Scat01

Thank you both for your replies, I have printed the documentation and will go have a face to face with the service manager - this is mindboggling, cannot believe the inconsistancies with servicing these cars, more specifically the trans...



Seperate note - I also called one other "MB specialist" which was not a dealer, but claimed to be certified to perform the MB incremental services as I am also due for Service B...when asked what was included in service B, I was told by a female who claimed to be their svc mgr that...hold on to your hats...as part of her list..."greasing the brake lines" was included but not the brake fluid flush - WTF??? 'Click' was all she heard from me after that comment.

Glyn M Ruck

I'm starting to believe that the unusual failure rate on these transmissions in the US is directly due to MBUSA's "filled for life" utterings & the shear incompetence of US dealers. They seem to just ignore the WIS the minute a little effort is required.

venchka

Glyn, johnand, LSA, & others,

Thanks for all of your help and providing proper documentation that we can wave about and demand that things be done properly. So much better than "I read that some guy on the internet said that..."

Cheers!

Wayne

Scat01

I printed all the documents and will be meeting with my original dealer/service manager tomorrow morning, thank you all for sharing your knowledge and all the back up data to support it - appreciated...

Curious, for all of you that complete this on your own, how does it work with the dealer records as far as warranty and such?

Glyn M Ruck

I think most DIY's on the W203 forum have been out of warranty but if you keep your records in places like US & Aus there is not much MB can do as you are legally protected. In SA they would invalidate your warranty but then again here you are under Motorplan so you would not do it yourself until the Motorplan ran out.

LILBENZ230

Those of you in the USA need to make the dealerships do the fluid change the correct way. They will charge you double and half-*** the work if you let them. I agree with Glyn that the transmission failure rate might very well be the fault of MBUSA's incompetent dealers.

Scat01

Funny you should mention this again, as stated above, I met with my service advisor this morning. Without going into too much detail and boring everyone, the bottom line is they are NOT including the torque converter in their trans service.

Exact quote: "the draining of the torque converter is NOT included in the standard transmission service for your car".

Long story short, I walked through all the documents I printed from johnands thread showing them what was required - including using new aluminim pan bolts which seemed to stump him also...They are going to do the complete job, I am going to pay for the additional parts (bolts, fluids, gaskets, etc) as well as 1/2 hour additional labor charge and wait for the car while it is being done - also asked to see the torque converter drain plug once opened, not sure if they will let me in the shop or not at this point.

I had to do all this with a big smile on my face because I want it done right - I bit my tongue so many times as I wanted to say WTF is the sense of changing 50-60 percent of the fluid and leaving garbage inside to mix with it as soon as I hit the road?...but again, all smiles, thank you, appreciate that, blah blah until they complete it - the right way...

venchka

Discression and a smile being the better part of valor. Good for you. I shall use your post for rehersal. I will comparison shop between my dealer and another about 100 miles away. I will also investigate indy shops. I only have 2 that I am aware of in my part of the woods. Perhaps they are more agreeable.

Wayne

Pete7874

This sucks. We just had our trans fluid replaced at 38K miles and I'm pretty sure they did not touch the torque converter.

Oh well, we have a 100K mile extended warranty, so if it craps out, MB will have to eat it. We'll probably not keep it much past 100K miles, but I feel bad for the subsequent owner...

By the way, these are the only line items listed on the invoice in regards to our trans service:

1 221-277-01-95 oil filter
1 220-271-03-80 gasket
1 004-990-35-12 screw
5 001-989-68-03-10 transmission

So, it looks like they've only replaced 5 liters of trans fluid, even though the overall trans capacity is close to 10 liters. Unbelievable!

Glyn M Ruck

Out of interest I phoned my Service Manager today - we are great mates these days. Having bought the CLK, which I'm loving, I too now have a 722.9 to look after which is performing beautifully at the moment.

Now understand that here MBSA is picking up most of the tab under the 6 years 120,000 Km Mobilodrive plan - extendable for another 2 years for approx $900.

He said to me that MBSA would shoot them if they did not follow the WIS instruction & drain the converter. He said that should this be picked up in the service record of the car MBSA would insist that the dealer carry the cost of a failure.

Pete7874

I am going to ask my dealer to redo the trans service, correctly this time. If they refuse, I will take it up with MBUSA customer service. This is really pathetic. Those updated WIS instructions must have been out for more than a year now. How long does it take for literature to trickle down to the dealers?

Then again, 1.5 years ago, I notified MBUSA that their dealers were dumping the wrong amount of engine oil into some C300 4-matics due to errors in owner's manuals and service literature. MBUSA acknowledged the problem and promised to have it corrected. 1.5 years later, the dealers still do it wrong and majorly overfill the crankcases. Uhh...

tasho3

Took the C63 to MB of chicago about a year ago to get oil change, and they overfilled it by 2 quarts SMH

Glyn M Ruck

Good for you. Someone has to shake up these jerks. A transmission rebuild is damn expensive even in the US.

Glyn M Ruck

Another Man U fan!

Glyn M Ruck

One more comment.

Please make sure that the dealer checks that the transmission has the redesigned pan & spill tube.

Also ensure that the "use once" aluminium stretch bolts on the pan are replaced & not reused.

Scat01

Sorry to hear about your experience Pete - The positive is that you had the service done and you are covered - During my lengthy conversation, the SM told me that as recently as October (2011) they had to replace a trans and MBUSA refused to cover the expense (+/- $7K) under warranty due to the owner NOT having the trans service performed. The car had 60K miles on it.

I am curious, if you do not mind sharing, what did they charge you for the service as performed?

Something else, if you are getting rid of the car as stated, no worries. If you decide to keep it, make sure the service is completed the proper way at 80K miles, sounds like you should be fine.

I am scheduled for 10:00am tomorrow - I will follow back up with my experience...

st2288

I picked up my CPO 2011 c300 4matic, from a dealer in Roslyn,New York. The bumper got scratches and indentation, door was misaligned, tires was over inflated by 5 lbs. The engine was overfilled by 1 quart. Get this, THE SERVICE MANAGER told me "it is normal, if there is any problem, the sensor will display the warning message... " I shooked my head... I can't image them servicing my tranny....
It is really sad most of the people in this forum know a lot more than the dealer and the service managers!!!

Pete7874

$300.

Their regular price was $450, but they price matched another MB dealer that was offering it for $300.

Pete7874

Funny you should mention that. After we bought our CPO 2008 C300 4matic, it would occasionally say "CHECK OIL LEVEL" in the instrument cluster. When I pulled the dipstick, it looked full, so I figured it was just a sensor malfunction. Then some time later when it was time to do the oil change, I ended up draining about 9 quarts of old oil out of the sump. That sump was supposed to hold 7.4 qt.

oldhook

I went to a dealership here in NJ for my B2 service(@33k Miles) Quote. During that time the SA said, my 39k trans service is going to cost me $1200-$1400. I think i have to rethink after looking at the numbers here.


Thanks.

Pete7874

Ouch! I hope it comes with some Vaseline.

Scat01

I am also in NJ - mind telling me what dealer that was so I can avoid them?

I am having my trans done at Princeton as they sat with me and walked through the documents and agreed to do it correctly (for a fee of course), but still 1/3 of the price you were quoted.

oldhook

that was at PrestigeMB paramus.

Thanks.

oldhook

scat01, do you mind sharing the items that they mention in your invoice after your trans service tmrw??appreciate your help.

Thanks.
-Reddy.

Pete7874

Yeah, I think that would help many of us here. Thanks!