I just got my 2002 c32 yesterday and on the drive home I noticed this odd JERKS in the shifting out of the blue. I noticed it under cruise at 80mph and while driving normal speeds. Then half way in my trip A fault showed that the ESP was malfunctioning. I got home shut the car off and restated the car and the ESP fault was fine and working. I got 30k miles of extended warranty left so I guess i will now start to look for a dealer that knows how to service a c32amg.

Should that be 203 instead of 032?...are you sure you have the rest correct

Thanks for the information!

Hey - I have the exact same problem - still haven't fixed it yet because I have no competent service advisers. I went to three different service advisers and told them that the car lurches at about 1500rpm in W mode. Two of the advisers 'advised' me that I shouldn't be driving in W mode (to which I told them that I expected to drive in any damn mode when I have a $50K car!). The other said he didn't know what it was and never heard of it before.
ANyways, yes, it is a well-recognised problem with the '02 C32 and there is a good write up of the problem and solution on the c32life website under the FAQ section.
The torque converter is locking up at around 1500 rpms. There is a computer software upgrade fix. Ask your MB dealer to put the 2003 C32 software in your 02 car.
Unfortunately, no MB dealer in the ATL area will do this for me

That's what I ran into as well, my tech showed me the notice that the dealer has and it says this is only for non-2002 cars iirc.

Bif - yeah, its extremely frustrating. When I call 1-800 mercedes, they are always polite and helpful on the phone, yet the dealers (at least here in ATL) really don't care. I could probably get better service at my local Kia dealership! There is no doubt that they are aware of this problem and they wont make the effort to fix it. If anyone else out there is in the ATL area with an '02 C32 and got it fixed, I'd love to hear from you!

I've attached an image of the TCU & ParkTronic ECU....

TCU is on the bottom and the part number is correct.

boohooramblers -

Did you do a glycol test yet? The stealership should do that for you for free since you have a 2002. Even RBM (worst dealer in ATL) will do it for free.

If you pass the glycol test and still have the dreaded jerk, you're welcome to come by my house. We can swap out your old TCU with my new TCU and if that fixes the problem, then all you will need to buy is a new TCU.

My 02 is in the shop today for this very problem. I explained the problem to the advisor as best I could using much of knowledge I've received by reading these threads. He looked at me like I was one of the adults talking in the old "Charlie Brown" cartoons.."Maa maa maa maa maa, maaa maaa."

It seems like the software/ECU upgrade is the most consistent fix. I'll be interested to see if they will do anything about the upgarade to the software or whether I wil have to find a Tranny ecu on my own.

silver - thanks for the info and the offer to test it using your TCU. I already called MB of Buckhead and asked them about getting a glycol test done - I may as well have been talking to the man on the moon. Bottom line is, they wont do it (especially for free). If only I could get to talk directly to one of the techs instead of the service advisors when I am trying to explain.......!
You mentioned getting RBM to do it - did they do it for you? If so, I'll give them a shout.

The SA's are a bunch of morons.. I paid 180 bucks to get the glycol test done, I did it for piece of mind because I already have a new radiator. When I said I would pay there was no argument from the SA. I have also had my tranny rebuilt, still have the jerk.. I am going to schedule an appointment to get the TCU reprogrammed..

i was quoted 600 bucks to have the glycol test. this in san jose, CA i walked away.

one thing i don't understand. how can one dealer charge 180 while another charges 3x that amount

You need to print out posts #3 & #4 of this thread and take them to the advisor. Mercedes is directing the dealers to do this work, at no charge to the customer, because it might mean MBZ would have to replace an entire tranny instead of a cooling system repair. If the dealer balks, threaten to take this issue to the Regional Service Director. That might get them to do their jobs.

They did not charge me to do the test, but I was getting other work done as well. Let me know how this pans out.

There is no reason why they should charge $200-$600 for this test. We're talking a few ounces of chemicals some PH strips, not liquid gold.


Good luck

I paid for mine as I didn't know at the time it could be free (and of course my SA didn't know/didn't tell), and it was about $100 or so.

I am pretty pissed that I had to pay 180.. FYI I have an appointment on Monday to get my TCU reflashed or replaced..

Sorry I'm going The MB dealer in San Diego is a scam.. They told me that my seat rails were worn which is why my seat control module blew out like 5 times.. The said there was a short. They wanted to charge me 1200 bucks saying it wasnt covered by my Starmark warranty. I took my car to another dealer. They said the wiring harness was bad and that a wire was exposed shorting out the module. This was covered under warranty and no problems since. So if the dip****s would have replaced the rails for 1200 bucks I would still have the problem. God they really **** me off sometimes..

Try write directly to MB North America thru MBUSA website's customer service email. It will bring directly to MB USA and they will forward ur email directly to your dealer's service manager. I did that and my service advisor called me the following day and he is all so nice again...he told me he has an email from the Service Manager and MB USA want them to follow up.
Give it a try, u may get your refund.

Dealer just reflashed mine for $225.00

They (MB) just replaced my entire TCU rather than reflashing.. not sure why.. I have an 02.. I guess I won't complain.. Everything seems to be working the way it should now..

Can driving with the jerk condition for an extended period of time be detrimental to the vehicle? Mine just seemed to start jerking after taking it in for the air pump service campaign.

When my transmission was acting up, the "jerk" was significant. I doubt it could cause any damage as the tranny and engine were barely turning when it would happen.


However, I only had the TCU adaptation problem. There was no leaking coolant into the transmission. In the case of leaking coolant, the transmission will be toast in a short period of time, so it's best to have it checked out sooner than later.

I brought my 02 C32 into Atlanta Classic Cars last week regarding the jerk and the ESP warning that I received.

The ESP bit was a faulty Yaw Control Sensor and has been fixed. The jerking problem was originally diagnosed as a faulty TCU. After the TCU was replaced, the jerk remained. Just today my SA called and said they found Glycol in the transmission fluid and the transmission/torque converter/radiator will need to be replaced.

I bought my C32 in July with 33K on it. Now I'm extremely happy that I bought the extended warranty. If my SA didn't call me today about the glycol test, I planned to bring him this thread. Thanks for the help!

I've been having problems with my C32 for awhile now. Last weekend when i was driving like 130-140km/hr, as i tried to pass some cars, the car wasn't going anywhere. Seemed like the car just had no power at all. The rpm's were around 5,000 and i was slowly going past 130km/hr and i mean slowly. I brought the car to MB today and the technician took it for a drive. He also notices the lack of power and he thinks its the supercharger that is not kicking in. He also notices that the car jerks a lot.

I am really hoping that my warranty for the Powertrain is still covered.

What exactly is meant by 'refashing the TCU'?? For those of you have have had the tranny jerk, does it occur only during a shift from say 2nd to third gear in the 1500-2500 rpm mark or does is happen consitently and in multiple gears within this rpm range? I seem to have a heavy shift under light acceleration I believe between 2-3 gear only and am wondering if it is this problem with the 'jerk' everyone here has been talking about.

Re-flashing the TCU is just a term for changing the software for the Tranny. The 2002's has a flaw in the programming that was fixed, supposedly, in the 2003's. There are some TSB's that say MBZ is supposed to upgrade the software to help with the Jerk.

What you have described is exactly what I've been experiencing. I've had the TCU replaced, the torque converter replaced and the valving replaced. I still have the jerk between 2nd and 3rd. When I took the tech for a ride to check it out, he noticed it was the torque converter, not the actual shift for 2-3. Apparently, that is where the t/c locks up. Now the dealer is claiming that it is my driving style that is causing the jerk. They actually used the term "light in the loafers" to describe the style that causes the jerk (Turds!). I guess this car was never inteded to be driven in traffic or residential neighborhoods. We must drive WOT to avoid the jerk (which I do quite often anyways).

Dude....the dealership just called you a homo!