Jerky Shifting on my CLK350
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 86
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From: Chicago
2006 CLK350 Cabriolet Previous: W203,W202,W201, 2 Porsche 914s, 1965 Jaguar XKE Roadster
Jerky Shifting on my CLK350
I've noticed that occasionally when starting my car and shifting into drive, my car jerks significantly into gear. This is always followed by no shifting out of first when I start driving. It just stays in first and I usually let it rev until 3000 rpm before I know it's not going to be shifting. The only way to remedy this is by pulling over, stopping the car, removing the key, and restarting it. This seems to "reset" the transmission and all is well.
This doesn't happen all of the time...I'd say about every 25 starts it does the jerky shift thing. The transmission fluid is at the correct level according to my mechanic, and it never happens when I bring the car to him and explain the problem...you know, the usual Murphy's law thing.
I hope it's not a trashed tranny...I just purchased the car this spring and really don't want to sink a boatload of money into it already. It drives really nice...no issues except this occasional transmission thing.
I've searched the forum and read something about a conductor plate problem that some have experienced, but I'm not sure the symptoms are consistent with that.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. It's so much better to have comments and advice from forum members instead of throwing yourself at the mercy of an MB dealer and hoping for good news...especially with a transmission.
This doesn't happen all of the time...I'd say about every 25 starts it does the jerky shift thing. The transmission fluid is at the correct level according to my mechanic, and it never happens when I bring the car to him and explain the problem...you know, the usual Murphy's law thing.
I hope it's not a trashed tranny...I just purchased the car this spring and really don't want to sink a boatload of money into it already. It drives really nice...no issues except this occasional transmission thing.
I've searched the forum and read something about a conductor plate problem that some have experienced, but I'm not sure the symptoms are consistent with that.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. It's so much better to have comments and advice from forum members instead of throwing yourself at the mercy of an MB dealer and hoping for good news...especially with a transmission.
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Joined: Jan 2004
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2004 CLK320
I had similar issue with my w209 (2004 CLK320) and I posted here https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...nsmission.html.
My car is a daily commute and this would happen to me about once a week. The car would go into limp mode while driving (not right after the car is started); ie: it would stay in one gear, 2nd or 3rd, the least used gear. When this happened, I would have to stop and restarted the engine.
I finally replaced the conductor plate and no more limp mode for more than a month.
I have the 5-speed (722.6) and you probably have the 7-speed (722.9). According to other experts, replacing the conductor plate for the 7-speed is more complicated than the 5-speed. For the 7-speed, other modules have to adapt to the new component.
First thing you have to do is to pull the codes. I did and the codes were posted in my thread.
My car is a daily commute and this would happen to me about once a week. The car would go into limp mode while driving (not right after the car is started); ie: it would stay in one gear, 2nd or 3rd, the least used gear. When this happened, I would have to stop and restarted the engine.
I finally replaced the conductor plate and no more limp mode for more than a month.
I have the 5-speed (722.6) and you probably have the 7-speed (722.9). According to other experts, replacing the conductor plate for the 7-speed is more complicated than the 5-speed. For the 7-speed, other modules have to adapt to the new component.
First thing you have to do is to pull the codes. I did and the codes were posted in my thread.
Last edited by mis3; Aug 23, 2013 at 01:06 PM.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 86
Likes: 1
From: Chicago
2006 CLK350 Cabriolet Previous: W203,W202,W201, 2 Porsche 914s, 1965 Jaguar XKE Roadster
Well it finally happened. On Saturday my wife and I were at an estate sale, and my car wouldn't shift out of first gear. I took it to my indy repair shop and as I suspected, it's the conductor plate. So, I'll get the car back tomorrow night. I must say, I am really twisted that Mercedes knows that this is a common problem and you just wait until it happens to you without any recourse.
When I purchased the car I was wondering when my conductor plate would go out and now I know.
This is my fourth Mercedes. Really I love these cars but the way I feel now I may have to think twice before I buy another one. But the repair is going end up being about $700 which is not exactly a tiny amount but it's not the end of the world either… I'll get over it. It's the principle. After that I'm sure I'll fall in love with the car again it always happens.
When I purchased the car I was wondering when my conductor plate would go out and now I know.
This is my fourth Mercedes. Really I love these cars but the way I feel now I may have to think twice before I buy another one. But the repair is going end up being about $700 which is not exactly a tiny amount but it's not the end of the world either… I'll get over it. It's the principle. After that I'm sure I'll fall in love with the car again it always happens.
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NO LONGER ACTIVE
Let us know how this turns out and how your indy repairs it. According to the WIS documentation, if you replace the contact plate, you have to re-program the transmission firmware, and that requires a "live" licensed copy of SDS. If your indy fixes this without that, then I'd like to know how.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 86
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From: Chicago
2006 CLK350 Cabriolet Previous: W203,W202,W201, 2 Porsche 914s, 1965 Jaguar XKE Roadster
I'm pretty sure they're going to have to reprogram it because I had to send a copy of my drivers license to my mechanic because Mercedes need to cross reference it somehow with the VIN...I think? Does that sound right?
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2004 CLK320
When I replaced my conductor plate, I got conflicting information from the dealership and from the experts in this forum. The dealership said that the TCU has to be reprogrammed for the new conductor plate. This would mean that the replacement of the conductor plate would have to be done by the dealership because of the SDS. The experts here said that no reprogramming required for my 722.6. The experts here were correct and I saved a lot of money by getting it fixed by my indie.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Guys. For the 722.9 every Valve body is flow benched & the calibration data is flashed to the integral TCU. Make absolutely sure that this data is retained & flashed to the new unit or you will end up having to replace the entire valve body & conductor plate as a matched unit which can get mighty expensive.
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,200
Likes: 10
2004 CLK320
Guys. For the 722.9 every Valve body is flow benched & the calibration data is flashed to the integral TCU. Make absolutely sure that this data is retained & flashed to the new unit or you will end up having to replace the entire valve body & conductor plate as a matched unit which can get mighty expensive.
Since I learned from here that they was no reprogramming required for a 722.6, I went to my indie and the whole job costed me $700-800CAN. I paid $400 alone for the conductor plate at the dealership. The other $300-400 was for labor and the ATF, pan gasket, etc. The ATF pan flush was required because the pan had to be dropped to reach the conductor plate.
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