Dealer says "planetary gear" is broken - wants 1600$ + tax (Canadian)
 

Hi all,
I have an issue on my 2014 C300 W204 where when I turn my steering wheel all the way to the left or right and drive (for example in a parking lot), the car vibrates. The dealer says the planetary gear in the transfer case is damaged and this requires immediate attention, or else the transfer case and transmission can be damaged. The cost for the part + labor is 1600$. (See image from the report they gave me)
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...8823f8c1ac.png


Does anyone have any experience with this issue? Is this something I need to worry about? So far the vibration is the only symptom, which I don't really mind. But can it really degrade into transmission damage? I don't really drive much (3000km a year).

Thanks

What you copied in just says to Change the center dif oil is all...

nothing about changing a gear.

So why was I quoted 1600$? :bs:

ask dealer to break it down...
parts and labor...

my guess is:
1 it is a MB and they love charging a fortune for simple things.

I had the same symptoms on a 2005 C240 4Matic with 130k miles and a transfer case fluid change took care of the problem.

I don’t know what your guy is planning but $1600 seems excessive for a fluid change. I DIY’d in about 2 1/2 hours without a lift. The improvement was really surprising—it went from having a noticeable shudder at full lock to super smooth.

There could be other problems but it makes no sense to tear into mechanicals when this is a known issues with the 4Matics.

More info:
https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...-w203-copy.pdf

https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...letin-copy.pdf

These links are from discussions on the W203 forum but I believe the 4Matic system is the same across multiple chassis.

What you posted also says "Additional Service Recommendations", which I would take to mean they recommended more things be done. Is that the case? If so, post the whole list. Maybe then the $1600 would not seem that outrageous.

That was the only thing.. the first page was just a multi-point inspection that said everything was OK

Update: brought to an indie and he couldn't find anything wrong with the car... checked fluids, bushings, axles... very weird. Although he didn't open the transfer case

Not sure how accurate this is, but it says the average cost for transfer case fluid change is about $125. Take it for what it is worth: https://repairpal.com/estimator/merc...placement-cost

Sounds cheap to me. If you where doing that job for someone and they wanted a warranty, you would have to charge enough so if there was a problem and you had to redo for free, then you'd make a bit to cover the redo. That is why they have to charge so much. Besides its a dirty oily mess job.

It's just weird that the only symptom is the noise when the steering wheel is turned all the way. Other than that the car drives great.

Only thing I'm skeptical about now is how the dealer says that if I don't repair this, the transmission and transfer case will break, as well as the steering...

Is it really that serious? The car already has 200k km, I don't know if it's worth fixing.

It sounds like he’s trying to scare you into spending a lot of money.

He could be right, perhaps there is something seriously wrong but I think it’s worthwhile to try less expensive solutions, especially when the symptoms align with a well-known service issue.

I’d change the t-case fluid and then reevaluate.

If a planetary gear is broken a fluid change will do nothing. You need to replace the gear. Show us the quote they gave you so we can see that they are going to do.

Is this while moving the car or when still

Only when the car is moving slowly, steering wheel fully locked either to the left or right.

And no quote information except for "Transfer Case Service: Planetary Gear 1593.04$". They only verbally said they will need to replace that gear.

The question is if the planetary gear is actually broken (i.e. would there be any symptoms other than the single one I have?), and if I leave it the way it is, is it really that dangerous? Or is this symptom just reflective of the fluid being bad?

get second opinion from another dealer...

tell them same symptoms only...

Fawking 'dealers'. GL.

Never trust a verbal repair. If it isn’t on paper they are giving u b.s. is it a humming or whining high pitch noise?

Now that I think about it, it's just a humming noise, with a lot of a bass. Kind of like a vibration noise but without the actual vibration.

So another Mercedes dealer? Interesting..

Hey guys, check this out: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...w211-w220.html

Seems this is fairly common, and the Mercedes TSB says to change the transfer case fluid (although it mentions W203 and not W204)... What do you guys think? Could the dealer be trying to scam when all I might need is a fluid change?

I’d change the transfer case fluid and see what happens, get OEM fluid not aftermarket. I’m hitting my 60k mark tomorrow and have been planning to do that service. If it goes away ur good, if not go to another dealership and have them look at it. If u change it take a sample of the fluid and have it lab tested for more information. There are labs out there that do testing.

Your transfer case is not the same as in the 5g-tronic(722.6) transmissions. Your 7g-tronic(722.9) transfer case is integrated into the transmission. Since it's integrated, it uses the same transmission fluid. I have heard of bad planetary gears on these transmissions. I have not done one yet. I have replaced complete transmissions due to bad bearing in the transfer case.

So are you saying that changing the transfer case fluid means changing the transmission fluid? or can those still be done separately on this model?

Also, do you recommend I do the repair at MB or (if possible) do I try having the transfer case fluid changed by an indie first? What about differential fluid?