because I was once an idiot and did the same thing. LOL

jenjen

Well, I think I've learned my lesson about the dealer - they are *******s but I have to suck it up because the work is guaranteed, like you said. So, we'll see on Monday. I really hope the second transmission isn't dead because I only drove it two miles! I have a warranty on it, but would still have to pay labor... a pretty penny regardless.

I just bought the car in October and haven't added any aftermarket parts. It doesn't appear to have had any prior to my ownership either (the first owner had a lease, so I assume they didn't do anything to it).

I'm pretty sure I just have excessive bad luck. It happens to me all the time

jenjen

Wow, didn't think that would be censored... it's not the F word! Bastar*s