Xian.Renegade

Just had a gearbox fail on C280 2005 model with less than a 100,000km on the odo. Had to use 1.4 Polo for a long distance essential business trip but taking wife + kid along as away from home a lot for work and don't see them much.

Merc relialbility?

Repair work is taking about a month now and still not fixed.

ncmudbug

Is this an automatic? What are the symptoms?

Good luck and keep us up to date!

Xian.Renegade

Gears either won't shift at all, or shift erratically into either the wrong ratio or with a loud thump and a jerk. There is also a whining noise.

It has been with the technical guys, who towed it in, for more than two weeks and then just as long with MB dealership. It is frustrating and something that makes me worry.

I had previous failures on Merc auto 'boxes and I am no thinking to buy another brand altogether. Having a Merc and then needing to borrow or rent a cheapie has happened once too often. The cheapies get me to where I need to be at.

A client recently went to hospital, was taken there in an emergency. It took three fairly new Mercedes to get her there, due to break-downs along the way.

Glyn M Ruck

Sounds like a good old torque converter failure.

Was the transmission serviced at 60,000 Kms?

Xian.Renegade

Serviced religiously, driven sensibly, taking off slowly when still cold, never "foot shifted" with the accelerator, etc. We know that "foot shifting" will cause up-shifts at too low engine revs, causing pulses from the crankshaft to be communicated to the gearbox, shortening its life. On Diesels more acute than petrol engined vehicles.

Glyn M Ruck

The early 722.9 transmissions had a few problems I'm afraid. Valve bodies, Conductor plates & a few TC failures. The Siemens conductor plate was the biggest problem but further issues were caused in markets like the US where MBUSA unwisely suggested that the transmission was filled for life = short life.

Where are you. You are calling it a C280 so you can't be in the US.

tommy

This too, Glyn. I'm guessing Europe?

Xian.Renegade

Europe? Nope, we get all the excess junk from there. South Africa, that is. The horrid Golf 1 was even sold here until not too long ago. US called them Rabbit back then.

C280 is a 3-litre V6 with 150kW instead of 170, something like that. Awesome car with a terrible gearbox. Many used car dealers dread that 7G thing. Give me manual shift any day!

The little Polo did well and dutifully delivered the tribe without any mishap, after having done just short of a thousand miles since very early this morning. Some faces are still sour because of the inconvenience but they are home safely, at least!

Xian.Renegade

I have done hundreds of thousands of trouble-free kilometres in my older ones, I so wish one could still have that solid build quality and mechanical simplicity.

tommy

Sadly, those days seem to be over. That's why I keep repairing my 1990 Honda CRX; nothing new like it.

Sorry about the bad guess. Since you're both in SA, just drive the car over to Glyn, and he'll diagnose it free of charge.

Xian.Renegade

The car is with MB and it cannot be driven at all. Glyn will need to take a rain cheque for now, but thanks anyway. There is a very reliable Civic in my life, my second Honda. By sheer coincidence, also neighbours driving them. Honda is a slow seller here but they are better engineered, better built and much more reliable than most. Only the more informed or even sophisticated people here drive them. Oh, in a part of Cape Town, there is a street racing culture and those guys soon discovered how high Honda engines can rev and how long they last.

Glyn M Ruck

Glyn's on his way to JHB to play with his Jag.

That street racing part of Cape Town seems to love little Honda's to mod & drop & a thing called a Polo Playa here Tommy. The Playa is a VW based SEAT from Spain that VW badge engineered here.

Xian ~ try & get MB to fit a newer 722.9 to your car or bring it up to latest spec. 2008 onward they were totally sorted.

tommy

VW really does screw with badging and re-naming cars way too much. I had a Seat Ibiza (I think that was it) that I ran from Munich down to Venice & back in a week. Competent if fairly boring car.

I grew up with a first-gen Rabbit 4-speed that loved to not start. Had a lot of fun with it when my parents would let me borrow it to go to the bank - how it took me 2-4 hours to go to a bank a mile away, I'll never know.

samaritrey

That brings back memories except I was either in a 993 or a slk55 amg what a great childhood I had