ScottW911

That is why I put it in quotes. The meaning did not escape me when he said it. I used to think so highly of this SA until this comment......

tjbrum

Have you had the "jerk" return over this time or do you think this fixed your problem? Did you have any other work done prior (i.e., glycol test, radiator replaced, etc.)? Thanks.

sales@eurocharged.com

FYI -

The TCU is coded to a specific car and will not work if moved to another car. You will go into limp mode within a few miles.

TCU's can't be recoded either. Do not buy a used TCU because it will not work. I have tested this twice and a fellow board member has too.

You will need to provide your VIN number in order to get a working TCU.

Bif powell

There are members (at least two that I've seen) who bought 2003 TCU's from ebay and eliminated the jerk AFAIK.

sales@eurocharged.com

I think I might have been one of them. However, it turned out that the TCU I bought was not used and it costed more $$$ than some of the new ones people have purchased and posted about.

I did manage to fix my "jerk" with the new TCU, so it is money well spent.

Please feel free to confirm this with your dealer or mechanic before buying a used unit. I also have 2 units in my garage and one of them is a true used 03' TCU (I took it off the car myself) and it will not work in my car without going into limp mode.

Moorfan first experienced this and I tested it to be true.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showpost....1&postcount=77

So, either one of three things happened.

1. The person/s are feeding us about their TCU and never upgraded.

2. The TCU they bought was actually new. (This happened to me)

3. Our cars vary slightly and some of us can use version coded TCU's from other cars.

SilverBulletAMG

I had my TCU replaced by the dealer and the "jerk" came back very quickly. I've given up and decided to just live with it as long as I have the car.
I posted the parts, part numbers and prices of everything the dealer did to mine in the, "my saga continues" thread a few pages back.

ScottW911

Ditto. I just reset my ECU to lessen the feel of the jerk. Comes back in a day or two though.

moorfan

I did the following things over time and I feel that now the car runs far better than it did before:

1. Replaced radiator with Behr, flushed out old incorrect coolant.
2. Replaced intercooler pump
3. Replaced TCU with a new one(not before I bought a salvage one like an idiot. I have one for sale if you need one for a 2003-2004 C32).
4. Had the transmission powerflushed by the M-B dealer. This is the best way to remove as much fluid as possible. (cost $250).
5. Installed a sprintbooster.

The car goes like a bat out of hell, all the time. The jerk is still there but far less than before with regular throttle resets (approx once weekly). The jerk is most noticeable in "W" mode but very tolerable in "S" mode.
I remain convinced that if you don't have contamination and don't have a bad TCU that there will be SOME jerking present because of the adaptive function of the transmission.

Regards,
Pete

SilverBulletAMG

I think the adaptive tranny is 100% garbage. I wish there was a way to NOT let it "learn" how to shift. I would be willing to bet that would clear up most, if not all of the issues. It seems it always "learns" the infamous jerk no matter what you do or how you drive. The car runs best when beat on, but in stop and go traffic you just can't...and thats when the jerk always rears its ugly head. There have been times I've looked in my rear view thinking I just got rear ended!

tjbrum

I had the ECU reset on my vehicle and the jerk returned shortly thereafter. Then the line of from the SA that some of us with this issue have been given, "Umm, it's a high performance vehicle, it's sposta shift like that, you jackass high maintenance customer, now get you and your glycol laden C32 out of my shop!" (JK on the last part) My concern is that if i "live with it" then the tranny may become a big problem. According to the TSB and my interpretation (most likely mis-interpretation) is that the ECU reset is one of the first steps in the process, then the glycol test if the jerk returns, then replacement of parts if above a certain level of contamination, etc. So, in the end, (and thanks for putting up with my diatribe) I'll be taking my car to the dealer tomorrow. If they do the test and replace parts, hopefully my aftermarket warranty will suffice

360_iti

Good luck tjbrum. Let me know the outcome.

Bif powell

I also thought I read that the 03 TCU will only work if you get the new valve-body. Could that be causing the limp-home mode?...not so much that the TCU won't work in an '02, but that it won't work in an '02 with an '02 valve-body? If that's the case, I have a new valve-body as part of the 11tybillion things the dealer threw at this problem. None of them worked, but maybe they got me part way there and a random '03 TCU would work for me?

sales@eurocharged.com

I would be willing to send you this '03 TCU for you to try.

Bif powell

If it won't hurt to try, I'm willing to give it a shot. I'll track down my paper-work and call the dealer and see what part number they used on this valve-body - lemme do some leg-work and get back to you. Also if anyone knows about this, please chime in here.

Thanks for the offer! Will follow-up and get back to you.

sales@eurocharged.com

I'm ready to put this problem to rest. It has been around forever and it would be nice to finally provide an answer for everyone...even though it's 4 years too late.

tjbrum

Got my car back and there is no hard shifts. They reset the "mixture adaptaion" ??? and shifts seem to be more smooth. We'll see in a month or so but for now, all seems well.

turbo16lbs

Well after reading everyones experience with their C32s I dont feel alone. My car has done this from day one that I purchased the vehicle from Carmax. At first it didn't bug me as much but now I am worried since I purchased the vehicle with an extended warranty but from carmax. I am hoping its better that carmax has it rather han the dealer since apparently every single SA from MB is incompetent. I'll take the car in sometime next week since I've been driving it hard afterwards it smells like coolant then shortly after the coolant check malfunction goes off. That way I'll kill 2 birds with one stone. I'll keep you guys posted.

moorfan

Just keep in mind that with the Carmax warranty they will subcontract out much of the labor to the M-B dealer. Make sure Carmax didn't fill the cooling system with the "green stuff" (mine was incorrectly filled when I purchased from Carmax).

Regards,
Pete

///AMG4EVER

Hey tjbrum - can you please be more specific? What does your paperwork state? Did your extended warranty cover it?

tjbrum

The description on the invoice is verbatim: "MIS RESET MIXTURE ADAPTATION. CHECK ENG FOR INTERMITENT HESITATION ON ACEL NO CODES PRESENT-RESET MIXTURE ADAPTATION CHECK TRANS-NO CODES PRESENT-CHECK ADAPTATION VALUES-RECORD AND RESET." The charge was one hour labor and I've got a $100 deductible so i just paid it.

hkycoldrct

Well, I've been waiting for almost a month for my dealer to get a new TCU in from Germany. I have the jerk as described by everyone else on this board. I guess they are going to go down the TSB until it goes away! I'm really hoping the changing out the TCU will eliminate the problem but I'm not holding my breath. I read above about needing to change out the valve-body? What are we talking about here?

Also there is a reference to someone flushing out their radiator because they used the 'green' coolant. Is there supposed to be another coolant used??

Does anyone know of a good reference manual for the C32? I recall seeing in another post that one was soon to be available?

m444

I was talking to a Mercedes mechanic, the other day. He said even a very minor amount of glycol contamination can cause the transmission to shift funny.

Also, he said Mercedes is now, ONLY recommending flushing the transmission oil (which is Mercedes trans specific oil) and if it gets really bad, to replace the torque converter.

He said, they have aggressively flushed transmissions which had this problem and they started shift ok, again.

C230 Sport Coup

Pics of the offending radiator.

I can't be 100% certain whether or not I have the offending radiator.
Anyone have pics a Valeo rad?

I may just go ahead and buy a new one to be certain, something to compare with, and if I don't need it, sell it to the next person so they can do the same thing.

gkstar

Just had my Valeo radiator replaced due to coolant contamination in trani.... with a newer Valeo version - made in 2007. I assume they have long addressed the issue.

If I recall correctly, there was a production date cut off (somewhere in 93), where they should have fixed the problem.

c230_2k2

I had the same problem with my 03 C32. I had to bring it back so many times to the dealer and finally it got fixed. They did the Glycol test and replaced the radiator at first (Problem not fixed). I brought it back and they replaced the torque converter (problem not fixed). The third time I brought it back they did a thourough test they found that super charger thermostat switch is broken/shorted. So everytime your engine gets hot or operate under normal temperature the switch doesnt work so supercharger blows hot air instead of cold air. Excuse my terminologies, but after they replaced that switch everything was fixed. I usually get teh tranny jerk at high speeds, it feels like the car was shifting to another gear and loose a little bit of power. Hope this helps.