directordat

looks like my tranny is done for..car tries really hard to move in reverse or first gear. bringing it in for oil flush first..see what happens

dynomite05

ouch! how many miles

directordat

82000 miles

dynomite05

Let us know what happens after the flush..I'm creeping up there with 67k...Good Luck

Klinh

You guy should have done it around 38K miles. I did mine at 40K.

dynomite05

Mine was done at 55k

directordat

i bought the car around 69k miles so i dont know if the previous owner did any maintenance or not.

AMS Performance

if its already that bad... i doubt a flush will do anything at that point. sounds like one of the internal seals is toasted. Luckily you can do a nice performance rebuild for around $2k typically

BadDebt

I have been thinking about flushing my tranny fluid next week, I have close to 70k. Is it too late, should I leave well enough alone for the time being?

dumpsta

I don't know man. I just got my CPO, needless to say the tranny is in pieces at the shop right now.

I noticed just before they sold it to me they did a 'tramission maintenance.' Not sure if that is linked.

guofan

My MB mechanic told me if it's before 70k, he will recommend it. If it's over, no.
I did mine around 66k ish. I did the full service of flush, change tranny filter and gasket.

directordat

yea the mechanic told me they'll try to flush first..if there's still problems they'll replace the tranny with a rebuilt one i think.. 6k total?

SZMB

I doubt it's the fluid at this low mileage. It could be the valve body or the solenoid in the valve body. I would take it to the dealer (with good reviews) and let them work on it. Valve body and/or the solenoid are well known issues in this generation of MBs. It probably costs less than $2k for this fix. You may ask the service manager for a good-will repair discount.

directordat

yep the tranny is gone..waiting for the guys to find one. sucks

2MCHCAR

That sucks man. Did they say what was the cause (like glycogen contamination)? Maybe get an CLK55 tranny this time

directordat

yea they said it was glycol contamination..they flushed it three times but it didn't help. and they said its not the valve body. they tried to find another answer but its all on the tranny.

SZMB

If it's glycol contamination, I would call the service manger in your local dealership, tell him the story and see if he can give you a good-will repair. You can also call MBNA and see what can they do for you. It's not acceptable for a tranny to fail this way with few miles for an expensive car. There's a service bulletin on this problem.

SZMB

I think you'll need to replace the radiator as well if it's glycol contamination. It's probably a good idea to bring it to the dealer and ask for a big discount on the good-will repair.

directordat

do you know anyone who's done this before?

CLK5313

I've just bought a 320CDI will this be the same tranny? should i change the oil cus i don't know when it was done last?
mines got 54k
any links to the service bulletin?

dynomite05

Just search the forum for "glycol contamination". You have to check your radiator. I believe the Valeo is the one with the problem

SZMB

Glycol contamination was a problem in the 2003 and early 2004 E500, which share the same engine and radiator. The problem was caused by a defect in the Valeo radiator, which leaks coolant into the tranny. I've read owners of the E500 experienced tranny breakdown due to glycol contamination after warranty expired and were able to get a good-will repair from MB. If you have a good relationship, i.e. done some repairs or bought the car from them, that will help a lot when you ask for a good-will repair. Even if you haven't had done any business with the dealer, it doesn't hurt to talk to the service manager (not the service adviser). MB has a service information bulletin on this issue, I'm almost certain you can get a least a partial good-will repair if you ask the service manger. If talking to the service manager doesn't get you anyway, call MBNA directly and ask.

directordat

do you ahave the number for mbna?

BadDebt

I got my tranny fluid/ filter changed today. I didn't do a true flush but my independent guy tells me that what he did get over 60% of the fluid out. It was about $300 and I have 70,000 miles.

SZMB

Go to www.mbusa.com and click on Contact Us at the bottom of the page, call the 800 number and they'll direct you to the right person. But you should talk to the service manager at your local dealer first. Usually MBNA tells you to contact your dealer first, and if the issue cannot be resolved at the dealer, MBNA will take over from there. MBNA's first defense is relying on the dealer network to provide services to the customers; if issues cannot be resolved there, MBNA will then usually assign a representative to the case. Either way, it doesn't hurt to call both.