jfelten

Took my car into Mercedes for the 7G transmission service. They say they don't drain the torque converter, which is not what I thought This is per Mercedes spec they say, and I thought I'd ask here if that is normal.

I got a 2010 W204 C300 as a loaner, and was surprised at how different it feels. The steering wheel felt plasticy, and seemed to be missing some of that "Mercedes" feel to me. Did they go to electric power steering? It felt oddly slower than my car, even though it has the same drive train. The transmission on it was way smoother though, and it seems like a nice car overall.

LILBENZ230

W203 C280 4Matic.. IIRC, no 7G in that one. Only the 722.6 5AT.

Edit: I was unaware they made a C280 with RWD in the W203 line. That would have the 7G.

Glyn M Ruck

They should have drained the TC.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ight=722.9+DIY

jfelten

Darn - looks like they lied then.

The told me there was no plug on the torque converter, and that it wasn't part of the tranny service. Can anyone confirm there is a drain plug in a w203 7G torque converter? The document, AP27.00-P-2702W, says to drain the converter if there is a plug. The service adviser told me that draining it required a pressure flush, which double the price.

It's pathetic one has to double check up that a dealer is doing a routine maintenance correctly. I'm going to ask them to redo it correctly or refund my money.

Glyn M Ruck

What year is your car? Complete your profile please.

jfelten

I added a few more details about my car and location.

I drive a 2007 c280 Elegance package 2WD. From the russian VIN decoder site I get what is I think is the tranny id number:

722999 00 812136

I can post the VIN if interested.

sammydragon3

u know wat u have to do go to that dealership that lied ...literally go their

then call another dealership on speakerphone and record it

man if i had every mechanic recorded i would be a rich rich man

Glyn M Ruck

2007 production 722.9 transmissions had a TC drain plug. Johnand's 2006 model already had it.

The TC drain was deleted in 1999 from the 722.6 transmission & only very early 722.9's had no TC drain. I have never seen a W203 722.9 without one.

Glyn M Ruck

BTW: Print out the WIS document provided by Johnand & tell them to do the job properly to the book.

sammydragon3

haha i wouldnt trust that dealership if their that stupid

go to the one that said they drain the torque converter

jfelten

Update

The dealer said they would look at it again, and drain the torque converter if possible. They said the torque converter drain, which they now acknowledge exists, may be impossible to access. Johnand was able to figure it out, so I hope a Mercedes tech can too.

I would like to express my gratitude for the help and resources provided in this forum.

Glyn M Ruck

What BS - There is a cutaway in the bell housing to access it. Hope they know they are supposed to fit a new microencapsulated plug - i.e. has sealant on it.

Dealers!!!

jfelten

To be honest I'm apprehensive about letting them work on it again. I've already paid them and the job needs to be done right though.

I'm going to document everything in an e-mail and send it to them to make sure they are careful about doing the job right. I should post it as a template to for others to use when dealing with the 7G service at dealers.

Glyn M Ruck

The trouble is that they have gone and poluted the new oil with dirty oil by not draining the converter. This is not the end of the world but not ideal either.

sammydragon3

the thing is the dealerships dont care about u as soon as u buy that car

the service department is just a rip and is their to ruin your car so u have to buy another one sooner

Glyn M Ruck

That's why I supervise services on my car & otherwise keep my cars well clear of dealers. Less time spent at dealers = less trouble with car!

And I have a good dealer owned by MBSA.

jfelten

Part of the reason I went to the dealer was to avoid a situation like this. I'm servicing the tranny as a form of cheap insurance, and I assumed factory trained technicians with factory tools would do the job correctly per specifications. I didn't want to have to worry about it, and I thought the small premium over a good independent was worth it.

In fact what I have found out is that they will try to cheat you, and that you have to supervise them like insolent children. I thought MB had more integrity than that, and find it depressing they don't have better quality control.

I will never have my car serviced by another dealer after this. Mercedes are you listening? Get control of your dealers!

Glyn M Ruck

Understood!

sammydragon3

funny thing is that all dealerships in the us arent owned by mercedes and thats why they dont care about the name or the customers

johnand

Sorry I missed all this. My car is a 2007 and it has the torque converter drain plug. I have been told by the lead tech at my local dealership that all W203's with the 722.9 have the drain plug.

What is more disturbing is that the techs think it might be difficult to access the drain plug?!?!? It couldn't possibly be easier. There is a rubber plug covering the access hole. Just pull the plug and rotate the crankshaft until you see the plug.

I just can't get over how many stories we see here on a regular basis of sheer incompetence of MB dealers. It seems to be getting a lot worse lately. Honestly, I have found from past experience that it is the same for most other makes of cars. It is one of the biggest reasons I work on my own cars. It is also why I am a huge proponent of indy shops for people that don'e want to work on their cars. To the OP, I recommend just taking it to an indy next service.

Glyn M Ruck

Sorry John - a blind moment - Don't know why I thought your car was 2006. You have said 100 times it was one of the last produced & it's on your profile

Maybe we need to instruct these useless dealer techs on how to rotate a crankshaft!

kluvsbenz

Ok, guys. I have been reading this thread off and on. Scaring the bejesus out of me. I need to do this tranny service like yesterday with over 80k miles. Never been done. This is my tranny code: transmission 722906 00 374293

Guess I am in the same boat as the OP. Run!! Don't walk!! Run away from the stealership!!

Glyn M Ruck

It should have been serviced at 39K. Another reason to run

As it has never seen a fluid change you really have to make sure they drain the converter. Also make sure they leave things open for as long as reasonably possible to drain all the old fluid out & drain warm.

kluvsbenz

Granted How many quarts should I provide for the fluid change?

Glyn M Ruck

See here for identification of pan & spill tube & relevant capacities.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...nsmission.html