FatFatW203

So I Have A 2006 Mercedes C280, It Just Recetly Hit 70K. I Heard That MBUSA Said That The Transmission Fluid Does Not Need To Be Changed During The Lifetime Of The Vehicle?

SunnyRayToronto

I heard that Elvis is still alive!

I also heard that Elvis change the transmission oil on his W203 every 39,000 miles (60,000 km).

I also heard that Elvis knows how to use the SEARCH function.

FatFatW203

Lmao Haha Epic, So Every 39K? What Type Of Fluid Doe It Take?

04mbc230

My... My.. Aren't we getting rough here.

Aside from that, Sunny is right. There is no such thing as lifetime. Do a change regardless what they tell you. You thank yourself in the long run.

contact148

its a special fluid the specs are around here somewhere

you MUST use the special fluid

Glyn M Ruck

Change fluid & filter EVERY 39K miles or 60K Km's. Use only fluid approved against 236.14.

SunnyRayToronto

Fuchs Titan ATF 4134 is the factory transmission oil.
Febi-Bilstein (Part# FEB1827311) is OEM to the 1 litre Mercedes-Benz ATF that the Mercedes-Benz Stealership sells.

You'll likely only be doing a partial transmission oil change,.... so you'll need about 3-4 liters. Don't forget to change your transmission oil filter and gasket!

You have 7 speed auto so you should be fine,... but those with 5-speed auto should also change their pilot bushing adapter too.

DorethaRockl

There is no such thing as lifetime. Do a change regardless what they tell you.

91RS

I thought it was the 5 speed they claimed was filled for life but recommends fluid change at 39k on the 7 speed?

NardoNZ

my 722.6 is a 5sp obviously with 80k miles on the clock and never had a service, probably due to these messages. I had it serviced at work and the guys told me the oil was one of the darkest they had seen in a while. Also after they drained everything and topped up from the top, the sump was still dry? no oil came out, so obviously the oil is stuck somewhere. Somewhere where something has clogged up. They are locating it now. Moral of the story: ALWAYS service everything. I just bought he car (clk55 2003) for the long run so im investing in servicing EVERYTHING!

SunnyRayToronto

NardoNZ, sounds like somebody might have mistakenly put transmission oil into the engine oil check tube. I'd call them dipstick tube but they don't have dipsticks!

Not the first time these two check tubes have been confused, the engine oil tube is usually closer to the front of the car with a small black or red twist cap. The transmission tube is usually closer to the firewall, small black cap with red security tab. While engine oil is topped via engine oil cap at top of engine, transmission oil is topped via transmission oil check (dipstick) tube.

Check your engine oil,..... transmission oil has is reddish in colour. If transmission oil was placed into the engine, then flush it out and put in proper Mobil 1 0W40 or 5W40.

NardoNZ

I work at a MB dealership... surely they wont mix that up............. i hope........ would the clogging up not make any sense? providing the car was smooth as it can be before the oil change, and now that I think of it, after we restarted the motor there was a vibration in the motor:O

NardoNZ

very very minor but still enough for me to notice... so how do i check the oil level? i'd say it will be exeptionally high with 8 litres extra in there

SunnyRayToronto

It wouldn't surprise me what an MB Dealership would mess up.

The transmission oil check (dipstick) tube might hold about 1/4 liter of transmission oil if it was clogged at the bottom,..... but it goes directly into the transmission oil pan so whatever goes in should land directly at the bottom of the transmission oil pan. So how can this be dry? The transmission oil was probably placed in the wrong check (dipstick) tube,... and the only other check (dipstick) tube around is the one for the engine oil.

Engine oil can be checked via a engine oil dipstick (sold separately) or via instrument cluster display.

Transmission oil can be checked via transmission oil dipstick. Needs to be checked with transmission warmed up to 80 degree Celsius.

Huh? 8 liters extra??? How did they manage to get in 8 liters in there? 8-9 liters is the capacity of the transmission. Most MB dealership would only do a partial transmission oil change and thus only replace the 3 liter of transmission oil that they get from the transmission oil pan. It's too time consuming and complicated to do a full transmission oil change on these cars,... you'd need 14 liters and would be pumping it out one liter at a time from the transmission cooling tube.

An overfilled engine would create too much oil pressure and that might be the source of the vibration. But I would think overfilling it by 8 liters of oil would overflow oil all over the engine.

Its also possible that they drained your engine oil pan by mistake instead of your transmission oil pan.

NardoNZ

thanks i will check all this tomorrow. I think they said because of the black oil that they would replace all of it because of differences in viscosity or something. If the oil actually goes directly into the pan then nothing has gone in as i was there when they took it off. I'm not technical enough to know these things as i work in sales, so im very thankful for your advice!!

johnand

The 7G absolutely needs to be serviced every 39K. Just do a search and you will see how many expensive repairs people have had to do when neglecting this service. https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...s-60k-kms.html

See this thread here for service info: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ce-thread.html

Also, there should never be a partial change of fluid when servicing the 7G properly to MB service procedures. When properly done, the torque converter is drained as well as the pan which results in darn near a 100% fluid change.

samaritrey

keep us updated that is very strange

ML55CLA45

When I purchased my car back in 2001.... i remember our salesman say the same thing.....

The entire time I have owned this car my dealership SA's have never recommended me get a Tranny Fluid change on THIS car....... 2 different advisor - My Kansas City SA 2001-2007 and 2011- current and my Detroit SA 2007-2011

They both..... however.... have recommended getting just about everything under the moon fixed or replaced on the car at one time or another....

In the small service manual included with my owners manual it list XXX miles or years to change/replace spark plugs, filters, oil, coolant, brake fluid etc but it does not mention when to replace the Tranny fluid.

For those of you with newer w203's maybe your manual does list when.....?

I have not had any problems with my transmission.... BUT inline with everyone else I did get the trany fluid changed approx 1 year ago.

Not the 39k which multiple people have posted.... but at 160k miles.

NardoNZ

ok so today they checked it, oil was added in the right hole, saw it for myself now and them oil stick hole and trans filler hole are indeed quite close to each other. Its definitely a blockage that occured while draining the old oil. I think they located it and its getting flushed tomorrow. Hopefully for it to work properly.

SunnyRayToronto

What could be causing the blockage?

There's 3 ways to drain transmission oil: via drain hole at bottom of pan, dropping the pan, and via thin tube of an evacuator (like mityvac) via transmission dipstick tube. Whatever is causing the blockage, you should have them drop the pan to make sure they get it all out and to change the transmission oil filter too.

CharlesCarino, was that first transmission oil change at 160,000 miles a partial transmission oil change? If so, you should also consider doing another one halfway between your next 39,000 mile,.... in other words at about 180,000 miles.

Tri-Star

I had my transmission pan cleaned and new fluid added at 80,000 miles, however it is recommended every 40,000 ... I didn't know this because I was told the car's tranny fluid didn't need to be changed for it's lifetime. Never hurts to flush and add new fluid.

ML55CLA45

I am assuming it was more than a partial...... but I am not sure... I scheduled an appointment and asked for my tranny fluid to be changed...

All in all in cost me somewhere just under $300....

Ill have to look for the invoice...

SunnyRayToronto

Just under $300 would sound more like a partial transmission oil change,... here in Canada a partial transmission oil change at the Mercedes-Benz Stealership would cost about $500. And they generally avoid full transmission oil changes on our 5-speeds.

Anyways,.... transmission oil filter $15-20, transmission pan gasket $15-20, and transmission oil at about $20-25 per liter. You'll need about 3-4 liters of transmission oil to do a partial transmission oil change. But you'll need about 14-15 liters to do a full transmission oil change,.... so just under $300 wouldn't even cover the transmission oil at $20 per liter. We don't refer to them as Mercedes-Benz Stealerships for nothing,....

LILBENZ230

Technically that is right for MBUSA, and they recommend only the 39k mile service once on the 7G. But the ROW they recommend 39k interval changes on both. Glyn's theory is people expect long service life from cars in ROW, while Americans throw cars away. Which is correct.

I didn't do a change until 100k on my 722.6 and flushed it at 120k. My transmission is fine.

SunnyRayToronto

Also MB were sold relatively cheaper in USA to get volume up as American volume are always important numbers internationally. To get volumes up, MBUSA also included dealer servicing on American cars,.... and by claiming lifetime transmission oil without the need for servicing ever,.... MBUSA reduced their service costs,.... at American buyers expense.