juanrace2004

I cannot vouch about Amsoil, as I have never used it,but I can vouch about my personal experience with Pentosin ATF1 and their other AT,MT, and Double Clutch fluids. Simply said,I have never had any failure with the fluids from Pentosin that over the years I have used in my cars, being the case,road and/or racing cars. In my opinion, nothing beats personal onroad experience and practical experience. From my end, I have personal and practical proof that it does works and have never heard about one single failure that derives from the proper use of the products Pentosin manufactures.

Glyn M Ruck

Other members who want to take a no risk decision. Please see post #47. I have worked with the Benz service products testing & approvals regime since it's inception under the late Max Ghering. I grew up in our Product Engineering Division.

Please only use Benz approved fluids.

JohnnyC300

Is there any way for me to tell if the transmission service has been done?

Just bought a 2009 c300 sport 4matic with 49,000 miles. Now at 51,000 miles and the service records that came with the car do not show any indication the transmission was serviced at the 40,000 mile recommended interval.

Should I get this done immediately if I can't tell?

johnnr

Johnnyc300 - good odds are it was NOT serviced, specially if it was a lease return.

Most people don't do those services when they know they wont keep the car long, whether lease or if purchase)

Is this a certified car from the dealer?

If yes (certified) - what I would do (and I've done this very successfully) is, gently demand the dealer perform the service for free. Why? because these cars, if certified, must be up to date in all service areas in order to be certified.

While you're at it, check that you have records for all other items that should have been done thought the intervals as stated in the manual.

If there is no way for the dealer to prove these services were done, they really should be performing it for you for free.

I had a whole bunch of service items done for free based on this (brake fluid, trans fluid...)

If it wasn't a certified car, but you have documents stating the car was "up to date" or something, I'd still pursue this be done.

Now...if when you purchased it, it was not certified, and you bought "as-is" I guess yea, pay for the service but don't freak out....51K is no big deal.

Since it's only a 2009, I'm thinking it is certified???

JohnnyC300

Hey Johnnr,

The car was a lease return and then owned by a second owner prior to me. However it was not certified pre-owned and I am not sure why because the car was immaculate externally. Well the rear sunshade will not deploy but that's a separate issue!

I did request the service records from the MB dealership that I purchased the car from, and it seems all the required maintenance was performed until March 2012 at 35,000 miles.


Since March 2012 there is no record of any maintenance being performed, but I am hoping that owner 2 brought it to an independent shop which would explain the lack of record at MB.

The only service indicator I am getting is that I am (90) days overdue for an a5 service. Based on this I would assume a B service has been performed, or at least the indicator was reset, or the car would be alerting me to perform a B service according to the amount of time that has elapsed which as per the manual it would be time even though it is not milage wise at 52,000 now and counting.

This is my first car and i've had no maintenance done yet so I appreciate advice. I'm trying to decide between getting an oil change (~$125), a B-service (~700), or the tranny service (~$750), or some combination. The service rep told me that when just getting the oil changed they perform a complimentary inspection and "check everything" to see what needs to be done so I am not sure if maybe I should just do the oil and tranny and see if they tell me it appears I need any A/B work done.

Thanks for the help guys.

johnnr

Johnnyc300 - do some research and you'll see how easy it is to perform some of the "services" Mercedes dealers place in "b" service lists. For example, it's usually just a glorified oil change with a cabin filter change.

You can buy a cabin filter on ebay for super cheap, and change it yourself easily, and just get the oil changed for 85 bucks. And I'd recommend finding a good independent one of these days. The stealers truly are just that. trust me, I've got 2 Benzs with plenty experience. I will stop taking my ML to the dealer soon. The service "a" is honestly a total ripoff - it's just an oil change with a bunch of "checks," which any good shop would be doing anyway, when they are working on the car. None of their "checks" are in really in depth.

Just read your maintenance manual to see what should be performed and when...don't solely go by "service" letters in your dash, as these eventually may not line up with what's in the manual, especially when you start doing services based on not knowing what may have been done by a previous owner.

Don't freak out about your tranny service. Just go ahead and get it done if you feel it's necessary - it's likely after the 2012 service items, nothing was done (it's not that long ago) plus, you may just want some peace of mind with your new car.

But you can find independents who can do the job for cheaper and just as good craftmanship (use yelp and various searches to identify some Benz indys)

Also, sign up for coupons at your Benz dealer. When they do send them, they can be decent discounts.

Just leverage these websites for opinions and weigh them all with a grain of salt. you'll get die hard "do this" and "do that" type people, and you'll get some in the middle. Trust yourself and don't sell your self to those stealers all the time. Just do your research and yes - see if you can obtain any documentation about after 2012.

Also - great parts websites for these cars are:
autohaus.az
rockauto.com

Glyn M Ruck

Transmission servicing requirements are very simple. Fluid & filter change every 39K miles or 60K Km's including the torque converter. If there is any doubt service the transmission. It is a very expensive component if it fails. Ignore any filled for life BS you might hear.

Only use Benz approved lubricants & fluids.

RMeuropean is also a very good Benz spares supplier.

juanrace2004

You can also use Pentosin ATF1. I have used it in all my street cars and also in our road racing cars without one single failure. I prefer it over any other product.

Pete7874

The car must meet certain requirements to be eligible for the CPO program. Possibly a car with 2 owners does not qualify? Or maybe specifically because the service records were incomplete/missing, it couldn't be certified? Also, the car must still be within the 4-year original warranty period to be CPO eligible.

To be on the safe side, I'd go ahead and have the trans fluid changed. It's not cheap, so the previous owner probably didn't do it.

Glyn M Ruck

This is not wise advice. This product is not approved. People that think they know better than Benz & the oil companies can do as they like with their own vehicles. They should not encourage others to indulge in their folly.

juanrace2004

My friend,with all due respect,we leave in a free country,where there is a constitutional right to a thing called " Free speech". At least in the United States there is such a right,besides being an attorney,I have used all my life in all my street and racing cars, Pentosin products in all our gears, and have not had a single failure. I think highly about their products, but any OP can use whatever he prefers and even if you are a "Super Moderator" as you are, I dont think its right for you to impose your way of thinking to anybody else. I am sure you can respect my point of view even if its different from your own. I respect yours.

Glyn M Ruck

You have had your say multiple times & you can continue having your say.

As I have said before, we try to give the best possible advice on this forum and I will continue to do that.

You are most welcome to your opinions.

juanrace2004

Thanks. I do agree with you that its always best to use MB approved products and parts, its only I have a most favorable opinion of Pentosin products from my personal experience over the years. Thanks for your understanding.

juanrace2004

Glyn. I am thinking of purchasing a 2012,2013, C250 Coupe, its there anything I should be aware of. I have had only V6 MB's and I have no experience with the new 4 cilinder Turbo engines. Any help on the matter will be appreciated.

Pete7874

This is a "DIY 722.9 7G-tronic 7-speed automatic transmission service thread". Your question would be better served by a separate thread. Or if you want Glyn's opinion only, just send him a PM.

juanrace2004

Where you in the armed forces?

juanrace2004

Not to worry. I will PM Glyn. Cheers.

JohnnyC300

Were* you serious about being an attorney?

spyked

It is seeming IMPOSSIBLE to find any information on servicing the 7G Plus. Would it be safe to assume that the 7G Plus has the same access and drain points as the 7G referenced so well in this thread?

As far as I can tell, the 7G Plus has a different torque converter and uses a newly designed fluid. But is the "shell" or "housing" of the unit the same as 7G? If so....that would mean the method for draining fluid from transmission and torque converter is the same as it referenced here for 7G, right?

juanrace2004

Yes. UPR 1984.

paulo744

I serviced my 2011 C300 4matic this weekend, and it was an easy job, with the right tools.

I bought ATF 134 fluid for this job, along with the filter and transmission pan bolts, but unfortunately, when I removed the drain plug of my transmission, I noticed a very dark fluid, not red at all. It was the blue fluid! ATF 134 FE

And to confirm it was the 7G tronic Plus transmission, I had the green overflow piece inside, instead of the white(or black for older revisions), and I had oval indents. Great, at that point, I knew I was in the hole since I had to get the new fluid asap.

I went to the dealer, bought the 9 qts for 22/qt( ecstuning.com has them for 15 a quart). Came back home and fill the transmission up with 6 qts, started the car, shifted through R and D, for 10 seconds each, while holding the brake, then put it back in N and filled the last 3 quarts. I waited for the transmission to heat up to 45C (113F) and then removed the tool from the drain plug and let it drain until it wasn't a solid drip.

I put the drain plug back on and torqued it back. I did snap one aluminum bolt, since 4 N-m (35 in lb or 3 ft lb) is almost nothing in torque.

In the end, this is exactly the same as the 7G tronic. I used this guide from a E350 for reference and it was extremely helpful.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w221...7g-tronic.html

Now I am and she's doing very well. Doesn't shift any smoother than it was before. My car has 40k miles on the odometer and for these transmission the service intervals is slightly longer than the 7G tronic.

spyked

Paulo744 -

C300s in the States didn't get 7G Plus until MY 2013. Our 2011 C300s are 7G Tronic. Where are you? Glad to know it was easy to do! Just be careful you didn't use the 236.15 blue fluid in a non-Plus car. Are you in Europe?

paulo744

spyked,

I'm not sure on the differences, physically, between the 2 transmissions. I do know this:
-the fluid that came out was blue
-the transmission oil pan has oval indents
-the overfill tube was green

Those are all signs of a 7G-tronic PLUS transmission. I did make a Star account and looked at my data card for this vehicle, and the transmission code was 722.964, if that helps at all.

Lastly Glyn M Ruck posted this thread, https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-imminent.html , that MB's C-class produced after 6-21-2010, has blue fluid and is 7G-tronic PLUS. My C300 was built in 6-2011. Thus, it was almost a 2012 unit. Lucky? Perhaps. But I put in blue fluid, 236.15 spec.

If the car now has 40k miles, and the transmission has been responding beautifully with the blue fluid, then the blue fluid is what went back in, just nice and fresh this time around.

spyked

Are you in North America/U.S.? Just curious. Keep us updated on how it goes in the future.

Either way, good luck, and thanks for letting me know that it was a fairly painless process (especially if it was on a 7G Plus).

paulo744

Yes I am in the US, good old Massachusetts.