abbah

Hi there,

I have c43/1998 with 55k miles on the clock, so far the transmission has been ok. However, I have heard that the first year c43's (1998) have transmission problems relating to the Electronic Control Unit (ECU).

1. There is no specific solution to how this can be fixed. (One solution is below 2, are there others)

2. Also if the warranty has expired and this has been a known bug with the Transmission ECU, will MB replace it free of charge and how to go about doing it.

Regards

H.Abba

Denlasoul

I have a 98 C43 with just under 70K on the odometer. I have not had any tranny problems yet (knock on wood). I do know of a few people who have had their tranny reprogrammed b/c the car was acting weird. I have no idea about what causes this problem or how much it would cost. In addition, I'm not too familiar with MB's policy about fixing known defects after warranty expires. I would image that it should be fixed free of charge, but I dont know how dealerships would feel about that. Anyway, find out how much a reprogram would cost and if your cars tranny starts to act strange maybe go ahead and have it reprogrammed. I'm sure it's cheaper than having it replaced.

Regards

DLS

steve s

mb usually is really proud of staying behind their product...esp on limited edition amg....know ur dealer a little better and maybe u can work out a deal

BrabusCClass

My tranny blew up at 60,000 miles.

abbah

Thanks very much for your kind replies, I'll speak to my local MB dealer and see what they come up with. I'll try and keep the post updated.

Just out of interest "BrabusCClass", is your transmission different from that of the C43 AMG - which is based on the S-Class?

FrankW

he's probably talking about his C43, not his c24k.

btw, drivetran has different warranty than the rest of the car.

abbah

Below is an email I got from MB UK:

Dear Mr Hassan

Thank you for writing to us. All Mercedes-Benz vehicles purchased in 1998 came with a 12 month factory warranty. This was a bumper-to-bumper warranty with no limitation for mileage. This also included elements of the drive train such as the engine and transmission.

Vehicles purchased via an authorised Mercedes-Benz dealership in the United Kingdom after 1 May 1999 would have received an added 24-months to this warranty, again with no limitation for mileage.

We are certainly not aware of any negative history with regards to the reliability of the gearbox on the Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG after 60,000 miles. Due to the stringent controls that are carried out throughout our production process, we are always able to guarantee that the superior build quality that is associated with Mercedes-Benz remains. However, even after ensuring the highest levels of reliability, dependability and longevity, anything mechanical does have the potential to fail.

Although we would like to be able to establish a general rule with regards to the life expectancy of a vehicle’s components, there are too many contributing factors, which affect the operation and durability of the various components, over which, we as a manufacturer, have no control or influence.

We hope that you find this information helpful.

Sincerely

Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Centre

BrabusCClass

I was talking about my 1999 C43. I think if I look around I might have the papers on it. Came out to around $8000 which was covered by my extended warranty.