eddieo45

Mysterious tranny problem all of a sudden. CLK seemed stuck in 5th: no pep when the light turns green. I popped it into neutral and revved it to make sure it was running right, and when I put it back in D, it was still revving Neutral! Went to Park and back to drive, and it went forward, but now feels like 2nd (4000rpm@35mph). Dealership worked on this tranny under warranty:

3/16/2010: "One other thing I meant to ask about is the transmission, though I'm pretty sure it's just a case of me not being accustomed to the 7 speed. Sometimes when I drive really slowly, like just idling up to a red light or stop sign, it'll downshift hard enough that I think I've been bumped in the rear. I asked about it on the forums online and was told it was normal, but your foreman must be a far more savvy driver than I......as long as he's driving it, let's get his opinion."

3/18/2010: "Hi Ed[ward],
We will be keeping your car into next week. The tranny condtion you had was not normal. We are taking the transmission apart to fix it. I'll call you next week. I'll be out of the office Friday."

He ended up telling me some clips had come loose and were replaced.....

Glyn M Ruck

The hard change down to first when aproaching a stop was fixed by a software update. The transmission is going into limp mode.

eddieo45

I remember limp mode from my W202: had CEL lit but car was running fine. Checked code at indie and it was "fuel trim malfunction" (I believe it was P0170 or P0173). Mechanic had a MAF from an ML and he put that in; I only got a few blocks away before it coughed and sputtered and went into what I was told was limp mode: admittedly similar to my experience last night in that it felt like driving 20 mph in overdrive. But last night I felt no sputtering, and if that was limp mode it sneaked into limp mode! And then putting it in park then back to drive and it felt like neutral?! Very strange...oh, and BTW, no CEL or other indication of any issue. Earlier in the day it was running as good as ever, and this event happened while I was driving like my grandmother, on winding, small-town, speed-trad-laden roads.


It occurs to me that on my last fillup I chose 91 octane instead of 93....that couldn't be a reason, could it?

eddieo45

Glyn, I just drove it around the block and it seems fine. Dare I drive 50 miles for a work chore?

Kevwood

I had similar trans issues almost immediately after buying my car, it ended up being the TCU;

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...trol-unit.html

eddieo45

Jesus Kev, that was not the story I wanted to hear! (though it was nice to learn your last name, lol) I've since heard from my SA and they say it's the control plate, which he says includes the ETC. The good news: part is US$830; the bad news: 6 hours (at $125 each I think). Takes forever to get here too, requires special MB authorization. I'm driving about the nicest C Class loaner I've ever had, which is little consolation!

Glyn M Ruck

Eddie - They are talking about the conductor plate. Benz now control the sale of conductor plates for the 722.9. They should cost $150.

The labor is high because they have to remove the valve body from the transmission to fit.

Thank VDO for their crap conductor plates!

eddieo45

Glyn, am I correct that the conductor plate includes the ETC? And where do you get your $150 figure? Is that about what they cost on other cars? SA and tech both said they were surprised that it was only $830 (as was I, given Kevwood's experience.....)

Kevwood

Mr. Batman is quite common...

eddieo45

here's the parts quote, for those that are part-number-literate (I wonder how Wes is, BTW). again, 6 hours labor @$125/hr (that Dubai labor quote looks pretty good right about now......)

Glyn M Ruck

Used to be available with & without TCU. Without TCU used to be $150 before Benz started controlling sales to dealers only in the US. If your price includes the TCU it is no doubt sponsored by Benz/VDO to fix a known problem. The price is very reasonable.

Good luck!

http://www.beckmanntechnologies.com/