YOgun27

I finally went to the MB dealership to get the seat heaters replaced under my 3rd party warranty, and need some other work done after dealer inspection. So I'm looking for the most cost-effective way to address certain issues. Also, which fixes are urgent, and which can I wait on? Just trying not to get taken for a ride, thanks!

1) I'm buying Akebono ceramic brake pads for the front (need replacing). Can I get any car shop to put these on even outside of an MB dealer? I'm not mechanically inclined at all! Cost?

2) I'm looking to just buy the OEM air filters to replace a dirty one (Mann filters right?) Same as above, can some shop easily replace this? Cost?

3) Brake Fluid Change - Dealer says the fluid is greenish colored and needs to be changed. Cost?

4) Transmission Flush/Service - Never been done. Cost?

RLx02

Any shop should be able to do the brake pads. It's pretty easy to do yourself if you have the time and some simple tools. I bought akebono euro pads for 80 dollars I believe online a while ago and have zero brake dust because of them.

Quicktwinturbo

1. Service labor can be vary by dealers. But do expect 1-2 hour job @ $80-100 per hours.
2. Cheap. Get filters from online source. You should try this by yourself. They are very easy to change and it should only take 15-20 mins. Do search for direction.
3. Again, price can be vary from dealer to dealer but do expect to pay $150-250.
4. Same here.. Expect $300 +

All of your work can be done by an independent mercedes shop / tuning shop. They charge less and may do a better job.

Good luck..

P.s: Don't bother fixing up the seat heater. They will fail again...and again...But if it's covered by your warranty, why not..

AMGnut88

my benz dealer charged me 270 for my tranny flush, and me personally if u got them under there have em flush your diff too my dealer charged me 89 for it.

Mark.D

I just got the trans flush, and it was about $325.

I really need those brake pads that don't dust like hell.

Chedeng88

My indy MB master tech charged me around $100 for a tranny flush.

A far cry from the $300-$500 quotes I got from several dealerships.

Some dealerships also suggested changing the conductor plug and filter when doing a flush. Has anybody gone this route?

AMG3.2

My transmission service was around $350 I believe. Done at a very reputable shop that only works on BMW, MB, Porsche.

tw2

My local dealer quoted $850 for the transmission flush which is about US$600-700. I decided to never do it since so many high mileage transmissions seem to fail right after it is done.

AMGnut88

tw2 thats a risky road man, how many miles are you at i think it really is bad in the long run not to service the transmission

tw2

I am at approximately 90,000 miles. The way I see it is they are supposed to be sealed from factory, there is no mention of transmission fluid anywhere in the service schedule.

It seems, a high proportion of people who flush the fluid on high mileage transmissions that have never had a change before encounter problems. Like most things with mercedes, the problem usually ends up being a few thousand dollars and many brand new difficult to install parts.

The consequences for doing the fluid change can end up being needing a rebuilt transmission in some cases. Not doing the change will most likely not cause any real problems for a long time in which it will be a rebuilt transmission anyway.

Other issues are the fact it is very difficult to get all the fluid out of all the components anyway, they can be hard to seal afterwards and getting the fluid levels correct is difficult.

I fully agree a new car should have the fluid changed every 30-40,000 miles but I think it can be asking for trouble on an old car that has not been perfectly maintained. This is just my opinion based on what I have read and understand, I am very open to others experiences and evidence to change my mind.

AMGnut88

well from what ive researched in the past mercedes changed their stance on the sealed for life transmissions because it just didnt work to what they had hoped, myself i flushed my tranny at 89K and have not had issues, that being said i know what your saying about tinkering with old automatics that were never flushed and by flushing them dislodged metal shavings or clogging up a channel. i mean i took the risk but due to my profession i see machinery and moving parts and what happens when regular maintenece breaks down and what happens to the machinery. that and im a freak on doing maintnence. however seeing what the dealer wants to charge you i dont blame you for not doing the service. so its kind of a damned if you do damned if you dont with an old tranny that hasnt been regulary maintained i guess i wish you the best but me personally it would kill me having denatured oil not properly lubricating and cooling a transmission.

Mark.D

In my owner's manual, it recommends trans fluid change at 39k miles. But to each his own. I agree- if it ain't broke, don't fix it...

MarcusF

I've had the transmission fluid changed three times, each by my local dealer. If your indy didn't change the filter, I'm going to guess he simply dropped the drain plug and replaced the fluid.

The filter is $16 and the pan gasket is only another $15 - and those are both retail dealer prices. Your indy may charge even less. Aside from changing the filter, dropping the pan allows the tech to clean the pan magnet.

I've had the conductor plug changed. It was inexpensive at the dealer. Mine wasn't leaking. As long as they wereworking on it, I told them to go ahead and install the upgraded part.

tw2

I have a similar approach to maintenance. I like everything to be perfect but the possible consequences to the transmission flush make this a difficult decision.

Is there anything to gain from dropping the pan, replacing the filter, cleaning the magnet, new gasket and refilling the fluid?

This would mean the torque converter and coolant lines are still filled with old fluid but I think this is how most of the old debris gets disturbed?

91RS

$100 is awfully cheap since the fluid is $15 qt. and probably another $40 for the filter, gasket, drain plug seal, and dipstick cap retainer. You just barely covered the parts, so either they really like you or they used crappy parts and one-size-fits-all transmission fluid.

91RS

You don't want to flush your transmission, you need to get the pan service done so the filter is changed. Mercedes doesn't recommend flushing, they recommend the pan service. At 90k miles you will be fine for the pan service.

tw2

I can do that. My only question is how do I know how much fluid to put back in? Is that what the dipstick people buy is for? I presume this comes from the dealer? And it goes down the tube next to the firewall with the red plastic clip on it?

91RS

Yes, that is what the dipstick is for. You can get one from any dealer or any of the online factory Benz parts sources. You will need to buy a replacement clip after you take the cap off the dipstick tube because you have to break that clip. The part number is in the pictures of that thread the OP posted.

macbryanie

+ 1 for the Akebono's : very little to no dust and no more squeaky brakes. Very happy with them.

Chedeng88

It was done at a very reputable shop that specializes in tuning MBZs.
I'm sure if I mention the shop's name, you'll know it. They sometimes even post here and some other members use them as well. They also definitely dropped the pan, changed the gaskets and used OEM parts.

It's just the conductor plug that wasn't change. Upon inspection, they said it doesn't really need to be replaced at that time and left it up to me if I wanted to anyway. I decided not to back then.

Come to think of it, I had several other things done on the car during that time so maybe they gave me some sort of discount.

tw2

Can anyone please provide the part number for the dipstick? MB assures me it does not exist and they cannot get it.

mikekuriger

I've never used a dipstick on the tranny. I know they have one, but I've never used it. 3.2 qts to do a tranny pan refil.

91RS

140589152100

macbryanie

Tw2: autohauz is international if the dealer slaps a heavy fee: http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...r=140589152100

https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...-dipstick.html